Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code. An express repeal is one wherein a
statute declares, usually in its repealing clause, that a particular and specific
law, identified by its number or title, is repealed.[35] Absent this specific
requirement, an express repeal may not be presumed.
Although the title of Republic Act No. 9369 particularly mentioned the
amendment of Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, or the Omnibus Election Code, to wit:
An Act Amending Republic Act No. 8436, Entitled "An Act Authorizing
the Commission on Elections to Use an Automated Election System x x
x, Amending for the Purpose Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, As
Amended x x x. (Emphasis ours.),
said title explicitly mentions, not the repeal, but the amendment of Batas
Pambansa Blg. 881. Such fact is indeed very material. Repeal of a law means its
complete abrogation by the enactment of a subsequent statute, whereas
the amendment of a statute means an alteration in the law already existing, leaving
some part of the original still standing.[36]Section 80 of the Omnibus Election Code
is not even one of the specific provisions of the said code that were
expressly amended by Republic Act No. 9369.
Additionally, Section 46,[37] the repealing clause of Republic Act No. 9369, states
that:
Sec. 46. Repealing Clause. All laws, presidential decrees, executive
orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with the
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.