Constitutional Law I

Read Outline Review in Political Law by Justice Nachcura pp. 1-31/ Isagani Cruz
pp 1-30)
The secret to getting ahead is getting started

The 1987 Constitution

A. Constitution: definition, nature and concepts
(2012 Bar) Constitution is defined by Cooley as:
a. a body of statutory, administrative and political provisions by which the
three branches of government are defined;
b. a body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of
sovereignty are habitually exercised;
c. a body of rules and edicts emanating from the rulings of courts and
written guidelines of the executive and the legislature by which
government is governed;
d. a body of interpretations and rules by which the three branches of
government are judged for purposes of sovereign compliance with good
corporate governance.
Definition

A constitution is a system of fundamental laws for the governance

and administration of a nation. It is supreme, imperious, absolute
and unalterable except by the authority from which it emanates.

It has been defined as the fundamental and paramount law of the

nation.

It prescribes the permanent framework of a system of government,

assigns to the different departments their respective powers and
duties, and establishes certain fixed principles on which
government is founded. (Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS, 335 Phil.
101 [1997])

Doctrine of Constitutional Supremacy

Under the doctrine of constitutional supremacy, if a law or contract

violates any norm of the constitution that law or contract whether promulgated
by the legislative or by the executive branch or entered into by private persons
for private purposes is null and void and without any force and effect. Thus,
since the Constitution is the fundamental, paramount and supreme law of the
nation, it is deemed written in every statute and contract. (Manila Prince
Hotel v. GSIS, 335 Phil. 101 [1997])
(You can skip pages 5-10 of Nachura on the brief history)
Dont stop when youre tired. Stop when youre DONE!

Parts of the Constitution:

Essential Parts of the Constitution
A. Constitution of Government (Art. VI-XI)
B. Constitution of Liberty (Art. III-V, XII-XV)
C. Constitution of Sovereignty (Art. XVII)
The Preamble is not an essential part of the Constitution. Preamble is not a
source of rights or of obligations, it is useful as an aid in ascertaining the
meaning of ambiguous provisions in the body of the Constitution.
Self-executing and non-self-executing provisions
As a general rule, the provisions of the Constitution are considered selfexecuting, and do not require future legislation for their enforcement.
Amendment or Revision
ARTICLE XVII Section 1.
Any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution may be proposed by:
(1) The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members; or
(2) A constitutional convention.
Section 2. Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly
proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least
twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every
legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the
registered voters therein. No amendment under this section shall be

authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution

nor oftener than once every five years thereafter.
The Congress shall provide for the implementation of the exercise of this
right.
Section 3. The Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of all its Members,
call a constitutional convention, or by a majority vote of all its Members,
submit to the electorate the question of calling such a convention.
Section 4. Any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution under
Section 1 hereof shall be valid when ratified by a majority of the votes
cast in a plebiscite which shall be held not earlier than sixty days nor
later than ninety days after the approval of such amendment or revision.
Any amendment under Section 2 hereof shall be valid when ratified
by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite which shall be held not
earlier than sixty days nor later than ninety days after the certification by
the Commission on Elections of the sufficiency of the petition.
(2007 Bar) True or False. Briefly explain your answer.
a. An amendment to the Constitution shall be valid upon a vote of threefourths of all the Members of the Congress.
(2009 Bar) What are the essential elements of a valid petition for a people's
initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution? Discuss.
Dont stress
Do your best
Forget the rest

The Power of Judicial Review

The power of judicial review is set forth in Section 1, Article VIII of the
Constitution, to wit:
ARTICLE VIII, Section 1

The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such
lower courts as may be established by law.
Judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice to settle actual
controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable,
and to determine whether or not there has been a grave abuse of discretion
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or
instrumentality of the Government.
The power of judicial review power of judicial review which is the
authority to examine an executive or legislative act and to invalidate that act if
it is contrary to constitutional principles.
The Doctrine of Political Questions:
A political question is one the resolution of which has been vested by
the Constitution exclusively in either the people, in the exercise of their
sovereign capacity, or in which full discretionary authority has been delegated
to a co-equal branch of the Government.
Thus, while courts can determine questions of legality with respect to
governmental action, they cannot review government policy and the wisdom
thereof, for these questions have been vested by the Constitution in the
Executive and Legislative Departments.
IBP v. Zamora, et al [G.R. No. 141284. August 15, 2000]
As a general proposition, a controversy is justiciable if it refers to a
matter which is appropriate for court review.
It pertains to issues which are inherently susceptible of being decided on
grounds recognized by law.
Nevertheless, the Court does not automatically assume jurisdiction over
actual constitutional cases brought before it even in instances that are ripe for
resolution.
One class of cases wherein the Court hesitates to rule on are political
questions.

The reason is that political questions are concerned with issues

dependent upon the wisdom, not the legality, of a particular act or measure
being assailed.
Moreover, the political question being a function of the separation of
powers, the courts will not normally interfere with the workings of another coequal branch unless the case shows a clear need for the courts to step in to
uphold the law and the Constitution.
As Taada v. Cuenco puts it, political questions refer to those questions
which, under the Constitution, are to be decided by the people in their
sovereign capacity, or in regard to which full discretionary authority has been
delegated to the legislative or executive branch of government.
(1989 Bar) Where is judicial power vested? What are included in such
power?

The Concept of a State

Elements
Population
The most basic characteristic of the state is population. As a human
organization the state cannot be formed without some people.
Territory
The second characteristic of the state is territory or a fixed geographical
area on the earth.

National Territory
ARTICLE I, Section 1
The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the
islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the
Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial
and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the
insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around, between, and
connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and
dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.
Archipelagic Doctrine
The Archipelagic Doctrine emphasizes the unity of land and waters by
defining an archipelago either as a group of islands surrounded by waters or a
body of waters studded with islands. For this purpose, it requires that
baselines be drawn by connecting the appropriate points of the "outermost
islands to encircle the islands within the archipelago. The waters on the
landward side of the baselines regardless of breadth or dimensions are merely
internal waters.
(1989 Bar) What do you understand by the archipelagic doctrine? Is this
reflected in the 1987 Constitution?
Government
The state must possess an organized Government. It is the machinery
through which the state must exercise its supreme power.
Sovereignty
The fourth and the most important element, or characteristic of the state
is sovereignty. Sovereignty means supreme power or ultimate authority. The
state is independent of any foreign control.