UNITED STATES v BARRIAS 

acting upon the matter of legislation ​and
Tracey  not through the intervening mind of another
Facts of the case:
The defendant was charged with a violation of paragraph 70
and 83 of Circular No. 397 of the Insular Collector of Customs.
- 70: “No heavily loaded casco, lighter, or other similar
craft shall be permitted to move in the Pasig River
without being towed by steam or moved by other
adequate power.”
- 83: “For the violation of any of the foregoing
regulations, the person offending shall be liable to a
fine of not less than Php5 and not more than Php500,
in the discretion of the court.
- Conceding that the legislature could be delegate to
the authority to make rules and regulations, ​the 
penalty  for  the  violation  of  such  rules  and 
regulations is a matter purely in the hands of the 
legislature
- None of the subsequent statutes cited repealed the
said section of 1136.
- Judgment of the Court of First Instance as violation of
Acts No 355 and 1235 is ​revoked
o He is only convicted of misdemeanor and
punished by a fine of $25

Counsel of the defendant attacked the validity of paragraph 70

on 2 grounds:
1. Unauthorized by Section 19 of Act No. 355
2. Acts of the Philippine Commission bear the
interpretation of ​authorizing  the  Collector  to 
promulgate  such  a  law,  ​they are ​void​,  as 
constituting  an  illegal  delegation  of  legislative 
power

Attorney-General does not seek to sustain conviction and joins

the counsel for asking the release of prisoner on the first
ground that ​the rule of the Collector was unauthorized and 
illegal
- Expressly passing over the other question of the
delegation of legislative power

Issue: ​Whether the penal provision provided in the Circular is

valid

- By sections 1, 2, and 3 of Act No. 1136 – the

Collector of Customs is authorized to license crafts
engaged in lighterage or other exclusively harbor
business of the ports of the Islands.
- The penalties provided for the violation of the
provisions of the Act ​(Section 8) – Imprisonment for
not more than six months, or by a ​fine of not more 
than one hundred dollars​, or both at the discretion
of the court.

The Commissioner ​cannot  impose  a  different  range  of 

penalty different from that specified by Congress​. If the
Collector is allowed to do so, then in effect, it is as if he is
being delegated the power to legislate penalties.

- One of the settled maxims of Constitutional law is ​the 

power  conferred  upon  the  legislature  to  make 
laws can not be delegated by that department to 
any other body or authority
o Delegated power constitutes not only a right
but a duty to be performed by the delegate
by the instrumentality of his own judgment
UNITED STATES v PANLILIO 
Moreland 

Facts of the case: