_________The rule does apply where the intent is clear that the amendment is

precisely to plainly express the construction of the act prior to its

amendment.
_________The spirit rather than the letter of a stature does not determine its
construction.

Take Home
Chapter 5

_________ The grammatical and ordinary reading of a statute must not be

presumed to yield its correct sense.
_________In construing a word or phrase, the court should not adopt that
interpretation that accords best with the manifest purpose of the
statute or promotes or realizes its object.
_________The rule of ejusdem generic does require the rejection of general
terms entirely.
_________The rule expressio unius est exclusio alterius is a rule of law. It is a
mere tool of statutory construction or a means of ascertaining the
legislative intent.
_________One of the functions of a proviso is not to except something from an
enacting clause. In this sense, an exception and a proviso are
similar.

Chapter 6
_________Interpretatio fienda est ut res magis valeat quam pereat

means that a law should not be interpreted with a view to

upholding rather than destroying it. A construction that
would render a provision inoperative or ineffective should be
avoided.
_________The rule that when a judicial or contemporaneous construction

has been given to a statute, the reenactment of the statute

is generally held to be not in effect a legislative adoption of
the construction, applies only when the statute is capable of
the construction given to it and when the construction has
become a settled rule of conduct.
_________The rule is where absolute harmony between parts of a statue

is demonstrably possible, the court must reject that one

which is least in accord with the general plan of the whole
statue.
_________A law should be construed as to allow the doing of an act

which is prohibited by law, nor so interpreted as to afford an

opportunity to defeat compliance in terms, create an

inconsistency, or contravene the plain words of the law.
_________A legal provision must be so construed as to be a useless

surplusage, and accordingly, meaningless in the sens of

adding nothing to the law or having no effect whatsoever
therein. Nor should a word be so construed as to render
other words or phrases associated with it serves no purpose.
_________The statute should not be construed in harmony with and not

in violation of the fundamental law.

_________It is to be presumed that the law is complete by itself. Ut res

magis valeat quam pereat, that the courts should, if

reasonably possible not to do so without violence to the
spirit and language of an act, so interpret a statute as to
give it efficient operation and effect as a whole.
_________The fact that no reference is made to the prior law does not

mean that the two laws are in pari materia.

_________Two laws are in pari materia if they refer to different specific

matters, although they both fall under the same broad

subject.
_________Statutes in pari materia should not be construed together to

attain the purpose of an express national policy. For the

assumption is that whenever the legislature enacts a law, it
has in mind the previous statutes relating to the same
subject matter, and in the absence of any express repeal or
amendment, the new statute is deemed enacted in accord
with the legislative policy embodied in the prior statutes and
they should be construed together.
_________In enacting a statute, the legislature is presumed to have been

aware of, and have taken into account, prior laws on the
subject of legislation. It can be said that they intended the
establishment of conflicting and hostile systems on the same
subject, or to leave in force provisions of a prior law which
may thwart and overthrow the will of the legislature.
_________If two or more laws on the same subject cannot possibly be

reconciled or harmonized, one has to give way in favor of the

other. There can be two conflicting laws on the same subject.
The earlier one must yield to the later one, it being the later
expression of the legislative will.
_________The circumstance that the special law is passed before or after

the general act does change the principle. Where the special

law is later, it will be regarded as an exception to or

qualification of, the prior general act; and where the general
act is later, the special statute will be construed as
remaining an exception to its terms, unless repealed
expressly or by necessary implication.
_________The rule is absolute when one exception is that where the

legislature clearly intended the later general enactment to

cover the whole subject and to repeal all prior laws
inconsistent therewith, the general law prevails over a
special law on the subject. In such case, there is a repeal of
the special law.
_________The rule does apply where the situation is reversed, that is, the

general law treats the subject in particular and the special

law refers to it in general. In this situation, the general law
prevails over the special law in the event of repugnancy or
conflict between the two laws.
_________The reenactment may also be made by reference. Thus, where

a statute provides that all laws inconsistent with the

provisions thereof are deemed incorporated and made
integral parts thereof by reference, such previous laws on
the same subject matter are deemed enacted.