9] Delegation of Authority to the FDA 10] Autonomy of Local Govemments/ARMM DISCUSSION Before delving into the constitutionality of the RH Law and its implementing rules, it behooves the Court to resolve some procedural impediments. I. PROCEDURAL ISSUE: Whether the Court can exercise its power of judicial review over the controversy. The Power of Judicial Review In its attempt to persuade the Court to stay its judicial hand, the OSG asserts that it should submit to the legislative and political wisdom of Congress and respect the compromises made in the crafting of the RH Law, it being "a product of a majoritarian democratic process"75 and "characterized by an inordinate amount of transparency."76 The OSG posits that the authority of the Court to review social legislation like the RH Law by certiorari is "weak," since the Constitution vests the discretion to implement the constitutional policies and positive norms with the political departments, in particular, with Congress.77 It further asserts that in view of the Court's ruling in Southern Hemisphere v. Anti-Terrorism Council,78 the remedies of certiorari and prohibition utilized by the petitioners are improper to assail the validity of the acts of the legislature.79 Moreover, the OSG submits that as an "as applied challenge," it cannot prosper considering that the assailed law has yet to be enforced and applied to the petitioners, and that the government has yet to distribute reproductive health devices that are abortive. It claims that the RH Law cannot be challenged "on its face" as it is not a speech-regulating measure.80 In many cases involving the determination of the constitutionality of the actions of the Executive and the Legislature, it is often sought that the Court temper its exercise of judicial power and accord due respect to the wisdom of its co-equal branch on the basis of the principle of separation of powers. To be clear, the separation of powers is a fundamental principle in our system of government, which obtains not through express provision but by actual division in our Constitution. Each department of the government has exclusive cognizance of matters within its jurisdiction and is supreme within its own sphere.81 Thus, the 1987 Constitution provides that: (a) the legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines;82 (b) the executive power shall be vested in the President of the Philippines;83 and (c) the judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law.84 The Constitution has truly blocked out with deft strokes and in bold lines, the allotment of powers among the three branches of government.85 In its relationship with its co-equals, the Judiciary recognizes the doctrine of separation of powers which imposes upon the courts proper restraint, born of the nature of their functions and of their respect for the other branches of government, in striking down the acts of the