CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1
Notes Collector v. Campos Rueda
(JD 1 – SP-C)
Article II
Declaration of Principles and State Policies
Article II, Section 1
Section 1. The Philippines is a democratic and
republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people
and all government authority emanates from them.
What is a democratic and republican state?
By definition, a republic is a representative
form of government that is ruled according to a
charter, or constitution, and a democracy is a
government that is ruled according to the will of the
majority. Although these forms of government are
often confused, they are quite different. The main
difference between a republic and a democracy is
the charter or constitution that limits power in a
republic, often to protect the individual's rights
against the desires of the majority.
Manifestations of a republican state
1. The existence of a bill of rights;
2. The observance of the rule of majority;
3. The observance of the principle that ours is a
government of laws, and not of men;
4. The presence of elections through popular will;
5. The observance of the principle of separation of
powers and the system of checks and balances;
6. The observance of the principle that the
legislature cannot pass irrepealable laws;
7. The observance of the law on public officers; and
8. The observance of the principle that the State
cannot be sued without its consent.
Definition of a State
A state is a community of persons, more or
less numerous, permanently occupying a fixed
territory, and possessed of an independent
government organized for political ends to which
the great body of inhabitants render habitual
obedience.
Parties:
THE COLLECTOR OF INTERNAL REVENUE,
petitioner,
ANTONIO CAMPOS RUEDA, respondent
Facts:
In January 1955, Maria Cerdeira died in
Tangier, Morocco (an international zone [foreign
country] in North Africa). At the time of her death,
she was a Spanish citizen and was a resident of
Tangier. She however left some personal
properties (shares of stocks and other intangibles)
in the Philippines. The designated administrator
of her estate here is Antonio Campos Rueda.
In the same year, the Collector of Internal
Revenue (CIR) assessed the estate for deficiency
tax amounting to about P161k. Campos Rueda
refused to pay the assessed tax as he claimed that
the estate is exempt from the payment of said taxes
pursuant to section 122 of the Tax Code which
provides: Campos Rueda was able to prove that
there is reciprocity between Tangier and the
Philippines. However, the CIR still denied any tax
exemption in favor of the estate as it averred that
Tangier is not a “state” as contemplated by
Section 22 of the Tax Code and that the Philippines
does not recognize Tangier as a foreign country.
Issue:
Whether Tangier is a state
Ruling:
Yes. For purposes of the Tax Code, Tangier
is a foreign country. A foreign country to be
identified as a state must be a politically organized
sovereign community independent of outside
control bound by penalties of nationhood, legally
supreme within its territory, acting through a
government functioning under a regime of law.
The stress is on its being a nation, its people
occupying a definite territory, politically
organized, exercising by means of its government
its sovereign will over the individuals within it and
maintaining its separate international personality.
Further, the Supreme Court noted that there
is already an existing jurisprudence (Collector vs
De Lara) which provides that even a tiny
principality, that of Liechtenstein, hardly an
international personality in the sense, did fall under
the exempt category provided for in Section 22 of
the Tax Code. Thus, recognition is not necessary.
Hence, since it was proven that Tangier provides
such exemption to personal properties of
Filipinos found therein so must the Philippines
honor the exemption as provided for by our tax
law with respect to the doctrine of reciprocity.
Elements of a State
a. People
People refers simply to the inhabitants of
the State.
b. Territory
Territory is the fixed portion of the surface
of the earth inhabited by the people of the State.
c. Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the supreme and
uncontrollable power inherent in a State by which
that State is governed.
Doctrines:
Legal vs. Political
Legal Sovereignty
Cruz: Legal sovereignty is the authority which has
the power to issue final commands. In our country,
the Congress is the legal sovereign.
Bernas: Legal sovereignty is the supreme power to
affect legal interests either by legislative, executive
or judicial action.
(Bernas: Political writers distinguish between legal
sovereignty and political sovereignty.
The former is described as the supreme
power to make laws and the latter as the sum total
of all influences in a state, legal or non-legal,
which determine the course of law.
Political Sovereignty
Sum total of all the influences of a State,
legal and non-legal which determine the course of
law.
Internal Sovereignty
It refers to the power of the State to control
its domestic affairs. It is the supreme power over
everything within its territory.
External Sovereignty
Also known as Independence, which is
freedom from external control. It is the power of
State to direct its relations with other States.
Jus postliminium
When a foreign power occupies a state and
exercises the powers of government, the political
laws of the said state are deemed automatically
suspended but the former government
automatically comes to life and will be in force
and in effect again upon the re-establishment of
the former government.
Laurel v. Misa
Parties:
ANASTACIO LAUREL, petitioner
ERIBERTO MISA, respondent
Facts:
Anastacio Laurel filed a petition
for habeas corpus and argued that a Filipino
who adhered to the enemy, giving the latter aid
and comfort, during their (Japanese)
occupation, cannot be prosecuted for the
crime of treason under Article 114 of the RPC
because the sovereignty of the Philippines and
the correlative allegiance of Filipinos at the
time were suspended.
Issue:
Whether the allegiance of Filipinos
suspended during enemy occupation
Ruling:
No, the allegiance of Filipinos is not
suspended during enemy occupation.
A citizen or subject owes absolute and
permanent allegiance, which consists of
fidelity and obedience, to his government or
sovereign. This kind of allegiance should not be
confused with the qualified and temporary
allegiance whom a foreigner owes to the
government or sovereign of the territory
wherein he resides, so long as he remains there,
in return for the protection he receives.
 This absolute and permanent
allegiance of citizens is not abrogated or
severed by the enemy occupation, because the
sovereignty of the government or sovereign de
jure is not transferred thereby to the occupier.
Sovereignty itself is not suspended and subsists
during enemy occupation; what may be
suspended is the exercise of the rights of
sovereignty, the same being passed temporarily
to the occupant. In effect, the allegiance of the
citizens to their legitimate government or
sovereign subsists, hence, there is no such thing
as suspended allegiance as theorized by
Laurel.

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