termination, and of public officers, their
POLITICAL LAW qualifications, powers, duties, rights and liabilities.
A) Preliminary Considerations
 Political law: has been defined as that branch of
public law which deals with the organization and
operation of the governmental organs of the State
and define the relations of the state with the
inhabitants of its territory.
 In Macariola v. Asuncion, Political Law
saved the respondent judge from liability
for alleged violation of Art. 14 of the Code
of Commerce which prohibited judges,
among others, from engaging in commerce.
The aforestated provision is incorporated in
the Code of Commerce which is part of the
commercial laws, it however, partakes of
the nature of a political law as it regulates
the relationship between the government
and certain public officers and employees.
 Since the Code of Commerce is actually
inherited law from Spanish times, upon the
transfer of sovereignty from Spain to the
US and later from the US to the PH, Art. 14
of the Code of Commerce must be deemed
abrogated because where there is a
change in sovereignty, the political laws of
the former sovereign are automatically
abrogated, unless they are expressly re-
enacted by affirmative act of the new
sovereign.
 Constitutional Law: treat of the nature of
constitutions, and the validity of legal enactments
as tested by the criterion of their conformity to the
fundamental law. Its primary function is to ascertain
the political center of gravity of any given state.
 It means those standards through which
the fundamental stability of the state and its
organs is legally regulated and protected.
 It determines the political organization of
the state, and regulates the political
relations between the state and the
individuals who compose it.
 Administrative Law: treats of that part of public
law which fixes the organization of government,
determines the competence of the authorities that
execute the law, and indicates to the individual the
remedies for the violation of his rights.
 Election Law: deals with the study of the means by
which the people choose their officials for definite
and fixed periods and to whom they entrust for the
time being as their representatives the exercise of
the powers of government.
 Law of Public Officers: treats of the study of the
public office, its elements, creations and
1
 Law on Public Corporations: deals with the study
of quasi- and municipal corporations, such as
municipalities, provinces, chartered cities and
barangays.
 CONSTITUTION: is the foundation of the entire
legal system; is a social contract whereby the
people have surrendered their sovereign powers to
the State for the common good; it is the supreme
law of the land.
 The constitution is either a superior,
paramount law, unchangeable by ordinary
means, or it is on a level with ordinary
legislative acts, and like other acts, is
alterable when the legislature shall please
to alter it.
 It embodies the people’s sovereign will,
and is the Bible of the Court.
 The Constitution is a definition of the
powers of the government, and the power
of the Constitution grants it also restrains.
 In Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS, the Court
expounded on the doctrine of constitutional
supremacy: “A constitution is a system of
fundamental laws for the governance and
administration of a nation. It is supreme,
imperious, absolute and unalterable except
by the authority from which it emanates. It
has been defined as the fundamental and
paramount law of the nation. x x x Under
the doctrine of constitutional supremacy, if
a law or contract violates any norm of the
constitution that law or contract whether
promulgated by the legislative or by the
executive branch of entered into by private
persons for private purposes is null and
void and without any force and effect. Thus,
since the Constitution is the fundamental,
paramount and supreme law of the nation,
it is deemed written in every statute and
contract.
 Without a constitution and a Bill of Rights,
it does not mean that a State cannot exist.
During the interregnum (that one-month
period from the overthrow of the Marcos
government), the basic and fundamental
rights of the people were still protected
pursuant to the country’s adherence to
international agreements, such as the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
1. 1899 Constitution – Malolos
Constitution
2. 1935 Constitution – under Pres.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
 3. 1943 Constitution – during
Japanese Occupation
4. 1973 Constitution – Marcos
regime (Martial Law)
5. 1986 Constitution – Freedom
Constitution
6. 1987 Constitution – People
Power Charter (present
constitution)
 Parts of a written constitution:
1. Constitution of liberty – consists
of a series of prescription setting
forth the fundamental civil and
political rights of the citizens and
imposing certain limitations on the
power of the government as a
means of securing the enjoyment
of those rights;
2. Constitution of government –
those provisions outlining the
organization of the government,
enumerating its powers, laying
down certain rules relative to the
administration and defining the
electorate;
3. Constitution of sovereignty –
comprising a set of provisions
pointing out the mode of procedure
in accordance with which formal
changes in the fundamental law
may be brought about.
 Requisites of a written constitution:
1. Broad: in the sense that it would
provide the basic and general
outline of government and the
relations between it and the
people;
2. Brief: it only provides the
fundamentals, leaving the details
to be worked out in ordinary
legislation
3. Definite: to ensure an orderly
society free from much ambiguities
and uncertainties, a set of rules by
which the governors and the
governed could very well
determine without much difficulties
what is and what is not allowed.
 When there is ambiguity, ratio legis est
anima. The words of the Constitution
should be interpreted in accordance with
the intent of its framers. Ut magis valeat
quam pereat, the Constitution is to be
interpreted as a whole.
2
B) The State
 STATE: is an entity which has been referred to as a
body politic, or society of men united together for the
purpose of promoting their mutual safety and
advantage by the joint efforts of their combined
strength. It is a community of persons more of less
permanently occupying a definite portion of territory,
independent of external control, and possessing an
organized government to which the great body of
inhabitants render habitual obedience.
 Elements of a State:
1. PEOPLE: must be sufficient enough to be
self-sustaining but not so much as to be
incapable of governance, there is really no
set rules as to number.
 NATIONALITY: cultural and social ties
 CITIZENSHIP: political ties
 SUBJECT: belonging to a monarchy
 CITIZEN: belonging to a republican
state
2. TERRITORY: a definite space consisting of
the land, the waters around it as well as the
airspace above it. Classified into: terrestrial
(landmass), fluvial (rivers), maritime (sea),
and aerial (airspace).
 National territory of the PH (Art. 1,
Constitution): “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.”
 The PH territory includes those areas
which were ceded to the US by Spain
under the Treaty of Paris (1898), and
the Treaty Between Spain and the US
(1900), as well as those covered by the
Treaty Between the US and the Great
Britain (1930).
 Archipelago: an expanse of water
within many scattered islands or a
group of islands.
 ARCHIPELAGIC DOCTRINE: a
concept which considers the entire
archipelago as one integrated
cohesive unit of territory, not as
compromising various disparate and
 separate islands. As reflected in the
1987 Constitution, this doctrine
emphasizes the unity of land and
waters by defining an archipelago
either as a group of islands surrounded
by waters or a body of waters studded
with islands. For this purpose, it
requires that baselines be drawn by
connecting the appropriate points of
the outermost islands to encircle the
islands within the archipelago. The
waters on the landward side of the
baselines regardless of breadth or
dimensions are merely internal waters.
 UNCLOS III (United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea) – is
a multi-lateral treaty regulating, among
others sea-use rights over maritime
zones: territorial waters (extend up to
12 nautical miles from its baselines),
contiguous zone (extends up to 24
nautical miles over which the State
exercises control as necessary to
prevent infringement of its customs,
fiscal-immigration or sanitary laws
within its territory), exclusive economic
zone (extends up to 200 nautical miles
from its baselines, over which the State
exercises sovereignty over all the
exploration, exploitation, or
conservation and managing of the
economic natural resources, whether
living or non-living), and its continental
shelf (comprises the seabed and
subsoil of the submarine areas that
extend beyond its territorial sea
throughout the natural prolongation of
its land territory to the outer edge of the
continental margin or to a distance of
200 nautical miles from the baselines
from which the breadth of the territorial
sea is measured).
 In Magallona v. Ermita, the Court
upheld the constitutionality of RA 9522
(a law which adjusted the country’s
archipelagic baselines) and that the
law did not reduce PH maritime
territory, and it only demarcated the
country’s maritime zones and
continental shelf. The law, compliant
with the UNCLOS III, shortened one
baseline, optimized the location of
some basepoints around the Philippine
archipelago and classified adjacent
territories: the Kalayaan Island Group
3
(KIG), and the Scarborough Shoal as
“regime of islands”.
 The baselines cannot be drawn from
the boundaries or other portions of the
rectangular area delineated in the
Treaty of Paris, but from the “outermost
islands and drying reefs of the
archipelago”.
 Had the Congress in RA 9522
enclosed the KIG and the Scarborough
Shola as part of the Philippine
archipelago, the Philippines would
have committed a breach of 2 provision
of UNCLOS III: First, Article 47 (3) of
UNCLOS III requires that the drawing
of such baselines shall not depart to
any appreciable extent from the
general configuration of the
archipelago; Second, Article 47 (2) of
UNCLOS III requires that the length of
the baselines shall not exceed 100
nautical miles save for 3% of the total
number of baselines which can reach
up to 125 nautical miles.
 China’s claims to historic rights, or
other sovereign rights or jurisdiction,
with respect to the maritime areas of
the South China Sea encompassed by
the relevant part of the ‘nine-dash line’
are contrary to UNCLOS and exceed
the geographic and substantive limits
of China’s maritime entitlements under
the Convention; and further declares
that the UNCLOS superseded any
historic rights, or other sovereign rights
or jurisdiction, in excess of the limits
imposed therein.
 In Reagan v. Commissioner of Internal
Revenue, Clark Air Base (which was
occupied by the US military at the time,
pursuant to the Military Bases
Agreement) was still part of the
Philippine territory. The said
agreement merely consents that the
US exercise jurisdiction in certain
cases.
3. GOVERNMENT: an entity which exercises power
and with appropriate authority to enforce and
command obedience from the people. It is an
institution or an aggregate of institutions by which
an independent society makes and carries out
those rules of action which are necessary to
enable men to live in social state, or which are
imposed upon the people forming that society by
those who possess the power or authority of
prescribing them.
 Purpose: to maintain and ensure peace
and order, advance and protect their
interests and promote the general
welfare. It is the collective name for the
agency, or organization, through which
the will of the state is formulated,
expressed, and realized.
 Different forms of government:
a) Democracy – rule of the many;
leaders are determined by
election.
b) Monarchy – rule of one person
called a king or emperor; leaders
are determined by hereditary
succession.
c) Aristocracy – leaders are
determined by membership in a
particular class in society.
d) Presidential – characterized by
separation of powers among co-
equal and independent branches
of government headed by a
president.
e) Parliamentary – predominant
parliament where executive
power is exercised by a prime
minister who is a member of,
dependent on, and accountable
to the legislative body.
 Kinds of government according to legal
authority:
a) De facto government
connotes one who has the actual
exercise of power but not legally
entitled to the same; it may take
the form of government that gets
possession and control of, or
usurps, by force or by voice of
the majority, the rightful legal
government and maintains itself
against the will of the latter, or
one established as an
independent government by the
inhabitants of a country who rise
in insurrection against the parent
state, or that which is established
and maintained by military forces
who invade and occupy a
territory of the enemy in the
course of war, and which is
denominated as a government of
paramount force
b) De jure government – signifies
that the government is rightfully
and legally in possession of the
powers.
 Classification of the functions of
government:
a) Governmental or Constituent
(jure imperii) – are those which
constitute the very bonds of
society and are compulsory in
nature; includes the following:
i. Keeping of order and
providing for the
protection of persons
and property from
violence and robbery;
ii. Fixing of the legal
relations between man
and wife and between
parents and children;
iii. Regulation of the
holding, transmission,
and interchange of
property, and the
determination of its
liabilities for debt or for
crime;
iv. Determination of
contract rights between
individuals;
v. Definition and
punishment of crimes;
vi. Administration of justice
in civil cases;
vii. Determination of the
– political duties,
privileges, and relations
of citizens;
viii. Dealings of the state
with foreign powers.
b) Proprietary or Ministrant (jure
gestionis)– are those that are
undertaken only by way of
advancing the general interests
of society, and are merely
optional; includes the following:
i. Public works;
ii. Public education;
iii. Public charity, health
and safety regulations;
iv. Regulations of trade and
industry
 Parens patriae – concept that the
State as the parent or guardian of the
country and the people is inherent in
the supreme power of every state,
whether that power is lodged in a royal
person or in the legislature. The
government has the obligation of
protecting the less fortunate members
4
 of society who could not otherwise
stand for themselves.
 Fundamental powers of the State:
1. POLICE POWER: the most pervasive,
illimitable and plenary power affecting liberty
and property of individuals for the
advancement of the common good. It is used
to promote the public welfare by restraining
and regulating liberty and the use of property.
It is lodged in Congress. Its exercise must
satisfy 2 tests:
 The interest of the public generally, as
distinguished from that of a particular
class;
 The means employed are reasonably
necessary for the accomplishment of
the purpose and not unduly oppressive
upon individuals.
2. EMINENT DOMAIN: the authority to take
what the State needs provided that it is for
public use and that there is payment of just
compensation. It is also referred to as
expropriation, and is an inherent power of
sovereignty.
 Expropriation is the ‘highest and most
exact idea of property remaining in the
government’ that may be acquired for
some public purpose through a method
in the nature of a forced purchase by the
State.
 Public use is whatever is beneficially
employed for the community.
 It is principally lodged in Congress.
 Possessory taking occurs when the
government confiscates or physically
occupies property.
 Regulatory taking occurs when the
government’s regulation leaves no
reasonable economically viable use of
the property.
3. TAXATION: ability to raise taxes, which are
what the people pay for a civilized society. It
is that power of the State to impose a charge
or burden upon person, property, or property
rights, for the use and support of the
government.
 Taxes are the lifeblood of the
government x x x the exercise of taxing
power derives its source from the very
existence of the state whose social
contract with its citizens obliges it to
promote public interest and common
good.
4. SOVEREIGNTY: represents the supreme power
of the state to command and enforce obedience. It
is characterized as permanent, exclusive, all-
5
comprehensive, inalienable, imprescriptible,
indivisible, and absolute.
 May be classified as:
 Legal Sovereignty: authority based on
law
 Political Sovereignty: authority based
on the people
 Internal Sovereignty: ability of the
State itself
 External Sovereignty: independence
of the State from outside authority.
 Doctrine of Act of State: the acts of a State
may not be questioned in any other State.
“Every sovereign state is bound to respect
the independence of every other state, and
the courts of one country will not sit in
judgment on the acts of the government of
another, done within its territory.”
C) State (Sovereign) Immunity
 The State may not be sued without its consent:
express consent or implied consent.
 Express consent: comes in the form of a law which
so allows such a suit.
 Implied consent: when the government does
certain things that may indicate that it is amendable
to such a court action against it:
 When the state engages in
proprietary/ministrant functions;
 When the state enters into a contract, it is
assumed that it descends to the level of that
a private person;
 When the state files a suit in which case the
adverse party may file a counterclaim;
 When the state invokes state immunity
which would perpetuate an injustice.
 Who may invoke State Immunity:
 Public officers of the state
 The government itself
 Unincorporated government agency without
any separate juridical personality
*note: although they may invoke
immunity from suit, the immunity will only be
effective if they are sued in their sovereign
capacity and do not fall under any of the
requirements for implied consent.
 Who cannot invoke immunity:
 Local governments: they can partake state
immunity in regard to the discharge of
government functions. However, by virtue of
their charters, they are given separate and
distinct personalities that allow them to be
sued and sue. Accordingly, they could not
invoke the defense of state immunity.
 SUABILITY: depends on the consent of the state
to be sued.
  The circumstance that a state is suable does
not mean it is liable; on the other hand, it can
never be liable if it does not first consent to
be sued.
 When a State waives its immunity from suit,
it does not concede its liability to the plaintiff,
but it merely gives a remedy to enforce a
preexisting liability and submits itself to the
jurisdiction of the court.
 LIABILITY: depends on the applicable law and
established facts. It arises from negligence.
 The municipality cannot be held liable for the
torts committed by its regular employee,
who was then engaged in the discharge of
governmental functions.
 The State is liable in the sense when it acts
through a special agent, but not when the
damage should have been caused by the
official to whom properly it pertained to do
the act performed, in which case the
provisions of the preceding article shall be
applicable.
 Special agent – is one who receives
a definite and fixed order or
commission, foreign to the exercise
of the duties of his office if he is a
special official; the responsibility of
the State is limited to that which it
contracts through a special agent,
duly empowered by a definite order
or commission to perform some act
or charged with some definite
purpose which gives rise to the claim,
and not where the claim is based on
acts or omissions imputable to a
public official charged with some
administrative or technical office who
can be held to the proper
responsibility in the manner laid
down by the law of civil responsibility.
 If the State’s agent is not a public
official, and is commissioned to
perform non-governmental functions,
then the State assumes the role of an
ordinary employer and will be held
liable as such for its agent’s tort.
 The rule on the immunity of public funds from
seizure or garnishment does not apply where the
funds sought to be levied under execution are
already allocated by law specifically for the
satisfaction of the money judgment against the
government. In such a case, the monetary
judgment may be legally enforced by judicial
processes.
 Government funds (like UP funds) are not subject
to garnishment.
6
 Principle of sovereign equality of states: one state
cannot assert jurisdiction over another in violation
of the maxim par in parem non habet imperium
(an equal power has no power over an equal).
 A State cannot be sued in the courts of a foreign
state.
 Suing a representative of a state is believed to be
tantamount to suing the state itself.
 Vesting a person with diplomatic immunity is a
prerogative of the executive branch of the
government.
 The State Department policy is to only concede
diplomatic status to a person who possesses an
acknowledged diplomatic title and performs
duties of diplomatic nature.
 Immunity is necessary to assure unimpeded
performance of official functions. Its purpose is to
shield the affairs of international organizations, in
accordance with international practice, from
political pressure or control by the host country to
the prejudice of member State of the organization,
and to ensure the unhampered performance of
their functions.
 Diplomatic immunity – members of the
diplomatic staff of a mission may be
appointed from among the nationals of
the receiving State only with the express
consent of the state; does not exempt a
diplomatic agent from the jurisdiction of
the sending State; its effective sanctions
are the principle of reciprocity and the
danger of retaliation by the aggrieved
State.
 International immunity – may be
specially important in relation to the State
of which the official is a national; there is
no sending State and an equivalent for
the jurisdiction of the sending State
therefore has to be found either in waiver
of immunity or in some international
disciplinary of judicial procedure; enjoys
no similar protection as granted by
diplomatic immunity.
 Diplomat – functions in the national
interest.
 Ambassador – represents his state, and
its specific interest, at the capital of
another state.
 International official – functions are of
international interest; does not represent
a state or the interest of any specific
state; functions are administrative,
although they may be judicial or
executive, but they are rarely political or
functions of representation.
  VIENNA CONVENTION ON DIPLOMATIC principal role in keeping the
RELATIONS principles of separation of powers
 A diplomatic agent enjoys immunity from and of checks and balances alive.
criminal jurisdiction of the receiving state  Power of the purse: the capacity to
except in the case of an action relating to generate money for the
any professional or commercial activity Government, to appropriate public
exercised by the diplomatic agent in the funds, and to spend the money by
receiving state outside of his official specifying PAPs (Programs,
functions. Activities, or Projects).
 Classes of heads of diplomatic missions a. Principle of the Public
include: (a) ambassadors or nuncios Fisc: asserting that all
accredited to the heads of state; (b) envoys, monies received from
ministers or internuncios accredited to the whatever source by
heads of state and; (c) charges d’affairs any part of the
accredited to ministers of foreign affairs. government are public
 The staff of the diplomatic mission are funds.
the diplomatic staff, the administrative staff, b. Principle of
and the technical and service staff. Appropriations:
 Only DIPLOMATIC AGENTS under the prohibiting
terms of the Convention are vested with expenditure of any
diplomatic immunity from civil and criminal public money without
suits. They are the heads of missions or legislative
members of the diplomatic staff. Hence, authorization.
consuls do not enjoy blanket immunity  With regard to crimes, it is for the
because they do not represent states in Congress to decide which acts are
political matters. considered punishable, the kind of
penalties imposed therefor, as well
D) Powers Separate, Balanced, & Non-Delegable as the duration of imprisonment and
 Theory of Separation of Powers: is designed by its to amend, modify, or repeal the
originators to secure action and at the same time to same.
forestall overaction which necessarily results undue  Policy determination
concentration of powers, and thereby obtain  EXECUTIVE: the President is the
efficiency and prevent despotism. Its purpose is to embodiment of executive power, executing
protect the people from possible abusive, oppressive and enforcing the law.
and tyrannical exercise of power.  The Constitution has also entrusted
 Principle of Separation of Powers: when vast to the Executive Department the
powers are distributed and not concentrated in the conduct of foreign relations for
hands of just an official or group of officials to provide the Philippines.
a counterbalance and check on others’ powers. It is  Powers of appointment, control
coupled with a system of checks and balances. and supervision, executive
 The governmental powers are distributed clemency, and the prerogative to
among the 3 branches of the government— command the armed forces.
the legislature, the executive, and the  In Arigo v. Swift, it is settled that “the
judiciary. conduct of the foreign relations of
 CONGRESS: the repository of legislative our government is committed by the
powers, enacts laws, with the corollary Constitution to the executive and
authority to amend or repeal them. legislative—the political—
 Senate – is vested with the treaty- departments of the government,
concurring power. It has the and the propriety of what may be
prerogative to either accept or reject done in the exercise of this political
the proposed executive agreement, power is not subject to judicial
and whatever action it takes in the inquiry or decision.”
exercise of its wide latitude of  JUDICIARY: judicial power is vested in the
discretion, pertains to the wisdom courts, with the prerogative to interpret and
rather than the legality of the act. In apply the Constitution and the laws.
this sense, the Senate partakes a  Interpretation and construction
7
  Judicial legislation: happens
when the Court adds to what the law
provides and does so in the guise of
interpretation.
 Apply the law no matter what
misgivings they might have about it,
unless it falls within the context of
constitutionally proscribed statutes.
 The Judiciary shall enjoy fiscal
autonomy.
 It has been granted greater
autonomy and authority both in
terms of its rule-making, fiscal, and
administrative affairs.
 The Supreme Court is vested with
the power to promulgate rules
concerning the protection and
enforcement of constitutional rights,
pleading, practice, and procedure in
all courts, the admission to practice
of law, the Integrated Bar, and legal
assistance to the underprivileged.
 The Judiciary has no authority on
substantive matters, only
procedural matters.
 Fiscal autonomy: the power and
authority of the Court to levy,
assess, and collect fees, including
legal fees.
 The Constitution diffuses power to better
secure liberty, it also contemplates that
practice will integrate the dispersed powers
into a workable government. It enjoins upon
its branches, separateness but
interdependence, autonomy but reciprocity.
 It is the greatest security against tyranny—
the accumulation of excessive authority in a
single branch.
 Bill of Attainder: essentially a usurpation of
judicial power by legislative body,
envisaging and effecting the imposition of a
penalty—the deprivation of life or liberty or
property—not by the ordinary processes of
judicial trial, but by legislative fiat.
 There is a violation of the principle of
separation of powers when there is
impermissible interference with and/or
assumption of another department’s
functions. Broadly speaking, there is a
violation when one branch of the
government unduly encroaches on the
domain of another branch.
*grave abuse of discretion is when
there is a lack or excess of jurisdiction.
 Executive, legislative, and judicial privilege
8
 Presidential conversations, correspondences, or
discussions during closed-door Cabinet
meetings or executive sessions of either house
of Congress are recognized as confidential.
 Executive privilege has the effect of exempting
the executive from disclosing requirements and
communications (military and diplomatic secrets,
etc.). It is recognized only in relation to certain
types of information of a sensitive character.
 The validity of the claim of executive privilege
depends not only on the ground invoked but also,
the procedural setting or the context in which the
claim is made.
1. Presidential communications
privilege: pertains to
communications, documents or other
materials that reflect presidential
decision-making and deliberations
and that the president believes
should remain confidential; applies to
the decision-making of the president.
It is always subject to greater
scrutiny than the deliberate process
privilege. The following are its
elements:
a) The protected communication
must relate to a quintessential
and non-delegable presidential
power.
b) The communication must be
authored or solicited and
received by a close advisor of
the president or the president
himself.
c) The 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.
2. Deliberative process privilege:
includes advisory opinions,
recommendations and deliberations
comprising part of a process by
which governmental decisions and
policies are formulated; applies to
the decision-making of the executive
officials.
 Congress has the right to know why the
executive considers the requested information
privileged.
  Principle of Comity – the practice of voluntarily
observing inter-departmental courtesy in
undertaking their assigned constitutional duties
for the harmonious working of government. The
judiciary applies this principle in its interpretation
and application of laws.
 Inter-departmental courtesy demands that the
highest levels of each department be exempt
from the compulsory processes of other
departments on matters related to the functions
and duties of their office.
 Checks and Balances
 Power of Judicial Review – allows the judiciary
to determine the validity of the other branches’
acts, such as the President’s veto power.
 It is essential for the maintenance and
enforcement of the separation of
powers and the balancing of powers
among the 3 branches of government
through the definition and maintenance
of the boundaries of authority and
control between them.
 It is a constitutional duty of the courts.
 Political Question Doctrine – limits the power
of judicial review.
 Courts should keep their hands off in the
resolution of questions or problems that
are basically entrusted to the political
departments to address.
 Matters of wisdom, need or desirability
of certain measures for the nation are
for the Congress and the President to
decide.
 A controversy is justiciable if it refers to
a matter which is appropriate for court
review. It pertains to issues which are
inherently susceptible of being decided
on grounds recognized by law.
 Political question refers to those
questions which, under the Constitution
are to be decided by the people in their
sovereign capacity, or in regard to which
full discretionary authority has been
delegated to the Legislature or
Executive branch of the government.
Thy are not associated with the legality
of a particular act.
 Courts have no authority to review
cases involving political questions.
 Two kinds of political questions: (1)
truly political questions and (2) not
truly political questions.
1) Truly political questions – beyond
judicial review.
2) Not truly political questions – can be
reviewed by courts.
9
 Judicial power includes:
a) The duty of the courts of justice to settle
actual controversies involving rights which
are legally demandable and enforceable;
b) To determine whether or not there has been
a grave abuse of discretion amounting to
lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
any branch or instrumentality of the
government.
 President’s Veto Power – checks the
Congress’s legislation.
 Congress’s Commission on Appointments –
checks the President’s Power of Appointment.
 Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) – limits the
President’s Power of Appointment.
 Power of the Congress to override the
President’s power to suspend the privilege
of the writ of habeas corpus and declaration
of martial law.
 Diplomatic Powers of the President – allows
him to enter into treaties and other international
agreements, which is subject to the right of the
Senate to either concur or reject the same.
 Congressional check on the judiciary
includes the prerogative to define and delimit the
jurisdiction of the courts, except to the extent
such power is limited by the Constitution itself.
 Congress has the ability to undo certain
decisions of the courts by simply amending
the law in order to remove or modify the
provisions which might have been considered
constitutionally impermissible.
 The Chief Executive could also provide a check
on the judiciary by his power to appoint those
who would be in a position to determine how the
law is read and understood.
 The Office of the Ombudsman and the
independent constitutional commissions (Civil
Service Commission, Commission on Audit,
& Commission on Elections) could also
perform checks and balances.
E) Delegation of Powers
 Exceptions where delegation of powers may be
allowed:
1) Emergency powers to the President
 Emergency powers inherently belong to
the legislature.
 It may be delegated to the president in
times of emergencies and fast changing
developments such as: war or other
national emergency.
 The power of legislation may be
delegated to the President by the
Congress for a limited period and subject
 until withdrawn by the Congress through
a resolution.
 Emergency must be temporary otherwise
it cannot be said to be an emergency.
2) Tariff powers to the President
 Allows the Chief Executive to make
necessary or desirable adjustments in
tariff rates and other trade concerns.
 Art. 6, Sec. 27, Par. 2 of the Constitution:
The Congress, may, by law, authorize
the President to fix within specified limits,
and subject to such limitations and
restrictions as it may impose, tariff rates,
import and export quotas, tonnage and
wharfage dues, and other duties or
imposts within the framework of the
national development program of the
Government.
 It may also be entrusted to the
appropriate functionaries in the executive
department like the Secretary of Finance,
who acts as the alter ego of the President,
or the DTI or Agriculture Secretary.
 Taxation is inherently legislative, not
executive, therefore, legislative
authorization through statute is required
to delegate the President such power.
3) Powers to local governments
 The inherent legislative powers of the
Congress may be given to local
governments. Since these powers are
not inherent in local governments, they
must exercise the power in and
accordance and in conformity with
national laws and policies set out by
Congress.
 The purpose of delegating powers to
local governments is to promote local
autonomy. Local authorities are
obviously better aware of the needs and
interests of their communities, matters
that could not possibly within the
competence of Congress to attend to, or
micro-manage.
 They may exercise under its police power
the power of eminent domain and the
power to tax.
4) Subordinate legislation to administrative
agencies
 Administrative agencies are clothed with
rule-making powers because the law-
making body finds it impracticable, if not
impossible, to anticipate and provide for
the multifarious and complex situations
that may be encountered in enforcing the
law.
10
 The grant of the rule-making power to
administrative agencies is a relaxation of
the principle of separation of powers and
is an exception to the non-delegation of
legislative powers.
 Subordinate legislation = administrative
regulation
 Limited to either supplementary rule-
making or contingent rule-making.
 Tests for valid delegation:
 Completeness test and sufficiency standard
test – both are intended to prevent a total
transference of legislative authority to the
delegate who is not allowed to step into the
shoes of the legislature and exercise a power
essentially legislative.
a) The law must be complete in itself—it must
set forth therein the policy to be executed,
carried out or implemented by the delegate,
and;
b) To fix a standard—the limits of which are
sufficiently determinate or determinable—to
which the delegate must conform in the
performance of his functions.
 Congress may not delegate its legislative power
to the two other branches of the government,
subject to the exception that local governments
may over local affairs participate in its exercise.
What cannot be delegated is the authority to
make laws and to alter and repeal them
 To determine whether or not there is an undue
delegation of legislative power, the inquiry must
be directed to the scope and definiteness of the
measure enacted.
 Sufficient standards for valid delegation:
a) Interest of law and order;
b) Adequate and efficient instruction;
c) Public interest;
d) Justice and equity;
e) Public convenience and welfare;
f) Simplicity, economy, and efficiency,
and;
g) Fair and equitable employment
practices.
 Non-delegation of powers
 This principle is applicable to all the 3 major
powers of the Government but is especially
important in the case of the legislative power
because of the many instances when its
delegation is permitted.
 Non-delegable powers of the President:
a) Veto of bills;
b) Appointment of certain officials;
c) Permissible fund transfers, and;
d) The exercise of the commander-in-
chief powers such as:
 i. Calling out the armed
forces to prevent or
suppress lawless
violence;
ii. Suspending the
privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus, or;
iii. Declaring martial law.
 The legislative power of the Congress cannot be
delegated to its individual member because the
power is to be exercised as a body.
 The power of appropriation, which is lodged in
the Congress involves (a) the setting apart by
law of a certain sum from the public revenue
for (b) a specified purpose.
F) State Principles & Policies
 REPUBLICANISM: sovereignty resides in the
people and all government authority emanates from
them.
o It essentially means representation,
transparency and accountability.
o REPUBLIC: is a representative government,
a government run by and for the people. It is
not a pure democracy where the people
govern themselves directly.
o Essence of Republicanism is
representation and renovation, the
selection by the citizenry of a corps of
public functionaries who derive their
mandate from the people and act on their
behalf, serving for a limited period only,
after which they are replaced or retained, at
the option of their principal.
o A republican government is a responsible
government whose officials hold and
discharge their position as a public trust and
shall, according to the Constitution, at all
times be accountable to the people they are
sworn to serve. The purpose of a republican
government is the promotion of the common
welfare according to the will of the people
themselves.
o Characteristics:
a) Rule of law – our government is that of
law and not of men.
 Law is the definition and
limitation of power; no man in
this country is above the law.
 Obedience to the rule of law is
the bedrock of our justice
system.
b) Periodic elections – a means of
ascertaining popular will.
c) Bill of Rights
d) Rule of the majority
11
e) Principle of Separation of Powers
f) System of Checks and Balances – to
ensure accountability of public officers.
 International law, independence, & interdependence
o Art. 2, Sec. 2 of the Constitution: 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.
o The Philippines, cognizant of its membership in
the family of nations, must abide by the accepted
rules of peaceful multi-national engagements.
o Art. 2, Sec. 7 of the Constitution: the policy of the
State is to pursue an independent foreign policy.
In its relations with other states the paramount
consideration shall be national sovereignty,
territorial integrity, national interest, and the right
to self-determination.
o Art. 2, Sec. 8: x x x as well as the adoption and
pursuit, consistent with the national interest, of a
policy of freedom from nuclear weapons in its
territory.
o Art. 2, Sec. 19: x x x the constitutional policy
promoting a self-reliant and independent
national economy.
o Doctrine of Transformation: requires that an
international law be transformed into a domestic
law through a constitutional mechanism such as
local legislation. Thus, treaties become part of
the law of the land.
o Doctrine of Incorporation: applies when, by
mere constitutional declaration, international law
is deemed to have the force of domestic law. Art.
2, Sec. 2 of the Constitution provides for
incorporation of the generally accepted
principles of international law which refers to
norms of general or customary international law
which are binding on all states.
o Jus cogens means compelling law; it is a norm
that holds the highest hierarchical position
among all other customary norms and principles.
They are deemed peremptory and non-
derogable.
o Art. 2, Sec. 5: The maintenance of peace and
order, the protection of life, liberty, and property,
and the promotion of the general welfare are
essential for the enjoyment by all the people of
the blessings of democracy.
o Art. 2, Sec. 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.
 Citizens may also be called upon to help
in the ensuring the defense of the State.
  The Constitutional right of the sate to
require all citizens to render personal
and military service necessarily includes
not only private citizens but also citizens
who have retired from military service.
o Art. 16, Sec. 6: The State shall establish and
maintain one police force, which shall be
national in scope and civilian in character, to be
administered and controlled by a national police
commission.
o Art. 2, Sec. 6: The Separation of Church and
State shall be inviolable.
 The principle of separation is based on
mutual respect. The State cannot
meddle in the internal affairs of the
church, and the latter cannot impose its
beliefs ad conviction on the former and
the rest of the citizenry.
 Not any one religion should ever be
preferred over another.
 Church – in its generic sense refers to
a temple, a mosque, an igelesia, or any
other house of God. Church means the
religious congregations collectively.
 Courts do not have jurisdiction to look
into the excommunication or expulsion
of members from their church or
religious organization.
 No all acts done by those who are
priests, bishops, ustadz, imams, or any
other religious make such an act
immune from any secular regulation.
The religious also have a secular
existence. They exist within a society
that is regulated by law. Not all acts of
religious leaders or officials amount to
religious expression.
 Social justice: is neither communism, nor
despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy, but the
humanization of laws and the equalization of social
and economic forces by the State so that justice in
its rational and objectively secular conception may
at least be approximated.
 It means the promotion of the welfare of
all the people, the adoption by the
Government of measures calculated to
insure economic stability of all
component elements of society, through
the maintenance of a proper economic
and social equilibrium in the interrelations
of the members of the community,
constitutionality, through the adoption of
measures legally justifiable, or extra-
constitutionally, through the exercise of
powers underlying the existence of all
12
governments on the time-honored
principle of salus populi est suprema lex.
 It is not equality but protection and that
compassion for the poor is an imperative
of every humane society but only when
the recipient is not a rascal claiming an
undeserved privilege.
 Human dignity and human rights – are inherent
and inalienable.
 Art. 13, Sec. 1: The Congress shall give
highest priority to the enactment of
measures that protect and enhance the
right of all the people to human dignity,
reduce social, economic, and political
inequalities, and remove cultural
inequities by equitably diffusing wealth
and political power for the common good.
 The principles contained in the UN
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
are not recognized as customarily
binding upon the members of the
international community.
 Art. 2, Sec. 2: The State values the
dignity of every human person and
guarantees full respect for human rights.
 Family: is a basic social institution from which
other social institutions may build upon.
 Art. 15 of the Constitution recognizes
marriage as an inviolable social
institution and that our family law is
based on the policy that marriage is not a
mere contract, but a social institution in
which the State is vitally interested.
 Art. 2, Sec. 12: The State recognizes the
sanctity of family life and shall protect
and strengthen the family as a basic
autonomous social institution. It shall
equally protect the life of the mother and
the life of the unborn from conception.
The natural and primary right and duty of
parents in the rearing of the youth for
civic efficiency and the development of
moral character shall receive the support
of the Government.
 Abortion is criminal because it is based
on the theory that life begins at
conception.
 The citizens do not owe their existence to
the State. Accordingly, the State does not
also control their rearing and
development as this primarily belongs to
the natural parents.
 The Constitution prevents the
government from standardizing its
children—and its adults—by forcing all to
 live in certain narrowly defined family
patterns.
 Decision-making involving a reproductive
health procedure is a private matter
which belongs to the couple, not just one
of them. Both spouses are one cohesive
unit.
 Under the RH Law, responsible
parenthood is a shared
responsibility between parents.
o The Constitution declares that the family
has the duty to take care for its elderly
members but the State may also do so
through just programs of social security.
 Gender Equality
o The Constitution recognizes the role of women
in nation-building and the need to ensure the
fundamental legal equality of women and men.
o The Anti-Violence Against Women and Their
Children Act of 2004 (RA 9262) and the Magna
Carta of Women (RA 9710) are some of the
laws that provide protection to women.
o The State has also amended the law on rape in
order to provide for the crime of marital rape.
Furthermore, the Court held in People v.
Jumawan: “Husbands do not have property
rights over their wives’ bodies sexual
intercourse, albeit within the realm of marriage,
if not consensual, is rape.”
o The accommodation of differences is the
essence of true equality.
 Right to Health and Healthful Ecology
o The Constitution has adopted the policy of
promoting the health of the people, which is a
fundamental obligation of the State and a
primordial governmental concern.
o A person cannot insist on being a physician if
he will be a menace to his patients.
o Art. 2, Sec. 16: The State shall protect and
advance the right of the people to a balance
and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm
and harmony of nature.
o Intergenerational responsibility: allowed the
minor petitioners in Oposa v. Factoran Jr. to
sue on behalf of future generations to preserve
the right to a balanced and healthful ecology. In
said case, the Court held that such right is
found under the Declaration of Principles and
State Policies.
o Writ of Kalikasan: is a remedy available to a
natural or juridical person, entity authorized by
law, people’s organization, non-governmental
organization, or any public interest group
accredited by or registered with any
government agency, on behalf of persons
whose constitutional right to a balanced and
13
healthful ecology is violated, or threatened with
violation by an unlawful act or omission of a
public official or employee, etc. involving
environmental damage of such magnitude as to
prejudice the life, health or property of
inhabitants in 2 or more cities or provinces.
o Writ of Continuing Mandamus: may come
into play when any agency or instrumentality of
the government or officer thereof unlawfully
neglects the performance of an act which the
law specifically enjoins as a duty resulting from
an office, trust or station in connection with the
enforcement or violation of an environmental
law rule or regulation or a right therein, or
unlawfully excludes another from the use or
enjoyment of such right and there is no other
plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the
ordinary course of law.
 Priority to Education, Science, Technology,
Arts, Culture, and Sports
o Art. 14: The State shall protect and promote the
right of all citizens to quality education at all
levels and shall take appropriate steps to make
such education accessible to all… every citizen
has a right to select a profession or course of
study, subject to fair, reasonable, and equitable
admission and academic requirements…
academic freedom shall be enjoyed in all
institutions of higher learning… the State shall
assign the highest budgetary priority to
education and ensure that teaching will attract
and retain its rightful share of the best available
talents through adequate remuneration and
other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.
o With regards to Arts and Culture Art. 14
provides: The State shall foster the
preservation, enrichment, and dynamic
evolution of a Filipino national culture based on
the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of
free artistic and intellectual expression.
 Labor as Primary Social Economic Force
o Art. 2, Sec. 18: The State affirms labor as a
primary social economic force. It shall protect
the rights of workers and promote their welfare.
o Art. 13, Sec. 3: The State shall afford full
protection to labor, local and overseas,
organized and unorganized, and promote full
employment and equality of employment
opportunities for all.
 Self-Reliant and Independent National
Economy
o The country has to be guided by its own
national interest, not subordinated to those of
other States.
 o Art. 2, Sec. 19: The State shall develop a self-
reliant and independent national economy
effectively controlled by Filipinos.
 Private Enterprise
o Legitimate enterprises enjoy the constitutional
protection not to be taxed out of existence.
Incurring losses because of a tax imposition
may be an acceptable consequence but killing
the business of an entity is another matter and
should not be allowed.
o Art. 2, Sec. 20: The State recognizes the
indispensable role of the private sector,
encourages private enterprise, and provides
incentives to needed investments.
 Rural Development
o Agrarian reform is a means to advance the lives
and welfare of those who toil in the soil.
o Art. 2, Sec. 21: The State shall promote
comprehensive rural development and agrarian
reform.
o Art. 12, Sec. 1, Par. 2: The State shall promote
industrialization and full employment based on
sound agricultural development and agrarian
reform, through industries that make full and
efficient use of human and natural resources,
and which are competitive in both domestic and
foreign markets. However, the State shall
protect Filipino enterprises against unfair
foreign competition and trade practices.
 Indigenous Cultural Communities
o Art. 2, Sec. 22: The State recognizes and
promotes the rights of indigenous cultural
communities within the framework of national
unity and development.
 Non-Government Organizations
o All stake holders are encouraged to have a
part or voice in the affairs of the State.
o Art. 13, Sec. 15: The State shall respect the
role of independent people’s organizations to
enable the people to pursue and protect,
within the democratic framework, their
legitimate and collective interests and
aspiration through peaceful and lawful means.
People’s organizations are bona fide
associations of citizens with demonstrated
capacity to promote the public interest and
with identifiable leadership, membership, and
structure.
o Art. 13. Sec. 16: The right of the people and
their organizations to effective and reasonable
participation at all levels of social, political, and
economic decision-making shall not be
abridged. The State shall, by law, facilitate the
establishment of adequate consultation
mechanisms.
 Communication and Information
14
o Art. 2, Sec. 24: The State recognizes the vital
role of communication and information in
nation-building.
o Related to this policy is the constitutional
guarantee of freedom of expression, the right
o information on matters of public concern, as
well as the provisions on communication
structures suitable to the needs and
aspirations of the nation and the balanced flow
of information.
 Local Governments Autonomous
o Art. 2, Sec. 25: The State shall ensure the
autonomy of local governments.
 Public Service, Political Dynasties,
Transparency and Accountability
o The access to public office and service is
restricted or otherwise constricted by any
means to concentrate powers in the hands of
a few specially entrenched families, to that
extent may the idea of participatory
democracy be defeated and rendered illusory.
o Art. 2, Sec. 26: The State shall guarantee
equal access to opportunities for public
service, and prohibit political dynasties as may
be defined by law.
o Art. 11, Sec. 1: Public office is a public trust.
Public officers and employees must at all
times be accountable to the people, serve
them with utmost responsibility, integrity,
loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and
justice, and lead modest lives.
o Art. 11, Sec. 27: Subject to reasonable
conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts
and implements a policy of full public
disclosure of all its transactions involving
public interest.