commission of the offense: Provided, That the court where the criminal action is first
filed shall acquire jurisdiction to the exclusion of other courts: Provided, however,
That the aforestated provisions shall also apply to those criminal actions that have
already been filed in court at the time of the effectivity of this Act.
…
SEC. 10. Money Claims. – Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the
Labor Arbiters of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) shall have the
original and exclusive jurisdiction to hear and decide, within ninety (90) calendar days
after the filing of the complaint, the claims arising out of an employer-employee
relationship or by virtue of any law or contract involving Filipino workers for
overseas deployment including claims for actual, moral, exemplary and other forms of
damages.
Sec. 40.
The departments and agencies charged with carrying out the provisions of this Act
shall, within ninety (90) days after the effectiviy of this Act, formulate the necessary
rules and regulations for its effective implementation.
According to the respondent, the said provisions violate Section 5(5), Article VIII of
the Constitution[11] because they impair the power of the Supreme Court to promulgate
rules of procedure.
In their answer to the petition, the petitioners alleged, inter alia, that (a) the
respondent has no cause of action for a declaratory relief; (b) the petition was
premature as the rules implementing Rep. Act No. 8042 not having been released as
yet; (c) the assailed provisions do not violate any provisions of the Constitution; and, (d)
the law was approved by Congress in the exercise of the police power of the State. In
opposition to the respondent’s plea for injunctive relief, the petitioners averred that:
As earlier shown, the amended petition for declaratory relief is devoid of merit for
failure of petitioner to demonstrate convincingly that the assailed law is
unconstitutional, apart from the defect and impropriety of the petition. One who
attacks a statute, alleging unconstitutionality must prove its invalidity beyond
reasonable doubt (Caleon v. Agus Development Corporation, 207 SCRA 748). All
reasonable doubts should be resolved in favor of the constitutionality of a statute
(People v. Vera, 65 Phil. 56). This presumption of constitutionality is based on the
doctrine of separation of powers which enjoin upon each department a becoming
respect for the acts of the other departments (Garcia vs. Executive Secretary, 204
SCRA 516 [1991]). Necessarily, the ancillary remedy of a temporary restraining order
and/or a writ of preliminary injunction prayed for must fall. Besides, an act of