THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT AND ITS CONSTITUTION

ATTY. RAYMOND R. DANICO

WHAT IS A STATE?
A community of persons, more or less numerous,

permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, independent of external control, and processing a government to which a great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience

STATE AS DISTINGUISHED FROM

NATION - State is a legal or juristic concept, while

nation is an ethic or racial concept

GOVERNMENT Government is merely an

instrumentality of the State through which the will of the State is implemented and realized.

ELEMENTS OF A STATE
(1) PEOPLE As requisite for Statehood:
Adequate number for self-sufficiency and defense. Of both sexes for perpetuity.

(2) TERRITORY Components:

Terrestrial Fluvial Maritime Aerial

ELEMENTS OF A STATE
(3) GOVERNMENT Agency or instrumentality through which the will of the State is promulgated, expressed and realized
The present Philippine Government is presidential, unitary, republican and democratic

Functions:
Constituent mandatory Ex. Maintenance of peace, order; regulation of property and property rights; administration of justice, etc. Ministrant optional or discretionary Ex. Promotion of welfare, progress and prosperity

ELEMENTS OF A STATE
(4) SOVEREIGNTY
The supreme and uncontrollable power inherent in a State by which that State is governed Characteristics: permanence, exclusiveness, comprehensiveness, absoluteness, indivisibility, inalienability, imprescriptibility

FUNDAMENTAL POWERS OF THE STATE

POLICE POWER The power of promoting public welfare by restraining and regulating the use of liberty and property Scope/Characteristics:
Police power is the most pervasive, the least limitable and the most demanding of the three powers Justification: SALUS POPULI EST SUPREMA LEX (The welfare of the people is the supreme law) and SIC UTERE TUO UT ALIENUM NON LAEDAS (One must use his property so as not to injure the lawful rights of another)

FUNDAMENTAL POWERS OF THE STATE

Who may exercise the power:

Inherently vested in the Legislature but may be validly delegated to the President, administrative bodies and to law-making bodies of local government units

FUNDAMENTAL POWERS OF THE STATE

EMINENT DOMAIN

Also known as the power of expropriation; taking of private property for public use Requisites for exercise:
Necessity The foundation of the right to exercise eminent domain is genuine necessity and that necessity must be of public character Private Property Taking, in the constitutional sense expropriator must enter a private property; entry must be for more than a momentary period; entry must be under warrant or colour of authority; property must be devoted for public use; must deprive the owner of the use or enjoyment of the property

FUNDAMENTAL POWERS OF THE STATE

Public Use Not strictly limited to clear cases of use by the public Now synonymous with public interest, public benefit, public welfare and public convenience Just Compensation The full and fair equivalent of the property taken; fair market value of the property Fair market value is the sum of money which a person, desirous but not compelled to buy, and an owner, willing but not compelled to sell, would agree on as a price to be given and received therefore Also means payment within a reasonable time from its taking

FUNDAMENTAL POWERS OF THE STATE

TAXATION Inherent power of the state, acting through the legislature, to impose and collect revenues to support the government and its recognized objects. Simply stated, taxation is the power of the State to collect revenues for public purpose. Who may exercise: primarily legislature; also local legislative bodies; the President, to a limited extent when granted delegated tariff powers

PREAMBLE

Does not confer rights nor impose duties Indicates authorship of the Constitution Enumerates the primary aims and aspirations of the framers Serves as an aid in the construction of the Constitution

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.

ARTICLE I NATIONAL TERRITORY

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.

ARTICLE I NATIONAL TERRITORY

What comprises the Philippine Archipelago? Territories included in the Treaty of Paris (December 10, 1898, cession of the Philippine islands by Spain to the US) Territories included in the Treaty between Spain and US at Washington (November 7, 1990); includes Cagayan, Sulu and Sibuto Territories included in the Treaty between US and Great Britain (January 2, 1930); includes the Turtle & Mangsee Islands Batanes (1935 Constitution) Territories belonging to the Philippines by historic or legal right/title (Presidential Decree 1596)

ARTICLE I NATIONAL TERRITORY

Archipelagic Doctrine 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.

Archipelago, consists of a number of islands separated by bodies of water, should be treated as one integral unit

ARTICLE II DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES & STATE POLICIES

SECTION 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.

Essential Features of Republicanism Representation Renovation

ARTICLE II DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES & STATE POLICIES

Manifestations Government of laws and not of men Rule of majority Accountability of public officials Bill of Rights Legislature cannot pass irrepealable laws Separation of Powers

ARTICLE II DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES & STATE POLICIES

Principle of Blending of Powers Powers are not confined exclusively within one department but are assigned to or shared by several departments, e.g. enactment of general appropriations act

Principle of Checks and Balances Allows one department to resist encroachments upon its prerogatives or to rectify mistakes or excesses, e.g. veto power, judicial review

ARTICLE II DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES & STATE POLICIES

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.

Renunciation of war

Prohibited, as a policy, is offensive war and not defensive war

Doctrine of Incorporation Treaties and international law duly recognized and ratified by the government automatically form part of our own laws, even without a statutory enactment

ARTICLE II DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES & STATE POLICIES

Transformation method

Requires that an international law principle be transformed into domestic law By mere constitutional declaration, international law is deemed to have the force of domestic law

Incorporation method

ARTICLE II DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES & STATE POLICIES

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.

ARTICLE II DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES & STATE POLICIES

Commander-in-chief

The President, a civilian, is institutionalized as commander-inchief of the Armed Forces

The purpose of the Armed Forces is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national territory; protect the people and the State Government may call upon its people to defend the State and may require them to render personal military or civil service
Citizens Army Training (CAT) Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC)

People vs. Lagman and Zosa 66 Phil 13

ARTICLE II DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES & STATE POLICIES

SECTION 6. The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable

Reinforced by:
Sec. 5, Art. III (Freedom of religion clause) Sec. 2(5), Art. IX-C (Religious sect cannot be registered as political party) Sec. 5(2), Art. VI (No sectoral representatives from the religious sector) Sec. 29(2), Art. VI (Prohibition against appropriation for sectarian benefit)

ARTICLE II DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES & STATE POLICIES

Exceptions:
Sec. 28(3), Art. VI (Churches, parsonages, mosques, convents, actually, directly and exclusively used for religious purposes shall be exempt from taxation) Sec. 29(2), Art. VI (Prohibition against appropriation for sectarian benefit, except when priest, etc. is assigned to the armed forces or to any penal institution or government orphanage or leprosarium) Sec. 3(3), Art. XIV (Optional religious instruction for public elementary and high school students) Sec. 4(2), Art. XIV (Filipino ownership requirement for educational institutions, except those established by religious groups and mission boards)