June 18, 1987

MALACAÑANG
MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

Providing for the Publication of Laws Either in the Official Gazette or in a Newspaper of General Circulation in the Philippines as a Requirement for Their Effectivity

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 200

Edition and publication context. This is the June 18, 1987 order (Supreme Court E-Library text). Section 1 states the general rule that laws take effect fifteen days after publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation, unless otherwise provided; Section 3 makes this order itself effective immediately after its publication in the Official Gazette.

In De Jesus v. Commission on Audit (August 12, 1998), the Court held that the compensation circular at issue, which implemented a law, had to be published, while interpretative and purely internal issuances need not be. In Ali v. Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament (September 30, 2025), the Court applied Article 2 of the Civil Code as amended by this order, recognized the Bangsamoro Gazette as the BARMM counterpart of the Official Gazette, and noted that no law expressly makes website posting a mode of publication. It did not decide whether BAA 77 was validly published, and declared it unconstitutional on other grounds.

WHEREAS, Article 2 of the Civil Code partly provides that "laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publication in the Official Gazette, unless it is otherwise provided x x x;"

WHEREAS, the requirement that for laws to be effective only a publication thereof in the Official Gazette will suffice has entailed some problems, a point recognized by the Supreme Court in Tañada, et al. vs. Tuvera, et al. (G.R. No. 63915, December 29, 1986) when it observed that "[t]here is much to be said of the view that the publication need not be made in the Official Gazette, considering its erratic release and limited readership";

WHEREAS, it was likewise observed that "[u]ndoubtedly, newspapers of general circulation could better perform the function of communicating the laws to the people as such periodicals are more easily available, have a wider readership, and come out regularly"; and

WHEREAS, in view of the foregoing premises Article 2 of the Civil Code should accordingly be amended so that laws to be effective must be published either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the country;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. — Laws shall take effect after fifteen days following the completion of their publication either in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines, unless it is otherwise provided.

SEC. 2. — Article 2 of Republic Act No. 386, otherwise known as the "Civil Code of the Philippines," and all other laws inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 3. — This Executive Order shall take effect immediately after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Done in the City of Manila, this 18th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-seven.

(Sgd.) CORAZON C. AQUINO
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) JOKER P. ARROYO
Executive Secretary