PhiIippine Constitution- ARTICLE II

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE

POLICIES
A. PRINCIPLES
This article in the 1935 Constitution uses
the phraseology "Declaration of Principles"
only. The new Constitution has added the
phrase "and State policies".
This portion of the Constitution might be
called the basic political creed of the
nation. It lays down the policies that the
government is bound to observe. With the
exception of Section @ which refers to the
duty of citizens to serve the State, these
provisions prescribe the fundamental
obligations of the government,
particularly the legislative and the
executive departments as its policydetermining organs.It is incumbent on the

people to demand fulfillment of these

government duties through the exercise of
the right of suffrage. But indirectly some
of these principles may aid the court in
determining the validity of statutes or
executive acts in justiceable cases.
Where the Government through the
Executive Department fails in its duty to
enforce these provisions, the remedy
provided therefore is not judicial but
political. The people here is called upon
to avail of the remedy through the ballot,
not through the court.
This is not to say that the provisions did
not have their usefulness in litigation. The
same also obligated the judiciary to be
guided by the same provisions in the
exercise of the power of judicial review.
Section I. The Philippines is a democratic

and Republican State. Sovereignty resides

in the people and all government
authority emanates from them.
This article is a reproduction of Article II,
Section I of the 1935 Constitution,
maintained under Section I, Article II of
the 1973 Constitution.
The requirements of a democratic and
republican state are as follows:
a) Cardinal rights embodied in the Bill of
Rights;
b) The principle that ours is a government
of laws and not of men;
c) The principle that the State cannot be
sued without its consent;
d) The principle that the legislature
cannot pass irrepealable laws;
e) Election through popular will;
f) The principle that an office is a public

trust;
and
g) The rule against undue delegation of
legislative power.
SOVEREIGNTY
-is the supreme power of the state to
command obedience from all the
inhabitants, whether citizen or alien. This
power resides in the people.. Therefore,
they have the right to constitute their own
government, define and provide the
powers it may exercise within legal limits.
This right may be exercised directly or
indirectly.
Direct exercise of sovereignty
It is the people that exercises actual
sovereignty through what is called the
popular will - the election of the people's

representatives in a clean and honest

electoral process.
The aforecited is in accord with the
constitution mandates of a government
that is representative or republican in
nature and a Philippine state that is
representative democracy or a republican
state.
Indirect exercise of sovereignty
The constitutional mandate that
sovereignty resides in the people does not
mean the Filipino people govern
themselves directly exercising acts of
government - like the making of
laws,enforcing the same or deciding cases
involving life, liberty or property. The
making of laws, is left to the lawmaking
body composed of the people's
representatives chosen through the

electoral process; enforcing the laws is

left to the executive department; and
deciding cases is left to the courts.
The people exercise this acts of
government through the officers and
employees constituting the government
set up by them as mandated by the
Constitution.
People's Rights to Change their Public
Officers
This declared constitutional principle is
best exemplified in the systems of recall,
referendum and initiative. All these have
made possible greater participation of the
people in the affairs of government. This
is further evidenced by the constitutional
provisions on sectoral representation,
multi-party systems and the right of the
people to amend the constitution which

they, themselves, ordained and

promulgated.
Section 2. The Philippines renounces war
as an instrument of national policy, adopts
the generally accepted principles of
international law as part of the law of the
land and adheres to the policy of peace,
equality, justice, freedom, cooperation,
and amity with all nations.
Section 2 is a substantial reproduction of
the contents of Section 3, Article II of the
1935 Constitution. This particular proviso
is divided into three parts:
a) Renunciation of war as an instrument of
national policy;
b) Adoption of the generally accepted
principles of international law as part of
the law of the land;and
c) Adherence to the policy of peace,

equality, justice, freedom, cooperation,

and amity with all nations.
Renunciation of war as a national policy
In renouncing war as an instrument of
national policy expressly declared in the
Constitution, the Philippines affirms the
1934 and the 1971 Constitutional
Convention's belief that an effective
means of outlaw war is to prohibit the
same in the Constitution.
This particular proviso contemplates, as it
was contemplated under the 1935
Constitution, defensive war, not
aggressive war. This was inspired by the
Kellog-Briand Pact of 27 August 1928
which renounces wars of aggression.
The power to wage a defensive war is an
inherent part of sovereignty. The explains

the reason why the Constitution makes

defense of the state the prime duty of
government under section 4 of Article II of
the charter. At the same time, section 22
of the same article, empowers the
Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of both
Houses, in joint session assembles, to
declare the existence of a state of war.
Adoption of international law
The second part of the provision is the
constitutional declaration that the
Philippines conforms to the generally
accepted principles of international law in
its relation with others states. This simply
means that whenever a state is admitted
into the family of nations, it becomes
incumbent upon it to observe these
accepted principles within its jurisdiction
and, at the same time, enforce them
before its courts involving the same, in

the absence of any statutory law,

provisions of any treaty, or any provision
of the Constitution to the contrary. These
principles of international law that form
part of the laws of the Philippines which
are generally accepted by civilized states
include those rules on diplomatic and
foreign State immunity, those provisions
of the United Nations Charter to which
member nations conform, including the
implementing international agreements.
Treaties therefore, entered into by the
Philippines with other states must confirm
to generally accepted principles of
international law which the Constitution
declares as a part of the laws of the land.
International relations
The third part of the provision as a
declared constitutional principle - a policy
of "peace, equality, justice, freedom,

cooperation and amity" is a necessary

consequences to the Philippine adherence
to the law of nations requiring that states
a) should be at peace with each other;
b) should settle their international
disputes or difference not by war but by
peaceful means;
c) that war may be resorted to only when
disputes can no longer be settled by
diplomatic channels; to retorsion,
reprisal, and other means short of war,
and in extreme cases by war, but in this
case, still the conduct of war must be
governed by rules - the laws of war.
Regardless of their respective national
ideologies, member countries of the
international community are equal, free,
irrespective of their size, population and

wealth, consequently, each one is equally

entitled to the rights and subject to the
obligations of membership in the United
Nations. It follows that policies of the
Philippines in its relation with other states
as enshrined in the Constitution must be
consistent with the rules and principles of
international law which seeks peace and
amity among nations.
Consequently, it is thus provided in the
Constitution that the Philippines pursues
and independent foreign policy that will
maintain national sovereignty, territorial
integrity, national interest and the right
of self-determination. The national
policies then must be directed towards
the observance of international
cooperation, considering that at this stage
of world history, there exists an ever
growing interdependence among
independent states.

Supremacy of the Civilian Authority

Section 3 Civilian authority is at all times
supreme over the military.
Supremacy of civilian authority over the
military is inherent in democratic and
republican states. Superiority of civilian
authority over the military is regarded as
an essential constituent of the fabric of
political life.
The President of the Philippines is always
a civilian. At the same time, he is the
Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed
Forces; the army, the navy and the air
force, including the Cap;ital command.
Appointment to the higher echelons in the
armed forces is vested in the President, a
fact that precludes the emergence of the
military take over in the affairs of the civil

government. For the role of the military is

spelled out clearly in the Constitution.
Role of the Armed Forces
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.
Prime Duty of Government
Section 4. The prime duty of government
is to serve and protect the people. The
Government may call upon the people to
defend the State and, in the fulfillment
thereof, all citizens may be required,
under conditions provided by law, to
render personal, military or civil service.
It is the right of a state to exact

compulsory military service of its citizen

and such exaction does not violate the
principle of involuntary servitude. This
proviso was incorporated in view of the
recognized inadequacy of a voluntary
system both in terms of military
effectiveness and in terms of equality
between the rich and the poor.
Maintenance of Peace
Section 5. The maintenance of peace and
order, the protection of life, liberty, and
property, and the promotion of the
general welfare are essential for the
enjoyment by all the people of the
blessings of democracy.
For the Filipino people to secure unto
themselves and their posterity the
blessings of independence and democracy
as envisioned in the Preamble of the 1987

Constitution, it is necessary for the

Government 1) to maintain peace and order;
2) protect life, liberty and property; and
3) promote the general welfare
The maintenance of peace and order rests
on the military establishment, to be
complemented by the judiciary for the
protection of life, liberty and property
within the context of due process. The
promotion of the general welfare requires
the cooperative efforts of those in
government in the attainment of the
greatest good for the greatest number.
Separation of Church and State
Section 6. The separation of the church
and state shall be inviolable.

The union of the church and the state is

prejudicial to both. The provisions of the
1987 Constitution that compliments the
principle of separation of the church and
state are found under1) Section 5, Article III which provides,
among other things, that no law shall be
made respecting an establishment of
religion or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof;
2) Section 29 (2) of Article VI which
prohibits the appropriation of public
money or property to be applied, paid, or
employed directly or indirectly for the
use, benefit, or support of any sect,
church, denomination, sectarian
institution or system of religion, or any
priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary as
such, except when such priest, preacher,
minister or dignitary is assigned to the

armed forces, or to any penal institution,

or government orphanage or leprosarium;
3) Section 28 (3) of Article VI which
exempts charitable institutions, churches,
and parsonages or convents appurtenant
there, mosques, non-profit cemeteries,
and all lands, buildings and improvements
actually, directly, and exclusively used for
religious, charitable or educational
purposes from taxation;
4) Section 28 (3) of Article IX-C which
prohibits the registration of religious
denomination and sects.
Religious freedom, according to Justice
Laurel, as a constitutional mandate is not
inhibition of profound reverence for
religion and is not a denial of its influence
in human affairs.

Notwithstanding the principle of

separation of church and state, still both
can work together in harmony to serve the
welfare of the people. According to the
late Jaime Cardinal Sin: the Church and
the State are two entities that play an
important role in our life. Let us keep
them separate, by all means,but let us not
interpret separation as segregation. Let us
believe that they can work hand in hand,
separate but parallel like two tracks on
the railroad leading to the same
destination.

Renunciation of War as an Instrument of

National Policy (Sec. 2, Art. II)
The declaration refers only to the
renunciation of aggressive war, not war in
defense of our national integrity and honor

because the right of self-preservation

cannot be waived by any state.
A war of aggression, sometimes also war
of conquest, is a military conflict waged
without the justification of self-defense,
usually for territorial gain and subjugation.
The phrase is distinctly modern and
diametrically opposed to the prior legal
international standard of "might makes
right", under the medieval and pre-historic
beliefs of right of conquest. Since
the Korean War of the early 1950s, waging
such a war of aggression is a crime under
the customary international law. Possibly
the first trial for waging aggressive war is
that of Conradin von Hohenstaufen in
1268.[1]
Wars without international legality (e.g. not
out of self-defense nor sanctioned by
the United Nations Security Council) can

be considered wars of aggression;

however, this alone usually does not
constitute the definition of a war of
aggression; certain wars may be unlawful
but not aggressive (a war to settle
a boundary dispute where the initiator has
a reasonable claim, and limited aims, is
one example).
A defensive war is one of the causes that
justify war by the criteria of the Just
War tradition. It means a war where at least
one nation is mainly trying to defend itself
from another, as opposed to a war where
both sides are trying to invade and conquer
each other.
What are General Principles of
International Law?

When there is no provision in an

international treaty or statute nor any
recognized customary principle of
international
law
available
for
application
in
an
international
dispute, the general principles of law
can be used to fill the gap.
A most common way of resolving
disputes under the rule of law is by
reference to, and application of, the
language of applicable multilateral or
bilateral treaties or statutes, or some
other writing which provides evidence
of the relationship and past positions
of the parties to a dispute. Another
method is by reference to custom,
the practice of nations in a particular
area (customary international law)
and principles of law derived from
such. But what happens when there

is no such guiding authority for the

benefit of those involved in resolving
the dispute? Such gaps are inevitable
in any legal system, including the
international one, because treaties
(contracts),
statutes,
and
rules
derived from custom cannot be
designed to cover all situations which
give rise to disputes. International
law provides an answer to that
question
for
the
resolution
of
international
disputes:
general
principles of law may used to fill the
void or gap. These may be referred
to, as one authority did, as
nonconsensual
sources
of
international law.
In the municipal law systems of
countries with a common law
tradition, judges very often look to

the decisions from outside sources to

fill in the gaps of the law to be
applied in the resolution of a
particular case. As an example, state
courts in the United States very often
cite the decisions of other state
courts in the course of an opinion in a
case, where a needed legal rule of the
deciding state is absent or unclear. As
a corollary, some justices of the
Supreme Court of the United States
have recently adopted the practice of
using the decisions of courts of other
countries and international courts for
their persuasive value in clarifying
unclear rules to be applied in a case.
In civil law countries, as Professor
Mark Janis of the University of
Connecticut Law School notes in

his An Introduction to International

Law:
[L]awyers and judges in the civil law
tradition are familiar with the problem
of lacunae, gaps in the law, a concept
based on the premise that only
formal legislative institutions are
empowered to make legal rules.
Thus, judges in civil law countries
need statutory authority to fill in the
gaps of the legislatively created legal
rules. Must the civil law judge merely
look at the statutes or decisions of
courts in foreign jurisdictions for a
fill in the gaps principle, or must the
judge find explicit statutory authority
for such practice, i.e. to find explicit
authorization permitting courts to fill
the legislative vacuum?

Fortunately for the international

judge or the domestic judge faced
with applying international law in a
particular cause, the answer can be
found in Article 38(1) of the Statute
of the International Court of Justice.
This provision specifically authorizes
in listing the sources of law to be
applied by the Court, treaties,
customs and the general principles
of
law
recognized
by
civilized
nations. Professor Janis comments
on this provision:
The basic notion is that a general
principle of international law is some
proposition of law so fundamental
that it will be found in virtually every
legal system. When treaties and
customary international law fail to
offer a needed international rule, a

search may be launched in

comparative law to discover if
national legal systems use a common
legal principle. If such a common
legal principle is found, then it is
presumed that a comparable principle
should be attributed to fill the gap in
international law.
An example cited among others by
Professor Janis is the International
Court of Justice decision in 1949 in
the Corfu
Channel case,
which
addressed the question of Albanian
civil liability for the mining of the
Corfu
Channel
and
subsequent
damage to two British naval vessels
that resulted from striking mines. In
discussing
whether
the
United
Kingdom
could
establish
the
knowledge and responsibility of

Albania for the laying of the mines,

the Courts opinion stated:
[T[he fact of this exclusive territorial
control exercised by a State within its
frontiers has a bearing upon the
methods of proof available to
establish the knowledge of that State
as to such events. By reason of this
exclusive control, the other State, the
victim of a breach of international
law, is often unable to furnish direct
proof of facts giving rise to
responsibility. Such a State should be
allowed a more liberal recourse to
inferences of fact and circumstantial
evidence. This indirect evidence is
admitted in all systems of law, and its
use is recognized by international
decisions. It must be regarded as of
special weight when it is based on a

series of facts linked together and

leading logically to a single
conclusion. (Emphasis added)
The existence of a body of legal
principles and rules that are common
to all, or almost all legal systems, is
supported by some observations
made by a British barrister, C. Wilfred
Jenks, in his book The Common Law
of Mankind, published under the
auspices of the London Institute of
World Affairs in 1958. In a section of
the book titled Extent of the
Influence of the Common and the
Civil Law, Jenks observes that
virtually all of the legal systems of
the world, including those in Latin
America, Islamic countries, African
countries, countries within the former
Soviet block, India, China, and Japan

have been profoundly influenced in

the course of their development by
either the civil law or the common
law. The result is that many principles
of law are common to these legal
systems. One only has to examine,
for example, the law of contracts or
torts or the criminal law relating to
murder in these legal systems to
understand the truth of this assertion.
Thus the common law and the civil
law, which by themselves share
common principles of law, provide the
basic framework that many general
principles of law can be derived and
used to fill the gap when there is no
general principle of international law
available for application in the
resolution of a particular case.

treaty
noun \tr-t\
: an official agreement that is made
between two or more countries or
groups

Supremacy of Civilian Authority Over

Military Authority (Sec. 3, Art. II)
This is inherent in a republican state like
the Philippines and it was impliedly
provided in our past constitutions. Because
of our experience in martial law rule,
however, the framers of our 1987
Constitution deemed it proper to make a
clear expression of this policy.

How true is the supremacy of civilian

authority over the military?
It is true that we are subservient to the
civilian population. We work to support
them. So far as supremacy, not really. At
our highest ranks we are run by civilians
Congress decides most of what happens to
us. Since you the population elects
congress, then we are indirectly led by the
civilian population in a way.
The confusion comes when people think
that means that they somehow "outrank" us
because they are civilians. You can think
that all you want, but in a tight spot you are
going to do what I say anyway.
Another confusion comes in with civilian
spouses. You may have even noticed on
here, a few of them think that because their
spouse is in the military it somehow makes

them an authority on the military. Most of

their answers are horribly incorrect and
they are too dumb to know it.
True. Every member must volunteer. When
someone chooses to join the military they
understand that they are joining a service
that must obey the President of the US; its
in the oath of enlistment. Discipline in the
ranks means absolutely obeying the orders
issued by those above you in the chain of
command which ultimately ends with the
President. The officers appointed over
them are trained extensively in ethics and
the Law with regard to the absolute
authority of the President and his Secretary
of Defense. Anyone who disobeys the
orders of the Presdient or SecDef violates
his oath of enlistment, instantly becomes a
criminal under the Uniform Code of Military
Justice and is no longer considered a
soldier by his peers but a traitor. The only
caveat, if there is one, is if the President

were to violate the Constitution, then the

soldier would be bound by his oath to
refuse that particular order on the grounds
that it is unlawful.
Civil authority (also known as civil
government) is that apparatus of
the state other than its military units that
enforces law and order. It is also used to
distinguish between religious authority (for
example Canon law) and secular authority.
In a religious context it is "synonymous with
human government, in contradistinction to
a government by God, or the divine
government."[1]
The Armed Forces of the
Philippines (AFP) (Filipino: Sandatahang
Lakas ng Pilipinas; Spanish: Fuerzas
Armadas de Filipinas) is composed of

the Philippine Army, Philippine

Navy and Philippine Air Force. The AFP is
a volunteer force. In 2012 a senior AFP
officer reported its manpower strength to
be 125,000, of which 85,000 were in the
Army and the rest in the Navy and Air
[7]
Force. In 2012, the AFP Chief of Staff
said that there had been no increase in the
number of soldiers over a long period, and
that the military aims to hire 20,000 troops
[8]
in three-years.

Leadership
Commander- President Benigno
in-Chief of S. Aquino III
the Armed
Forces
Secretary

Voltaire T.

ofNational
Defense

Gazmin

Chief of
Staff of the
Armed
Forces of
the
Philippines

General Gregorio
Pio Catapang Jr.

separation of church and state

definition

The principle that government must

maintain an attitude of neutrality
toward religion. Many view separation
of church and state as required by

theFirst Amendment. The First

Amendment not only allows citizens
the freedom to practice any religion
of their choice, but also prevents the
government from officially
recognizing or favoring any religion.
Note: The relationship between
church and state has been extremely
controversial since the first settlers
arrived in America to escape religious
persecution in Europe, and many
cases involving the issue have
reached the Supreme Court.
Constitution[edit]
The 1987 Constitution of the
Philippines declares: The separation of
Church and State shall be
inviolable. (Article II, Section 6), and, No
law shall be made respecting an

establishment of religion, or prohibiting the

free exercise thereof. The free exercise
and enjoyment of religious profession and
worship, without discrimination or
preference, shall forever be allowed. No
religious test shall be required for the
exercise of civil or political rights. (Article
III, Section 5).....

1. A nuclear weapon is an explosive

device that derives its destructive force
from nuclear reactions, either fission or a
combination of fission and fusion. Both
reactions release vast quantities of energy
from relatively small amounts of matter.

Article 2, Section 9 of the 1987

Philippine Constitution

Section 9. The State shall promote a

just and dynamic social order that will
ensure the prosperity and
independence of the nation and free
the people from poverty through
policies that provide adequate social
services, promote full employment, a
rising standard of living, and an
improved quality of life for all.
Logged
Romans 8:38-39
"For I am convinced that neither
death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor
the future, nor any
powers, neither height nor
depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate
us from the love of God that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord."

1. ARTICLE XIII
THE SOCIAL JUSTICE
AND
HUMAN RIGHTS
THE 1987 PHILIPPINES CONSTITUTION
OF THE
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

2. Article XIII: Section 1

The congress shall give the highest priority

to the enactment of measures that protect
and enhance the right of all the people to
:
- human dignity
- reduce social
- economic
- political inequalities

3. - remove cultural inequities

- equitably diffusing wealth and
political power for the common good

To this end, the state shall regulate the:

- acquisition
- ownership
- use, and
- disposition of property and its increments
4. Article XIII: Section 2

The promotion of social justice shall

include the commitment to create

oppurtunities based on freedom of
initiative and self-reliance.
5. Human Rights:
Section 17
created an independent office called

Commission on Human Rights

o

Commission shall composed of a chairman

and four members who must be:

Natural born citizens of the Philippines

6. members of the bar

Section 18
Commission on human rights shall have
the following powers and functions :
Investigate
Ex. All forms of human rights violation
involving civil and political rights;

Rules of the court

7. Exercise visitorial powers over jails

Provide appropriate legal measures

for the protection of human rights

o

Establishing a continuing program

8. Research

9. Education
THE 1987 XIII
REPUBLIC
ARTICLE
CONSTITUTION
OFARTICLE
THE PHILIPPINES
XIIIOF THE
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1. The Congress shall give highest
priority to the enactment of measures that
protect and enhance the right of all the people
to human dignity, reduce social, economic, and
political inequalities, and remove cultural
inequities by equitably diffusing wealth and
political power for the common good.
To this end, the State shall regulate the
acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of
property and its increments.

Section 2. The promotion of social justice shall

include the commitment to create economic
opportunities based on freedom of initiative and
self-reliance.
LABOR
Section 3. The State shall afford full protection
to labor, local and overseas, organized and
unorganized, and promote full employment and
equality of employment opportunities for all.
It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to
self-organization, collective bargaining and
negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities,
including the right to strike in accordance with
law. They shall be entitled to security of tenure,
humane conditions of work, and a living wage.
They shall also participate in policy and
decision-making processes affecting their rights
and benefits as may be provided by law.
The State shall promote the principle of shared
responsibility between workers and employers

and the preferential use of voluntary modes in

settling disputes, including conciliation, and
shall enforce their mutual compliance therewith
to foster industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations between
workers and employers, recognizing the right of
labor to its just share in the fruits of production
and the right of enterprises to reasonable
returns to investments, and to expansion and
growth.
AGRARIAN AND NATURAL
RESOURCES REFORM
Section 4. The State shall, by law, undertake an
agrarian reform program founded on the right
of farmers and regular farmworkers who are
landless, to own directly or collectively the
lands they till or, in the case of other
farmworkers, to receive a just share of the fruits
thereof. To this end, the State shall encourage
and undertake the just distribution of all
agricultural lands, subject to such priorities and

reasonable retention limits as the Congress may

prescribe, taking into account ecological,
developmental, or equity considerations, and
subject to the payment of just compensation. In
determining retention limits, the State shall
respect the right of small landowners. The State
shall further provide incentives for voluntary
land-sharing.
Section 5. The State shall recognize the right of
farmers, farmworkers, and landowners, as well
as cooperatives, and other independent farmers
organizations to participate in the planning,
organization, and management of the program,
and shall provide support to agriculture through
appropriate technology and research, and
adequate financial, production, marketing, and
other support services.
Section 6. The State shall apply the principles
of agrarian reform or stewardship, whenever
applicable in accordance with law, in the
disposition or utilization of other natural

resources, including lands of the public domain

under lease or concession suitable to
agriculture, subject to prior rights, homestead
rights of small settlers, and the rights of
indigenous communities to their ancestral
lands.
The State may resettle landless farmers and
farmworkers in its own agricultural estates
which shall be distributed to them in the
manner provided by law.
Section 7. The State shall protect the rights of
subsistence fishermen, especially of local
communities, to the preferential use of the
communal marine and fishing resources, both
inland and offshore. It shall provide support to
such fishermen through appropriate technology
and research, adequate financial, production,
and marketing assistance, and other services.
The State shall also protect, develop, and
conserve such resources. The protection shall
extend to offshore fishing grounds of

subsistence fishermen against foreign intrusion.

Fishworkers shall receive a just share from their
labor in the utilization of marine and fishing
resources.
Section 8. The State shall provide incentives to
landowners to invest the proceeds of the
agrarian reform program to promote
industrialization, employment creation, and
privatization of public sector enterprises.
Financial instruments used as payment for their
lands shall be honored as equity in enterprises
of their choice.
URBAN LAND REFORM AND HOUSING
Section 9. The State shall, by law, and for the
common good, undertake, in cooperation with
the private sector, a continuing program of
urban land reform and housing which will make
available at affordable cost, decent housing and
basic services to underprivileged and homeless
citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas.
It shall also promote adequate employment

opportunities to such citizens. In the

implementation of such program the State shall
respect the rights of small property owners.
Section 10. Urban or rural poor dwellers shall
not be evicted nor their dwelling demolished,
except in accordance with law and in a just and
humane manner.
No resettlement of urban or rural dwellers shall
be undertaken without adequate consultation
with them and the communities where they are
to be relocated.
HEALTH
Section 11. The State shall adopt an integrated
and comprehensive approach to health
development which shall endeavor to make
essential goods, health and other social services
available to all the people at affordable cost.
There shall be priority for the needs of the
underprivileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women,

and children. The State shall endeavor to

provide free medical care to paupers.
Section 12. The State shall establish and
maintain an effective food and drug regulatory
system and undertake appropriate health,
manpower
development,
and
research,
responsive to the countrys health needs and
problems.
Section 13. The State shall establish a special
agency for disabled persons for their
rehabilitation, self-development, and selfreliance, and their integration into the
mainstream of society.
WOMEN
Section 14. The State shall protect working
women by providing safe and healthful working
conditions, taking into account their maternal
functions, and such facilities and opportunities
that will enhance their welfare and enable them

to realize their full potential in the service of

the nation.
ROLE AND RIGHTS OF PEOPLES
ORGANIZATIONS
Section 15. The State shall respect the role of
independent peoples organizations to enable
the people to pursue and protect, within the
democratic framework, their legitimate and
collective interests and aspirations through
peaceful and lawful means.
Peoples
organizations
are bona
fide associations of citizens with demonstrated
capacity to promote the public interest and with
identifiable leadership, membership, and
structure.
Section 16. The right of the people and their
organizations to effective and reasonable
participation at all levels of social, political, and
economic decision-making shall not be
abridged. The State shall, by law, facilitate the

establishment
mechanisms.

of

adequate

consultation

HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 17. (1) There is hereby created an
independent office called the Commission on
Human Rights.
(2) The Commission shall be composed of a
Chairman and four Members who must be
natural-born citizens of the Philippines and a
majority of whom shall be members of the Bar.
The term of office and other qualifications and
disabilities of the Members of the Commission
shall be provided by law.
(3) Until this Commission is constituted, the
existing Presidential Committee on Human
Rights shall continue to exercise its present
functions and powers.
(4) The approved annual appropriations of the
Commission shall be automatically and
regularly released.

Section 18. The Commission on Human Rights

shall have the following powers and functions:
(1) Investigate, on its own or on complaint by
any party, all forms of human rights violations
involving civil and political rights;
(2) Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of
procedure, and cite for contempt for violations
thereof in accordance with the Rules of Court;
(3) Provide appropriate legal measures for the
protection of human rights of all persons within
the Philippines, as well as Filipinos residing
abroad, and provide for preventive measures
and legal aid services to the underprivileged
whose human rights have been violated or need
protection;
(4) Exercise visitorial powers over jails,
prisons, or detention facilities;
(5) Establish a continuing program of research,
education, and information to enhance respect
for the primacy of human rights;

(6) Recommend to Congress effective measures

to promote human rights and to provide for
compensation to victims of violations of human
rights, or their families;
(7) Monitor the Philippine Governments
compliance with international treaty obligations
on human rights;
(8) Grant immunity from prosecution to any
person whose testimony or whose possession of
documents or other evidence is necessary or
convenient to determine the truth in any
investigation conducted by it or under its
authority;
(9) Request the assistance of any department,
bureau, office, or agency in the performance of
its functions;
(10) Appoint its officers and employees in
accordance with law; and
(11) Perform such other duties and functions as
may be provided by law.

Section 19. The Congress may provide for other

cases of violations of human rights that should
fall within the authority of the Commission,
taking into account its recommendations.

SECTION 1.
The congress shall give highest priority to the
enactment of measures that protect and enhance
the right of all the people to human dignity,
reduce social, economic, and political
inequalities, and remove cultural inequalities,
and remove cultural inequalities by equitably
diffusing wealth and political power for the
common good.
To this end, the State shall regulate the
acquisition, ownership, use, and disposition of
property and its increments.

SECTION 2.
The promotion of social justice shall include
the commitment to create economic
opportunities based on freedom of initiative and
self-reliance.
Concept of Social Justice
Social justice is not a mere catchy slogan to
express concern for the plight of the poor and
the downtrodden.
Duty of State to Promote Social Justice
1. Aims of policy to promote social justice

The aims of the policy to promote social justice

are:

a. To protect and enhance the right of all the

people to human dignity;
b. To reduce social, economic and political
inequalities; and
c. To remove cultural inequalities.
2. Measures to achieve aims
These aims are to be achieved by the enactment
of measures to which Congress shall give the
highest priority, that seek to equitably wealth
and political power for the common good
3. Commitment to create economic
opportunities
The promotion of social justice must include a
commitment on the part of the State to create
economic opportunities for all the citizens
based on the freedom of initiative and selfreliance.

Social Justice and Property Rights

1. Right to property entitled to protection
2. Poverty not an excuse for violating right of
property owner

Social Justice neither Social/ Economic nor

Legal/ Political Equality
1. Social and economic distinctions will always
exist
Social justice is not social or economic
equality, because inequality will always exist as
long as social relations depend on personal or
subjective proclivities. For instance, social
distinctions may and do often obtain between
the rich and the poor.
2. Equal, not same, treatment under the law
contemplated

it is neither absolute legal nor political equality,

because the latter term is relative and is
necessarily premised on differentiations based
on personal and natural conditions, such as age,
sex, mentality, physical capacity, citizenship,
etc.

Obligation Imposed on the State

In recognition of the important role of peoples
organization in reflecting the popular will and
as catalysts of change, the Constitution
mandates the State to listen to the citizens and
their organizations, more specifically:
1. To respect the role of independent peoples
organizations to enable the people to pursue
and protect, within the democratic framework,

their legitimate and collective interests and

aspirations through peaceful and lawful means;
2. Not to abridge the right of the people and
their organizations to effective and reasonable
participations at all levels of social, political
and economic decision-making; and
3. By law, to facilitate the establishment of
adequate consultation mechanisms between the
people and the government.
The Commission on Human Rights
1. Composition
It is composed of a Chairman and four (4)
members.
2. Qualification, appointment, term and
disabilities

The members must be natural-born citizens of

the Philippines, a majority of whom shall be
members of the bar. The Constitution does not
provide for their appointment. They shall,
however, be appointed by the President without
need of confirmation of the Commission on
Appointments.
3. Independence
To enhance its independence, the approved
annual appropriations of the Commission shall
be automatically and regularly released.

LABOR
SECTION 3.
The State shall afford full protection to labor,
local and overseas, organized and unorganized,

and promote full employment and equality of

employment opportunities for all.
It shall guarantee the rights of all workers to
self-organization, collective bargaining and
negotiations, and peaceful concerted activities,
including the right to strike in accordance with
law. They shall be entitled to security of tenure,
humane conditions of work, and a living wage.
They shall also participate in policy and
decision-making processes affecting their rights
and benefits as may be provided by law.
The State shall promote the principle of shared
responsibility between workers and employers
and the preferential use of voluntary modes in
settling disputes, including conciliation, and
shall enforce their mutual compliance therewith
to foster industrial peace.
The State shall regulate the relations between

workers and employers, recognizing the right of

labor to its just share in the fruits of production
and the right of enterprises to reasonable
returns to investments, and to expansion and
growth.

Protection to Labor
1. Right to ones labor deemed property
A man who has been employed to undertake
certain labor and has put into it his time and
effort is entitled to be protected. The right of a
person to his labor is deemed to be property
within the meaning of constitutional guarantees.
That is his means of livelihood. He cannot be
deprived of his labor or work without due
process of law.
2. Labor, a primary social economic force

It recognizes the basic fact that human labor is

not merely an article of commerce or a factor of
production to be similarly treated as land, tools,
or machinery.

ARTICLE :
Social Justice
And
Human Rights
Social Justice through Regulations of Property
and Diffusion of Wealth
1. Property ownership impressed with social
function
Property ownership also carries with it a social
function which obliges the owner to use his
property not only to benefit himself but at least

indirectly society as well.

2. Aim of provision
The overriding aim of the constitutional
mandate is to bridge that gap by assuring that
more people will be able to own property
sufficient to satisfy the basic needs of decent
living and to maintain human dignity and self
respect. But there is no mandate to condemn the
rich or violate their rights in order to improve
the lot of the poor.

5. Right to security of tenure

An employer should not be compelled to

continue with the employment of a worker
guilty of malfeasance or misfeasance and
whose continuance in the service of the former

is patently inimical to his interest.

6. Right to just and humane conditions of work

This right insures, in particular, safe and

healthful working conditions, equal opportunity
to promotion and rest, leisure, and reasonable
limitations of working hours. A worker has a
right to protected against unfair labor practices.
7. Right to a living wage

A worker has a right to receive fair and just

compensation for his work. His wage must be
sufficient to enable him and his family to live in
reasonable and frugal comfort, provide
education for their children, and make some
savings to meet unexpected contingencies.

8. Right to participate in policy and decisionmaking processes

Workers are entitled to certain rights and
benefits provided by the law.

Reciprocal Rights of Labor and Enterprises

1. Right of workers and employers under a
wage system
Under the wage system, the worker or
employee receives from the employer or owner
remuneration or compensation usually in the
form of money for his labor or services
pursuant to a contract.
2. Reconciliation of their conflicting rights
In regulating the relations between workers and
employers, the Constitution enjoins the State to

reconcile their conflicting rights, recognizing

the right of labor to its just share in the fruits of
production and the right of enterprises to
reasonable returns on investments, and to
expansion and growth.

Undertaking an Agrarian Reform Program

1. Basis or aim of the program
Section 4 is a positive injunction to the State
(Government) to formulate and implement a
comprehensive agrarian reform program. The
State shall encourage and undertake the just
distribution of all agricultural lands and
provide incentives to landowners for voluntary
land-sharing. The agrarian reform provision is
the farmers counterpart of the constitutional
provision which guarantees full protection to

industrial labor.
2. Lands covered by the program
The phrase just distribution of all agricultural
lands refers to ALL arable public and private
lands.
SECTION 6.
The State shall apply the principles of agrarian
reform or stewardship, whenever applicable in
accordance with law, in the disposition or
utilization of other natural resources, including
lands of the public domain under lease or
concession suitable to agriculture, subject to
prior rights, homestead rights of small settlers,
and the rights of indigenous communities to
their ancestral lands.
The State may resettle landless farmers and
farmworkers in its own agricultural estates

which shall be distributed to them in the

manner provided by law.
Principle Stewardship
one is called upon to exercise responsible care
over property belonging to the State entrusted
to his possession or management or over which
he has free use and occupation but not legal
title.
Resettlement
is a component of the agrarian reform program.
It involves the distribution of public agricultural
lands to deserving families and those displaced
by the land transfer operation and the increase
of population in the rural areas.

SECTION 5.
The State shall recognize the right of farmers,
farmworkers, and landowners, as well as
cooperatives, and other independent farmers
organizations to participate in the planning,
organization, and management of the program,
and shall provide support to agriculture through
appropriate technology and research, and
adequate financial, production, marketing, and
other support services.
Planning, organization, and management of the
program
This provision imposes the following
obligations on the State:
1. To recognize the right of farmers,
farmworkers and landowners, cooperatives and
other independent farmers organization to

participate in the planning, organization, and

management of the program.
2. To provide support to agriculture through
appropriate technology and research and
adequate financial, production, marketing and
other support.
SECTION 7
.
The State shall protect the rights of subsistence
fishermen, especially of local communities, to
the preferential use of the communal marine
and fishing resources, both inland and offshore.
It shall provide support to such fishermen
through appropriate technology and research,
adequate financial, production, and marketing
assistance, and other services. The State shall
also protect, develop, and conserve such
resources. The protection shall extend to

offshore fishing grounds of subsistence

fishermen against foreign intrusion.
Fishworkers shall receive a just share from their
labor in the utilization of marine and fishing
resources.
Rights of subsistence fishermen and
fishworkers
The state is mandated by Section 7 as follows:
1. To protect the rights of subsistence fishermen
especially of local communities to the
preferential use of the communal marine and
fishing resources, both inland and offshore;
2. To provide support such fishermen through
appropriate technology, research, adequate
financial, production and marketing assistance,
and other support services; and

3. To protect, develop and conserve such

resources which protection shall extend to their
offshore fishing grounds against foreign
intrusion.
SECTION 8.
The State shall provide incentives to
landowners to invest the proceeds of the
agrarian reform program to promote
industrialization, employment creation, and
privatization of public sector enterprises.
Financial instruments used as payment for their
lands shall be honored as equity in enterprises
of their choice.
1. The agrarian reform program aims not only
at making farmers and farm workers owners of

the lands they till but also at bolstering the

industrialization of our country by, among
other, encouraging landlord capital tied up in
agriculture to be invested in industrial
development and public sector enterprises.
2. As agrarian reform is accomplished,
agricultural production is anticipated to
increase, and as a consequence, raised income
and purchasing power of the rural poor would
be brought about. This rise in income would in
turn stimulate industrialization particularly
industries producing farm requisites such as
fertilizers, farm implements and machinery,
those producing consumer goods for rural
areas, and agricultural processing industries.

(6) Recommend to Congress effective measures

to promote human rights and to provide for

compensation to victims of violations of human
rights, or their families;
(7) Monitor the Philippine Governments
compliance with international treaty obligations
on human rights;
(8) Grant immunity from prosecution to any
person whose testimony or whose possession of
documents or other evidence is necessary or
convenient to determine the truth in any
investigation conducted by it or under its
authority;
(9) Request the assistance of any department,
bureau, office, or agency in the performance of
its functions;
(10) Appoint its officers and employees in

accordance with law; and

(11) Perform such other duties and functions as
may be provided by law.
1) Investigate, on its own or on complaint by
any party, all forms of human rights violations
involving civil and political rights;
(2) Adopt its operational guidelines and rules of
procedure, and cite for contempt for violations
thereof in accordance with the Rules of Court;
(3) Provide appropriate legal measures for the
protection of human rights of all persons within
the Philippines, as well as Filipinos residing
abroad, and provide for preventive measures
and legal aid services to the underprivileged
whose human rights have been violated or need

protection;
(4) Exercise visitorial powers over jails,
prisons, or detention facilities;
(5) Establish a continuing program of research,
education, and information to enhance respect
for the primacy of human rights;
Protection and Promotion of the Right of
Health
1. Importance of health
Health is a prerequisite to happiness and wellbeing. It affects socio-economic factors notably
income, levels of living and in particular,
nutrition. Health and education are closely
interdependent. Health is intimately enmeshed
with national development. By insuring the
health of our people, our human resources will

be made productive and available in the service

of our country.
2. Duty of the State
it is the mandatory duty of the state to protect
and promote the right of thealtg of every
Filipino by making quality and adequate health
care available and accessible to everybody,
especially the poor and the disadvantaged. In
the fulfillment of this duty, the State shall:
HEALTH
S
ECTION
11.
The State shall adopt an integrated and
comprehensive approach to health development

which shall endeavor to make essential goods,

health and other social services available to all
the people at affordable cost. There shall be
priority for the needs of the underprivileged,
sick, elderly, disabled, women, and children.
The State shall endeavor to provide free
medical care to paupers.
SECTION 12.
The State shall establish and maintain an
effective food and drug regulatory system and
undertake appropriate health, manpower
development, and research, responsive to the
countrys health needs and problems.
SECTION 13.
The State shall establish a special agency for

disabled persons for their rehabilitation, selfdevelopment, and self-reliance, and their
integration into the mainstream of society.
3. An integrated and comprehensive approach
to health development
It implies that the State must exert efforts to
unify the national health care delivery system,
all governmental instrumentalities and
personnel concerned with health and the private
sector which includes hospitals, private
practitioners, medical association, etc., and
even private businesses to make medical
services available throughout the country.
4. An effective food and drug regulatory system

It shall be the duty of the State to adopt

measures and policies that would eliminate

harmful and useless medicines, increase

domestic production of essential drugs,
encourage locally applied drug research, and
institute effective drug quality control supply
and delivery systems as well as program for
dissemination of drug information to educate
the people on the rational use of drugs.
5. A special agency for disabled persons
Its principal duty shall be help disabled or
physically and mentally handicapped
individuals become productive and useful
members of our society by promoting the
realization of their rights to function as
normally as possible in everyday living and to
enjoy the opportunities available to other
citizens with dignity and self-respect without
having to be mendicants and lifelong
dependents of society.

URBAN LAND REFORM AND HOUSING

SECTION 9.
The State shall, by law, and for the common
good, undertake, in cooperation with the private
sector, a continuing program of urban land
reform and housing which will make available
at affordable cost, decent housing and basic
services to underprivileged and homeless
citizens in urban centers and resettlement areas.
It shall also promote adequate employment
opportunities to such citizens. In the
implementation of such program the State shall
respect the rights of small property owners.
Undertaking a continuing urban land reform
and housing program

1. Urban land reform program

The primary aim of urban land reform is to
provide each urban poor family a small lot it
can call its own on which to make a home.
2. Housing program
Every family should have a comfortable and
decent house which it can call its own.
Spiritually, good housing raises the morale of
the family, improves the personality because of
better environment, and generally gives an
atmosphere of pleasant well-being.
WOMEN
SECTION 14.
The State shall protect working women by
providing safe and healthful working
conditions, taking into account their maternal

functions, and such facilities and opportunities

that will enhance their welfare and enable them
to realize their full potential in the service of
the nation.
Protection of Working Women
The state requires to provide:
1. Safe and healthful working conditions taking
into account their maternal functions, and
2. Such facilities and opportunities that will
enhance their welfare and well-being to realize
their full potential in the services of the nation.
A law may validly grant certain privileges to
working women not extended to working men
without violating the constitutional guarantee of
equal protection of the laws. There is no
discrimination because the difference in

treatment is relevant to the purpose of such law

and is based on the material or substantial
differences between the sexes.

Promotion of Full Employment and Equal

Work Opportunities
1. Creation of employment opportunities
imperative.
2. State has duty to eliminate discriminatory
practices.
3. Useful labor essential to personal dignity and
development.
4. Duty of every citizen to engage in gainful
work.

Right of Workers
1. Right to self-organization
Everyone who works has the right to form trade
or labor unions or join the trade union of his
choice for the protection of his economic and
social interests subject only to such restrictions
which may be prescribed by law in the interest
of national security or public order or for the
protection of the rights and freedom of others.
2. Right to collective bargaining
Collective bargaining may be defined as
bargaining organization of workers through
representatives of their own choosing with the
employer.
3. Right to collective negotiation
This new approach is consistent with the
provision recognizing the right of workers to

participate in policy and decision-making

processes affecting their rights and benefits
and the principle of shared responsibility
between workers and employers.
4. Right to peaceful and concerted activities
including the right to strike
This right to take group or mass action is but a
special form of the freedom of expression
guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Its purpose is
to dramatize a demand of workers or their stand
for or against an issue affecting them.
Concerted activities include strike, picketing,
work stoppage, and boycott.
Principles of Shared Responsibilities
1. Duty of management and labor
T
hey must learn to disengage themselves from
the thinking that industrial relations are

something inherently adversarial or

confrontational. They must observe legal
requirements and prohibitions and obey the
orders of the courts and other agencies.
2. Duty of the state
The state is mandated to promote this principle
of shared responsibility between workers and
employers and the preferential use of voluntary
modes, instead of strikes, etc. and compulsory
arbitration, in setting disputes, and to make sure
that the workers and employers comply with
their voluntary agreements in good faith to
foster industrial power.
Methods for Resolving Labor Disputes
The two (2) principle methods are:
1. Collective Bargaining

Through negotiations, an agreement is arrived

at between the representatives of the workers
and employer.
2. Arbitration

There are two forms, namely:

a. Voluntary
The parties submit the controversy to a third
person for final determination.
b. Compulsory
The parties are compelled to submit their
controversy to a court or other government
agency provided by law and pursuant to the
procedures laid down by law.
a. Adopt an integrated and comprehensive
approach to health development that will make
essential goods, health service and other social
services available to all the people at affordable

cost, giving priority for the needs of the

underprivileged sick, elderly, disabled, women
and children.
b. Endeavor to provide free medical care to
paupers or the poor,
c. Establish and maintain an effective food and
drug regulatory system;
d. Undertake appropriate health manpower
development and research responsive to the
countrys health needs and problems; and
e. Establish a special body for disabled persons
for their rehabilitation, self-development and
self-reliance and their integrations to the
mainstream of society.
Cayabyab, Muriel
Del Rosario, Rhonnel
Lai, Jesthine
Lomboy, Leonard

Mortel, Hazel
Santos, Raph
HUMAN RIGHTS
SECTION 17.
(1) There is hereby created an independent
office called the Commission on Human
Rights.
(2) The Commission shall be composed of a
Chairman and four Members who must be
natural-born citizens of the Philippines and a
majority of whom shall be members of the Bar.
The term of office and other qualifications and
disabilities of the Members of the Commission
shall be provided by law.
(3) Until this Commission is constituted, the

existing Presidential Committee on Human

Rights shall continue to exercise its present
functions and powers.
(4) The approved annual appropriations of the
Commission shall be automatically and
regularly released.
SECTION 18.
The Commission on Human Rights shall have
the following powers and functions
3. Distribution of lands and retention limitsThe distribution or redistribution of land is to
be effected either through expropriation and
resale or through voluntary land sharing.
Congress, however, is empowered to prescribe
priorities and reasonable retention limits. In
determining retention limits, Congress shall
respect the rights of small landowners because

it is not the intention of the program to make

them landless by giving their lands to those
without lands.
4. Transfer of landownership
Expressly or by implication, agricultural share
tenancy has been recognized as the root cause
of the land problems and agrarian unrest in the
Philippines. But it was not until the passage of
the Code of Agrarian Reforms that share
tenancy was abolished in favor of lease
tenancy. The conversion to leasehold was
merely an interim remedial measure
preparatory to the final objective, the
establishment of owner-cultivated farms as the
basis of Philippine agriculture.
5. Support services

It consist of credit, legal aid, infrastructure,

electrification, cooperative development, farm
extension, mechanization, and host of other
services deigned to pave the way for the
complete emancipation of the farmer from the
bondage of the soil.
6. Landownership and internal stability
The assumption is that landownership
stimulates investments and greater productivity,
for men always works harder when they work
on that which is their own. He is in position and
will be more willing to pay taxes to the
government.
3. Participation of the private sector
The constitution requires the State to undertake
the continuing urban land reform and housing
program in cooperation with the private sector.

It, in effect, requires the government to provide

assistance to private developers engaged in
low-cost housing projects and prohibits it from
engaging in activities or ventures which would
unduly compete with private developers.
SECTION10.
Urban or rural poor dwellers shall not be
evicted nor their dwelling demolished, except
in accordance with law and in a just and
humane manner.
No resettlement of urban or rural dwellers shall
be undertaken without adequate consultation
with them and the communities where they are
to be relocated.
Ejectment and Resettlement of Urban or Rural
Poor Dwellers

The constitution prohibits the eviction of urban

or rural poor dwellers or the demolition of their
dwellings, or their resettlement by the
government, except as provided in section 10
.