Chapter 1: General Considerations

Scope of the Study

Political Law is that branch of public law which deals with the organization and operations of the
governmental organs of the State and defines the relations of the State with the inhabitants of
its territory.

Necessity for the Study

Required subject in the law course

Every citizen, regardless of calling, should understand the mechanics and motivations of his
government.
Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
Active involvement in public affairs of every Filipino that the success of the Republic of the
Philippines will depend.
Fundamental law all educational institutions shall include the study of the Constitution as part
of the curricula

Basic of the Study

1987 Constitution February 2, 1987

Background of the Study

Scattered tribes throughout the Philippines

Governed by a datu or a council of elders
Magellan discovery of the Philippines in 1521 333 years
Philippine Revolution Bonifacio and Aguinaldo, Ended Spanish sovereignty
June 12, 1898 Philippine Independence
January 21, 1899 First Philippine Republic, Aguinaldo as President
Malolos Constitution first democratic constitution in Asia Parliamentary system but a
president not a prime minister as head of the government
Treaty of Paris December 10, 1898, cession of the Philippine islands by Spain to the United
States
American colonization organized a military government but consolidation of executive,
legislative, and judicial authority in the military governor
Transition from military to civilian rule
Schurman Commission aka First Philippine Commission to make a fact-finding survey of the
Philippines and submit appropriate recommendations to the U.S. Congress
Taft Commission aka Second Philippine Commission took over all legislative powers and some
of the executive and judicial powers of the military governor
July 4, 1901 Civil Government established, William Howard Taft as first governor
Philippine Assembly 1907, to sit with the Philippine Commission in a bicameral legislature
Sergio Osmena Speaker of the Philippine Assembly until its dissolution in 1916
 Jones Law aka Philippine Autonomy Act established a Philippine Legislature consisting of a
Senate and a House of Representatives
Manuel L. Quezon President
Sergio Osmena speaker
Tydings-McDuffie Act 1935 Authorized the establishment of the Commonwealth of the
Philippines
Constitutional Convention framed 1935 Constitution, ratified May 14
Inauguration of Commonwealth Government November 15, 1935, Quezon as first president
and Osmena as vice president
Second Republic of the Philippines Jose P. Laurel, Japanese occupation
July 4, 1946 United States formally withdrew it sovereignty over the Philippines
Manuel Roxas asserted the freedom and proclaimed the Republic of the Philippines
Parliament of the streets student groups, mass demonstrations, some violent
Constitutional Convention of 1971 revision of 1935 Constitution
September 21, 1972 Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1081 Martial Law
November 30, 1972 draft of 1973 Constitution was formally approved by the Constitutional
Convention
January 10-15, 1973 meetings
January 17, 1973 Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1102, announced Constitution of 1973 has
been ratified
Issue of validity of the 1973 Constitution was later raised in what are known as the Ratification
Cases which were dismissed by the Supreme Court. Habeas Corpus Cases
January 17, 1981 - Marcos issued Proclamation No. 2045 lifting martial law
1985 Marcos with a questionable resignation
Phillippine Bar Association v. COMELEC on the ground inter alia that the vacancy contemplated
in Article VII Section 9 of the 1973 Constitution which would justify the call of a special
presidential election before the expiration of Marcoss term in 1987 was supposed to occur
before and not after the said election.
Denied petition and sustained the resignation and the call
February 7, 1986 Marcos and Arturo Tolentino (VP)
February 22, 1986 Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel Ramos people
power revolution
February 25, 1986 - Corazon C. Aquino and Salvador H. Laurel
Freedom Constitution pending adoption of a new constitution to be drafted by a Constitutional
Commission
February 2, 1987 16.6M in favor, 4.9M against
May 11, 1988 Congress election
May 11, 1992 Election, Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada, 24 senators, all elective members of
the House of Representatives and local officials
1988 Joseph Estrada as President, impeached 2 years later, forced out of office
January 20, 2001 - People Power at EDSA
VP Arroyo took oath as his constitutional successor
Estrada was arrested for plunder amidst the noisy objections of thousands of his symphatizers
who waged still another people power protest.
Oakwood Mutiny aka Bagong Katipuneros
 Arroyo for another term in 2004 winner, electoral fraud
Garci Tapes telephone conversations with a former COMELEC Commissioner, to rig or fix the
results in her favor
3 impeachment complaints against her dismissed by House of Representatives composed
largely of political allies
2006 Proclamation No. 1017, state of emergency
Graft and corruption charges
2010 won a seat in House of Representatives, re-elected to a second term in her home district
in Pampanga
2010 - Benigno Simeon C. Aquino Jr.

CHAPTER II THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES

1987 Constitution is the fourth fundamental law to govern the Philippines since it
became independent on July 4, 1946.
The first was Commonwealth Constitution adopted in 1935.
Proclamation of Republic of the Philippines
The second was 1973 Constitution. Enforced in Marcos regime
February 25, 1986 Freedom Constitution - Cory
Constitutional Commission Proclamation No. 9 Cory, composed of 50 members
appointed by her
September 2, 1986 deadline became October 15, 1986
February 2, 1987 plebiscite
 Main argument restrict powers of the Presidency as provided for in the Freedom
Constitution
Disorganized and consequently ineffective

Outstanding Features

18 articles, excessively long compared to 1935 and 1973 Constitution inclusion of previous
provisions
Most notable flaw verbosity and consequent prolixity that have dampened popular interest in
what should be the common interest of the people
Inclusion of certain topics that certainly have no place in a Constitution sports, love, drugs,
advertising
Tortuous (excessively lengthy and complex) language

Supremacy of the Constitution

The Constitution is the basic and paramount law to which all other laws must conform and to
which all persons, including the highest officials of the land, must defer.
No act shall be valid, however noble its intentions, if it conflicts with Constitution.
The Constitution must ever remain supreme.
All must bow to the mandate of this law.
Expediency must not be allowed to sap its strength nor greed for power debase its rectitude.
Right or wrong the Constitution must be upheld as long as it has not been changed by the
sovereign people lest its disregard result in the usurpation of the majesty of law by the
pretenders to illegitimate power.

CHAPTER III THE CONCEPT OF THE STATE

Definition

The State is a community of persons, Nation consists of states and not

more or less numerous, permanently
occupying a fixed territory, and
possessed of an independent
government organized for political ends
to which the great body of inhabitants
render habitual obedience.
nations, nasci to be born, indicates a
relation of birth or origin and munity of
language and customs
State is a legal concept
Nation is only a racial or ethnic concept
 Government is only an element of the State
State is the principal, the government its agent
The State itself is an abstraction; it is the government externalizes the State and articulates its
will.

Elements

People, Territory, Government, and Sovereignty

Montevideo Convention The Province of North Cotabato v. The Government of the Republic of
the Philippines Peace Panel on Ancestral Domain A permanent population, a defined
territory, a government and a capacity to enter into relations with other states
Bangsamoro people - natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao and its adjacent islands
including Palawan and the Sulu archipelago at the tme of conquest and colonization, and their
descendants whether mixed or of full blood, including their spouses.
The jurisdiction over the internal waters is not similarly described as joint
Bangsamoro Judicial Entity (BJE) AND Central Government agreement on an acknowledgement
as having the right to self-governance, Pat a Pangaampong ku Ranaw
BJE and Central government associated state

PEOPLE

Inhabitants of the State

Numerous enough to be self-sufficing and to defend themselves and small enough to be easily
administered and sustained.
Malcolm defines a nation as a people bound together by common attractions and repulsions
into a living organism possessed of a common pulse, a common intelligence and inspiration, and
destined apparently to have a common history and a common fate.

TERRITORY

Fixed portion of the surface of the earth inhabited by the people of the State
Neither be too big to be difficult to administer and defend nor too small as to be unable to
provide for the needs of the population
Components of Territory land mass Terrestrial Domain, inland and external water
Maritime and Fluvial Domain, air space above the land and waters Aerial Domain
Article I of the Constitution
The article has deleted reference to the territories we claim by historic right or legal title, but
this does not mean an outright or formal abandonment of such claim, which was best left to a
judicial body capable of passing judgment over the issue.
Archipelago Doctrine entire archipelago is regarded as one integrated unit instead of being
fragmented into so many thousand islands
As for territorial seas, these are now defined according to the Jamaica Convention on the Law of
the Sea, ratified in 1994, of which the Philippines is a signatory.
 Magallona v. Ermita The Philippines is a signatory of the Convention on the Territorial Sea and
the Contiguous Zone (UNCLOS I)
READ THE CASE!!!!!!!! 24 32
GOVERNMENT

Agency or instrumentality through which the will of the State is formulated, expressed and
realized
Our Constitution requires our government to be Democratic and Republican.
The State is an ideal person, invisible, intangible, immutable, and existing only in contemplation
of law; the government is an agent and, within the sphere of its agency, it is a perfect
representative, but outside of that it is a lawless usurpation.
The mandate of the government from the State is to promote the welfare of the people.
Whatever good is done by the government is attributed to the State but every harm inflicted on
the people is imputed not to the State but to the government alone.
Such injury may justify the replacement of the government by revolution in a development
known Direct State Action.

A. FUNCTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT

Two kinds of functions: Constituent and Ministrant
Constituent functions constitute the very bonds of society and are therefore compulsory
Ministrant functions are those undertaken to advance the general interests of society.
These functions are merely optional. Distinguishes the paternalistic government from
the merely individualistic government, which is concerned only with the basic function
of maintaining peace and order.
READ THE CASE! P. 35 37

B. DOCTRINE OF PARENS PATRIAE

Guardian of the rights of the people

Government of the Philippine Islands v. Monte de Piedad Earthquake relief money for
victims was never distributed and instead deposited with the defendant bank, the
defendant questioned the competence of the plaintiff , contending that the suit could be
instituted only by the intended beneficiaries themselves or by their heirs. The Supreme
Court rejected this view and upheld the right of the government to file the case for the
State as parens patriae in representation of the legitimate claimants.
READ CASES!!! P 38 39

C. DE JURE AND DE FACTO GOVERNMENTS

A de jure government has rightful title but no power of control, either because this has
been withdrawn from it or because it has not yet actually entered