Module 4 – GE 9

Articles I- V

Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

1. identify our national territory

2. enumerate the kinds of water as defined in the United Nations Convention of the Laws
of the Sea (UNCLOS)
3. articulate the principles and state policies
4. define the bill of rights
5. enumerate the kinds of rights
6. explain citizenship and suffrage

Article I – National Territory

The Constitution begins with a delimitation of our national territory.

1. Terrestrial – jurisdiction over bodies of land

2. Fluvial – jurisdiction over maritime and interior waters
3. Aerial – jurisdiction over atmosphere

The United Nations International Convention in Geneva defined the five kinds of water in relation to the
territorial jurisdiction of an archipelago state:

1. Internal Water – the water around connecting and those that are in between the islands
regardless of their breadth and dimensions.
2. Territorial Sea – is a belt of water outside of the archipelagic baselines and adjacent to the
archipelagic waters. The archipelagic state has a right to establish the breadth of its territorial
sea, not exceeding 12 nautical measured from the baselines. The archipelagic state has
sovereignty over the territorial sea, the air space above it, and the bed and subsoil of such sea.
3. Contiguous Zone – beyond the territorial sea, may extend to not more than 24 nautical miles
from the archipelagic baselines. The state may exercise, In the contiguous zone, the control
necessary to prevent and punish infringements of its customs, fiscal, immigration or sanitary
laws and regulations within the territory or territorial sea.
4. Exclusive Economic Zone, may not extend more than 200 nautical miles from the archipelagic
baselines. The archipelagic State has sovereign rights in the EEZ to explore, manage and exploit
all the natural resources living and non-living in the waters, the sea bed and subsoil.
5. Continental Shelf – is the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend its territorial
sea throughout the natural the natural prolongation of its territory to the outer.
Seabed – is the land holding the sea beyond the seashore
Subsoil – is the soil below the surface soil including mineral and natural resources mass, the
outer edges of which sink considerably until the great ocean depths are reached.

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Article II. Declaration of Principles and Policies

Section 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican. Sovereignty resides on the people and all
government authority emanates from them.

A republican government is a democratic government by representatives chosen by the people at

large. The essence, therefore, of a republican state is indirect rule. The people have established the
government to govern them. Its officers from the highest to the lowest are servants of the people and
not their masters. They can only exercise powers delegated to them by the people who remain as the
ultimate source of political power and authority.

Section 2. The Philippines renounces war as the instrument of national policy, adopts the generally
accepted principles of international law of the land and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice,
freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.

Renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy is the first aspect of the declaration. Its
accordance with the principle in the United Nations Charter binding all members to refrain in the
international relations or use of force against territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
The declaration refers only to the declaration of the Philippines in aggressive war, not in defense of her
national honor or integrity.

Section 3. Civil authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The Armed Forces of the Philippines
is the protector of the people and the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the
integrity of the national territory.

The idea of supremacy of the civilian authority, the highest of such authority being the president,
over the military has always been recognized in our jurisdiction by implication from express provision of
the 1935 Constitution and by practice.

Section 6. The separation of the State and the Church shall be inviolable.

The principle of the separation of the Church being inviolable is implied from the constitutional
prohibitions that no “ no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion” and that “ no public
money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, paid or employed, directly or indirectly, for use,
benefit, or support of any sect, church domination, sectarian institution or system of religion.”

Article III. Bill of Rights

Bill of Rights – is defined as a declaration and enumeration of a person’s rights and privileges which
the Constitution designed to protect against violations by the government or by an individual or group
of individuals.

Classes of Rights

1. Natural Right – possessed by every citizen conferred upon him by God as a human being.
Example: right to life, right to live, right to liberty, right to property, right to love
2. Constitutional Right – rights conferred and protected by the Constitution. Since they are part of
the fundamental law, they cannot be modified or taken away by the law-making body.

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 3. Statutory Right – rights which are provided by laws promulgated by the law-making body and
may be abolished by the same body.
Example: right to receive a minimum wage, right to adopt a child by an unrelated person

Classes of Constitutional Rights

1. Civil Right – right which the law enforces to private individual for purposes of security,
happiness, and enjoyment.
Example: right to due process, right against involuntary servitude, liberty of abode
2. Political Right - right of the citizen to participate directly or indirectly in the establishment or
administration of the government.
Example: right of citizenship, right of suffrage, right to information on matters of public concern
3. Social and Economic Rights – it is intended to insure the well- being and economic security of
the individual.
Example: right to property. right to just compensation for private property taken for public use
4. Rights of the Accused – intended to protect persons accused of any crime
Example: right against unreasonable search and seizure; right to presumption of innocence;
right to speedy, impartial, and public trial; right against cruel, degrading, or inhuman
punishment

Due Process

Concept of due process of law which hear before it condemns and proceeds upon inquiry before
rendering judgment. Under the Constitution, a person may be deprived by the state of his life, liberty or
property provided due process of law is observed.

Kinds od Due Process of law

1. Procedural due process of law

2. Substantive due process of law are (civil) rights intended for the protection of a person accused
of any crime. Example: right against self-incrimination, right to have a legal counsel

Section 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process.

Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against
unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purposes shall be inviolable, and no
search warrant or warrant of arrest shall be issued except upon probable cause to be determined
personally by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the
witnesses he may produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or
things to be seized.

Search Warrant – is an order in

writing in the name of the people of the Philippines, signed by the judge, directed to a police officer,
commanding him to search for certain personal property and bring it before the court.

Warrant of Arrest- is an order in writing in the name of the people of the Philippines, signed by a judge,
directed to the police officer, commanding him to arrest a person, that he may be bound to answer for
the offense committed.

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Requisites for a Valid Search Warrant/ Warrant of Arrest

1. Probable cause
2. To be determined personally by a judge
3. After examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and his witness
4. Particularly describing the place to be searched and 5the persons or things to be seized

Rules in an Arrest without Warrant

1. When in the presence of an arresting officer, the person to be arrested has committed, is
actually committing, or is attempting to commit an offense.
2. When an offense has in fact just been committed and he has personal knowledge of facts
indicating that the person to be arrested has committed it.
3. When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal establishment or
place where he is serving final judgment or temporarily confined while his case is pending or has
escaped while being transferred from one confinement to another.

Section 3

1. Right to privacy of communication

2. Any evidence obtained in violation of this or the preceding section shall be inadmissible for any
purpose in any proceeding

The right of privacy is defined as the right to be left alone. It has also been defined as the
right of a person to be free from undesired publicity or disclosure of his communication and
correspondence and as the right to live without unwarranted interference by the public in
matters with which the public is not necessarily concerned.

Section 9. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.

Eminent Domain – is the power of the State to take private property for public purpose upon payment
of just compensation to its owner.

Just Compensation – is the fair marked value of the property at the time of the taking.

Rights of the Accused in Criminal Cases

1. The adequate legal assistance

2. To be informed of his right to remain silent
3. Right against the use of torture, violence, or any other means which violates the free will
4. To be heard himself and counsel
5. To bail and against excessive bail
6. To be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him
7. To have speedy, impartial, and public trial
8. To meet the witness face to face
9. Right against self-incrimination
10. Right against double jeopardy

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Section 21`. No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.

An ex post facto law is one which operates retrospectively makes an act done before the passage of
the law and punish such act as aggravates or crime or makes it greater than it was committed, changes
the punishment and inflicts greater punishment and alters the legal rules of evidence and receives less
testimony than the law required at the time of commission of the offenses, in order to convict the
offender

A bill of attainder is a legislative act which inflicts punishment without a judicial trial.

Article IV – Citizenship

Section 1. The following are the citizens of the Philippines:

1. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this Constitution
2. Those whose fathers and mothers are citizens of the Philippines
3. Those born before January 17, 1873 of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon
reaching the age of maturity
4. Those who are naturalized in accordance with the law

Citizenship is a term denoting membership of a citizen in political society, which membership implies,
reciprocally, a duty of allegiance on the part of the member and duty of protection on the part of the
State.

General Ways of Acquiring Citizenship

1. Involuntary method – by birth because of blood relationship or place of birth

2. Voluntary Method – by naturalization, except in case of collective naturalization of the
inhabitants of a territory which takes place when it is ceded by one to another as a result of
conquest or treaty.

Citizenship by Birth

There are two principles or rules that govern citizenship by birth:

1. Jus Sanguinis – relationship by blood is the basis of the acquisition of citizenship under this rule.
The child follows the citizenship of both parents or one of them. This is the predominating
principle in the Philippines.
2. Jus Soli or Jus Loci – place of birth as the basis for acquiring citizenship under this rule.

Ways of Acquiring Citizenship through Naturalization

1., by the judgment of the Court – The foreigner who wants to become a Filipino citizen must first apply
for naturalization with the proper Regional Trial Court. He must have all the qualifications as provided
by law and must comply with all the procedures and conditions prescribed.

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2. by direct act of Congress - in this case, our law-making body simply enacts an act directly coinferring
citizenship on a foreigner.

Article V. Suffrage

Section 1. Suffrage may6 be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law
who are at least eighteen years of age, and who resided in the Philippines for at least one year and in
place wherein they proposed to vote for at least six months immediately preceding the election. No
literacy, property or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage.

Meaning of Suffrage

Suffrage is the right and obligation to vote of qualified citizens in the election of certain national and
local officers of the government and in the decision of public questions submitted to the people.

Nature of Suffrage

1. A mere privilege – suffrage is not a natural right of the citizens, but merely a privilege given or
withheld by the law-making power subject to constitutional limitations.
2. A political right – in the sense of the right conferred by the Constitution, suffrage is classified as
a political right, enabling every citizen to participate in the process of government to assure that
it derives its powers from the consent of the governed. The principle is that one man, one vote.

Scope of Suffrage:

1. Election – It is a means by which the people choose their officials for definite and fixed periods
and to whom they entrust, for the time as their representatives, the exercised of powers of
government.
2. Plebiscite – It is a name given to a vote of the people expressing their choice for or against a
proposed law or enactment submitted to them.
3. Referendum – It is a submission of a law or part thereof passed by the national or local
legislative body to the voting citizens of a country for their ratification or rejection.
4. Initiative – It is the process whereby the people directly propose and enact laws.
5. Recall – It is the method by which a public officer may be removed from office during his tenure
or before the expiration of his term by a vote of the people after registration of a petition signed
by a required percentage of the qualified voters.

Qualification of Voters:

1. A citizen (male or female) of the Philippines

2. Not otherwise disqualified by law
3. At least eighteen years of age
4. Have resided in the Philippines for at least six months preceding the election

The Congress shall provide a system for securing the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot as well as a
system for absentee voting by qualified Filipinos abroad.

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 The Congress shall also design a procedure for the disabled and the illiterates to vote without the
assistance of other persons. Until then, they shall be allowed to vote under the existing laws and such
rules as the Commission on Elections may promulgate to protect the secrecy of the ballot.

Reference: Textbook on the Philippine Constitution by Hector S. De Leon and Hector M. De Leon, Jr.

2014 Edition, Rex Printing Company, Inc., Quezon City, Philippines.

Exercise 1. Draw the map of the Philippines and illustrate the five kinds of water according to UNCLOS.

Exercise 2. Define the following:

1. Terrestrial
2. Fluvial
3. Aerial
4. UNCLOS
5. EEZ
6. Republican government
7. Bill of rights
8. Due process
9. Natural-born citizens
10. Naturalization
11. Suffrage
12. Plebiscite
13. Referendum
14. Initiative
15. Recall

Exercise 2. Answer the following questions briefly.

1. Does the definition of our national territory in the Constitution prevents the Philippines from
acquiring other territories in the future? Explain your answer
2. Differentiate between sovereign rights and sovereign ownership in the West Philippine Sea.
3. Differentiate between search warrant and warrant of arrest.
4. Differentiate between citizenship and citizen; jus soli and jus sanguinis.
5. How does the Congress provide a system of absentee voting by qualified Filipinos abroad?
6. Explain the wisdom of the principle: one man, one vote.
7. Cite the classes of rights and the classes of constitutional rights.

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 8. In light of current social and political conditions in the Philippines, are elections still relevant in
the lives of the people? Are elections in the country considered credible? Explain your answers
by providing concrete and specific examples.

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