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WANAY
WANAY
WANAY
The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land. all laws must not contradict or in
any way contravene the Constitution lest such law will be unconstitutional or illegal. Any
taxpayer can challenge the constitutionality or legality of any measure or law in the proper court.
When passed upon by the proper court and such measure or law is declared unconstitutional, it
cannot be implemented.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution is the 4th Fundamental Law since 4 July 1946. The
previous constitutions are:
Commonwealth Constitution of 1935
Constitution of 1973
Freedom Constiution of 1986
With reference to the Philippine Constitution it can be defined as the written instrument by
which the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited, and defined and by
which these powers are distributed among the several departments or branches for their safe and
useful exercise for the benefit of the people (Malcohm and Laurel, 2010)
The purpose of the constitution is to (1) prescribe the permanent framework of a system
of government, (2) to assign to the several departments their respective powers and duties, and
(3) to establish certain first fixed principles on which government is founded (Cruz, 1987).
Constitutions are classified into written or unwritten, evolved or enacted, and rigid or flexible.
Written or Unwritten
A constitution is said to be written when the precepts are embodied in one document or
set of documents, while unwritten constitution consists of rules which have been integrated
into a single concrete form but scattered in various sources. It can be found in statutes of
fundamental character, judicial decisions, commentaries of publicist, customs and traditions and
certain common law principles (Cruz, 1987).
A written Constitution is BROAD. It covers all persons and things within the territory of
the state. it also embodies the past, to reflect the present and anticipate the future.
A written Constitution is BRIEF. It confines to basic principles to be implemented with
legislative details more adjustable to change and easier to amend.
The various sources of unwritten constitution are (1) statutes of a fundamental character,
(2) judicial decisions, (3) commentaries of publicists, (4) customs and traditions, and, (5) certain
common law principles.
The Philippines is a republic with a presidential form of government which has three
coequal branches: executive, legislative, and judiciary. The Executive branch consists of the
President and the Vice-President, who are elected by direct popular votes and serve for a term of
six years. The President appoints his Cabinet to help im administer the functions of the
government. The cabinet is made up of various departments with specific functions and headed
by secretaries. The Legislative branch, consists of the Upper House (the Senate) and the Lower
House (the House of Representatives). The Senate President is the head of the Upper House;
while the Lower House is led by the Speaker. The Judiciary branch consists of the systems of
courts, with the Supreme Court as the highest and headed by the Chief Justice.
The government of the Philippines is composed of three branches. The three branche3s
are co-equal but each is supreme in its own sphere. The essence of having three co-equal
branches is for checks and balances.
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ORGANIZATIONAL CHART OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
EXECUTIVE BRANCH LEGISLATIVE BRANCH JUDICIAL BRANCH
Vice president
Senate (24) House of
Court of Tax
Head: Representatives
Courts of Appeals Courts
(69) of Appeals (69) Appeals (9)
Senate President (285)
Head: Presiding Judge
Head: Presiding Judge
Head:
Head: Speaker
Cabinet Members Presiding
Judge
Provincial Assembly
Governor Head: Vice Governor
Vice-Governor
Mayor Municipal/City
Assembly Municipal Shari a
MetropolitanMunicipal
Trial Courts
Trial Courts in Cities
Municipal Trial Courts
Circuit Circuit
Trial Courts Trial Courts
Vice-Mayor
The three branches of the government are co-equal bodies, each cannot intervene in the
domain of another. The legislature limits itself in making laws, the executive branch in
implementing and the judicial branch in interpreting and applying the laws. These branches
cannot delegate the powers vested or conferred to them. The rule is potestas delegate non
delegare potest (what is delegated cannot be delegated). No other entity or body exercises the
powers of government except those which are authorized. This is the principle of non-delegation
of power. This principle anyway is not absolute for the Congress delegated to the sangguniangs
of the local government units the legislative power to make ordinances.
The Systems of Checks and Balances
Though the three branches of government are independent and separate of each other,
each stands to check each other and thereby balancing the power. If one branch becomes
powerful it will become tyrannical and depotic. If this happens there will be a mockery of
democracy.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
President
can veto bills from congress
Presidents appoints meber of the judiciary
President prepares the national budget and cannot be increased by Congress.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Courts can declare laws made by Congress as unconstitutional.
The President and the members of Congress are directly elected by the people, while
the members of the Supreme court are appointed by the President from a list submitted by
the Judicial and Bar council (JBC). As with the American system of government, it is Congress
which enacts the laws, subject to the veto power of the President which may nonetheless be
overtuned by a two-thirds vote of Congress (Section 27(1), Article VI). The President are as the
constitutional duty to ensure the faithful execution of the laws (Section 17, Article VII), while the
courts are expressly granted the power of judicial review (Section 1, Article VIII), including the
power to nullify or interpret laws. The president is also recognized as the commander-in chief of
the armed forces (Section 18, Article VII).
The Constitution also established limited political autonomy to the local government
units that act as the municipal government for the provinces, cities, municipalities, and
barangays (Section 1, Article X). Local government considered as falling under the executive
branch, yet local legislation requires enactment by duly elected local legislative bodies. The
constitution (section 3, Article X) mandated that the Congress would enact a Local Government
Code. The Congress duly enacted Republic Act No. 7160. the Local Government Code of 1991,
which became effective on 1 January 1992.
The Supreme Court has noted that the Bill of Rights Occupies a position of primacy
in the fundamental law. The Bill of rights, contained in Article III, enumerates the specific
protection against State power. Many of these guarantees are similar to those provided in
the American constitutionand other democratic constitutions, including the due process and
equal protection clause, the right against unwarranted searches and seizures, the right to free
speech and the free exercise of religion, the right against self-incrimination, and the right to
habeas corpus. The scope and limitations to these rights have largely been determined by
Philippine Supreme Court decisions.
Outside of the Bill of Rights, the Constitution also contains several other provisions
enumerating various state policies including, ie., the affirmation of labor as a primary
social economic force (Section 14, Article II); the equal protection of the life of the mother
and the life of the unborn from conception (Section 12, Article II); the Filipino family as the
foundation of the nation (Article XV, Section1) ; the recognition of Filipino as the national
language of the Philippines (Section 6,Article XVI), and even a requirement that all
educational institutions shall undertake regular sports activities throughout the country in
cooperation with athletic clubs and other sectors. (Section19.1,Article XIV).Whether these
provisions may, by temselves, be the source of enforceable rights without accompanying
legislation has been the subject of considerable debate in the legal sphere and within the
Supreme Court . The Court, for example, has ruled that a provision requiring that the State
guarantee equal access to opportunities to public service could not be enforced without
accompanying legislation, and thus could not bar the disallowance of so-called nuisance
candidates in presidential elections. But in another case, the Court held that a provision
requiring that the State protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful
ecology did not require implementing legislation to become the source of operative rights.
The Preamble
We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of the 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 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 of the Constitution aptly provided the purposes and these are:
1. To build a just and humane society
2. to establish a government that shall:
a. embody ideals and aspirations
b. Promote the common good
c. Conserve and develop our patrimony and secure to ourselves and our posterity the
blessings of independence and democracy under the:
i. rule of law; and,
ii. regime truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and
promulgate this Constitution.
The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all islands and waters
embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or
jurisdiction, consisting of its the territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and
other submarine areas. The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the islands of
the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of
the Philippines.
It is very important to define exactly and accurately the national territory represents the
jurisdiction of the state of which it has dominion , where its laws are applicable and its authority
are enforcible. The Philippines as a sovereign state can, enact its laws of all other powers or
sovereign are excluded in its jurisdiction and effect. Delineation of national territory also
prevents conflicts.
The present territorial dispute between the Philippines and China is a recent example of
how important territories are to be delineated, fixed and fully agreed upon. China claimed part of
the Spratley as its territorial evidenced by its alleged 9 dash lines and the South China Sea
principle, while the Philippines also claimed some parts especially the Recto Bank, based on
some historical accounts and its proximity to some island properties of fisherman was shot, is
clearly a Philippine territory, however, Taiwanese fishermen are encroaching it. In this instant
case, China claimed that the fishing boats of Taiwan did not enter Philippine territory but the
Philippine claimed otherwise.
a) the Philippine archipelago with all the islands and waters embraced therein;
b) All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction;
c) The terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains including territorial sea, the seabed,
the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas; and,
d) The internal waters
It is also a rule for action established for the purposes of framing, guiding and
directing organizational activities, including decision making, with the intensions of
providing relative stability, consistency, uniformity and continuity in the operation of the
organization.
STATE PRINCIPLES
Section 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State Sovereignty resides in the
people and all government authority emanates from them.
The Philippine government is a republican government because the officials of the land
from the highest to the lowest are directly voted by the qualified registered voters in an election
called for such. The term democratic is added because the Philippine government though
republican in nature retains the basic features of pure democracy such as initiative and
nreferendum. Initiative enables the people to proposed laws directly while referendum gives the
chance to the people to adapt or approve a law.
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,
The Philippines does not advocate military approach in the enforcement of national
policy. It is done in adherence to the UN Charter that all members refrain in their international
relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence
of any state"
What the Philippines renounced as an instrument is offensive war but not defensive war
in case our national honor and integrity is maligned.
Section 3. Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) 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.
Duty of the Government and People
Section 5. The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and
property, promotion of the general welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the
people of the blessings of democracy.