Politics and Governance: What Is A State?
Politics and Governance: What Is A State?
What is a state?
State is a community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion
of territory, independent of external control and possessing an organized government to which the
great body of its inhabitants render habitual obedience.
State, political organization of society, or the body politic, or, more narrowly, the institutions of
government. The state is a form of human association distinguished from other social groups by its
purpose, the establishment of order and security; its methods, the laws and their enforcement; its
territory, the area of jurisdiction or geographic boundaries; and finally by its sovereignty. The state
consists, most broadly, of the agreement of the individuals on the means whereby disputes are
settled in the form of laws.
Inherent defined: As being inherent, it means that as long as the state exists, this power can never be
taken away.
1. Power of Taxation – An inherent power of the state exercised through legislature, to impose burdens
upon subjects and objects within its jurisdiction, for the purpose of raising revenues to carry out the
legitimate objects of the government.
Scope: To impose burdens upon subjects and objects within its jurisdiction.
Purpose: For raising revenue to carry out the legitimate objects of the government
2. Police Power – This is the power vested in the Legislature by the Constitution to make, ordain, and
establish all manner of wholesome and reasonable laws, statutes and ordinances, either with penalties or
without, not repugnant to the Constitution, for the good and welfare of the State and its subjects.
Basis: This power is based on the legal maxim “salus populi est suprema lex” (the voice of the people is the
supreme law).
Nature: Police power is an attribute of sovereignty and founded on the obligation of the State to provide
protection for its citizens and the safety and good order of society.
Scope: Police power is founded on which our social system rests and has for its object the improvement of
social and economic conditions affecting the community.
3. Power of Eminent Domain – This is the right of the State to acquire private property for public use upon
payment of just compensation and observance of due process.
Basis: It is based on genuine necessity and that necessity must be of public character.
Requisites: (1) There must be taking of public property; (2) It must be for public use; (3) There must be just
compensation; and (4) Due process of law must be observed in taking of the of property
1. Executive Department: It refers to the branch of the government who is responsible of enforcing
the laws of the State. It is headed by the President of the RP. The powers of the President is
delegated to his Cabinet members. Cabinet members are the alter- ego of the President. Cabinet
members are appointed based on trust and confidence of the President.
2. Legislative Department: It refers to the branch of the government responsible in the making,
amending, altering and repealing laws. It is represented by the two legislative houses, the Senate
and the House of Representatives. The Philippines has 24 Senators and 250 Members of the House
of Representatives.
3. Judiciary: This refers to the branch of the government which is responsible in the interpretation of
the laws. It is represented by the Supreme Court which acts as a collegial body in the performance
of its functions.
Features of the three branches: All are considered as co- equal. They operate under the principle of
separation of powers and checks-and-balances. These operative principles are necessary features in order
to avoid any abuse that may be committed by one branch over the other and to address any excess against
the people.
THE CONSTITUTION
What is the concept of constitution?
It refers to that body of rules and principles in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are
regularly exercised. The Constitution of the Philippines is that written instrument by which the fundamental
powers of the government are established, limited and defined and by which these powers are distributed
among several departments or branches for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the people.
The charter creating the government. It has the status of a supreme or fundamental law as it
speaks for the entire people form whom it derives its claim to obedience.
Binding on all individual citizen and all organs of the government. Highest in the hierarchy of
laws.
It is the law to which all other laws must conform and in accordance with which all private
rights must be determined and all public authority administered.
It is the test of legality of all governmental actions, whether proceedings from highest official
or lowest functionary.
Prescribe the permanent framework of the system of government and to assign to the
different departments or branches, their respective powers and duties, and to establish
certain basic principles on which the government is founded.
It is designed to preserve and protect the rights of individuals against the arbitrary actions of
those in authority.
Its function is not to legislate in detail but to set limits on the otherwise power of the
legislature.
Conventional or enacted - The enacted constitution is the result of the deliberate effort of
man. It is consciously made. It may be made by a constituent assembly or by the command
of sovereign authority, king or parliament. The features of an enacted constitution are
embodied in a document or in a series of documents.
Cumulative or evolved - An evolved constitution is the result of the growth of rules, which
have been developed with the time, added one by one as and when the need was felt. It is
the product of accumulated material, which has molded and shaped the political institution of
the country. Such a constitution is not made, it grows with its roots in the past, it is nothing
but, a collection and continuation of customs, usages, traditions, principles and judicial
decisions.
As to their form:
Written - A written constitution is a formal document defining the nature of the constitutional
settlement, the rules that govern the political system and the rights of citizens and
governments in a codified form.
Unwritten - A constitution not embodied in a single document but based chiefly on custom
and precedent as expressed in statutes and judicial decisions.
As to manner of amending them:
Rigid or inelastic - a rigid constitution as one under which certain laws, called constitutional
laws or fundamental laws "cannot be changed in the same manner as ordinary laws. A rigid
constitution set forth "specific legal/constitutional obstacles to be overcome" before it may be
amended, such as special approval of the people by referendum, a supermajority or special
majority in the legislature, or both.
Flexible or elastic - a flexible constitution is one in which the legislature may amend the
constitution's content and principles through use of the ordinary legislative process. For
example, the Constitution of Philippines is rigid, while the British Constitution and the Israeli
Constitution are flexible.
1. Brief - a constitution is said to be brief if the major and most important points are marked and
minor ones deduced
2. Broad - a constitution has to endure, it must be comprehensive in scope and meaning in
order to meet the needs of the changing times
3. Definite - to avoid conflicting interpretations, a constitution must have clear and definite
statements; any vagueness can be disruptive to political stability, administrative, efficiency,
and national unity
Did you know that for every change in the constitution in the Philippines, the President released a
proclamation to commemorate the date when the new charter took effect? That day is called Constitution
Day. Of all the constitutional changes the country went through, it's only the 1943 Constitution which did not
have a corresponding proclamation. President Corazon C. Aquino, through Proclamation No. 211 of 1988,
assigned February 2 of each year as Constitution Day to mark the new 1987 Constitution.
How well do you know the supreme law of the land? The list below contains some vital information
concerning one of the country's most important legal documents.
The 1973 Constitution, according to former Aquino spokesman Teodoro Locsin Jr, was
never ratified as the process conducted by then president Ferdinand Marcos Jr met strong opposition.
The Aquino government had 3 options with regard to the fundamental law of the land:
To revert to the 1935 Constitution. But because Marcos abolished the bicameral legislature they had to resort
to general elections.
To retain the 1973 Constitution and be granted the power to make reforms. This was shot down by Aquino as
"she did not want to derive legitimacy and power from the very institutions that she fought."
To start anew and break from the "vestiges of a disgraced dictatorship."
President Corazon Aquino in April 1986 created – through Proclamation No. 9 – the 1986
Constitutional Commission (ConCom), which was responsible for drafting a replacement for the 1973
Constitution. The new constitution, she said, should be “truly reflective of the aspirations and ideals of the
Filipino people.” The 1986 ConCom was composed of 48 individuals who represented all sectors in the
country, including, among others, Bishop Teodoro Bacani, former Supreme Court chief justice Roberto
Concepcion, former labor minister (and eventually senator and foreign affairs secretary) Blas Ople, Ateneo
De Manila University president Father Joaquin Bernas SJ, and University of the Philippines Student Council
Chairperson (now Commission on Human Rights chair) Chito Gascon.
The first session of the commission was held on June 2, 1986 when Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, the first
woman appointed to the Supreme Court in 1973, was elected president of ConCom. The proceedings in
relation to the drafting of the 1987 Philippine Constitution – just like other important legal documents in the
country – were in no doubt not without conflict. According to accounts, members of the ConCom engaged in
heated debates during the various sessions on many issues, including the death penalty, economic policies,
land reform, form of government, and even the retention of American military bases in Clark and Subic,
among others.
The ConCom was able to finish its work after more or less 111 days, according to Palma. On October
12, 1986, the draft constitution was passed – with 44 delegates voting for it and two against – and was
presented to Aquino 3 days after. On February 2, 1987, a National Plebiscite was held after a nationwide
information campaign on the draft constitution. The question voters had to answer was: "Do you vote for
the ratification of the proposed Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines with the ordinance
appended thereto?"
The results of the 1987 plebiscite canvassed by the Commission on Elections based on returns from
83,288 precincts – or a total of 21,785,216 votes – across the Philippines are as follows:
Number of votes
On February 11, 1987, through Proclamation No. 58, Aquino announced the results of the plebiscite and
proclaimed the 1987 Philippine Constitution ratified. It took effect the same day.