ONLY THE COURT CAN DECLARE AN ORDINANCE VOID AB INITIO

ONLY THE COURT CAN DECLARE AN ORDINANCE VOID AB INITIO

A local legislative body passed an Appropriation Ordinance  (Supplemental Budget) with the provision, "That, in case of failure by the aforesaid officials and employees to comply with any of the foregoing conditions the approval of this ordinance shall be deemed as automatically withdrawn and of no effect ab initio."

Allegedly, the concerned Local Chief Executive (LCE) disbursed funds appropriated in the said ordinance, in such a manner that is violative of the provision of the pertinent Appropriation Ordinance. 

Under the foregoing premise, the same local legislative body, through a majority vote, approved the recommendation of the committee to declare the Appropriation Ordinance as void ab initio based on (1) the provision quoted above and (2) the alleged violation of the concerned LCE.

1. Can a local legislative body declare on its own an appropriation ordinance void ab initio?  

No, it cannot on its own solely determine whether its appropriation ordinance is void ab initio.  It is not one of the powers expressly granted to the local legislative body under the Local Government Code.

2. What is the proper action? 

The proper action is to file an action before the proper Regional Trial Court (RTC). This is consistent with the legal opinion of the Department of Interior and Local Government, to quote: "Be that as it may, we would like to inform you that the issued involving the validity and legality of an ordinance, the Department, in its previous legal opinions, has already opined that inasmuch as the ordinance has undergone the procedural process for its enactment under the Local Government Code, the same is considered valid unless otherwise declared by our courts of justice. Any issues or questions thereon as to the substantive validity and enforceability of an ordinance should be threshed out by filing a special civil action for declaratory relief before the proper court in accordance with Section 1 and Section 4, Rule 63 of the Revised Rules of Court."  (DILG Opinion No. 5S. 2018 dated January 25, 2018)

3. What is the effect of the declaration of the local legislative body that the appropriation ordinance is void ab initio?

It has no legal effect, as it has no power to declare an ordinance as void ab initio.  The appropriation ordinance is presumed valid unless other wise declared by the proper court upon filing of a petition as stated above. 

Any disbursement pursuant to the said appropriation ordinance also enjoy the presumption of regularity. The local legislative body, not being the proper court of justice, has no legal imprimatur to determine whether or not the disbursement was invalid or irregular.

4. What about the alleged violation of the local chief executive?

The local legislative body may conduct an inquiry in aid of legislation, and upon the observation of due process, issue a resolution recommending or requesting the filing of proper administrative charges and/or special audit by the Commission on Audit (COA).  

 In other words, the local chief executive may also be held liable for administrative offense. 

5. What about the liability of local legislative body members? 

If the local legislative body insists on giving no legal effect to the appropriation ordinance, as in its view, it is void ab initio, a tax payer or any constituent may file  administrative complaint for misconduct, "an offense implying a wrongful intent, an unlawful behavior in relation to the office, one that usually involves a transgression of some established and definite rule of action, more particularly unlawful behavior by the public officer." 

This may be filed before the Office of the President in the exercise of its power of general supervision over local government units or before the Office of the Ombudsman which has plenary powers over public officials.#