FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE

Philippine Constitution
AB Political Science | Atty. Arriba | SEM 1 2022
SUFFRAGE
● Suffrage
○ Right and obligation to vote
of qualified citizens in
national and local elections
.
● Nature of Suffrage
○ Privilege- suffrage is not a
natural right, but rather a
privilege given or withheld by
the lawmaking power subject
to constitutional limitations
○ Political Right- suffrage is
classified as a political right,
it enables citizens to
participate in the government
process. This assures that
the power of the government
is derived from the consent
of the governed.(Art. II, Sec
1)
the illiterates to vote without the
assistance of other persons. Until
then, they shall be allowed to vote
under existing laws and such
rules as the Commission on
Elections may promulgate to
protect the secrecy of the ballot.
SCOPE OF SUFFRAGE
● Election
○ Means by which the people
choose their officials for
definite periods, whom they
entrust to being their
representative and exercise
powers of government.
● Plebiscite
○ Vote of the people
expressing their choice for or
against a proposed law or
enactment submitted to
them.

● SECTION 1. Suffrage may be ● Referendum

exercised by all citizens of the ○ Submission of law passed by
Philippines not otherwise national or local legislative to
disqualified by law, who are at voting citizens for ratification
least eighteen years of age, and or rejection. (Art. VI Sec 32)
who shall have resided in the
Philippines for at least one year ● Initiative
and in the place wherein they ○ Process where people
propose to vote for at least six directly propose or enact
months immediately preceding laws.
the election. No literacy, property,
or other substantive requirements ● Recall
shall be imposed on the exercise ○ Method wherein a local
of suffrage. public officer may be
removed from his office via
● SECTION 2. The congress shall vote of people after
provide a system for securing the registration of a petition
secrecy and sanctity of the ballot signed by required
as well as system for absentee percentage of voters.
voting by qualified Filipinos
abroad. Qualifications of Voters
● Must be:
The congress shall also design a ○ A citizen of the Philippines;
procedure for the disabled and

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FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Philippine Constitution
AB Political Science | Atty. Arriba | SEM 1 2022
○ Not otherwise disqualified by
law;
○ At least 18 years of age; and
○ Have resided in the
Philippines for at least one
year in the place wherein he
proposes to vote for at least
six months before the
preceding election.
● Persons disqualified to vote
○ Any person who has been
sentenced by final judgment
to suffer imprisonment for not
less than one year.
○ Person who has been
adjudged by final judgment
by a competent court or
tribunal of having committed
any crime involving disloyalty
to the duly constituted
government.
○ Insane or incompetent
persons as declared by the
competent authority.
● Property requirement prohibited
○ Property ownership not a test
of an individual’s capacity-
the abolition of property
qualification does not add nor
detract from a man’s capacity
to function fully and properly
as a social and political
being.
○ Property requirement is
inconsistent with concept of
republican government- the
imposition of property
requirement is inconsistent
with the nature of a
republican system, this
implies that the right to vote
and to be voted shall not be
dependent upon the wealth
of individual.
○ Property requirement is
inconsistent with social
justice principle-social justice
presupposes an equal
opportunity for all, rich and
poor alike. Accordingly, no
person shall, by reason of
poverty, be denied the
chance to vote and to be
elected to public office.
● Other substantive requirements
prohibited
○ Education- It is possible for a
person to become an
important asset to the
government and the social
body with little or no formal
schooling. Also, Education
requirements would
disenfranchise large
segments of the poorer
classes of our population.
○ Sex- antagonism of female
right to suffrage stemmed
from the belief that only men
have the right to perform
public duties and the
privilege to suffrage. In the
present, there would seem to
be no adequate or justifiable
basis for depriving women of
equal voting rights.
○ Taxpaying Ability- related to
property requirement for
voting; congress cannot by
law deny to an individual to
vote on the ground that he is
exempted from taxation or
not liable to pay tax.
Compulsory Suffrage
● Arguments against compulsory
suffrage
○ System of coercive voting is
not only undemocratic but
that no useful purpose would
be served by dragging
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FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Philippine Constitution
AB Political Science | Atty. Arriba | SEM 1 2022
people to the polls against
their will.
● Arguments in favor of compulsory
suffrage
○ A requirement that would
force an apathetic individual
to the polls would make him
aware of the responsibility
that rests on him and would
encourage him to become
acquainted with the issues
and personalities involved in
the election.
System for securing the secrecy and
sanctity of the ballot
● Untrammeled exercise of the right
to vote
○ It is a right which the
principle of sovereignty
residing in the people
becomes nugatory. It is
essential then to insure that
the voters shall exercise their
rights freely.
● Voting by the disabled and
illiterates
○ Congress will have to enact a
law prescribing procedures
that will enable the disabled
and the illiterates to secretly
cast their ballots without
assistance.
○ Until congress provides for
the appropriate process, they
shall be allowed to vote
under existing laws and such
rules as the Commission on
Elections.
● System for absentee voting by
qualified Filipinos abroad
○ Sec. 2 extends the right of
suffrage to Filipinos abroad
provided they posses all the
qualifications and none of the
disqualification provided by
law.
DELEGATION OF POWERS
Potestas delegata no potest delegare-
principle in constitutional and administrative
law that means in Latin that "no delegated
powers can be further delegated”.
● Exceptions in Principle of
Non-delegation of powers:
○ When the constitutions
expressly permit it;
○ Delegation of power to local
governments;
○ Delegation of power to fill in
details;
○ Delegation of power to
ascertain facts,
contingencies or events upon
which the applicability of law
is made to depend;
○ Delegation of power to
administrative agencies
provided certain standards
are set;
○ Delegation of power to the
people at large; and
○ Delegation of power to the
president in the field of
foreign or international
relations.
TEST IN DETERMINING VALIDITY OF
DELEGEATION OF POWERS
● Completeness/Incompleteness
○ It means that when the law
leaves the Legislature, it
must be complete. Nothing
must be left to the judgment
of the appointee or delegate.
○ Declares what to be done,
who is to do it, and defines
the scope of delegate’s
authority
● Sufficiency of standard
○ Criterion laid out by the
legislative by which the policy
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FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Philippine Constitution
AB Political Science | Atty. Arriba | SEM 1 2022
and purpose of the law may
be carried out.
○ Defines the legislative police,
marks its limits, and maps
out its boundaries.
STANDARDS MAKING VALID
DELEGATION OF POWERS
➢ Promotion of simplicity, economy,
and efficiency in reorganization
➢ Convenience and welfare of the
public
➢ Public welfare
➢ When necessary in the interest of
law and order
➢ Public interest
➢ Justice, equity, and substantial
merits of the case
● Principle of Subdelegation of
Powers
○ Subdelegation of powers is
the transmission of power
from the head of an agency
to his subordinates for
purposes of expediency and
achieving maximum
efficiency in the public
service.
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT
● SECTION 1. The legislative power
shall be vested in the Congress of
the Philippines which shall
consist of a Senate and a House
of Representatives, except to the
extent reserved to the people by
the provision on initiative and
referendum.
Legislative power
● Power or competence of the
legislature to enact, ordain, alter or
modify, repeal or abrogate existing
laws.
● Types of Legislative Power
○ Original- possessed by the
sovereign power; based on
the power of initiative to
make laws.
○ Derivative- delegated by the
sovereign people to
legislative bodies
Law
● Statutes which are written
enactments of the legislature
governing the relations of the people
among themselves or between them
and the government and its
agencies.
● Defines the rights and duties of
citizens, imposes taxes,
appropriates funds, defines crimes,
and provides for their punishment,
and in general, regulates human
conduct and promotes common
good.
● Advantages of Bicameralism
○ A second chamber serve as
a check to hasty and
ill-considered legislation;
○ Serves as a training ground
for future leaders;
○ Provides representation for
both regional and national
interest;
○ Less susceptible to bribery
and control of big interest;
○ Traditional form of legislative
body dating from ancient
times.
● Disadvantages of Bicameralism
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FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Philippine Constitution
AB Political Science | Atty. Arriba | SEM 1 2022
○ Bicameral set-up has not
worked out as an effective
counter-check machinery.
○ It has no assurance of better
considered and deliberated
legislation.
○ Produces duplication of
efforts and serious deadlocks
in the enactment of important
measures.
○ More expensive to maintain
than unicameral legislature.
○ Prohibitive costs of senatorial
elections have made it
possible for only wealthy
individuals to make it to the
senate.
Classification of Powers of Congress
● General Legislative Power
○ Has the power to enact laws
as long as not contrary to the
constitution unless otherwise
decreed by a competent
court, a law is presumed
constitutional.
● Specific Powers
○ Powers which the
constitution expressly directs
or authorizes congress to
exercise.
○ Power to confirm
appointments by the
President, to promote social
justice, declare the existence
of the state of war, to impose
tax, impeach and act as a
constituent assembly.
● Implied Powers
○ Essential or necessary to the
effective exercise of the
powers expressly granted.
● Inherent powers
○ Powers which are possessed
and can be exercised by
every government cause
they exist as an attribute of
sovereignty.
● SECTION 2. The senate shall be
composed of twenty-four
senators who shall be elected at
large by the qualified voters of the
Philippines, as may be provided
by law.
● SECTION 3. No person shall be a
Senator unless he is a
natural-born citizen of the
Philippines and, on the day of the
election is at least thirty-five years
of age, able to read and write, a
registered voter and a resident of
the Philippines for not less than
two years immediately preceding
the day of the election.
● SECTION 4. The term of office of
the Senators shall be six years
and shall commence unless
otherwise provided by law, at
noon on the thirtieth day of June
next following their election. No
Senator shall serve for more than
two consecutive terms. Voluntary
renunciation of the office for any
length of time shall not be
considered as an interruption in
the continuity of his service for
the full term of which he was
elected.
● Qualifications of a Senator:
○ A natural-born citizen of the
Philippines
○ At least 35 years of age on
the day of election
○ Able to read and write
○ A registered voter
○ Resident of the Philippines
for not less than two years
● SECTION 5. (1) House of
Representatives shall be
composed of not more than two
hundred and fifty members unless
otherwise fixed by law, who shall
be elected from legislative
districts apportioned among the
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FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Philippine Constitution
AB Political Science | Atty. Arriba | SEM 1 2022
provinces, cities, and the
Metropolitan Manila area in
accordance with the number of
their respective inhabitants, and
on the basis of a uniform and
progressive ratio, and those who,
as provided by law, shall be
elected through a party-list
system of registered national,
regional, and sectoral parties or
organizations.
(2) The party-list Representatives
shall constitute twenty per
centum of the total number of
Representatives including those
under the party list. For three
consecutive terms after the
ratification of this constitution,
one-half of the seats allocated to
party-list Representatives shall be
filled, as provided by law, by
selection or election from the
labor, peasant, urban poor,
indigenous cultural communities,
women, youth, and such other
sectors as may be provided by
law, except religious sector.
(3)Each legislative district shall
comprise, as far as practicable,
contiguous, compact and
adjacent territory. Each city with a
population of at least two hundred
fifty thousand, or each province
shall have at least one
representative.
(4) Within three years following
the return of every census, the
Congress shall make
reapportionment of legislative
districts based on the standards
provided in this section.
Concept of Legislative Apportionment
○ The determination of the
number of representatives
which a state, county, or
other subdivision may send
to a legislative body.
○ Allocation of seats in a
legislative body in proportion
to the population to equalize
voting power among districts.
ALLOCATION OF SEATS IN
PARTY-LIST SYSTEM
➢ Parties, organizations, and coalitions
shall be ranked from the highest to
lowest based on the number of votes
➢ Parties, organizations, and coalitions
receiving at least two percent of total
votes shall be entitled to one
guaranteed seat each
➢ Those garnering sufficient number of
votes shall be entitled to additional
seats in proportion to their total
number of votes until all additional
seats are allocated
➢ Each party shall be entitled to not
more than three seats.
● SECTION 6. No person shall be a
Member of the House of
Representatives unless he is a
natural-born citizen of the
Philippines and, on the day of the
election, is at least twenty-five
years of age, able to read and
write, and, except the party-list
representatives, a registered vote
in the district in which he shall be
elected, and a resident thereof for
a period of not less than one year
immediately preceding the day of
the election.
● SECTION 7. The Members of the
House of Representatives shall be
elected for a term of three years
which shall begin, unless
otherwise provided by law, at
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FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Philippine Constitution
AB Political Science | Atty. Arriba | SEM 1 2022
noon on the thirtieth day of June
next following their election.
No member of the House of
Representatives shall serve for
more than three consecutive
terms. Voluntary renunciation of
the office for any length of time
shall not be considered as an
interruption in the continuity of
his service for the full term for
which he was elected.
The House Of Representatives
● Composition and election/selection
○ Lower chamber of the
congress
○ Informally called “congress”
○ Composed of not more than
250 members known as
“congressmen”
○ Regular election is held on
the second Monday of May.
● Partylist and Sectoral
Representation
○ Aim of the Partylist
system-the basic aim of
representative gov’t is to
attain the broadest possible
representation of all interests
in its law and policy-making
body.
○ Appointment/selection of
sectoral representatives- if
there are 250 members in
the House of
Representatives, 50 thereof
must be partylist
representatives.
○ Need for sectoral
representation- deemed
necessary because it is
almost impossible for, say a
farmer or laborer to win in an
election. It promotes genuine
grassroots consultation.
● SECTION 8. Unless otherwise
provided by law, the regular
election of the Senators and the
Members of the House Of
Representatives shall be held on
the second Monday of May.
● SECTION 9. In case of vacancy in
the senate or in the House of
Representatives, a special
election may be called to fill such
vacancy in the manner prescribed
by law, but the Senator or Member
of the House of Representatives
thus elected shall serve only for
the unexpired terms.
Kinds of Election for members of
Congress
➢ Regular Election- Held on the
second Monday of May. The
purpose of regular elections is to
give people the opportunity to renew
or withhold their mandate on elected
officials.
➢ Special Election-may be called in
case a vacancy arises in the senate
or house of representatives to fill
such vacancy as prescribed by law.
● SECTION 10. The salaries of
Senators and Members of the
House of Representatives shall be
determined by law. No increase in
said compensation shall take
effect until after the expiration of
the full term of all the Members of
the Senate and the House of
Representatives approving such
increase.
Salaries of Members of Congress
➢ Effectivity of Increase-any increase
can only take effect only after the
expiration of the full term.
➢ Purpose of Restriction- to prevent
congress from increasing the salary
of its members during incumbency.
Congress has the power to provide
higher compensation, but with the
length of time that has to elapse
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FUNDAMENTALS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Philippine Constitution
AB Political Science | Atty. Arriba | SEM 1 2022
before an increase become
effective.
● SECTION 11. A Senator or
Member of the House of
Representatives shall, in all
offenses punishable by not more
than six years imprisonment, be
privileged from arrest while the
congress is in session. No
member shall be questioned nor
be held liable in any other place
for any speech or debate in the
Congress or in any committee
thereof.
Freedom from arrest of members of
Congress
➢ While congress is in session- Sec.
11 provides for the parliamentary
immunities of the members of
congress. Members of congress is
entitled to privilege from arrest while
the congress is in session.
➢ Aim of Privilege- The aim of freedom
from arrest is to prevent the
possibility that a legislative district
may be deprived of its
representation. They represent the
people and their right to speak may
never be repressed.
● Immunity cannot be invoked
where:
○ Offense is punishable by
more than six years of
imprisonment.
○ Congress is no longer in
session. Privilege is a
personal one and may be
waived.
● Immunity cannot be claimed:
○ Member is not acting as a
member of congress, for he
is not entitled to any
privileges above his fellow
citizens.
○ The member is being
questioned in congress itself.
● SECTION 12. All members of the
Senate and the House of
Representative shall, upon
assumption of office nake a full
disclosure of their financial and
business interests. They shall
notify the House concerned of a
potential conflict of interest that
may arise from the filing of a
proposed legislation of which
they are authors.

Freedom from being questioned for

speech and debate
➢ In any place other than in
Congress-a member of congress
enjoys parliamentary immunity, he
shall not be questioned nor held
liable in any other place for any
speech or debate.

➢ Aim of Privilege- this privilege is

secured not to protect the members
against prosecution, but for the
benefit of the people.

WHEN IMMUNITY CANNOT BE

CLAIMED/INVOKED