CHAPTER 1: GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

POLITICAL LAW The 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
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW I The study of the structure and powers
of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines
MALOLOS CONSTITUTION The first constitution of the Philippines
during the time of Emilio Aguinaldo
TREATY OF PARIS The treaty which provided for the cession of
the Philippine Islands by Spain to the United States
FIRST PHILIPPINE COMMISSION Made a fact-finding survey of the
Philippine Islands and submit appropriate recommendations to the U.S.
Congress; also known as SCHURMAN COMMISSION
TAFT COMMISSION Took over all the legislative powers and some of
the executive and judicial powers of the military governor
JONES LAW Established a Philippine Legislature consisting of a
Senate and a House of Representatives
TYDINGS-MCDUFFIE ACT Authorized the establishment of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines

CHAPTER 2: THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES

1987 CONSTITUTION The fourth fundamental law to govern the
Philippines since it became independent on July 4, 1946.
Features of 1987 Constitution: a. Consists of 18 articles; and b.
excessively long compared to the 1935 Constitution (includes
provisions that should have embodied only in implementing
statutes to be enacted by the legislature pursuant to the basic
constitutional principles). It also has some portions that sound like
a political speech rather than a formal document stating only the basic
precepts.
Previous Constitutions: a. Malolos Constitution; b. Commonwealth
Constitution; and c. 1973 Constitution.

SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION

[if !supportLists]- [endif]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.
The Constitution must be quintessential rather than superficial, the
root and not the blossom, the base and framework only of the edifice
that is yet to rise.

CHAPTER 3: THE CONCEPT OF THE STATE

STATE A community of persons, 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
NATION indicates a relation of birth or origin and implies a common
race, usually characterized by community of language and customs
THE STATE IS A LEGAL CONCEPT, WHILE THE NATION IS ONLY A
RACIAL OR ETHNIC CONCEPT.
ELEMENTS OF A STATE:
[if !supportLists]A. [endif]PEOPLE refers to the inhabitants of
the state
[if !supportLists]- [endif]Must be numerous enough to be self-
sufficing and to defend themselves
[if !supportLists]- [endif]Small enough to be administered and
sustained
[if !supportLists]- [endif]Must come from both sexes to be able to
perpetuate themselves
[if !supportLists]B. [endif]TERRITORY the fixed portion of the
surface of the earth inhabited by the people of the State
[if !supportLists]- [endif]Terrestrial domain, the inland and external
waters, which make up the maritime and fluvial domain, and the air
space above the land and waters, which is called the aerial domain
[if !supportLists]- [endif]Article I: 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.
[if !supportLists]- [endif]ARCHIPELAGO DOCTRINE we connect
the outermost points of our archipelago with straight baselines and
consider all the waters enclosed thereby as internal waters.
[if !supportLists]C. [endif]GOVERNMENT the agency or
instrumentality through which the will of the State is formulated
expressed and realized
[if !supportLists]- [endif]Philippine government is democratic and
republican
[if !supportLists]- [endif]To promote the welfare of the people
[if !supportLists]- [endif]FUNCTIONS: Constituent and
Ministrant
Constituent constitute the very bonds of society and are therefore
compulsory. Example: Keeping of order and providing for the
protection of persons and property from violence and robbery; Fixing
of legal relations between husband and wife and between parents and
children; the definition and punishment of crimes; and etc
Ministrant those undertaken to advance general interests of the
society, such as public works, public charity, and regulation of trade
and industry. These functions are optional.
[if !supportLists]- [endif]DOCTRINE OF PARENS PATRIAE the
important tasks of the government is to act as guardian of the rights of
the people.
[if !supportLists]- [endif]DE JURE AND DE FACTO
GOVERNMENTS:
DE JURE a government that has rightful title but no power or control,
either because this has been withdrawn from it or because it has not
yet actually entered into the exercise thereof
DE FACTO a government of fact, that is, it actually exercises power
or control but without legal title
Kinds of de facto government:
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]The government that gets possession
and control, or usurps, by force or by the voice of the majority,
the rightful legal government and maintains itself against the
will of the latter, such as the government of England under the
Commonwealth, first by Parliament and later by Cromwell as
Protector
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]That established as an independent
government by inhabitants of a country who rise in
insurrection against the parent state, such as the government
of the Southern Confederacy in revolt against the Union during
the war of secession in the United States
[if !supportLists]3. [endif]That which is established and
maintained by military forces who invade and occupy a
territory of the enemy in the course of war, and which is
denominated as a government of paramount force, such as the
cases of Castine in Maine, which was reduced to a British
possession in the war of 1812, and of Tampico, Mexico,
occupied during the war with Mexico by the troops of the
United States
[if !supportLists]- [endif]GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
the corporate governmental entity through which the functions of
government are exercised throughout the Philippines, including, save
as the contrary, appears from the context, the various arms through
which political authority
[if !supportLists]D. [endif]SOVEREIGNTY the supreme and
uncontrollable power inherent in a State by which that State is
governed
Two kinds: Legal and political
Legal sovereignty is the authority which has the power to issue
final commands
Political sovereignty is the power behind the legal sovereign,
or the sum of the influences that operate upon it
INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL
Internal sovereignty refers to the power of the State to control
its domestic affairs
External sovereignty, which is the power of the State to direct
its relations with other States, is also known as independence
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOVEREIGNTY:
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]PERMANENT
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]EXCLUSIVE
[if !supportLists]3. [endif]COMPREHENSIVE
[if !supportLists]4. [endif]ABSOLUTE
[if !supportLists]5. [endif]INDIVISIBLE
[if !supportLists]6. [endif]INALIENABLE
[if !supportLists]7. [endif]IMPRESCRIPTIBLE
Where there is a change of sovereignty, the political law of the former
sovereign are not merely suspended but abrogated.. .. Non-political
laws, by contrast, continue in operation, for the reason also that they
regulate private relations only, unless they are changed by the new
sovereign or are contrary to its institutions.
Act of State
An act of State is an act done by the sovereign power of a
country, or by its delegate, within the limits of the power vested in
him. An act of the State cannot be questioned or made the subject of
legal proceedings in a court of law.
CHAPTER 4: THE DOCTRINE OF STATE IMMUNITY
The State may not be sued without its consent.
The general rule is that, for a state to be sued, it shall waive
its immunity.
Principle of the sovereign equality of States
One State cannot assert jurisdiction over another in violation
of the maxim par in parem non habet imperium. To do so would
unduly vex the peace of nations.
Sue against a public officer
It is understood, of course, that where a public officer acts
without or in excess of jurisdiction, any injury caused by him is his own
personal liability and cannot be imputed to the State.
Forms of Consent:
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]Express may be manifested either
through a general law or a special law
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]Implied given when the State itself
commences litigation or when it enters into a contract
Act No. 3083: "The Government of the Philippine Islands hereby
consents and submits to be sued upon any moneyed claim involving
liability arising from contract, express or implied, which could serve as
a basis of civil action between private parties.
A claim against the government must first be filed with the
Commission on Audit, which must act upon it within sixty days.
Rejection of the claim will authorize the claimant to elevate the matter
to the Supreme Court on certiorari and in effect sue the State with its
consent.
If the claim is about just compensation, where the State
uses a private land for public purposes, it is not required to file
the claim with the Auditor General (Commission on Audit). In
addition, if the suit does not involve money, to file with the
Commission on Audit is not needed.
GARNISHMENT OF FUNDS
The universal rule that where the State gives its consent to
be sued by private parties either by general or special law, it may limit
claimants action only up to the completion of proceedings anterior to
the stage of execution and that the power of courts ends when the
judgement is rendered, since government funds and properties may
not be seized under writs of execution or garnishment to satisfy such
judgments, is based on obvious considerations of public policy.
Disbursements of public funds must be covered by the corresponding
appropriation as required by law. The functions and public services
rendered by the State cannot be allowed to be paralyzed or disrupted
by the diversion of public funds from their legitimate and specific
objects, as appropriated by law.
.. that funds of public corporations which can sue and be sued were
not exempt from garnishment.
SUITS AGAINST GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
Where suit is filed not against the government itself or its
officials but against one of its entities, it must be ascertained whether
or not the State, as the principal that may ultimately be held liable,
has given its consent to be sued.

KINDS OF AGENCY
[if !supportLists]1. [endif]INCORPORATED AGENCY has a charter
of its own that invests it with a separate juridical personality, like the
SSS and University of the Philippines. It is suable if the charter says
so.
[if !supportLists]2. [endif]UNINCORPORATED AGENCY has no
separate juridical personality but is merged in the general machinery
of the government, like the Department of Justice, the Bureau of Mines
and the Government of Printing Office. Any suit filed against it is an
action against the Philippine Government.
SUABILITY the result of the express or implied consent of the State
to be sued
LIABILITY is determined after hearing on the basis of relevant laws
and the established facts.
Supreme Court held a municipality liable for a tort committed in
connection with the celebration of a town fiesta, which was considered
a proprietary function.

CHAPTER 5: FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES

Preamble
We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of
Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and
establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations,
promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and
secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence
and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice,
freedom, love, equality and peace, do ordain and promulgate this
Constitution.
The Preamble is not considered a source of substantive right since its
purpose is only to introduce, to walk before, the Constitution.
REPUBLICANISM a representative government, a government run
by and for the people. Its essence is representation and renovation.
INCORPORATION CLAUSE Every State, is by reason of its
membership in the family of nations, bound by the generally accepted
principles of international law, which are considered to be
automatically part of its own laws.
Social Justice
Social Justice is neither communism, nor despotism, nor
atomism, nor anarchy, but the humanization of laws and the
equalization of social and economic forces by the State so that justice
in its rational and objectively secular conception may at least be
approximated. Social Justice means the promotion of the welfare of all
the people, the adoption by the Government of measures calculated to
insure economic stability of all the component elements of society,
through the maintenance of a proper economic and social equilibrium
in the interrelations of the members of the community,
constitutionality, through the adoption of measures legally justifiable,
or extra-constitutionally, through the exercise of powers underlying the
existence of all governments on the time-honored principle of salus
populi est suprema lex.
ARTICLE II
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES PRINCIPLES
Section 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State.
Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority
emanates from them.
Section 2. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national
policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as
part of the law of the land and adheres to the policy of peace, equality,
justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.
Section 3. Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and
the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the
integrity of the national territory.
Section 4. The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect
the people. The Government may call upon the people to defend the
State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under
conditions provided by law, to render personal, military or civil service.
Section 5. The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life,
liberty, and property, and promotion of the general welfare are
essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of
democracy.
Section 6. The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.
STATE POLICIES
Section 7. The State shall pursue an independent foreign policy. In its
relations with other states, the paramount consideration shall be
national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest, and the
right to self-determination.
Section 8. The Philippines, consistent with the national interest,
adopts and pursues a policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in its
territory.
Section 9. The State shall promote a just and dynamic social order
that will ensure the prosperity and independence of the nation and free
the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social
services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an
improved quality of life for all.
Section 10. The State shall promote social justice in all phases of
national development.
Section 11. The State values the dignity of every human person and
guarantees full respect for human rights.
Section 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall
protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social
institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of
the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of
parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the
development of moral character shall receive the support of the
Government.
Section 13. The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-
building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual,
intellectual, and social well-being. It shall inculcate in the youth
patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public
and civic affairs.
Section 14. The State recognizes the role of women in nation-building,
and shall ensure the fundamental equality before the law of women
and men.
Section 15. The State shall protect and promote the right to health of
the people and instill health consciousness among them.
Section 16. The State shall protect and advance the right of the
people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm
and harmony of nature.
Section 17. The State shall give priority to education, science and
technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and
nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human
liberation and development.
Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic
force. It shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.
Section 19. The State shall develop a self-reliant and independent
national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.
Section 20. The State recognizes the indispensable role of the private
sector, encourages private enterprise, and provides incentives to
needed investments.
Section 21. The State shall promote comprehensive rural
development and agrarian reform.
Section 22. The State recognizes and promotes the rights of
indigenous cultural communities within the framework of national unity
and development.
Section 23. The State shall encourage non-governmental, community-
based, or sectoral organizations that promote the welfare of the nation.
Section 24. The State recognizes the vital role of communication and
information in nation-building.
Section 25. The State shall ensure the autonomy of local
governments.
Section 26. The State shall guarantee equal access to opportunities
for public service and prohibit political dynasties as may be defined by
law.
Section 27. The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the
public service and take positive and effective measures against graft
and corruption.
Section 28. Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the
State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its
transactions involving public interest.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM

http://www.ciesin.org/decentralization/English/General/Differen
t_forms.html
Political Decentralization
Political decentralization aims to give citizens or their elected
representatives more power in public decision-making. It is often
associated with pluralistic politics and representative government, but
it can also support democratization by giving citizens, or their
representatives, more influence in the formulation and implementation
of policies. Advocates of political decentralization assume that
decisions made with greater participation will be better informed and
more relevant to diverse interests in society than those made only by
national political authorities. The concept implies that the selection of
representatives from local electoral jurisdictions allows citizens to know
better their political representatives and allows elected officials to
know better the needs and desires of their constituents.
Political decentralization often requires constitutional or statutory
reforms, the development of pluralistic political parties, the
strengthening of legislatures, creation of local political units, and the
encouragement of effective public interest groups.
Administrative Decentralization
Administrative decentralization seeks to redistribute authority,
responsibility and financial resources for providing public services
among different levels of government. It is the transfer of responsibility
for the planning, financing and management of certain public
functions from the central government and its agencies to field units of
government agencies, subordinate units or levels of government, semi-
autonomous public authorities or corporations, or area-wide, regional
or functional authorities.
The three major forms of administrative decentralization --
deconcentration, delegation, and devolution -- each have different
characteristics.
Deconcentration. which is often considered to be the weakest form
of decentralization and is used most frequently in unitary states--
redistributes decision making authority and financial and management
responsibilities among different levels of the centralgovernment. It
can merely shift responsibilities from central government officials in
the capital city to those working in regions, provinces or districts, or it
can create strong field administration or local administrative capacity
under the supervision of central government ministries.
Delegation. is a more extensive form of decentralization. Through
delegation central governments transfer responsibility for decision-
making and administration of public functions to semi-autonomous
organizations not wholly controlled by the central government, but
ultimately accountable to it. Governments delegate responsibilities
when they create public enterprises or corporations, housing
authorities, transportation authorities, special service districts, semi-
autonomous school districts, regional development corporations, or
special project implementation units. Usually these organizations have
a great deal of discretion in decision-making. They may be exempt
from constraints on regular civil service personnel and may be able to
charge users directly for services.
Devolution. A third type of administrative decentralization is
devolution. When governments devolve functions, they transfer
authority for decision-making, finance, and management to quasi-
autonomous units of local government with corporate status.
Devolution usually transfers responsibilities for services to
municipalities that elect their own mayors and councils, raise their own
revenues, and have independent authority to make investment
decisions. In a devolved system, local governments have clear and
legally recognized geographical boundaries over which they exercise
authority and within which they perform public functions. It is this type
of administrative decentralization that underlies most political
decentralization.