DOCTRINE OF QUALIFIED POLITICAL AGENCY

Doctrine of qualified political agency or alter ego principle means that the acts of the secretaries of the Executive departments performed and promulgated in the regular course of business are presumptively the acts of the Chief Executive. (Villena v. Secretary of the Interior, G.R. No. L46570, April 21, 1939)

EXCEPTIONS:

1. In cases wherein the Chief Executive is required by the Constitution or by the law to act in person or

2. the exigencies of the situation demand that he act personally, the multifarious executive and administrative functions of the Chief Executive are performed by and through the executive departments.

All the different executive and administrative organizations are mere adjuncts of the executive department. This is an adjunct of the Doctrine of Single Executive.

The heads of the various executive departments are assistants and agents of the Chief Executive. [Villena v. Sec. of Interior (1939)]

In the case of Abakada Guro v. Executive Secretary, G.R. No. 168056, Sept. 1, 2005, the SC held that the Secretary of Finance can act as an agent of the Legislative Dept. to determine and declare the event upon which its expressed will is to take effect. Thus, being the agent of Congress and not of the President, the latter cannot alter, or modify or nullify, or set aside the findings of the Secretary of Finance and to substitute the judgment of the former for that of the latter.

REASON:

Since the President is a busy man, he is not expected to exercise the totality of his power of control all the time. He is not expected to exercise all his powers in person. He is expected to delegate some of them to men of his confidence, particularly to members of his Cabinet.

DISCLAIMER: The author is not lawyer nor an authority on this topic. It is a product of humble research and study of law. It should not be used as sole basis in filing a case, instead, consult your lawyer for proper legal advice.

Neil Christian

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