CHAPTER IV

THE STATE AND GOVERNMENT

INTRODUCTION

Despite the inclusion of subjects such as history, law, social studies and political science in the curricula
of our educational system in the Philippines, many Filipinos continue to have a vague understanding of
the state. For some people, the term “state” is oftentimes considered synonymous with the term
“government”. For others, especially the lawyers, the state is considered a juridical entity, a “community
of persons” with the four elements of territory, people, sovereignty and government. The true meaning
of the term “state” continues to elude many Filipinos as they consider this entity as distant “other”,
unrelated to their social networks of family, relatives and friends. Sociological studies on the Filipino
sense of community and social capital (e.g. Abad 2006, Zialcita 1997) reveal that Filipinos can only relate
to their network of relatives and friends or to their primary group of family, peer group, the
neighborhood or small organizations as their “community” and not the “state” which consists of distant
and unrelated others that comprise its citizens.

UNDERSTANDING SOCIETY

To appreciate the nature of the state as a society, it is necessary to understand the various types of
societies around the world. Not all societies in the world are state societies. Some are primitive, others
are more complex and advanced in development like the state. Political sociologists and anthropologists
recognize the evolution of societies from a simple to a more complex society. Table 1 below shows the
various types of societies based on subsistence or food-procurement system:

Table 1. Types of Societies based on Subsistence System and Political Structure

Type of Society General Subsistence System Political Structure

Characteristics

A. Non-State

1. Hunting and 1. Consists of 20-30 Hunting wild animals, A band is a small kin-
Gathering or families; gathering fruits and based group (all
Foraging 2. Nomadic, vegetables. members of the group
society constantly moving are related to each other
E.g. Eskimos from one place to by kinship or marriage
Aborigines of another by walking in ties)
Australia search for food; Characteristics of a
3. Egalitarian, no band:
private ownership; 1. Impermanent, formed
4. Practices infanticide seasonally, no
to control population; differential authority or
5. Lowlanders power;
2. Lack formal law, no
social control and
dispute settlement;
3. Leaders like headmen
 and shaman (part-time
religious specialists)
have little power;
4. Band leaders are
leaders in name only,
first among equals, can
give advice or make
decisions but no means
of enforcing them;
5. Personal relationships
linked families and
bands.
2. Horticultural 1. Population is higher 1.Swidden or “slush A tribe is a village or
Society than a band, temporary and burn” agriculture descent group (a
E.g. Yanomami, houses are built around (kaingin) permanent social unit
native Americans in the garden; 2. Tribe members whose members claim
southern Venezuela 2. Semi-nomadic, tribe clear the forest by common ancestry like a
and Brazil transfers to another burning, create a lineage or clan) which
area of the forest to temporary garden lacks a formal
build new garden after planted with root government and social
every harvest; crops and build classes. It has no reliable
homes around the means of enforcing
area. political decisions.
3. No land ownership The leader is a Village Head (always a man) or a
“Big Man”.
3.Pastoral Society 1. Higher in population Raising cattle, sheep A chiefdom is a form of
E.g. Iranian pastoral than a horticultural and other animals sociopolitical
nomads—the Basseri society; organization which is in-
& Qashqai 2. Private ownership to between the tribe and the
limited to animals or state, is kin-based, but it
cattle and slaves; has differential access to
resources (some people
have wealth, prestige,
and power than others)
and a permanent political
structure.
4. Agricultural 1. Population is large 1. Sedentary A state is a form of
Society with classification of agriculture: livelihood sociopolitical
people based on wealth is primarily fixed organization based on a
(social classes) and farming using the formal government
prestige (social status). plow and beast of structure and
2. There is private burden like cows or socioeconomic
ownership including carabaos; stratification.
land; 2. There is food
3. Social inequality surplus: farmers
between the rich the produce goods not
poor emerged. just for personal
consumption but for
 exchange in the
market
5. Industrial Society 1. Densely populated; Machinery like
2. Migration of people tractor is used for
from rural to urban mass production of
centers; goods and
3. Urbanization: agriculture;
formation of cities and Sale of goods and
urban zones; services;
Social inequality may Manufacturing sector
be utilized emerged;

TWO APPROACHES IN DEFINING THE STATE

There are two perspectives or disciplines vying to explain the meaning and nature of the state: the
normative approach of law or political science and the descriptive or empirical approach of sociology or
anthropology. The normative approach judges reality “as it should be”, that is, it usually judges a social
reality or phenomenon using a set of fixed norms or ideal standards, thus it judges a certain society
whether it is a state or not using some form of fixed norms. For lawyers, trained in law and political
science, for instance, a state must have the basic elements of people, territory, government and
sovereignty, otherwise it can only classify as a non-state society or nation. There is nothing wrong with
looking at the state in this normative sense, the only difficulty in adopting this view is that a state is a
complex society, and various states around the world, whether ancient or modern, manifest different
characteristics which cannot be simplified by these four elements. The Vatican, which is considered the
smallest state in the world, for instance, can be considered a state in this normative sense but can
hardly qualify as one under the theories and empirical methodologies of the social sciences. The
normative definition of the state, as we shall see below is also identified with the juridical definition and
understanding of the state.

The sociological-anthropological or the descriptive definition and understanding of the state is research-
based and relates to the various theories or methodologies in the social sciences. The descriptive
approach often classifies societies into state and non-state societies based on some indicators
established by ethnographic research studies.

One important empirical definition of the state is the definition offered by the German sociologist Max
Weber. For him, a state is “a compulsory association with territorial basis having the monopoly of the
legitimate use of force” (Weber in Ferkis 1974).

The Normative Approach

Among lawyers, law students and students of political science, the state is commonly defined as:

[A] community of persons more or less, 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 (De Leon 1997: 5)

The word “persons” in the juridical or legal parlance has specific meaning commonly known by
lawyers. As defined by Philippine law, a “person” can either be natural (individuals with human
rights) or artificial or juridical (such as corporations and companies). An artificial person is a legal
entity through which the law allows a group of natural persons to act as if it were a single individual
for certain purposes such as filing lawsuits (to sue and be sued), property ownership, and entering
contracts.

Thus, under this definition, a state is composed of both natural and artificial persons “more or less”
numerous, residing is a fixed territory with government and sovereignty.

Four Elements
Based on this definition, the state has four essential elements:

1. People
This refers to the population of people whether young or old, male or female, or “natural or artificial”
residing within the state. In the normative sense, there seems to be no requirement as to the number
of people that should compose a state. But is should be neither too small nor too large: small enough
to be well governed and large enough to be self-sufficing.

In the descriptive or sociological definition a society cannot qualify as a state unless the population is
large enough to form social classes of people such as upper, middle or lower class. A group, tribe or
secondary group cannot form a state under this approach.

2. Territory
The territory of the state includes the land, inland waters such as rivers, lakes, brooks, area of the sea
(and its underwater marine life and sea bed) which abuts upon its coasts and air space above it.
Normally the territory of the state is classified into four (4) important domains or areas: the terrestrial
(all land within the state), aerial (all air space above the land and sea), fluvial (all
inland waters or bodies of water within the terrestrial domain) and maritime (the territorial sea and
marine life and sea bed).

The Philippines is an archipelagic state. It consists of clusters of islands and islets totaling to 7, 107.
It is found in Southeast Asia in the Western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies
Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between
the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from the other
islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. The Philippines has a total land
area of about 115, 707 square miles or 299,681 square kilometers (De Leon 1997: 6).

In actual social practice, the question may be asked, How important is the territory to the people
residing in the state? Aside from asserting identity as one independent nation-state in the
international community, a fixed territory delineates the parameters or jurisdiction of Philippines
laws, especially public laws like criminal or penal laws. One essential characteristic of penal laws is
territoriality. All citizens or aliens who reside or visit the Philippine territory are subject to criminal
laws under the Revised Penal Code and Special Penal Laws. If they commit a crime within the
Philippine territory, whether terrestrial, aerial, fluvial or maritime domain, they can be charged,
prosecuted and imprisoned in the country, unless they are exempted by an international treaty that
says otherwise. For instance, under the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines
and United States, an American soldier who commits a crime in the Philippines can be charged in
Philippine courts, but the custody of the accused while waiting for final judgment by the Philippine
Supreme Court remains under the Americans and thus can be detained in the American Embassy as
in the case of Lance Corporal Daniel Smith who was detained in the US embassy after conviction in
a Makati Regional Trail Court while his case was on appeal. Unfortunately, the case was dismissed
when the Court of Appeals ruled in Smith’s favor after the rape victim withdrew from the case and
entered an amicable settlement with the US.

3. Government
Sociologically speaking, every type of society has some kind of leadership or authority structure
which provides direction to a nomadic group, tribe, chiefdom or state. But not all societies have a
centralized authority, bureaucracy or machinery of officials which run complex societies like the
modern state. Some governments are less complex in structure compared to others, depending on the
level of population, technology advancement and subsistence system of the society. The most
primitive form of society like hunting and gathering tribe for instance, has no fixed government.
Since there is no private ownership and social class, everything is held in common. Leadership in the
group, especially for a hunting expedition is assigned on a daily basis by the nomadic group.

When we talk of government as an element of the state, we are referring not to pre-modern or non-
state forms of government, but the government of a modern nation-state with a centralized authority
structure consisting of bureaucratic officials who assist the sovereign or chief ruler in running the
state. Thus, a government can be defined as:
The totality of authorities which rule a society by prescribing and carrying out fundamental rules
which regulate the freedom of its members. It is a whole class of officeholders upon whom devolve
the executive, legislative, judicial and administrative functions of the State (Dannug & Campanilla
2004: 136-137).

4. Sovereignty
Sovereignty is an abstract concept which is basically connected to state power. A state cannot exist if
it cannot exercise social control over its citizens which can result in anarchy, chaos and the
proliferation of private armies. Thus, sovereignty is defined as “the supreme, absolute, uncontrollable
power by which an independent state is governed” (Suarez 1999: 56). Sovereignty is the paramount
control of the constitution and frame of government and its administration (Dannug & Campanilla
2004).

The source of this sovereign power of the state is the people themselves. That is why sovereignty is
said to reside in the people. Under a republican or indirect form of government and social contract
theory, it is the people or citizens who agreed to form the state as expressed in the constitution. Thus
sovereign power emanates from the citizens and public officials are only delegated with this power
by the former to govern the state.
Table 2. Two Types of Sovereignty
Type Description
Internal This refers to the power of the state to rule
itself. It is the power to control and direct
the internal affairs of a country such as the
authority to enact, execute and interpret the
laws.
External This refers to freedom of the state to run its
own affairs with the interference of other
states. It is often called as the
independence of the state from other states.
This sovereignty is lost during an invasion
or colonization by a powerful state over a
weak state. Iraq, for instance, has lost its
external sovereignty when the United
States invaded it to depose Saddam
Hussein.

An independent nation-state must both possess internal and external sovereignty. It cannot
administer its own affairs and when often interfered with other states, it loses its own
independence and is reduced to a mere colony or part of another superior power or state.

Table 3. Anthropological Theories on State Formation

Theory Causes of State Formation Explanation

Hydraulic The need to regulate The state emerged in some
hydraulic (water-based) arid areas to manage systems
 agricultural societies.
Ecological diversity The need to regulate the
production and exchange of
products between zones
Long-Distance Trade The need to create centers of
Routes trade, exchange or supply
between long trade routes
Multivariate State formation is not just
caused by one factor or
variable but by many factors
or causes.
Table 4. Philosophical-Juridical Theories on the State
Theory Cause of State Formation
Divine Right Divine intervention
Necessity or Force Consolidation of small tribes
and territories into a state by
great warriors in History like
Alexander the Great,
Napoleon the Great, etc.
Paternalistic Expansion of a family into a
lineage, clan and ultimately
into a state
Social Contract Voluntary agreement of the
people to create a state
of irrigation, drainage and
flood control; water control
increases population in arid
lands like Egypt and
Mesopotamia; irrigated
agriculture fuels population
growth; political systems may
arise to regulate interpersonal
relationships and conflicts
and the means of production.
Ecological diversity;
interzonal regulation and
ecological diversity
strengthen state organization
for unity.
State develops at strategic
locations in regional trade
networks, including
crossroads of caravan routes,
and places that threaten or
halt trade between centers.
Wherever and whenever
environmental
circumscription (or resource
concentration), increasing
population and warfare exist,
state formation will begin.
Explanation
God gave monarchs or kings
and queens the right to rule
the people as in the case of
Moses in the Old Testament
The state is formed as a result
of annexation of small
societies or tribes into a state
society. This caused by
conquest by great warriors in
history like Alexander the
Great.
The state is allegedly the
product of a gradual increase
of population starting with
one family.
A state is formed when people
enter into a covenant or social
 contract as in a modern
constitution and determine the
type of society and
government for their own
common good.

THE INHERENT POWERS OF THE STATE

POLICE POWER
Police power is one of the most coercive powers of the state. Under the Constitution, it can limit the
exercise of human rights under the constitution when public welfare requires it. This is the power of
the state to restrain and regulate the individual use of liberty and property to promote public welfare.
In a comprehensive sense, police power embraces its whole system of internal regulations, by which
the State seeks not only to preserve public order and to prevent an offense against the State but also
to establish, for the intercourse of citizens with citizens, those rules of good
manners and good neighborhood which are calculated to prevent a conflict of rights, and insure to
each the uninterrupted enjoyment of his won so far as it is reasonably consistent with a like
enjoyment of rights of others (Moreno 1972: 465).

Police power regulates freedoms and property rights of citizens for the promotion of (1) public
safety, (2) health and (3) morals or the promotion of (4) public convenience and (5) general
prosperity. This is justified under maxims that the “welfare of the people is the supreme law” (salus
populi est suprema lex) and that “one should not use his/her own property in such a manner as not
to injure that of another” (sic utre tuo ut alienum non laedas) (Dannug & Campanilla 2004: 281). To
achieve this end, the state may enact laws to protect the general welfare of the people as a valid
exercise of police power. In practical terms, police power can be applied in the following areas as
shown in the following table.

Table 4. The Scope of Police Power

Areas Covered Explanation

Public Safety To protect public safety, the state
punishes all forms of crimes such as
murder, homicide, rape, physical injury,
assault, hazing, etc.
Public Health To protect public health, the state
through police check point can deny
people to enter a place infected with
deadly or contagious disease. It can also
ban smoking in public places.
Morals To protect public morals, the state can
criminalize prostitution, pornography,
scandal and other indecent acts.
Public Convenience To promote public convenience, the
Metro Manila Development Authority
(MMDA) or Land Transportation Office
(LTO) can issues traffic rules and
regulations to motorists.
General Prosperity To promote prosperity, the state can
enact laws punishing economic crimes
such swindling,
syndicated estafa, theft, bouncing
checks, etc.

POWER OF TAXATION
The power of the state to impose taxes is premised on the fact that no government, whether
democratic or despotic, can exist without the resources to finance its operations. A government exists
by necessity. A state cannot exist without it. But a government cannot likewise exist without any
funds to run the state. Thus it has to raise revenues or taxes to defray the necessary expenses of the
state (Gonzalo et al 1999: 6).
There are several similar definitions of taxes and taxation. Taxation may be defined as the power of
the sovereign to impose burdens or charges upon persons, property or property rights for the use and
support of government in order to enable it to discharge its appropriate functions (Gonzalo et al
1999: 3-4). Tax is defined as the burden or charge imposed by the legislative power on persons,
property or services to raise money for public purposes. The power to tax may thus be said to refer to
the power of the sovereign to make a levy upon persons or property for the raising of revenue to
defray the necessary expenses of government (Gonzalo et al 1999).

The power of taxation is both inherent and legislative in character because only the legislature can
make tax laws. It exercised this power as a body of direct representatives of the people with authority
to impose compulsory levies on persons, property objects, services and transactions to raise
government revenues for the purpose of resource allocation, income redistribution, or economic
stability (Gonzalo et al 1999: 4-6). For this reason, the 1987 Philippine Constitution requires that any
proposed legislation that would create new taxes or increase existing taxes in the country must
emanate or originate from the House of Representatives. The Senate cannot initiate tax bills. Only
members of the Lower House who represent the various districts and sectors throughout the country
are authorized to file tax bills.

Since taxes are the lifeblood of the state, the power of taxation is coercive in nature. Every citizen
possessing taxable income, property and property rights must pay taxes correctly and honestly
otherwise s/he can be held liable under the law. For unpaid taxes, s/he can either pay unpaid taxes
with penalties and interests and/or face imprisonment. The Commissioners of the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) are authorized by law to assess and collect taxes
and impose penalties on tax evaders under the tax code.

EMINENT DOMAIN
The power of eminent domain refers to the right of a government to take and appropriate private
property for public use, whenever public exigency requires it and this can be done only on condition
of providing a reasonable compensation for it (U.S. vs. Toribio, 15 Phil 93; Moreno 1972: 205).
It is exercised by the state through national or local governments, private persons or corporations
authorized to exercise functions of public character. A law is usually passed by the legislature
authorizing the expropriation of a private property for public use. It can be Congress, the Provincial
Board, or the City or Municipal Council which can determine it. But the Supreme Court has
repeatedly ruled that the exercise of eminent domain is valid if there is just payment or compensation
to the owner of the property based on fair market value.

The most common expressions of the exercise of eminent domain can be seen in the widening of
roads where the owners of land and houses affected by the project have no choice but sell their
property to the government at a fair market value. The construction of the expressway SC-TEX in
Tarlac where the owners of Hacienda Luisita were paid by the government for the private agricultural
land affected by the opening of this new road is an example. The relocation of the historic Santa
Clara Church and monastery is another example of a valid exercise of eminent domain. The Catholic
Church and contemplative nuns had to give up their property and be transferred to another site, upon
just payment, to give way to the government’s LRT project on Katipunan Avenue, Quezon City.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE STATE, GOVERNMENT AND NATION

Ordinary people tend to equate the word “state” and “government” as if they refer to the same reality.
They use the words interchangeably. But a closer look at these two terms reveal a technical
difference. A state is an advanced and complex type of society with the government as one of its four
(4) essential elements. Thus a state cannot exist without a government. As already mentioned, the
government is only a part and an agency of the state which provides economic and political
directions to its society. Therefore the word “state” is larger in scope than “government”.

A government can exist even without a state as in the case of non-state societies. A chiefdom in a
barangay of old, for instance, was a political organization with the datu as the chief ruler assisted by
a council of elders or relatives, had a government that it is not necessarily a state. In a modern nation-
state, a government is a political machinery composed of public official who run the affairs of the
state using rational-legal authority.

Based on anthropological studies, the following are the most common types of government of non-
state and state societies:
The word “nation” is also different from the “state” or “government”. H. De Leon (1997) suggests
that “state” is a political concept while “nation” is an ethnic concept. The word “nation” is
technically synonymous to “people” in the state. It is defined as “a group of people bound together
by certain characteristics such as common social origin, language, customs and traditions, and who
believe that they are one and distinct from others (De Leon 1997:7).

The idea of nationhood is of European origin, particularly from France, the first independent nation-
state in Europe after the French Revolution. Dr. Jose Rizal first introduced this idea through his
writings in the 19th century to mean one identity of all people who are born and residing in the
Philippines during the Spanish period as “Filipinos” whether they are
Spaniards, mestizos or natives (Indios). Before Rizal, one must remember that only those with
Spanish blood like the peninsulares (Spaniards who were born in the peninsula or Spain and residing
in the colony), insulares (Spaniards who were born and residing in the Philippines) and mestizos
(those of blood mixed, Spanish, Chinese or other foreigners) were considered “Filipinos” and as
consisting the “Filipino nation” during the Spanish period. The natives were not called “Filipinos” by
the Spaniards but were looked down upon as “Indios” or savage “Indians” who generally were
uneducated and considered uncivilized.

People consisting of one identity as a nation do not necessarily come from the same ethnicity or
cultural background whose language they speak is one. The Philippines, for instance, is a multi-
ethnic nation. Filipinos come from different ethnic backgrounds and speak different languages: some
are Ilokanos, Warays, Bicolanos, Cebuanos, Maranaos, Tausugs, Maguindanaos, Ilonggo, Tagalogs,
etc. There are more than a hundred ethno-linguistic groups in the Philippines and yet they are all
Filipinos and belong to one nation—the Philippines. “Filipino” as the national language of our
country is actually a social construct which uses the Tagalog language as its basic structure with
borrowings from other Philippine languages. It is the lingua franca or the language which is not as
yet mastered with equal competence by all these ethnic groups in the Philippines. Of course, the
national language “Filipino” is taught in schools and can easily be learned by Filipinos from various
ethnic origin because of a common core.

THE IMPORTANCE OF GOVERNMENT

One of the most important elements of the state is the government. A state must have some
organizing hold over its citizenry; otherwise, it would crumble and its territory would soon split apart
or be conquered or absorbed by other nations. In the absence of government, anarchy and chaos
reigns and the state soon disintegrates.

Humanity has witnessed various forms of government being instituted by societies and states round
the world. Below are some of the most prominent and popular types:

Table 5. General Types of Government in the World

Type Description Head of State Head Country with this

(possesses of Government Type of
ceremonial or (possesses actual Government
nominal powers)governmental
powers)
I. As to the number of persons exercising sovereign powers
A. Monarchy A government in which the supreme and final authority is in the hands of the
reigning monarch (king and/or queen).
Sub-Type
1. Absolute Monarch rules by Monarch Monarch Saudi Arabia,
divine right with Brunei, Swaziland
absolute
governmental
powers
2. Limited or Monarch rules in Monarch Prime Minister England, Japan,
Constitutional accordance with a Spain
constitution and
 with limited
governmental
powers
B. Democracy A system of government where the people exercise governmental powers either
directly or through their representatives.
Sub-Type
1. Direct People directly All citizens All citizens Ancient city-states
exercise of Greece and
governmental Rome
powers. All
citizens speak &
vote in
assemblies to
decide
government
matters.
2.Indirect, Prime Minister Philippines, United
Representative (parliamentary States, Malaysia
or Republican government) or
President (for
presidential
government)
C. Aristocracy This is a system of government in which the political power is exercised by a
few rich and power class or elite known as oligarchy or aristocracy.
II. As to the extent of centralization of power
A. Unitary One in which the Philippines,
control of Vietnam, Taiwan
national and
local governance
is exercised by
the national
government.
B. Federal One in which the United States,
powers of Mexico
government is
divided into two
sets, one for
national affairs
(federal
government) and
the other for
local affairs
(state
government)
III. As to the extent of state ownership of the economy and distribution of the nation’s
wealth to poorer sectors of society
A. Laissez-faire The government owns little or no industry and redistributes little in the form of
welfare programs. This is based on the assumption that private enterprise and
 individual initiative make a nation both free and prosperous. E.g. United States,
the Philippines.
B. Welfare The government owns little or no industry but does redistribute wealth to aid the
poor. This is also known as “social democracy”. The welfare state offers
“cradle-to-grave” benefits in the form of health insurance, child care, job
training, and retirement funds. To pay for this, it charges the world’s highest
taxes—in Sweden and Denmark more than 50 percent of the country’s GDP.
Industry, though is private and oriented to moneymaking.
C. Statism This is the old system which predated laissez-faire and originated when the
French kings became powerful in Europe. The government becomes the number
one capitalist, owning and running much of major industry, but is not interested
in providing welfare benefits. Small and medium business is left in private
hands. Some European and Latin American countries: France, Brazil and
Mexico were caught by statism and are now reforming to improve their systems.

Which Type of Government a better fit for the Philippines: Presidential or Parliamentary?
One of the most controversial issues facing the Philippines in recent years revolved around the choice
of the form of republican government to be adopted in the country. The 1987 Constitution has
expressly indicated that the government must be presidential with the President as the head of the
state and government. But debates often surfaced with regard to the advantages and disadvantages of
adopting the presidential form of government. Some preferred the parliamentary over the presidential
form of government because it was said to be easier to remove the head of government, if s/he was
corrupt, with just a mere vote of confidence of the members of parliament compared to the tedious
process of impeachment. Others pointed out the simplicity and lesser cost in the process of making
laws in a parliamentary form of government. Thus the government can save more money in the
treasury. In Parliamentary form, only one lawmaking body and set of lawmakers would be debating
to pass a bill into law, compared to the two houses or two groups of lawmakers in the presidential
type. This would certainly shorten the duration in making important laws of the land.

Despite these advantages of adopting a parliamentary form of government, moves by the incumbent
top officials to change the charter or constitution (or CHACHA for Charter Change) were opposed
vehemently by those who were pro-presidential form. There was a general perception that the change
of government was just a pretext to extend the term of the President and other officials rather than a
quest for a more efficient government. Thus, when the former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
and her allies in Congress pushed for charter change to adopt a parliamentary government, many
people rejected it and preferred to maintain the presidential form.

Before analyzing the costs and benefits of adopting the presidential or parliamentary form of
government, it is important to understand the main difference of these republican or indirect forms of
democratic governments.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PRESIDENTIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY FORMS
OF GOVERNMENT

The republican government or representative democracy became the popular model when nation-
states arose and became popular in the 19 th century. It has two forms: the parliamentary and the
presidential. The parliamentary form originated in England, the “Mother of Parliaments” and spread
to some parts of Europe, to New Zealand, India and Malaysia. It became the most popular form of
democratic government with over 100 states operating under the parliamentary form. The
presidential form originated in the United States when it gained independence from England in 1776.
Since then, this type of government was adopted by other countries in the world like Switzerland,
Mexico, Indonesia and some Latin American republics (Zaide 1996:56).

THE DIFFERENCE IN THE HEAD OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT

On the one hand, the head or chief of state generally possesses titular or nominal powers. He or she
largely performs ceremonial functions in the government and often represents the country abroad but
does not possess political powers to directly run the government. The head of government, on the
other hand, is the true chief executive of the country, who directly administers the laws of the land
and manages the affairs of state.

In a presidential form, the function of the head of the state and the head of government are usually
performed by one person—the president— who is elected nationwide by highest vote. In this case,
the people or the electorate can directly choose their leader. His/her term is fixed by law and can only
be removed involuntarily by impeachment. In the Philippines, the President serves for six (6) years
without re-election.

In a parliamentary form, which is can be classified into two—the traditional type and the French type
—the head of state of the traditional type is the President while in the French type it is the Prime
Minister. Both of them are appointed and can be removed by the Parliament by majority vote of its
members—the MPs or Members of the Parliament. The head of the government of the traditional
type is the Prime Minister who is elected by the majority members of the Parliament or MPs as in the
case of Malaysia, Indonesia or Singapore. Usually s/he comes from the ruling party who controls the
number of MPs in the Parliament. The term of the Prime Minister is indefinite, as long as the
majority of the MPs have confidence in his/her leadership. S/he can, however, be removed by a vote
of non-confidence by the majority members of the Parliament.

For the French type which is the case in France today, the head of government is the President who is
chosen by highest vote in a national election with a fixed term and with re-election. The Prime
Minister in France exercises minimal policy-making powers and performs more ceremonial
functions. The President runs the government and serves two terms. In the 2012 national election, the
French President Nicolas Sarkoshy was defeated by Francois Hollade after his first term.
A STRONGER LEGISLATIVE BRANCH IN PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT
The main difference between the presidential and parliamentary forms of government lies in the
allocation of powers between the executive and legislative branch. In the presidential form, the
executive branch’s power is running the country and is separate and independent from the legislative
branch. The President appoints the members of his/her cabinet who is usually non- members of the
legislature. There are only a few cases when a senator or congressman is appointed by the President
as a cabinet member—in such a case the appointed legislator has to resign from his elected post. In
the parliamentary form, the legislative and executive are fused or merged, because the members of
the cabinet are also members of the legislature and the ruling party. The cabinet members who run
the major departments of the government are first elected as members of the parliament (MPs), the
party with the highest number of seats in the parliament elects the Prime Minister and cabinet
members among themselves. Usually, the leader of the ruling party which gained majority seats in
the parliament is elected as the Prime Minister, who has no fixed term and may continue to exercise
power as long as s/he continues to enjoy the confidence of the majority members of the parliament. If
the Prime Minister loses the vote of confidence in parliament, the cabinet members are obliged to
resign. The parliament is dissolved and a new parliamentary election is held. Those who aspire to
become Prime Minister does not have to run in a national election, all s/he has to do is to win the
votes of his/her district and constituency and when elected as a member of the parliament must win
the vote of the other members to be elected as the Prime Minister (Zaide 1996:55).

BICAMERAL LEGISLATION FOR PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT

The presidential form has a bicameral legislation like in the case of the Philippines. It has two houses
which make laws or statutes: the Senate composed of 24 senators as the Upper House and the House
of Representatives, the Lower House, composed of more than 250 districts and party-list
congressmen/women. A bill or proposed law undergoes a long and tedious process passing through
these two houses before it is signed by the President as a law. In the parliamentary form, lawmaking
seems less complex as only one house and set of legislators are assigned to tackle the bill before
being signed into law by the Prime Minister in the traditional parliamentary form or by the President
in the French form. The table below will summarize the main difference between a presidential and
parliamentary forms of a republican government:

Table 6. A Comparison between the Presidential and Parliamentary Forms of Government

Category Form of Government

Presidential Parliamentary

Traditional Form French Form

(Most common type) (Most common
type)
A. Head of Government President Prime Minister President

1. Selection Process Elected nationwide Elected by majority Elected nationwide

vote by Members of
Parliament (MPs),
mostly from the
Majority Party

2. Removal Process Impeachment Vote of Non- Vote of confidence

 Confidence by by Parliament or
majority of the MPs National Assembly

3. Term of Office Fixed Term Indefinite, depending Fixed Term (5 years

on confidence of MPs with reelection)

C. Selection of Cabinet Usually non-members Members of Ruling Chosen by the

Members of Congress are party in Parliament Prime Minister
appointed by the elects Cabinet with the approval of
President as Cabinet members the President
members

D. Type of Legislation BICAMERAL UNICAMERAL BICAMERAL

(Meaning: 2 Houses) -Only one house or -The Senate and
-Two lawmaking one lawmaking body National Assembly
bodies make laws makes laws as the Lower House
1. Legislative body Philippine Congress The Parliament The French
consisting of: Parliament
1) Senate
(Upper House) &
2) House of
Representatives
(Lower House
2. Composition 24 Senators; 250+ Depending on the National Assembly:
congressmen/women country’s constitution 577 seats; Senate:
348 seats.

Table 7. Advantages and Disadvantages between the Presidential and Parliamentary

Governments
Parliamentary Presidential

Stability of Government Unstable as there is no fixed Stable as the executive branch

tenure of office for executive
officials (prime minister &
cabinet members can be
removed by vote of confidence
of MPs) & parliament can be
dissolved any time with the
removal of the prime minister.
led by President & cabinet
members are separate from
legislature and thus can rule
the country unhampered by
party considerations and
excessive dependence on
legislative power.

Flexibility Flexible as elections can be Inflexible as the President and

called any time to replace the
parliament, the prime minister
and the cabinet members.
members of Congress have
fixed tenures. Cabinet
members serve at the pleasure
of the President and thus can
be replaced any time during
the President’s term.
 Harmony in Government Fosters harmony in
government as the executive
and legislative branches are
fused. The executive officers
and legislators work together
for the success and failure of
their government.
The President is sometimes at
odds with Congress and can be
threatened by impeachment if
majority of the legislators do
not belong to the President’s
party.

Level of Complexity in Lawmaking tends to be less Lawmaking can be complex as

Lawmaking complex as there is only one
house and set of legislators
who will make the laws.
the bill or proposed law
undergoes various processes in
the two houses of Congress:
the Senate and House of
Representatives. This can
encourage red tape and
corruption to expedite
lawmaking.

SUMMARY

This chapter orients the reader to the basic nature of the state, nation and government. It views the
state into two major approaches. The first is the normative approach. It defined the state as a
community of persons more or less, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, having a
government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants renders obedience, and enjoying
freedom from external control. The second is the empirical approach of sociology and anthropology.
It defined the state as a compulsory association with territorial basis having the monopoly of the
legitimate use of force. Sociologists distinguish state societies from non-state societies. A state is a
more advanced society which requires a large population, private ownership, formation of social
classes and a more advanced subsistence system.

A state is not synonymous with government. A state cannot exist without a government as it is one of
its major elements. But a government can exist without a state. Non-state or primitive
societies have governments but they do not qualify as states as they lack the necessary
anthropological requirements. A state is also different from a nation. The former is a political concept
while the latter is an ethnic concept. The word nation is technically synonymous to “people” living in
the state.

There are different types of government around the world as to the number of persons exercising
sovereign power (monarchy, democracy or aristocracy), as to the extent of centralization of powers
(unitary or federal), state ownership of the economy and distribution of the nation’s wealth to poorer
sectors of society (laissez-faire, welfare or statism). The two most popular types of indirect or
representative democracies are the presidential and parliamentary forms of government. Each type
has its own advantages and disadvantages. In the Philippines, the debate continues as to which of
these types is a better fit for the country.