Philippine Constitution Introduction

Philippine
Constitution
INTRODUCTION
Concept of CONSTITUTION
• Constitution - a body of rules and maxims in

accordance with which the powers of
sovereignty are habitually exercised. (Cooley,
Constitutional Limitations, p. 4 (2012))
• Constitutional Law - that branch of public law

which treats as constitutions, their nature,
formation, amendment and interpretation.
Nature and Purpose
I. Serves as the supreme or fundamental law
II. Establishes the basic framework and

underlying principles of the government
I. Serves as the supreme or
fundamental law
• It is the Charter creating the government.
• It is binding to all individual citizens and all
organs of the government.
• It is the law to which all other laws must
conform.
• It is the test of the legality of all governmental
actions.
II. Establishes the basic framework
and underlying principles of the
government
• Prescribes the permanent framework of the
system of government, and assigns to the
different department or branches, their
respective powers and duties. (Art.I)
• To establish certain basic principles on which
the government is founded. (Preamble, Art.I)
• Designed to preserve and protect the rights of
the citizen against the Powers of the State. (Art
III)
Preamble
We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid

of Almighty God, in order to build a just and
humane society and establish a Government that
shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote
the common good, conserve and develop our
patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our
posterity the blessings of independence and
democracy under the rule of law and a regime of
truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace,
do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.
Purpose of the Preamble
• The preamble sets the stage for

the Constitution.
• It clearly communicates the intentions of the
framers and the purpose of the document.
• The preamble is an introduction to the highest
law of the land; it is not the law. It does not
define government powers or individual rights.
Essential Parts of a Constitution
I. Bill of Rights
II. Governmental organizations and Functions
III. Method of Amendment

I. Bill of Rights
Definition
• declaration and enumeration of a person’s
rights and privileges which the Constitution is
designed to protect against violation by the
government, or by individual or groups of
individuals. It is a charter of liberties for the
individual and a limitation upon the power of
the State. (Article III, of the 1987, Philippine
Constitution)
Enumeration of the Rights guaranteed under the Bill
of Rights
• Right to due process and equal protection of the
law
• Right against Unreasonable Searches and Seizures
• Right to Privacy of Communication and
Correspondence
• Freedom of Expression
• Freedom of Assembly
• Right to Form Associations
• Right to Information on matters of public concern
• Freedom of Religion
• Liberty of Abode and Right to Travel
• Non-impairment of Contracts
• Right to legal assistance and free access to court
• Rights of a person under custodial investigation
• Right to post bail
• Rights of the accused
• Privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
• Right to speedy disposition of Cases
• Right against involuntary servitude
• Right against excessive fines and cruel
punishments
• Right against imprisonment for debt
• Right against Double Jeopardy
• Right against ex post facto law and bill of
attainder
II. Governmental organizations
and Functions
Three Co-equal Departments of the Philippine
Government
1. Legislative Department
2. Executive Department
3. Judicial Department
1. Legislative Department
• 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. ( Article VI, Section 1 of the 1987,
Philippine Constitution)
•
Powers of the Legislative
Department
• Congress is responsible for making enabling

laws to make sure the spirit of the constitution is
upheld in the country and, at times, amend or
change the constitution itself. In order to craft
laws, the legislative body comes out with two
main documents: bills and resolutions
Composition of the Legislative
Department
• The SENATE shall be composed of twenty-four (24)

Senators who shall be elected at large by the
qualified voters of the Philippines, as may be
provided by law;
• The HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES shall be

composed of not more than 250 (unless otherwise
fixed by law), 20 percent of whom must be Party-
list representatives.
2. Executive Department
• Article VII, Section 1, of the 1987 Constitution vests

executive power on the President of the Philippines.
• The President is the Head of State and Head of

Government, and functions as the commander-in-
chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
Powers of the President
• As chief executive, the President exercises control

over all the executive departments, bureaus, and
offices.
• The President of the Philippines has the power to give
executive issuances, which are means to streamline
the policy and programs of an administration.
• Power over non-Filipinos in the Philippines.
• Power of eminent domain, escheat, land reservation
and recovery of ill-gotten wealth
• Power of appointment
• Power of general supervision over local governments
Composition of the Executive
Department
• The Executive branch is composed of the
President and the Vice-President who are
elected by direct popular vote and serve a
term of six years.
• The Constitution grants the President authority

to appoint his Cabinet. These departments
form a large portion of the country’s
bureaucracy.
3. Judicial Department
• Judicial power rests with the Supreme

Court and the lower courts, as
established by law (Art. VIII, sec. 1 of the
1987 Constitution).
Power of the Judicial
Department
• Its duty is to settle actual controversies involving
rights which are legally demandable and
enforceable (Art. VIII Sec. 1 (2).
• This department determines whether or not there
has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting
to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part and
instrumentality of the government.
• This department is granted the power of Judicial
Review as the power to declare a treaty,
international or executive agreement, law,
presidential decree, proclamation, order,
instruction, ordinance or regulation
unconstitutional.
Composition of the Judicial
Department
• It is made up of a Supreme Court and Lower
courts.
• The Supreme Court shall be composed of a

Chief Justice and Fourteen Associate Justices.
Principles in the Exercise of the
Powers of the Three Departments of
the Government
1) Principle of Separation of Powers

2) Principle of Blending of Powers
3) Principle of Check and Balances
1) Principle of Separation of
Powers
- The three co-equal branches of the government are entrusted with each of their
powers and they are not permitted to encroach upon the powers confided to the
others.
- If one of the departments of the government goes beyond the limits set by the
Constitution, its act is null and void.
- separation of powers however should not be interpreted as complete separation and

absolute exclusion.
- The doctrine carries that although the three branches are not subject to the control by
either of the others and each is supreme within its own sphere, they are still equal and
coordinate.
- Equal because they all derive their powers from the same common sovereign through
the constitution. And coordinate because they cannot simply ignore the acts done by
other departments as nugatory and not binding.
2) Principle of Blending of
Powers
- sharing of powers of the different departments of government
whereby one department helps and coordinates with the other in
the exercise of a particular power, function or responsibility.
Example:
1. The President and Congress help one another in the making of
laws. Congress enacts the bill and the President approves it.
2. The President prepares a budget and Congress enacts an
appropriation bill pursuant to that budget.
3. The President enters into a treaty with foreign countries and the
Senate ratifies the same.
3) Principle of Check and Balances
- separate branches are empowered to prevent actions by other branches and are
induced to share power.
- designed to avert excesses in the wielding of government authority.
Example:
1. the lawmaking power of the Congress is checked by the President through its veto
power, which in turn maybe overturn by the legislature
2. the Congress may refuse to give its concurrence to an amnesty proclaimed by
the President and the Senate to a treaty he has concluded
3. the President may nullify a conviction in a criminal case by pardoning the offender
4. the Congress may limit the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and that of inferior
courts and even abolish the latter tribunals
5. the Judiciary in general has the power to declare invalid an act done by the
Congress, the President and his subordinates, or the Constitutional Commissions.
III. Method of Amendment
TYPE OF CHANGES
• Amendment-“an alteration of one or few specific and

separable provisions,”. It is a change that does not
affect the whole Constitution.
example would be a provision added to allow same-sex marriage
in the Philippines or to clearly prohibit discrimination against the
LGBTQIA+ and other minorities.
• Revision -involve rewriting the Constitution anew or

major changes that cannot be implemented without
affecting the provisions of the Constitution as a whole.
example is the shift to another type of government, such as
federal.
Inherent Power of the State
I. Police Power
II. Eminent Domain
III. Power Taxation

Meaning of Inherent Power
• Powers existing and granted to the Government

upon the time of its constitution without need of
conferment or further legislation.
• Powers which are innate in the existence of the

Government
• Powers that are necessary for the Government to

function.
I. Police Power
• power of promoting the public welfare by

restraining and regulating the use of both
liberty and property of all the people.
• It is considered to be the most all-
encompassing of the three powers.
• It may be exercised only by the government.
• The property taken in the exercise of this power
is destroyed because it is noxious or intended
for a noxious purpose.
Example:
• Enactment of the Comprehensive Dangerous

Drugs Act of 2002 (R.A. 9165)
• Enactment of the Comprehensive Firearms
and Ammunitions Regulations Act (R.A. 10591)
II. Eminent Domain
• is the power of the State to forcibly take private
property for public use upon payment of just
compensation.
• it is based on the overriding public necessity and is
exercisable by the legislative department of the State.
• It may be exercised by private entities, President,
administrative agencies and local governments with
valid delegation.
• The power is usually exercised through the formal
expropriation proceedings before a court which, when
granted by the latter, will result to the actual taking of
the property from its owners upon payment of just
compensation.
Example:
• Road Widening Project of the National

Government
• Expropriation of lands by the National Grid
Corporation
III. Power of Taxation
• is the power by which the State exacts enforced

proportional contribution from the people,
property and exercise of a right within its territory
to raise revenue for the purpose of defraying the
necessary expenses of the government.
• Lifeblood Doctrine – Taxes are the lifeblood of the
nation without which, the government will not
survive and be paralyzed for lack of motive power
to activate and operate.
• Benefits-Received Doctrine- Taxes are imposed
because of the reciprocal duties of protection
and support between the State and the taxpayer.
Example:
• Imposition of the Value-Added-Tax on

consumer goods
• Imposition of Income Tax on Employees
-The End-

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Philippine

• Constitution - a body of rules and maxims in

• Constitutional Law - that branch of public law

I. Serves as the supreme or fundamental law

II. Establishes the basic framework and

We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid

• The preamble sets the stage for

II. Governmental organizations and Functions

III. Method of Amendment

• Congress is responsible for making enabling

• The SENATE shall be composed of twenty-four (24)

• The HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES shall be

• Article VII, Section 1, of the 1987 Constitution vests

• The President is the Head of State and Head of

• As chief executive, the President exercises control

• The Constitution grants the President authority

• Judicial power rests with the Supreme

• The Supreme Court shall be composed of a

1) Principle of Separation of Powers

- separation of powers however should not be interpreted as complete separation and

• Amendment-“an alteration of one or few specific and

• Revision -involve rewriting the Constitution anew or

II. Eminent Domain

III. Power Taxation

• Powers existing and granted to the Government

• Powers which are innate in the existence of the

• Powers that are necessary for the Government to

• power of promoting the public welfare by

• Enactment of the Comprehensive Dangerous

• Road Widening Project of the National

• is the power by which the State exacts enforced

• Imposition of the Value-Added-Tax on

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