The Inevitability of Conflicts When Schools of Jurisprudence Coexist

Marianne Angeline S. Esteria

11338180
LEGPHIL Final Paper
De La Salle University – Manila
marianne_esteria@dlsu.edu.ph

Through the discussion of the separatioin of Church and State in the Philippines, I will show
that the legal system in the country is diverse. Through the analysis of the INC protest which
happened last year, at least three schools of jurisprudence exist in the country’s legal system
namely: historical school, functional school, and legal realism. I will assess how these
schools affect the function of the legal system in the country. Through the analysis of such
effects, I will show that conflicts may arise when different schools of jurisprudence coexist
with one another. There is no common ground for the schools of jurisprudence because each
have a unique factor that defines them. Through the analysis of the issue addressed, I will
also arrive at the conclusion that common good is almost impossible to achieve since
conflicts may arise because of the inevitable differences in terms of people’s interests.

Separation of Church and State in the Philippines

Written in Article 2, Section 6 of the Constitution of the Philippines, the separation of
Church and State shall be inviolable.1 It is clearly stated in this section that the separation of Church
and State in the Philippines is sacred and unbreakable. This separation entails that the church does
not interfere with the affairs of the state and vice-versa.2 The Church has its own freedom to
exercise their beliefs without the threat of being restricted by the State, and on the other hand, the
State has its freedom to regulate its own laws without the interference of the Church. By using the
term ‘Church’, it does not necessarily mean that it is only the freedom of the Catholic Church that
is being honored, but also the freedom of any religious group in the country. Any religious group
in the country, may it be Catholic or not, is entitled to exercise its own religious beliefs and
practices without the fear of being interfered by the State.
However, the separation of Church and State in the Philippines was put into hot water
recently. The issue regarding this separation was raised when Iglesia ni Cristo, a religious group
in the Philippines, held a 5-day protest against the State, in particular the Department of Justice.
_____________________________
1“THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES – ARTICLE II”, Official Gazette,
accessed August 22, 2016, http://www.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-
philippines/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines-article-ii/.
2 Emmanuel Dalman, “Separation of church and state”, The Philippine Star, August 26, 2012,
http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2012-08-26/842108/separation-church-and-state.
Iglesia ni Cristo’s 5-day protest in the Philippines last 2015

Iglesia ni Cristo is known to be one of the most bonded religion in the Philippines. The
religion’s bond is evident on their exercise of bloc voting whenever the election takes place in the
country. Also, the members’ tight bond with each other is clearly shown whenever the North Luzon
Expressway experiences heavy traffic due to Iglesia ni Cristo’s evangelical event that takes place
in the Philippine Arena. Heavy traffic takes place because the INC members from different regions
in the Philippines do participate and unite for the nationwide evangelical event. That is why it is
not surprising to know how INC members had clogged EDSA for their protest.
The INC protest began when the members felt that DOJ Secretary Leila De Lima was
interfering with the internal affairs of the said religious group. This issue started when The DOJ is
looking into charges filed by former Iglesia ni Cristo minister Isaias Samson against the religious
group's officials for alleged illegal detention and harassment of him and his family — an accusation
denied by Iglesia ni Cristo officials.3 The officials denied that there was an illegal detention done
to Samson and his family. Protesters claimed that there was no act of kidnapping nor illegal
detention in the party of Samson since there were no acts of coercion committed. But Samson
insists that he and his family were held against their will inside their home. He said they were able
to escape the guards at their house after they pretended to be attending a worship service.4 Because
of the mismatch with stories and statements, the DOJ acted upon the issue and decided to
investigate whether Samson together with his family were illegally detained by some INC officials.
However, the INC members did not take this pleasantly, hence felt that the DOJ was meddling
with their private affairs. They felt that if the DOJ starts conducting an investigation, they are going
to dishonor and discredit the separation between the State and Church. Thousands of members
flocked to Padre Faura in order to protest against the DOJ Secretary Leila De Lima. Their 5-day
protest calls for the resignation of DOJ Secretary Leila De Lima and for the State to stop interfering
with their religious affairs because there is clearly a separation between the both of them.

_____________________________
3 Rose-An Dioquino and Andrei Medina, “Iglesia ni Cristo members bring protest to EDSA”, GMA News Online,
August 28, 2015, http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/534712/news/metro/iglesia-ni-cristo-members-bring-
protest-to-edsa.
4 Ibid.
Volkgeist, Compromise, Common Good, Human Rights
From the situation addressed above, I can say that there are different schools of
jusrisprudence that are currently present in the Philippine Legal System. Having this separation of
Church and State, it appears that the Volkgeist does matter in the legal system. Iglesia ni Cristo,
being a religious group, is entitled to practice their religious beliefs and traditions freely. Since the
State honors this freedom and privilege, I can say that Historical school of jurisprudence is present
in the legal system of our country. Historical school claims that law is a national or folk and not a
political phenomenon; it is a social and not an individual production.5 I can say that INC has a law
of its own which is founded within their members. The law comes from the religious beliefs and
traditions that they were exercising. So having the separation between the Church and State honors
the independent law formed within INC and its members.

However, another school of jurisprudence comes into picture when analyzing the case of
Samson, the one who claims that he and his family were illegally detained by some INC officials.
Since violation of human right was addressed, the court has a say on the case. The court has the
right to decide whether there was really a crime committed.

Another school of jurisprudence that is present is the functional school. Law, for the
functional school, has a task of becoming a social engineer.

Law is a system of guides to judicial decisions, including precepts, technique, and

ideals, found by reason, tested by experience, promulgated by the authority of
politically organized society and backed by the force of that society, for the purpose
of securing the maximum of human interests and satisfying the maximum of human
demands with a minimum of friction and waste.6

The task of law is to be able to resolve issues by giving importance to the fulfillment of human
interests rather than worsening the issues by causing more frictions. By achieving the majority’s
social interests, law is able to build bridges that can connect people closer to each other. The task
of the law is narrow the gap between people. In order to achieve the greater good, people should
resort to compromise. Compromise is a factor present in the issue between the separation of Church
_____________________________
5 Konvitz Milton, “HISTORICAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE”, Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006,
http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3446800851/historical-school-jurisprudence.html.
6 Linus McManaman, “Social Engineering: The Legal Philosophy of Roscoe Pound”, St. John Rawl’s Review 1, no.
33 (2013): 1-48, http://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4478&context=lawreview.
and State. Reports say that INC’s 5-day protest has ended because government officials and
officials from the religious group were able to arrive at an “agreement”. Having these three schools
of jurisprudence goes to show how diverse the legal system in the Philippines is. The Philippine
legal system is a proof that having a diverse legal system cannot totally be successful in achieving
justice and performing its role. Conflicts arise when these schools coexist with one another. In the
case of the INC protest, I can say that Historical school and Legal realism cannot go well with
each other because the former concerns with the law originating from the volkgeist of the people
while the latter concerns with the law that is to be decided and made by the court. If one is to
consider the freedom of the INC to engage with their affairs privately then the volkgeist is being
given importance, but while the volkgeist is being given importance, human rights of Samson is
being neglected since there is still a possibility that a crime was committed against him.
Another conflict may arise when historical school and functional school coexist. In the case
of the INC protest, while their religious beliefs and freedom are being exercised, they failed to
consider acting upon the greater good. They were able to freely do their protest but the downside
of it, according to reports, are their protest caused heavy traffic since they conducted their protest
in the busiest road which is EDSA. They may have exercised their voice as a people, but to the
extent that they delimited other people’s freedom. The traffic they caused prevented other people
to arrive home conveniently and on time.

Conclusion
The conflict between the Church and the State as showed in the protest of INC somehow
confirms that even if people strive to achieve a common good, differences in people’s interests
come in the way. It is inevitable for people to strive for something that will only benefit them. It
is also somehow inevitable to achieve a result that is fair for all because one may exercise one’s
freedom without knowing he/she is already limiting the freedom of others. This makes it hard and
almost impossible to achieve a common ground in the legal system. The schools of jurisprudence
have something unique in them that the other schools cannot cope with.
References:

Emmanuel Dalman. “Separation of church and state”. The Philippine Star. August 26, 2012.
http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2012-08-26/842108/separation-church-and-state.

Konvitz Milton. “HISTORICAL SCHOOL OF JURISPRUDENCE”. Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

2006. http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3446800851/historical-school-
jurisprudence.html.

McManaman, Linus. “Social Engineering: The Legal Philosophy of Roscoe Pound”. St. John
Rawl’s Review 1, no. 33 (2013): 1-48. http://scholarship.law.stjohns.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=4478&context=lawreview.

Rose-An Dioquino and Andrei Medina. “Iglesia ni Cristo members bring protest to EDSA”. GMA
News Online. August 28, 2015. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/534712/news/metro/
iglesia-ni-cristo-members-bring-protest-to-edsa.

“THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES – ARTICLE II”.

Official Gazette. Accessed August 22, 2016. http://www.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1987-
constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippines/the-1987-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-
philippines-article-ii/.