PHILIPPINE

GOVERNMENT

CONCEPT OF STATE

MEANING OF STATE
A community

of persons more or less

numerous, permanently occupying a
definite portion of territory, having a
government of their own to which the
great body of inhabitants render
obedience, and enjoying freedom from
external control.

ELEMENTS OF STATE
1. People
2. Territory
3. Government
4. Sovereignty
5. Recognition

PEOPLE
This

refers to the mass of population living

within the state.

There

is no requirement as to the number of

people that should compose a state.

But

it should be neither too small nor too

large: small enough to be well-governed and
large enough to be self-sufficing.

TERRITORY
1. Terrestrial (land mass)
2. Aerial (air space)
3. Fluvial (rivers and streams)
4. Maritime Domain (related to the sea/s)

GOVERNMENT

It

refers to the agency through which the will

of the state is formulated, expressed and
carried out.

SOVEREIGNTY
It

is the supreme power of the state to

command and enforce obedience to its will
from people within its jurisdiction, and to
have freedom from foreign control.

MANIFESTATIONS OF
SOVEREIGNTY
1. Internal or the power of the state to rule
within its territory;
2. External or the freedom of the state to
carry out its activities without subjection or
control by other states. External sovereignty
is often referred to as independence.

Characteristics of Sovereignty
1.

Permanence;

2.

Exclusivity;

3.

Comprehensiveness;

4.

Absoluteness;

5.

Individuality;

6.

Inalienability; and

7.

Imprescritibility

1. Permanence means it exist in the same

form forever or for a very long time.
2. Exclusivity means it is limited to a group
of people.
3. Comprehensiveness means including
everything, so as to be complete
comprehensive knowledge of the subject.
4. Absoluteness means possessing
unlimited power: having total power and
authority.

5. Individuality means the state or

condition of being separate from others.
6. Inalienability means it is impossible to
take away or not able to be transferred or
taken away, e.g. because of being protected
by law.
7. Imprescribility it means not to be taken
away or impossible to remove or violate the
people's imprescriptible rights.

RECOGNITION
A necessary condition for a country to obtain
statehood. Instances showing recognition
such as, but not limited to, are the
following;

Bilateral or multilateral agreements with

other countries
Acceptance of membership application in
the United Nation

FORMS OF
GOVERNMENT

PRINCIPAL FORMS OF
GOVERNMENT
1. As to number of persons exercising
sovereign powers;
2. As to extent of powers exercised by
the central or national government;
3. As to relationship between the
executive and the legislative
branches of the government;
4. As to source of power or authority:

1. As to number of persons
exercising sovereign powers

A. Government by one
A1) Monarchy or one in which the supreme
and final authority is in the hands of a single
person without regard to the source of his
election or the nature or duration of his
tenure. Monarchs include such rulers as
kings and queens, emperors and
empresses, tsars, and kaisers .

TYPES OF MONARCHY
1. Absolute Monarchy or one in which the
ruler rules by divine right; and
2. Limited monarchy or one in which the
ruler rules in accordance with a
constitution.The power of the monarch
varies from absolute to very limited; the
latter is exemplified in modern-day
constitutional monarchies, e.g., UK.

1. As to number of persons
exercising sovereign powers

A2 Authoritarian or one in which the supreme

power of the dictator whose power is usually
through force.
1. strict and demanding obedience: favoring
strict rules and established authority;
2. demanding political obedience: belonging
to or believing in a political system in which
obedience to the ruling person or group is
strongly enforced.

GOVERNMENT BY FEW
Aristocracy or one in which political power is exercised by
few privileged class.
1. people of highest social class: people of noble families
or the highest social class
2. superior group: a group believed to be superior to all
others of the same kind
3. government by elite: government of a country by a small
group of people, especially a hereditary nobility
4. state run by elite: a state governed by an aristocracy.

GOVERNMENT BY FEW
Oligarchy
1. small governing group: a small group of people who
together govern a nation or control an organization, often
for their own purposes;
2. entity ruled by oligarchy: a nation governed or an
organization controlled by an oligarchy;
3. government by small group: government or control by a
small group of people.

GOVERNMENT BY FEW
Sources of their power:
1.

By birth

2.

By wealth

3.

By wisdom

.In

an aristocracy, although the power of government is

wielded by a few, theoretically the administration of
government is carried on for the welfare of the many.

.Whenever

the interests of the people as a whole are made

subservient to the selfish interests of the rulers, aristocracy
becomes a form of government known as oligarchy.

GOVERNMENT BY MANY
Democracy or one in which political power is exercised by
the majority of the people. It is further classified into:
Direct or pure democracy or one in which the will of the
state is formulated or expressed directly and immediately
through the people in a mass meeting or primary assembly
rather than through the medium of representatives chosen
by the people to act for them.
Indirect, representative or republican democracy or one
in which the will of the state is formulated and expressed
through the agency of a relatively small and select body of
persons chosen by the people to act as their
representatives.

2. As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national

government

Unitary government or one in which the

control of national and local affairs is
exercised by the national government;
Federal government or one in which the
powers of government are divided between
two sets of organs, one for national affairs
and the other for local affairs, each organ
being supreme within its own sphere.

Difference between Unitary and Federal

Countries

with federal political systems have

both a central government and governments
based in smaller political units, usually called
states, provinces, or territories.

These

smaller political units surrender some

of their political power to the central
government, relying on it to act for the
common good.

Difference between Unitary and Federal

In

a federal system, laws are made both by

state, provincial, or territorial governments
and by a central government.

In

the United States, for example, people

who live in the state of Ohio must obey the
laws made by the Ohio legislature and the
Congress of the United States.

Difference between Unitary and Federal

Federal

political systems divide power and

resources between central and regional
governments.

Central

governments decide issues that

concern the whole country, such as
organizing an army, building major roads,
and making treaties with other countries.

Difference between Unitary and Federal

In

unitary systems, with laws giving virtually

all authority to the central government.

The

central government may delegate duties

to cities or other administrative units, but it
retains final authority and can retract any
tasks it has delegated.

The

central government in a unitary

system is much more powerful than the
central government in a federal system.

3. As to relationship between
the executive and the legislative:

Parliamentary

government or cabinet
govt. is one in which the executive and
legislative branch of the government are
dependent or executive branch is part of the
legislative branch.

Presidential

government or one in which

the state makes the executive independent
from the legislative.

Difference between
Parliamentary and Presidential

In

parliamentary governments, of which

the United Kingdom, India, and Canada are
examples, the executive branch is
subordinate to the legislature.

In

presidential governments, such as in

the Philippines, the executive is independent
of the legislature, although many of the
executive's actions are subject to legislative
review.

4. As to Source of Power or Authority:

De

facto is one not so constituted or founded with

the existing constitution but has the general
support of the people and has effective control of
the territory over which it exercises its powers.

De

Jure is one which is constituted or founded in

accordance with the existing constitution of the
state but has no control of the territory.

Hereditary

& Elective

CHECKS AND BALANCES

The

doctrine and practice of dispersing political

power and creating mutual accountability
among political entities such as the courts, the
president or prime minister, the legislature, and
the citizens.

The

first check comes from the fact that

different branches of the government have
overlapping authority, so each branch can act
as a limit on the other.

SEPARATION OF POWERS
The

doctrine and practice of dividing the

powers of a government among different
branches to guard against abuse of
authority.

A government

of separated powers assigns

different political and legal powers to the
legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

SEPARATION OF POWERS
The

legislative branch has the power to create

laws.

The

executive branch has the authority to

enforce the law and oversee the administration
of government responsibilities.

The

judicial branch has the power to try cases

brought to court and to interpret the meaning of
laws under which the trials are conducted.

SEPARATION OF POWERS
A government

of separated powers is less likely

to be tyrannical and more likely to follow the
rule of law

It

makes a political system more democratic by

making it difficult for a single ruler, such as a
monarch or a president, to become dictatorial.

It

prevents one branch of government from

dominating the others or dictating the laws to
the public.

POLITICAL
IDEOLOGIES

LIBERALISM
Attitude,

philosophy, or movement that has as its basic concern

the development of personal freedom and social progress.

The

course of liberalism in a given country is usually conditioned

by the character of the prevailing form of government.

For

example, in countries in which the political and religious

authorities are separate, liberalism connotes, mainly, political,
economic, and social reform.

In

countries in which a state church exists or a church is

politically influential, liberalism connotes, mainly, anticlericalism.

LIBERALISM
In

domestic politics, liberals have opposed feudal restraints that

prevent the individual from rising out of a low social status.

In

international politics, liberals have opposed the domination of

foreign policy by militarists and military considerations and the
exploitation of native colonial people.

In

economics, liberals have attacked monopolies and mercantilist

state policies that subject the economy to state control.

In

religion, liberals have fought against church interference in the

affairs of the state and attempts by religious pressure groups to
influence public opinion.

CONSERVATISM
A general

state of mind that is averse to rapid change and

innovation and strives for balance and order, while avoiding
extremes.

Originally

conservatism arose as a reaction against the Age of

Enlightenment.

Conservatives

advocated belief in faith over reason, tradition over

free inquiry, hierarchy over equality, collective values over
individualism, and divine or natural law over secular law.

Conservatism

emphasizes the merits of the status quo and

endorses the prevailing distribution of power, wealth, and social
standing.

DEMOCRACY
(Greek

demos,the people; kratein, to rule), political system in

which the people of a country rule through any form of
government they choose to establish.

In

modern democracies, supreme authority is exercised for the

most part by representatives elected by popular suffrage.

The

representatives may be supplanted by the electorate

according to the legal procedures of recall and referendum, and
they are, at least in principle, responsible to the electorate.

SOCIALISM
Economic

and social doctrine, political movement inspired by this doctrine,

and system or order established when this doctrine is organized in a
society.

It

demands state ownership and control of the fundamental means of

production and distribution of wealth.

It

advocates nationalization of natural resources, basic industries, banking

and credit facilities, and public utilities.

It

places special emphasis on the nationalization of monopolized branches

of industry and trade, viewing monopolies as inimical to the public welfare.

It

also advocates state ownership of corporations in which the ownership

function has passed from stockholders to managerial personnel.

CAPITALISM
Economic

system in which private individuals and

business firms carry on the production and exchange
of goods and services through a complex network of
prices and markets.

Capital

in this sense means the buildings, machines,

and other equipment used to produce goods and
services that are ultimately consumed.

Economic

activity is organized and coordinated

through the interaction of buyers and sellers (or
producers) in markets.

CAPITALISM
Owners

of land and capital as well as the workers they employ

are free to pursue their own self-interests in seeking maximum
gain from the use of their resources and labor in production.

This

principle, called consumer sovereignty, reflects the idea

that under capitalism producers will be forced by competition to
use their resources in ways that will best satisfy the wants of
consumers.

Under

this system a minimum of government supervision is

required; if competition is present, economic activity will be selfregulating.

COMMUNISM
As

a political movement, it soughts to overthrow capitalism through a workers

revolution and establish a system in which property is owned by the
community as a whole rather than by individuals.

In

theory, communism would create a classless society of abundance and

freedom, in which all people enjoy equal social and economic status.

In

practice, communist regimes have taken the form of coercive,

authoritarian governments that cared little for the plight of the working class
and sought above all else to preserve their own hold on power.

PHILIPPINE
GOVERNMENT
THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

PHILIPPINE
GOVERNMENT
THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

PHILIPPINE
GOVERNMENT
THE JUDICIARY BRANCH