The Philippine Legal System

The Philippine legal system is predominantly derived from Spanish and

American law, and its laws are enacted by Congress.
Having been under the colonial rule of Spain and subsequently the nited
States, it is not surprising that the Philippines would base much of its laws
and court system on the Spanish and American models. The !evised Penal
Code "law which de#nes and punishes crimes$, for e%ample, is mostly
derived from Spanish criminal law. &aws a'ecting commerce "such as
negotiable instruments, ban(s, corporations and securities$, on the other
hand, are of American origins. )n fact, the Philippine Constitution itself is
modeled after the S Constitution.
*espite the similarities of the Philippine legal system with Spanish and
American laws, however, there are still portions of Philippine law that are
endemic to the Philippines. +or e%ample, the barangay conciliation panels ,
through which most controversies involving residents of the same city or
municipality must pass through before they are litigated in court , are
uniquely +ilipino. Also, unli(e in the nited States, there is no -ury system in
the Philippines.
Branches of Government
nderstanding the government structure of the Philippines is essential in
getting a clear picture of the Philippine legal system. nder the Constitution,
governmental powers in the Philippines is divided among three institutions.
e%ecutive, legislative and -udicial. The e%ecutive branch, headed by the
president, enforces the laws/ the legislative branch , made up of the House
of !epresentatives and Senate "collectively called Congress$ , ma(es the
laws/ and the -udicial branch "through the Supreme Court and lower courts
established by Congress$, also called the -udiciary, interprets the laws.
Primary Source of Philippine Laws
Philippine laws come primarily from laws enacted by Congress. +or this
reason the Philippines is considered a civil law -urisdiction, as opposed to a
common law -urisdiction which is primarily based on court decisions
developed by -udges through the years. The modern trend, however, is
blurring this distinction because most common law -urisdictions , li(e the
nited States, 0reat 1ritain and its former colonies , are starting to codify
"pass as statutes through congressional acts$ their laws. 2n the other hand,
even civil law -urisdictions li(e the Philippines have embraced the common
law practice of courts adhering to past decisions and being guided by them
in deciding similar cases, which is called the doctrine of stare decisis.
&aws passed by Congress are called 3!epublic Acts,3 followed by their
appropriate number. *uring the 4arcos Administration, laws were
called Batas Pambansa, if passed by Congress "which was then
parliamentary in form$, and Presidential *ecree if passed by +erdinand 5.
4arcos. 4arcos then e%ercised contemporaneous legislative powers. Also,
after the late Cora6on Aquino came into power and before the 789:
Constitution was adopted, she e%ercised sole legislative powers under her
revolutionary government, and laws passed by her bear the title 35%ecutive
2rder.3
Administrative Regulations
!egulatory agencies and departments of the government under the
e%ecutive branch also issue rules that have the force of law. Strictly
spea(ing, however, these are not laws and are appropriately called
implementing rules or administrative regulations because they merely
implement laws enacted by Congress. These agencies or departments derive
their authority through delegation of power by Congress.
Court Decisions
Court decisions handed down by the Supreme Court, which is the country;s
highest court, have the force and e'ect of law. Although not laws in their
strict meaning as applied to the Philippines, these are laws in the sense that
they say what the law is. *ecisions handed down by lower courts, however,
do not have this e'ect.
A unique feature of Philippine law is the power conferred on the Supreme
Court under Article <))), Section ="=$ of theConstitution. nder this provision,
the Supreme Court is granted rule,ma(ing power in the protection and
enforcement of constitutional rights, court proceedings, practice of law and
legal assistance to the underprivileged. This provision empowers the
Supreme Court to promulgate rules on the enumerated areas that have the
force and e'ect of law.
nternational Law
1y e%press provision of Article )), Section > of the Philippine Constitution, the
Philippines considers the generally accepted principles of international law as
part of the law of the land. This is (nown as the incorporation clause.
According to )sagani Cru6 inPhilippine Political Law, in case of irreconcilable
con?ict between Philippine law proper and international law the former
prevails.
Local Legislations
Aside from the national government which includes the three branches
above,mentioned, the Philippines is divided into several political units, each
being conferred with limited governmental powers. These are the provinces
"made up of several cities and municipalities$, cities, municipalities and the
barangays. Sub-ect to certain limitations and provided they do not
contravene the Constitution and laws passed by Congress, each of these
political units can enact regulations applicable within their respective
territorial -urisdictions. These regulations are called 3ordinances.3
!eferences.
789: Philippine Constitution/
Cruz, Isagani A. Philippine Political &aw. Central &aw 1oo( Publishing. @ue6on
City. 7887.