GROUP 1 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Members: Jovan Bartolome, Harvey Jay D.
Damiao, Michelle De Vera, Alicia Dela Cruz,
Kristan Micho C. Dela Cruz, Rozell Joshua
Ines, Jan Ray Macanas, James Gabriel N.
Pichay
Topics:
Preliminary Considerations and The State
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
POLITICAL LAW
- Branch of public law which deals with
the organization and operation of the
governmental organs of the state and
defines the relations of the state with
the inhabitants of the territory.
A. Subjects covered by and included
in the study of Political Law
1. Constitutional law
2. Administrative law
3. Election law
4. Law on public officers
5. Law on public corporations
MACARIOLA v. ASUNCION
● The court pointed out that
"although the aforementioned
provision is incorporated in
the Code of Commerce which
is part of the commercial laws
of the Philippines, it, however,
partakes the nature of political
law as it regulates the
relationship between the
government and certain
public officers and
employees.
● Since the Code of Commerce
is inherited law from the
Spanish times, upon transfer
of sovereignty from Spain to
the US and later on to the PH,
Article 14 must be deemed to
have been abrogated.
● Where there is change of
sovereignty, the political laws
of the former sovereign, are
automatically abrogated,
unless they are expressly re-
enacted by affirmative act of
the new sovereign
B. Basis of study of Philippine
Political Law
● Constitution
● Decisions of the Supreme
Court
● Fundamentally derived from
American jurisprudence.
CONSTITUTION
A. Definition
● Definition of the powers of
the government
● Foundation of the entire legal
system, the bedrock of the
legal order
● Supreme law of the land
B. Philosophical View of the
Constitution
● Is a social contract whereby
the people have surrendered
their sovereign power to the
state for the common good.
IN RE: JOAQUIN T. BORROMEO ● Constitution of Government

● It is said that a little learning

is a dangerous thing; and
that he who acts as his own
lawyer has a fool for a client.
● Borromeo was found guilty of
constructive contempt of
court for repetitive
disrespectfulness on the
resolutions and decisions
issued by the courts as well
as issuance of circular
containing libelous and
offending accusations such
as capricious; whimsical and
tyrannical against the
justices and employees of
the Supreme Court.
F. Principles used in construction or
interpretation of Constitution
● verba legis - the words used
in the constitution must be
given their ordinary meaning
except where technical terms
are employed.
● 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.
CONDUCTO v. MONZON

C. Kinds of Constitution ● Respondent judge was found

● As to form: guilty of ignorance of law for
1. Written his failure to suspend the
2. Unwritten barangay chairman charged
● As to origin: with the crime of unlawful
1. Enacted appointment. Respondent’s
2. Evolved contention was that offenses
● As to amendment: committed during the
1. Rigid previous term are not a cause
2. Flexible of removal during the present
term and that reelection of the
D. Qualities of a good written barangay chairman
Constitution condoned the mistakes
committed during his previous
● Broad term. Settled jurisprudence
● Brief states this only applies to
● Definite administrative cases, not with
criminal cases.
E. Essential parts of a good written
Constitution

● Constitution of Liberty
● Constitution of Sovereignty
DOCTRINE OF CONSTITUTIONAL
SUPREMACY
In the case of Manila Prince Hotel v.
Government Service Insurance System
(GSIS), the Court expounded on the value of
a constitution
- A constitution is a system of
fundamental laws for the
governance and administration of
a nation.
- The constitution is supreme,
imperious, absolute, and
unalterable except by the authority
from which it emanates.
- 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
or entered into by private persons for
private purposes is null and void,
and without any force and effect.
- The Constitution being the
fundamental, paramount, and
supreme law of the land is deemed
written in every statute and
contract.
- Notwithstanding the significance of
the Constitution, it does not
necessarily mean that a state
cannot exist without it.
Interregnum
• The one-month period from the
successful overthrow of the Marcos
government to the adoption of a
transitory charter on March 24, 1986.
In the case of Republic v. Sandiganbayan:
- during the period of interregnum, the
directives and orders of the
revolutionary government were the
supreme law since no constitution
limited the extent and scope of such
directives and orders. As such, the
government in power was a
revolutionary government bound
without a constitution.
- However, during the same period,
the basic and fundamental rights
of the people were still protected
pursuant to the country’s adherence
to international agreement,
specifically the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and
the Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights.
- The period of interregnum was
ended by the promulgation of the
Freedom Constitution which was in
force until the 1987 Charter was
ratified by the people in 1987.
- The present Charter has been called
People Power Charter.
- The current constitution applicable in
the Philippines is the one adopted
on February 2, 1987. It is a
document that was drafted by the
Constitutional Commission
constituted by then President
Corazon C. Aquino following the
EDSA Revolution.
SELF-EXECUTING CONSTITUTIONAL
PROVISIONS
- Unless it is expressly provided that a
legislative act is necessary to enforce
a constitutional mandate, the
presumption is that all provisions
of the constitution are self-
executing
In Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS,
- A constitutional provision is self-
executing if the nature and extent
of the right conferred and the
liability imposed are fixed by the
constitution itself, so that they can
be determined by an examination
and construction of its terms, and
there is no language indicating
that the subject is referred to the
legislature for action.
- A constitutional provision may be
self-executing in one part and non
self-executing in another.
Examples of self-executing provisions:
1. Provisions on the right to information
2. Provisions on the right to health
Examples of non self-executing provisions:
1. Provisions found in Article II (State
Principles and Policies)
2. Provisions found in Article XIII (Social
Justice and Human Rights)
THE STATE
● Community of persons more or less
numerous
● Permanently occupying a definite
portion of territory
● Has a government of their own to
which the great body of inhabitants
render obedience
● Enjoys freedom from external control
Essential Elements of a State:
1. People - Inhabitants of a state, subjects to
be governed. Capable of maintaining
existence of a community
2. Territory - As provided in Article I, the
National Territory of the Philippines
Comprises of:
● The Philippine Archipelago with all
the islands embraced therein
● All other territories over which the
Philippines has sovereignty or
jurisdiction
● The terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial
domains including the territorial sea,
the seabed, the subsoil, the insular
shelves, and other submarine areas
thereof.
● Internal waters
● Also includes those areas ceded
under Treaty of Paris
Archipelago - includes both sea and islands
which geographically may be considered as
an independent whole.
Archipelagic Doctrine
● A concept which considers the entire
archipelago as one integrated
cohesive unit of territory, not as
comprising various disparate and
separate islands
● For this purpose, straight baselines
are drawn joining the outermost
points of the outermost islands and
drying reefs of the archipelago
● All the islands and the waters
included within such baselines would
be considered as a single body.
In the case of Magallona v. Ermita:
- The Supreme Court upheld the
constitutionality of R.A. 9522 an act
adjusting the country’s archipelagic
baselines and classifying the
baseline regime of nearby territories
 and to comply with with the terms of
the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III)
- The law did not decrease the
demarcation of our territory. In fact it
increased it. Under the old law
amended by RA 9522 (RA 3046), we
adhered with the rectangular lines
enclosing the Philippines.
In the case of Regan v. Commissioner of
Internal Revenue (Terrestrial Domain):
- Clarified that the Clark Air Base, at
the time when it was still occupied by
the U.S Military (pursuant to the
Military Agreement), the Air Base
was still part of the Philippine
territory, therefore the tax laws of the
country operated therein and still has
jurisdiction;
- The Clark Air Base did not become a
foreign soil or territory;
- The Philippine Government merley
consents that the United States
exercise jurisdiction in certain cases
only.
3. Government - an agency through which
the will of the state is formulated, expressed,
and carried out.
Governments according to legitimacy:
● De Jure - signifies that the
government is rightfully and legally in
possession of powers
● De Facto - one who has the actual
exercise of power but not legally
entitled to the same
Functions of government
● Constituent functions - are those
which constitute the very bonds of
society and are compulsory in nature
● Ministrant functions - are those that
are undertaken only by way of
advancing the general interests of the
society, and are merely optional
In the case of Bacani v. National Coconut
Corporation:
- The Supreme Court ruled that the
National Coconut Corporation does
not fall within the term of
“Government of the Republic of the
Philippines” and was not exempt from
payment of the fees of
stenographers.
- The principles determining whether
or not a government shall exercise
certain of these optional functions
are: (1) that a government should do
for the public welfare those things
which private capital would not
naturally undertake and (2) that a
government should do these things
which by its very nature it is better
equipped to administer for the public
welfare than is any private individual
or group of individuals.
- National Coconut Corporation falls
under government-owned or
controlled corporations
In the case of ACCFA v. CUGCO:
- ACCFA was a government agency
created under RA No. 821, as
amended. Its administrative
 machinery was reorganized and its
name was changed to Agricultural
Credit Administration
- The ACA is a government office or
agency engaged in governmental,
not proprietary functions. These
functions may not be strictly what
President Wilson described as
constituent.
- The growing complexities of modern
society, however, have rendered this
traditional classification of the
functions of government quite
unrealistic, not to say obsolete.
In the case of Shipside v. Court of
Appeals:
- The rule that prescription does not
run against the State does not apply
to corporations or artificial bodies
created by the State for special
purposes, it being said that when the
title of the Republic has been
divested, its grantees, although
artificial bodies of its own creation,
are in the same category as ordinary
persons.
- The Bases Conversion Development
Authority performs functions which
are basically proprietary in nature.
- The promotion of economic and
social development of Central Luzon,
in particular, and the country’s goal
for enhancement, in general, do not
make BCDA equivalent to
Government.
4. Sovereignty - The supreme power of the
state to command and enforce obedience
- The Philippines being independent
and sovereign, its authority may be
exercised over its entire domain.
There is no portion thereof that is
beyond power.
- Within its limits, its decrees are
supreme, its commands paramount.
Inherent Powers of the State
1. Police Power
- The power used to promote public
welfare by restraining and regulating
liberty and the use of property
2. Power of Eminent Domain
- The authority to take what it needs
provided that it is for public use and
that there is payment of just
compensation.
3. Power of Taxation
- The power of the state to impose a
charge or burden upon person,
property, or property rights for the
use and support of the government
WEST PHILIPPINE SEA
The West Philippines Sea refers to the part
of the South China Sea that is closest, and of
vital interest, to the Philippines.
● The proceedings were initiated by
The Republic of the Philippines
against the People’s Republic of
China on January 22, 2013. When
the Philippines served the notification
and Statement of Claim under Article
 287 and Annex VII of the 1982
UNCLOS, China rejected and
returned it on February 19, 2013 and
put a stand that they do not accept
the arbitration proposed by the
Philippines. This case attempts to
find rulings for the issues with
regards to the “historic rights” of
China over the waters, seabed and
subsoil within the so called “nine-
dash line”. Also, determining the
claims of both parties with regards to
the maritime features, specifically the
Scarborough Shoal and eight others
in the Spratlys Island and the
interference of China with the
sovereign rights and freedoms of the
Philippines over the WPS.
UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea) - is an international
treaty and agreement adopted and signed in
1982 which establishes a legal framework for
all marine and maritime activities.
F. ISSUES IN THE WEST PHILIPPINE SEA
● The position of the People’s Republic
of China and The Philippines, as well
as if there is any legal basis and
historical basis for China’s expansion
and control of the region?
● Are the islands in the West Philippine
Sea capable of sustaining of human
habitation and economic activity;
● Are the islands capable of generating
their own Exclusive Economic Zone
(“EEZ”) and Extended Continental
Shelf (“ECS”); and
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) - are
areas of the sea extending 200 NM from a
country’s coastline.
Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) - is the
continental shelf beyond the 200 NM
Position of the Parties and Legal and
Historical Basis of China’s Claim:
● China’s Position in the Tribunal is as
follows:
- Historically, China claims that
they were already exploring
the region for the past 2000
years and that they were the
first to discover, name, and
exploit the resources in the
area;
- China does not and will not
acknowledge the Arbitral
Tribunal’s decision nor the
proceedings initiated by the
Republic of the Philippines,
as they believe that the
Arbitral Tribunal has no
jurisdiction and binding effect
on China.
- Their legal basis for their
claim in the region is the Nine-
Dash Line which was made
public knowledge to the
people of China in 1947, but
was only submitted to the
United Nations on 7 May
2009;
Nine-Dash Line - is a demarcation line used
by the People’s Republic of China for its
claim of the major parts of the South China
Sea.
- Also, historically, one of the
driving force for China’s
Expansionist ambitions was
 brought about by what was
referred to as the “Century of
Humiliation”
The so-called “Century of Humiliation” -
was a period during the Qing Dynasty which
resulted in successive losses in wars,
rebellions and unequal treaties resulting in
the annexation and occupation of certain
territories in China by some of the powerful
empires in the West and in Asia.
● The position of the Republic of the
Philippines in the Tribunal:
- The occupation and
expansion of China’s territory
in the West Philippine Sea is
illegal;
- That China not once had any
semblance of control in the
region historically; and
- The Nine-Dash line claim of
China has no legal basis
- That the Legal Basis of the
Philippines for its territorial
claims are the 1898 Treaty of
Paris, in which Spain drew a
line in the map and ceded the
Philippines to the United
States, and the 1900 Treaty
of Washington, which Spain
clarified that they also ceded
and relinquished all title and
claim of any and all islands in
the Philippine Archipelago,
including those lying outside
the lines in the Treaty of Paris;
and
- The historic maps of China
dating back to 1136 including
the entirety of the Chinese
dynasties consistently show
that the southernmost
territory extends no further
south than the island of
Hainan.
Even in the constitutions of the previous
Republican government of China (“KMT” or
the Kuomintang), the territory recognized by
the Republic of China continues to be the
territory of the Former Empire (Qing
Dynasty), which is the Hainan island.
The Tribunal’s Decisions:
● As to the the Tribunals authority to
settle the dispute:
- It is within the jurisdiction of
the tribunal to lead the South
China Sea arbitration. China
argues that Itu Aba, the
largest island in Spratlys is
capable of human habitation
and entitled to a 12 nautical
miles territorial sea and
exclusive economic zone and
continental shelf up to 200
nautical miles, which results
in an overlapping EEZ with
Palawan. China made a
reservation in 2006 that in
case of overlapping EEZ,
China will not submit itself
with compulsory arbitration
and the Tribunal at The
Hague will have no
jurisdiction over the case.
- After various investigations, it
was proven that Itu Aba is not
capable of human habitation;
therefore, it is not entitled to a
200 nautical miles of EEZ.
Moreover, the Tribunal has
jurisdiction over the dispute
because there is no
 overlapping EEZ between
Palawan and the features of
Spratlys.
● As to China’s nine-dash line and
claim to historic rights in the maritime
areas of the South China Sea:
- China’s historic rights prior to
convention were an exercise
of high sea freedoms rather
than a historic right. The
waters of the South China
Sea beyond the territorial sea,
which is the sea within the
nine-dash line or 85.7% of
South China Sea, were
considered part of the high
seas where vessels from any
State can fish and navigate.
- Moreover, there’s no proof
that China had historically
exercised exclusive control
over the waters of South
China sea or prevented other
States from exploiting their
resources. The Tribunal is
unable to identify any
evidence that would suggest
that China historically
regulated or controlled fishing
in the South China Sea,
beyond the limits of the
territorial sea.
● As to China’s activities in South
China Sea:
- China had violated the
Philippines' rights with
respect to its exclusive
economic zone and
continental shelf. The
Philippines has an EEZ of
376,350 square kilometers in
the South China Sea, free
from any Chinese claims
which is larger than the total
land area of the Philippines.
But still, China had:
a. Prohibited Philippine
vessels from fishing
within the Philippines’
EEZ.
b. Protected Chinese
fishermen from fishing
within the EEZ of the
Philippines.
c. Interfered with
Philippines’ petroleum
exploration with its
EEZ.
d. Constructed artificial
islands that cause
harm to the coral reef
environment.
● As to China’s aggravation of the
dispute by reclamation and
construction:
- China violated its role to
refrain from extending the
dispute during the pendency
of the settlement process as
China built an artificial island
within Philippines’ EEZ that
caused harm to the marine
ecosystem. Moreover, China
destroyed evidence of the
natural features in question.
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