CHAPTER 10- EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
proclaimed.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
- The main motivation of the framers in writing of
Article VII was to prevent the recurrence of another
despot (a ruler who has total power and uses that
power in cruel and unfair ways) like the discredited
ex-dictator Marcos.
EXECUTIVE POWER
- Article VII Section 1, reproduces the original rule
in the 1935 Constitution that:
Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in the
President of the Philippines.
- Executive power is briefly described as the power
to enforce and administer the law.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Qualifications are prescribed for public office to
ensure the proper performance of powers and duties.
In case of the highest office in the land, Article VII
Section 2, provides as follows:
Section 2. No person may be elected President unless
he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a
registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty
years of age on the day of the election, and a resident
of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately
preceding such election.
- The above qualifications are exclusive.
1) A natural born citizen is one who is a citizen of the
Philippines from birth without having to perform any
act to acquire or perfect his Philippine citizenship.
- Naturalized citizen, who acquires his Philippine
citizenship after birth by any of the modes allowed
by law.
2) Registration as voter connotes possession of the
qualifications for suffrage as enumerated in Article
V Section 1 of the constitution.
3) The age qualification should be possessed by the
candidate on the day of the election for President
regardless of the time the President-elect is actually
4) The residence qualification is retained at ten years;
the object is to ensure close touch by the President
with the country and familiarity with its conditions
and problems.
ELECTION AND PROCLAMATION
- The President and the vice-president are elected by
the direct vote of the people.
- Unless otherwise provided by law, the regular
presidential election shall be held at six-year
intervals on the second Monday of May.
- The canvass of the election returns and the
proclamation of the winners shall be conducted
under Article VII Section 4, as follows:
Section 4. The President and the Vice-President shall
be elected by direct vote of the people for a term of
six years which shall begin at noon on the thirtieth
day of June next following the day of the election and
shall end at noon of the same date, six years
thereafter. The President shall not be eligible for any
re-election. No person who has succeeded as
President and has served as such for more than four
years shall be qualified for election to the same office
at any time.
No Vice-President shall serve for more than two
successive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the
office for any length of time shall not be considered
as an interruption in the continuity of the service for
the full term for which he was elected.
Unless otherwise provided by law, the regular
election for President and Vice-President shall be
held on the second Monday of May.
The returns of every election for President and Vice-
President, duly certified by the board of canvassers
of each province or city, shall be transmitted to the
Congress, directed to the President of the Senate.
Upon receipt of the certificates of canvass, the
President of the Senate shall, not later than thirty
days after the day of the election, open all the
certificates in the presence of the Senate and the
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House of Representatives in joint public session, and
the Congress, upon determination of the authenticity
and due execution thereof in the manner provided by
law, canvass the votes.
The person having the highest number of votes shall
be proclaimed elected, but in case two or more shall
have an equal and highest number of votes, one of
them shall forthwith be chosen by the vote of a
majority of all the Members of both Houses of the
Congress, voting separately.
The Congress shall promulgate its rules for the
canvassing of the certificates.
The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the sole
judge of all contests relating to the election, returns,
and qualifications of the President or Vice-
President, and may promulgate its rules for the
purpose.
- As the canvass is regarded merely ministerial, the
Congress shall not have the power to inquire into or
decide questions of alleged irregularities in the
conduct of the elections.
- As long as the election returns are duly certified and
appear to be authentic, the Congress shall have no
duty but to canvass the same and to proclaim as
elected the person receiving the highest number of
votes.
- Under this section, the Supreme Court, sitting en
banc, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating
to the election, returns and qualifications of the
President or Vice-President and may promulgate its
rules for the purpose.
- Pursuant to this provision, the SC promulgated in
2010 its Rules establishing the Presidential Electoral
Tribunal (PET), which provided for its membership
(consisting of the members of the SC), the authority
of its Chairman to appoint employees and
confidential employees of every member thereof, for
the establishment of a separate “Administrative Staff
of the Tribunal” and the provision for a “seal”
separate and distinct from the SC.
- SC declared that PET is an institution independent
but not separate from the judicial department. It only
has functions peculiar only to the tribunal.
TERM
- The term of the President (and VP) is fixed by
Section 4 as follows:
Section 4. The President and the Vice-President shall
be elected by direct vote of the people for a term of
six years which shall begin at noon on the thirtieth
day of June next following the day of the election and
shall end at noon of the same date, six years
thereafter. The President shall not be eligible for any
re-election. No person who has succeeded as
President and has served as such for more than four
years shall be qualified for election to the same office
at any time.
- President is not eligible for re-election
- The term of the President is fixed at only six years,
but it was extended by a few months in the case of
Pres. Aquino. Although her term began Feb 25, 986,
it was provided in Article XVIII Section 5, that “The
six-year term of the incumbent Pres and VP elected
in the feb 7, 1986, hereby extended to noon of June
30, 1992” The next regular election for the Pres and
VP was held on the Second Monday of that year.
THE VICE-PRESIDENT
- VP shall be elected directly by the people, for the
same term of six years and may be removed also only
through the process of impeachment.
- His qualifications are the same as those of the
President.
- The VP is eligible for the position of member of the
Cabinet and when appointed as such does not need
confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.
The new provisions on the office of the VP are as
follows:
Section 3. There shall be a Vice-President who shall
have the same qualifications and term of office and
be elected with, and in the same manner, as the
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President. He may be removed from office in the
same manner as the President.
The Vice-President may be appointed as a Member
of the Cabinet. Such appointment requires no
confirmation.
Section 4(2) No Vice-President shall serve for more
than two successive terms. Voluntary renunciation of
the office for any length of time shall not be
considered as an interruption in the continuity of the
service for the full term for which he was elected.
Section 9. Whenever there is a vacancy in the Office
of the Vice-President during the term for which he
was elected, the President shall nominate a Vice-
President from among the Members of the Senate
and the House of Representatives who shall assume
office upon confirmation by a majority vote of all the
Members of both Houses of the Congress, voting
separately.
- VP is allowed to serve as such for two successive
terms.
PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION
- There are two sets of rules on presidential
succession, one found in (1) Section 7 on vacancies
occurring before the President’s term and the other
in (2) Section 8 on vacancies occurring afterwards.
The two provisions read as follows:
Section 7. The President-elect and the Vice
President-elect shall assume office at the beginning
of their terms.
If the President-elect fails to qualify, the Vice
President-elect shall act as President until the
President-elect shall have qualified.
If a President shall not have been chosen, the Vice
President-elect shall act as President until a
President shall have been chosen and qualified.
If at the beginning of the term of the President, the
President-elect shall have died or shall have become
permanently disabled, the Vice President-elect shall
become President.
Where no President and Vice-President shall have
been chosen or shall have qualified, or where both
shall have died or become permanently disabled, the
President of the Senate or, in case of his inability, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall act as
President until a President or a Vice-President shall
have been chosen and qualified.
The Congress shall, by law, provide for the manner
in which one who is to act as President shall be
selected until a President or a Vice-President shall
have qualified, in case of death, permanent
disability, or inability of the officials mentioned in
the next preceding paragraph.
Section 8. In case of death, permanent disability,
removal from office, or resignation of the President,
the Vice-President shall become the President to
serve the unexpired term. In case of death,
permanent disability, removal from office, or
resignation of both the President and Vice-President,
the President of the Senate or, in case of his inability,
the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall
then act as President until the President or Vice-
President shall have been elected and qualified.
The Congress shall, by law, provide who shall serve
as President in case of death, permanent disability,
or resignation of the Acting President. He shall serve
until the President or the Vice-President shall have
been elected and qualified, and be subject to the
same restrictions of powers and disqualifications as
the Acting President.
- The cases contemplated in the FIRST SECTION
are:
(1) death or permanent disability of the president-
elect
(2) failure to elect the president, as where the canvass
of the presidential elections has not yet been
completed or where for one reason or another the
presidential election has not been held.
(3) failure of the president-elect to qualify, that is, to
assume his office by taking the oath and entering into
discharge of his duties..
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- In the first case, the VP-elect shall become the
president
- In other two cases, the VP-elect shall merely act as
a president until such time as the President shall have
been chosen and qualified.
- The Second Section deals with vacancies occurring
in the Office of the President during his incumbency
and is limited to four specified situations:
(1) death
(2) permanent disability; Ex. Incurable insanity
(3) removal
(4) resignation
- the following additional rules on presidential
disability were originally embodied in a statute only
but have now been transferred to the Constitution:
Section 11. Whenever the President transmits to the
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House
of Representatives his written declaration that he is
unable to discharge the powers and duties of his
office, and until he transmits to them a written
declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties
shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting
President.
Whenever a majority of all the Members of the
Cabinet transmit to the President of the Senate and
to the Speaker of the House of Representatives their
written declaration that the President is unable to
discharge the powers and duties of his office, the
Vice-President shall immediately assume the powers
and duties of the office as Acting President.
Thereafter, when the President transmits to the
President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the
House of Representatives his written declaration that
no inability exists, he shall reassume the powers and
duties of his office. Meanwhile, should a majority of
all the Members of the Cabinet transmit within five
days to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker
of the House of Representatives, their written
declaration that the President is unable to discharge
the powers and duties of his office, the Congress
shall decide the issue. For that purpose, the
Congress shall convene, if it is not in session, within
forty-eight hours, in accordance with its rules and
without need of call.
If the Congress, within ten days after receipt of the
last written declaration, or, if not in session, within
twelve days after it is required to assemble,
determines by a two-thirds vote of both Houses,
voting separately, that the President is unable to
discharge the powers and duties of his office, the
Vice-President shall act as President; otherwise, the
President shall continue exercising the powers and
duties of his office.
Section 12. In case of serious illness of the President,
the public shall be informed of the state of his health.
The members of the Cabinet in charge of national
security and foreign relations and the Chief of Staff
of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, shall not be
denied access to the President during such illness.
OATH OF OFFICE
- The taking of the oath of office by the president-
elect marks his formal assumption of his duties. The
prescribed oath is provided for as follows:
Section 5. Before they enter on the execution of their
office, the President, the Vice-President, or the
Acting President shall take the following oath or
affirmation:
“I do solemnly swear [or affirm] that I will faithfully
and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President [or
Vice-President or Acting President] of the
Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution,
execute its laws, do justice to every man, and
consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So
help me God.” [In case of affirmation, last sentence
will be omitted].
- The oath is not a source of substantive power but is
merely intended to deepen the sense of responsibility
of the President and ensure a more conscientious
discharge of office.
PERQUISITES AND INHIBITION
- Article VII Section 6 provides for the perquisites of
the President and VP as follows:
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Section 6. The President shall have an official
residence. The salaries of the President and Vice-
President shall be determined by law and shall not
be decreased during their tenure. No increase in said
compensation shall take effect until after the
expiration of the term of the incumbent during which
such increase was approved. They shall not receive
during their tenure any other emolument from the
Government or any other source.
- Emolument is the profit arising from office or
employment; that which is annexed to the possession
of office, as salary, fees and perquisites; advantage,
gain, public or private.
- President cannot accept other employment,
whether in the government or in private sector and
must confine himself to the duties of his office,
although in case of the VP, he may be appointed to
the Cabinet.
- VP may not receive additional compensation in the
second capacity because of absolute prohibition in
the above provision.
- The following inhibitions are also provided by
Section 13:
Section 13. The President, Vice-President, the
Members of the Cabinet, and their deputies or
assistants shall not, unless otherwise provided in this
Constitution, hold any other office or employment
during their tenure. They shall not, during said
tenure, directly or indirectly, practice any other
profession, participate in any business, or be
financially interested in any contract with, or in any
franchise, or special privilege granted by the
Government or any subdivision, agency, or
instrumentality thereof, including government-
owned or controlled corporations or their
subsidiaries. They shall strictly avoid conflict of
interest in the conduct of their office.
The spouse and relatives by consanguinity or affinity
within the fourth civil degree of the President shall
not, during his tenure, be appointed as Members of
the Constitutional Commissions, or the Office of the
Ombudsman, or as Secretaries, Undersecretaries,
chairmen or heads of bureaus or offices, including
government-owned or controlled corporations and
their subsidiaries.
- These inhibitions are in line with the principle that
a public office is a public trust and should not be
abused for personal advantage.
- Except for the VP, all the officers above-mentioned
are now inhibited from holding any other office or
employment in the government during their tenure.
- The Second paragraph of the provision, is intended
as a guaranty against nepotism, hitherto prohibited
only by statute.
- The court clarified that the “prohibition against
holding dual or multiple offices or employment
under Sec 13 must not be construed as applying to
posts occupied by the Executive officials specified
therein without additional compensation in an ex-
officio capacity as provided by law and as required
by the primary functions of said official’s office.
- The reason is that these posts do not
comprise “any other office” within the
contemplation of the constitutional prohibition but
are properly an imposition of additional duties and
functions on said officials.
- The second paragraph of Section 13 prohibits the
president from appointing his spouse and relatives by
consanguinity and affinity within 4th civil degree as
members of Constitutional Commission, Office of
the Ombudsman, or as Secretaries, Undersecretaries
………. The prohibition applies only during his
tenure. This prohibition does not preclude him from
appointing his aforesaid relatives to the judiciary.
EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE
- Defined as “the power of the Government to
withhold information from the public, the courts and
the congress” or as “the right of the President and
high-level executive branch officers to withhold
information from congress, courts and ultimately the
public”
- Executive privilege has generally been construed to
refer to the so called informer’s privilege, the
privilege accorded to presidential communications,
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deliberative process privilege and diplomatic
negotiations privilege.
(a) Informer’s privilege – the privilege of the
government not to disclose the identity of a person or
persons who furnish information on violations of law
to officers charged with the enforcement of that law.
(b) Privilege accorded to presidential
communications – which are presumed privileged
without distinguishing between those which involve
matters of national security and those which do not,
the rationale for the privilege being that “a frank
exchange of exploratory ideas and assessments, free
from the glare of publicity is essential to protect the
independence of decision-making of those tasked to
exercise Presidential, Legislative and Judicial Power.
- it applies to the decision making of the President
rooted in the constitutional principle of separation of
powers.
Elements of Presidential Communications
Privilege
(1) protected communication must relate to a
“quintessential and non-delegable presidential
power” such as the power to enter into executive
agreements.
(2) the communication must be authored or solicited
and received by a close advisor of the President such
as a member of the cabinet or the president himself.
(3) Presidential communications privilege remains a
qualified privilege that may be overcome by a
showing of adequate need, such that the information
sought likely contains important evidence and by the
unavailability of the information elsewhere by an
appropriate investigating authority.
- the privilege accorded to presidential
communications is not absolute, being that ‘the
Executive cannot, any more than the other branches
of government, invoke a general confidentiality
privilege to shield its officials and employees from
investigations by the proper governmental
institutions into possible criminal wrongdoing’
- This qualification applies whether the privilege is
being invoked in the context of a judicial trial or a
congressional investigation conducted in aid of
legislation.
- Unlike the deliberative process privilege, the
presidential communications privilege applies to
documents in their entirety and covers final and post-
decisional materials as well as pre-deliberative ones.
(c) Deliberative process privilege – cover
documents reflecting advisory opinions,
recommendations and deliberations comprising part
of a process by which governmental decisions and
policies are formulated.
(d) Diplomatic Negotiations privilege – meant to
encourage a frank exchange of exploratory ideas
between the negotiating parties by shielding such
negotiations from public view.
- when congress exercises its power of inquiry, the
only way for department heads to exempt themselves
is by a valid claim of privilege. They are not exempt
by mere fact that they are department heads.
- Executive privilege is not a personal privilege, but
one that adheres to the office of the president. It
exists to protect public interest and not to benefit a
particular public official.
- Executive Privilege covers President’s
conversations and correspondences, military,
diplomatic and other national security matters which,
in the interest of national security, should not be
divulged.
PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY
 Settled is the doctrine that the President,
during his tenure of office or actual
incumbency, may not be sued in any civil or
criminal case, and there is no need to provide
for it in the Constitution or law. It will
degrade the dignity of the high office of the
President, the Head of State, if he can be
dragged into court litigations while serving
such.
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 Furthermore, it is important that he be freed
from any form of harassment, hindrance or
distraction to enable him to fully attend to
then performance of his official duties and
functions.
 Unlike the legislative and judicial branch,
only one constitutes the executive branch and
anything which impairs his usefulness in the
discharge of the many great and important
duties imposed upon him by the Constitution
necessarily impairs the operation of the govt.

7
 CHAPTER 11- POWERS OF THE
PRESIDENT
 Leadership of the President as head of state
and chief executive of the Republic of the
Phls is displayed by him not only in the
enforcement of laws but also in their
enactment, as well as in the conduct of
foreign affairs, the command of the armed
forces, the administration of the govt and
even the crystallization of public opinion on
vital issues.
 President has the power to reorganize the
offices and agencies in the executive
department in line with his constitutionally
granted power of control over executive
offices and by virtue of a previous delegation
of the legislative power to reorganize
executive offices under existing statues.
 In DAVID VS ARROYO, the SC ruled that
the President does not have the authority to
promulgate decrees. President Proclamation
1017 was declared unconstitutional which
authorized her to issue decrees. SC held that
legislative power is peculiarly within the
province of the Legislature and neither
Martial Law nor a state of rebellion nor a
state of emergency can justify President
Arroyo’s exercise of legislative power by
issuing decrees.
 ORDINANCE POWERS OF THE
THE APPOINTING POWER
PRESIDENT (under Chapter 2, Book III of
EO No. 292, or Administrative Code of
1987):
1. EXECUTIVE ORDERS – acts of the
President providing for rules of a general or
permanent character in implementation or
execution of constitutional or statutory
powers.
2. ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS – acts of
the President which relate to particular
aspects of governmental operations in
pursuance of his duties as administrative
head
3. PROCLAMATIONS – acts of the President
fixing a date or declaring a status or condition
of public moment or interest, upon the
existence of which the operation of a specific
law or regulation is made to depend and
which shall have the force of an executive
order
4. MEMORANDUM ORDERS – defined as
acts of the President on matters of
administrative detail or of subordinate or
temporary interest which only concern a
particular officer or office of the govt
5. MEMORANDUM CIRCULARS – refer to
acts of the president on matters relating to
internal administration, which the President
desires to bring to the attention of all or some
of the departments, agencies, bureaus or
offices of the govt, for information or
compliance
6. GENERAL OR SPECIAL ORDERS –
refer to acts and commands of the President
in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces of the Phls
 Following is the discussion of the specific
powers vested in the President by the
Constitution.
 ARTICLE VII, SECTION 16
 APPOINTMENT – may be defined as the
selection, by the authority vested with the
power, of an individual who is to exercise the
functions of a given office.
 It has likewise been defined as the “act of
designation by the appointing officer, body or
board, to whom that power has been
delegated, of the individual who is to exercise
the functions of a given office”
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 Although intrinsically executive and prescribe the qualifications to an
therefore pertaining mainly to the President, appointive office.
the appointing power may be exercised by the
legislature and by the judiciary, as well as the
Constitutional Commissions, over their own  There are now SIX CATEGORIES of
respective personnel officials who are subject to the appointing
power of the President:
 An appointment may be made verbally but is
usually done in writing through what is called 1. The heads of the executive depts.
the commission. The COMMISSION is the
2. Ambassadors, other public ministers and
written evidence of an appointment.
consuls
 PERMANENT APPOINTMENTS – are
3. Officers of the armed forces from the rank of
those extended to persons possessing the
colonel or naval captain
requisite eligibility and are thus protected by
the constitutional provision on security of 4. Those other officers whose appointments are
tenure. vested in him by the Constitution
 TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS – 5. All other officers of the govt whose
which are given to persons without such appointments are not provided for by law
eligibility, are revocable at will and without
6. Those whom he may be authorized by law to
the necessity of just cause or a valid
appoint
investigation.
 In the 1987 Constitution, however, as already
 Appointments, whether permanent or
pointed out, the clear and expressed intent of
temporary, are distinguished from
its framers was to exclude presidential
designation in that the latter means simply the
appointments from confirmation by the
imposition of additional duties, usually by
Commission on Appointments, except
law, on a person already in the public service.
appointments to offices expressly mentioned
 DESIGNATION connotes an imposition of in the first sentence of Sec. 16, Article VII.
additional duties, usually by law, upon a
person already in the public service by virtue
of an earlier appointment.  The USUAL STEPS in the appointing
process are:
 Both the temporary appointment and the
designation are not subject to confirmation a. NOMINATION – made by the President
by the Commission on Appointments.
b. CONFIRMATION – prerogative of the
 The power to appoint is essentially executive Commission on Appointments
in nature, and the legislature may not
c. ISSUANCE OF THE COMMISSION –
interfere with the exercise of this executive
also done by the President. This is where the
power except in those instances when the
appointment is regular
Constitution expressly allows it to interfere.
 On the other hand, in case of the AD
o The scope of the legislative’s
INTERIM APPOINTMENT the
interference in the executive’s power
appointment comes before the confirmation,
to appoint is limited to the power to
which is made by the Commission when it
reconvenes following the legislative recess.
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 DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE
REGULAR APPOINTMENT and AD
INTERIM APPOINTMENT:
1. The REGULAR is made during the
legislative session; the AD INTERIM is
made during the recess
2. The REGULAR is made only after the
nomination is confirmed by the Commission
on Appointments; the AD INTERIM is made
before such confirmation
3. The REGULAR once confirmed by the
Commission on Appointments, continues
until the end of the term of the appointee; the
AD INTERIM shall cease to be valid if
disapproved by the Commission on
Appointments or upon the next adjournment
of the Congress. In the latter case, the
appointment is deemed “by-passed” through
inaction of, and so disapproved impliedly by,
the Commission on Appointments
 In MATIBAG VS BENIPAYO, the SC
clarified that an “ad interim appointment is a
permanent appointment because it takes
effect immediately and can no longer be
withdrawn by the President once the
appointee has qualified into office. The fact
that it is subject to confirmation by the
Commission on Appointments does not alter
its permanent character. The Constitution
itself makes an ad interim appointment
permanent in character by making it effective
until disapproved by the Commission on
Appointments or until the next adjournment
of Congress.
 The ad interim appointment is intended to
prevent a hiatus in the discharge of official
duties.
 The President’s power of appointment may
also be limited by the Congress through its
power to prescribe qualifications for public
office. The judiciary for its part may annul an
appointment made by the President if the
appointee has not been validly confirmed or
does not possess the required qualifications.
 An appointment is deemed complete only
upon its acceptance. Pending such
acceptance, which is optional to the
appointee, the appointment may still be
validly withdrawn.
 TWO SPECIAL LIMITATION on the
appointing power:
a. ART. VII, SEC. 14 – this provision
emphasizes the caretaker capacity of the
Acting President but at the same time allows
the elected President to ratify his
appointments by mere inaction during the
specified 90 days.
b. ART. VII, SEC. 15 – the purpose of this
provision is to prevent the use, or abuse, of
the appointing power for the purpose of
enlisting political support in exchange for
some appointive office in the govt. This will
also prevent the “midnight appointments”
that may otherwise be issued by an outgoing
President.
 In DE CASTRO VS JBC, the SC declared
that the prohibited appointments under Sec.
15 do not cover appointments to the SC.
o The Constitutional Commission
confined the prohibition to
appointments made in the Executive
Dept. The framers did not need to
extend the prohibition to
appointments in the Judiciary,
because their establishment of the
JBC and their subjecting the
nomination and screening of
candidates for judicial positions to the
unhurried and deliberate prior process
of the JBC ensured that there would
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 no longer be midnight appointments
to the Judiciary.
(1) THE REMOVAL POWER
 From the express power of appointment, the
President derives the implied power of
removal.
 However, it is not correct to say that all
officials appointed by him are also removable
by him since the Constitution prescribes
certain methods for the separation from the
public service of some such officers.
 In all other cases where the power of removal
is lodged in the President, the same may be
exercised by him only for cause as may be
provided by law and in accordance with the
prescribed administrative procedure.
o The XPN only is with respect to the
members of the Cabinet or other
executive officials whose term of
office is determined at the pleasure of
the President
THE CONTROL POWER
 “The president shall have control of all the
executive departments, bureaus and offices.
He shall ensure that the laws be faithfully
executed.”
 CONTROL – defined as the power of an
officer to alter or modify or nullify or set
aside what a subordinate officer had done in
the performance of his duties and to
substitute the judgment of the former for that
of the latter.
o It includes the authority to order the
doing of an act by a subordinate or to
undo such act or to assume a power
directly vested in him by law.
o Control is a stronger power than mere
supervision, which means
“overseeing or the power or authority
of an officer to see that subordinate
officers perform their duties. If the
latter fail or neglect to fulfill them,
then the former may take such action
or steps as prescribed by law to make
them perform these duties.
 DOCTRINE OF QUALIFIED
POLITICAL AGENCY – department
secretaries are alter egos or assistants of the
President and their acts are presumed to be
those of the latter unless disapproved or
reprobated by him.
The doctrine essentially postulates that the heads of
the various executive departments are the alter egos
of the President, and, thus, the actions taken by such
heads in the performance of their official duties are
deemed the acts of the president unless the president
himself should disapprove such acts.
o This doctrine would not be applicable
to acts of cabinet secretaries done in
their capacity as ex officio board
directors of a GOCC of which they
become members not by appointment
of the President but by authority of
law.
THE “TAKE-CARE” CLAUSE
 The power to take care that the laws be
faithfully executed makes the President a
dominant figure in the administration of the
government. The energy or indifference with
which he discharges this power will
determine the measure of his success as Law
Enforcer.
 The law he is supposed to enforce includes
the Constitution itself, statues, judicial
decisions, administrative rules and
regulations and municipal ordinances, as well
as treaties entered into by our government.
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  It has been suggested that the president is not
under obligation to enforce a law which in his
belief is unconstitutional because it would
create no rights and confer no duties, being
totally null and void.
 Hence, until and unless a law is declared
unconstitutional, the President has a duty to
execute it regardless of his doubts on its
validity.
THE MILITARY POWER
 ARTICLE VII, SECTION 18
 This section bolsters the principle announced
in Art. 2, Section 3, that “civilian authority is,
at all times, supreme over the military.” By
making the president the commander-in-
chief of all the armed forces, the Constitution
lessens the danger of a military take-over of
the government in violation of its republican
nature.
 The military establishment is the strongest
single institution in the country and could
easily employ its physical force to wrest
power from the civilian authorities.
 It should be noted that although the president
is made the commander-in-chief of all the
armed forces, he will be so only if there are
armed forces to command.
 These forces will be raised by the Congress
in the exercise of its general legislative
power, and particularly under Art. 2, Sec.4,
providing that the Govt 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.
 The MILITARY POWER enables the
president to:
1. Command all the armed forces of the
Philippines
2. Suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus
3. Declare Martial Law
(1) COMMAND OF THE ARMED FORCES
- The power of the sword makes the President
the most important figure in the country in
times of war or other similar emergency.
- Grounds: (Art. VII, Section 18)
(a) Lawless violence
(b) Invasion
(c) Rebellion
Court martial- agencies of executive character
which may be convened by the President
independently of legislation and by virtue only of his
constitutional function as commander-in-chief.
These courts do not pertain to the judiciary and are
utilized by him in properly commanding and
enforcing discipline in the armed forces.
- As long as the civil courts in the land remain
open and are regularly functioning, military
tribunals cannot try and exercise jurisdiction
over civilian for offenses committed by them
and which are properly cognizable by the
civil courts.
IBP vs. Zamora
The calling-out power of the President involves
“ordinary police action”, which ordinarily not entitle
him to “invoke a greater power when he wishes to act
under a lesser power”.
David vs. Arroyo
The president cannot call the military to enforce and
implement certain laws, such as customs laws, laws
governing family and property relations, laws on
obligations and contract and the like. He can only
order the military to enforce laws pertinent to its duty
to suppress lawless violence.
- It is only the President who is authorized to
exercise the calling-out power. Accordingly,
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 a provincial governor cannot validly issue a
proclamation calling upon the PNP and Civil
emergency force to “set up check points and
choke points, conduct general search and
seizures including arrests, and other actions
necessary to ensure public safety.
- As the chief executive, the president has the
general responsibility to promote public
peace, and as a commander-in-chief, she has
the more specific duty to prevent and
suppress rebellion and lawless violence.
Rodriguez vs. Macapagal-Arroyo
The President may be held accountable for extra-
judicial killings on the basis of Doctrine of
Command Responsibility:
Requisites:
1. Existence of superior-subordinate
relationship between the accused as superior
and the perpetrator of the crime as his
subordinate
2. The superior knew or had reason to know that
the crime was about to be or had been
committed.
3. The superior failed to take the necessary and
reasonable measures to prevent the criminal
acts or punish the perpetrators thereof.
(2) HABEAS CORPUS
- Power to suspend the privilege of writ of
habeas corpus.
- Grounds: (Art. VII, Section 18)
(a) Invasion
(b) Rebellion
- Limitation: may be revoked by the Congress
or the SC in proper cases.
Article III, section 15
SECTION 15. The privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of
invasion or rebellion when the public safety requires
it.
Writ of Habeas Corpus
- This a writ directed to the person detaining
another, commanding him to produce the
body of the prisoner at a designated time and
place, with the day and cause of his caption
and detention, to do, to submit to, and receive
whatever the court or judge awarding the writ
shall consider in his behalf.
- What is permitted to be suspended by the
president is NOT the writ itself but its
privilege.
- This means that when the court receives an
application for the writ, and it finds the
petition in proper form, it will issue the writ.
The court will issue an order commanding the
production before the court of the person
allegedly detained, at a time and place stated
in the order, and requiring the true cause of
his detention to be shown in the court. If the
return to the writ shows that the person in
custody was apprehended and detained in the
areas where the privilege of the writ has been
suspended or for crimes mentioned in the
executive proclamation, the court will
suspend further proceedings in the action.
Lansang vs. Garcia
SC declared that it had the power to inquire into the
factual basis of the suspension of the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus and to annul the same if no
legal ground could be established.
- Article III, Section 13, the right to bail shall
not be impaired even if the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus is suspended.
(3) MARTIAL LAW
- Refers to that law which has application
when the military arm does not supersede
civil authority but is called upon to aid it in
the execution of its civil function.
- Grounds: (Art. VIII, Section 18)
a. Invasion
b. Rebellion
- The declaration of Martial Law has no further
legal effect that to warn the citizens “that the
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 military powers have been called upon by the
executive to assist him in the maintenance of
law and order and that while the emergency
lasts, they must, upon pain of arrest and
punishment, not commit any act which will
in any way render difficult the restoration of
order and the enforcement of law.
- When the martial law is declared, no new
powers are given to the executive; no
extension of arbitrary authority is recognized;
no civil rights of the individuals are
suspended.
(4) LIMITATIONS ON THE MILITARY
POWERS
1. He may call out the armed forces when it
becomes necessary to prevent or suppress
lawless violence, invasion or rebellion only.
2. The grounds for the suspension of the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and the
proclamation of martial law are now limited
only to invasion or rebellion, when the public
safety requires it.
3. The duration of such suspension or
proclamation shall not exceed 60 days,
following which it shall be automatically
lifted.
4. Within 48 hours after such suspension or
proclamation, the President shall personally
or in writing report his action to the Congress.
If not in session, Congress must convene
within 24 hrs without need of a call.
5. The congress may then, by majority vote of
all its members voting jointly, revoke his
action.
6. The revocation may not be set aside by the
President.
7. By the same vote and in the same manner, the
Congress may, upon initiative of the
President, extend his suspension or
proclamation for a period to be determined by
the Congress if the invasion or rebellion shall
continue and the public safety requires it.
8. The action of the President and the Congress
shall be subject to review by the SC which
shall have the authority to determine the
sufficiency of the factual basis of such action.
This matter is no longer considered a political
question and may be raised in an appropriate
proceeding by any citizen. Moreover, the SC
must decide the challenge within 30 days
from the time it is filed.
The power to declare a state of martial law is
subject to the SC’s authority to review the
factual basis thereof. The calling-out power,
which is of lesser gravity than the power to
declare martial law, is bestowed upon the
President alone.
9. Martial law does not automatically suspend
the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or
the operation of the Constitution. The civil
courts and legislative bodies shall remain
open. Military courts and agencies are not
conferred jurisdiction over civilians where
the civil courts are functioning.
10. The suspension of the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus shall apply only to persons
facing charges of rebellion or offenses
inherent in or directly connected with
invasion.
PARDONING POWER
Article VII, Section 19:
SECTION 19. Except in cases of impeachment, or as
otherwise provided in this Constitution, the
President may grant reprieves, commutations and
pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, after
conviction by final judgment.
He shall also have the power to grant amnesty with
the concurrence of a majority of all the Members of
the Congress.
- Executive clemency- is granted for the
purposes of relieving the harshness of the law
or correcting mistakes in the administration
of justice.
- Example: a person already serving sentence
by virtue of a final judgment may be extended
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 a pardon if it is subsequently discovered that
he is innocent.
- The exercise of pardoning power is
discretionary in the President and may not
controlled by the legislature or reversed by
the courts, save only when it contravenes the
limitations.
(1) DEFINITIONS
Pardon- is an act of grace which exempts the
individual on whom it is bestowed from the
punishment which the law inflicts for the crime
he has committed.
Commutation- is a reduction or mitigation of the
penalty. (ex. When the death sentence is reduced
to life imprisonment)
Reprieve- is merely a postponement of a
sentence to a date certain, or a stay of execution.
It may be ordered to enable the government to
secure additional evidence to ascertain the guilt
of the convict or, in the case of execution of the
death sentence upon a pregnant woman, to
prevent the killing of her unborn child.
(2) LIMITATIONS
1. The pardon cannot be granted in cases of
impeachment.
- An impeachment proceeding is not a judicial,
much less a criminal, prosecution and
therefore does not essentially come under the
pardoning power.
- HOWEVER, the party convicted in an
impeachment proceeding is subject to
prosecution, trial and punishment in an
ordinary criminal action and in this case can
be extended a pardon.
2. No pardon can be granted for the violation of
any election law, rule or regulation without
the favorable recommendation of the
COMELEC.
- Not every offense committed on election day
is to be considered an election offense.
- Example: several persons convicted of
having committed on that day the crime of
qualified theft as punished under the RPC
could be validly pardoned without the
necessity of a favorable recommendation
from the COMELEC.
3. Pardon can be granted only after conviction
of final judgment.
In addition to the foregoing constitutional
limitations, a pardon cannot be extended to a person
convicted of legislative contempt, as this would
violate the doctrine of separation of powers, or of
civil contempt since this would involve the benefit
not of the State itself but of the private litigant whose
rights have been violated by the contemner.
Pardon cannot also be extended for the purpose of
absolving the pardonee of civil liability, including
judicial costs, since again, the interest that is remitted
does not belong to the State but to the private litigant.
Pardon also will not restore offices forfeited.
(3) KINDS OF PARDON
Absolute Pardon- one extended without any strings
attached.
Conditional Pardon- one under which the convict is
required to comply with certain requirements.
Plenary Pardon- extinguishes all the penalties
imposed upon the offender, including accessory
disabilities, whereas a partial pardon does not.
- Where the pardon is conditional, the
offender has the right to reject it since he may
feel that the condition imposed is more
onerous than the penalty sought to be
remitted.
- In the case of an absolute pardon, the
pardonee has no option at all and must accept
it whether he likes it or not. In this sense, an
absolute pardon is similar to commutation.
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Espuelas vs. Provincial Warden of Bohol Probation may be Presupposes the prior
granted before actual service of part of the
Mere commission, not necessarily conviction by the service of sentence. sentence.
court, of any other crime, is enough in order that the
petitioner may be deemed to have violated the
condition of his parole or pardon. (6) AMNESTY
- Can be granted by the President only with the
concurrence of the Congress. This
(4) EFFECTS OF PARDON concurrence must be given by a majority of
- The legal effect of a pardon is to restore not all the members of the Congress.
only the offender’s liberty but also his civil Vera vs. People of the Philippines
and political rights.
The present rule requires a previous admission of
Monsato vs. Factoran guilt since a person would not need the benefit of
Pardon does not ipso facto restore a convicted felon amnesty unless he were, to begin with, guilty of the
to public office necessarily relinquished or forfeited offense covered by the proclamation.
by reason of the conviction although such pardon Distinctions between amnesty and pardon:
undoubtedly restores his eligibility for appointment
to that office. AMNESTY PARDON
Addressed to crimes Condones infractions of
- A pardon will not relieve the pardonee of the against the sovereignty the peace of the State.
civil liability or such other claims as may of the State, to political
pertain to private litigants, it will, however, offenses, forgiveness
have the effect of remitting fines and being deemed more
forfeitures which otherwise will inure to the expedient for the public
interests of the government itself. welfare than
prosecution and
punishment.
Generally addresses to Usually addressed to an
(5) DISTINCTIONS
classes or even individual.
PARDON PAROLE communities of
Involves a release of the Involves only a release persons.
convict with restoration of the convict from There may or may not There must be distinct
of liberty. imprisonment but not a be distinct acts or acts of acceptance.
restoration of his acceptance, so that if
liberty. other rights are
Pardonee- the sentence Parolee is still in dependent upon it and
is condoned, subject custody of law although are asserted, there is
only to reinstatement in no longer under affirmative evidence of
case of violation of the confinement. acceptance.
condition that may have Requires the Does not require the
been attached to the concurrence of the concurrence of the
pardon. Congress. congress.
Amnesty is a public act Private act of the
which the courts take president which must be
PROBATION PAROLE judicial notice. pleaded and proved by
Judicial Executive the person pardoned
because the courts do

16
 not take judicial notice legislative powers, may not interfere in the
of it. field of treaty negotiations.
Amnesty looks Pardon looks forward - While Art. VII, Section 21 provides for
backward and abolishes and relieves the Senate concurrence, such pertains only to the
and puts into oblivion offender from the validity of the treaty under consideration, not
the offense itself. consequences of an to the conduct of negotiations attendant to its
The person released by offense of which he has conclusion.
amnesty stands before been convicted.
- Only the Senate has been given the authority
the law precisely as
though he had to concur as a means of checking the treaty-
committed no offense. making power of the President.
- Treaties and other international agreements
concluded by the President are also subject to
THE BORROWING POWER check by the SC, which has the power to
SECTION 20. The President may contract or declare them unconstitutional.
guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the Republic of
the Philippines with the prior concurrence of the THE BUDGETARY POWER
Monetary Board, and subject to such limitations as
may be provided by law. The Monetary Board shall, SECTION 22. The President shall submit to the
within thirty days from the end of every quarter of the Congress within thirty days from the opening of
calendar year, submit to the Congress a complete every regular session, as the basis of the general
report of its decisions on applications for loans to be appropriations bill, a budget of expenditures and
contracted or guaranteed by the Government or sources of financing, including receipts from existing
government-owned and controlled corporations and proposed revenue measures.
which would have the effect of increasing the foreign - This power is properly entrusted to the
debt, and containing other matters as may be executive department as it is the president
provided by law. who, as chief administrator and enforcer of
laws, is in the best position to determine the
needs of the government and propose the
DIPLOMATIC POWER corresponding appropriations therefor on the
- The president is supposed to be the basis of existing or expected sources of
spokesman of the nation on external affairs. revenue.
In this capacity, he may deal with the foreign - “The congress may not increase the
states and governments, extend or withhold appropriations recommended by the
recognition, maintain diplomatic relations, President for the operation of the government
enter into treaties, and otherwise transact the as specified in the budget.”
business of foreign relations.
- He is also vested with the power to conclude
treaties, except: THE INFORMING POWER

SECTION 21. No treaty or international agreement SECTION 23. The President shall address the
shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at Congress at the opening of its regular session. He
least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate. may also appear before it at any other time.

- The treaty-making power is exclusive to the - In his discretion, he may or may not give
President. Congress, while possessing vast information to the legislature, although he

17
 will usually choose to do so for practical
reasons.
- The President usually discharges the
informing power through what is known as
the SONA, which is delivered at the opening
of a regular session of the legislature. He may
also appear before it at any other time for the
same purpose.

OTHER POWERS
- Power to call the Congress to special session,
to approve or veto bills, to consent to the
deputization of the government personnel by
the COMELEC, to discipline its deputies,
and by delegation, to exercise emergency and
tariff powers.

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