Legislative history used to interpret unclear legal provisions

It is a well-established principle that in the interpretation of an ambiguous provision of law, the history of the enactment of the law may be used as an extrinsic aid to determine the import of the legal provision or the law. History of the enactment of the statute constitutes prior laws on the same subject matter. Legislative history necessitates review of the origin, antecedents and derivation of the law in question to discover the legislative purpose or intent. It can be assumed that the new legislation has been enacted as continuation of the existing legislative policy or as a new effort to perpetuate it or further advance it. (G.R. No. 169080; December 19, 2007)