POLITICAL LAW 1 (CONSTITUTION) MIDTERMS

POLITICAL LAW
▪ the branch of public law which deals with the organization and operations of the governmental organs of the
State and define its relations of the State with the inhabitants of its territory.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
▪ the study of the maintenance of the proper balance between authority as represented by the three
inherent powers of the State and liberty as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights

Constitution
▪ that body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised .

Constitution of the Philippines:

▪ that written instrument enacted by direct action of the people by which the fundamental powers of the
government are established, limited and defined, and by which those powers are distributed among the several
departments for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the body politic .

SUPREMACY:
1. the fundamental law of the land
2. the basic and paramount law to which all laws must conform
3. even the highest official of the land must defer

PROSPECTS:
1. it must be quintesential rather than suferficial
2. it must be the root and not the bloom
3. it must be the base and the framework of the edifice yet to arise

QUALITIES:
1. it must be broad, in the sense that it provides the organization of the entire government, covers all persons
and things within its territory and comprehensive enough to contain contigency as it may arise
2. it must be brief, but concise to contain basic principles to be implemented with legislataive details
3. it must be definite, to provide clear cut provisions as to prevent ambiguity which may result in confusion and
devisiveness among the people

HISTORY:
1. 1899 Malolos Constitution
2. 1935 Constitution
3. 1973 Constitution
4. 1986 Freedom Constituion
5. 1987 Constitution
- ordained through the Malolos Congress by the revolutionary government
- during the Commonwealth Government
- during Martial Law
- transitory constitution following the People Power
- present

POINTS IN HISTORY:
1. Aquino Government
➢ LAWYER’S LEAGUE V. AQUINO (MAY 22, 1986)
Facts: Oliver Lozano questioned the legitimacy of Cory Aquino’s presidency
Issue: WON the Aquino government is legitimate.
Held: The SC ruled that the legitimacy of the Aquino government is not a justiceable
Question. It is the people of the Philippines who may be the judge of its
legitimacy. Since that government is accepted by the people, it is not merely a
de facto government but also a de jure government. Moreover, the community
of nations has recognized its legitimacy.
 2. Estrada Government
➢ ESTRADA V. GMA (MARCH 2, 2001)
Facts: Estrada filed a petition to assail his presidency
Issue: WON Estrada is the legitmate president
Held: No. Estrada was deposed by his own resignation. His public statement and the
circumstances leading to his departure from Malacañang clearly showed that he
had resigned. His presidency is considered a “past tense”
N.B. Estrada was the first president to be subjected through impeachment
proceedings in the Senate (where the Senators acted as juries) but he was not
ousted by impeachment but by his own implied resignation.
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STATE
▪ Is a community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a fixed territory, and possessed an
independent government for political ends, to which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience.

NATION
▪ Indicates a relation of birth or origin and implies a common race, usually characterized by community of
language and cutoms

A State is a legal concept while nation is a racial or ethinic concept.

There could be a stateless persons or nations without having a territory.

ELEMENTS OF THE STATE:

1. PEOPLE
▪ inhabitants of the state
▪ citizens
2. TERRITORY
▪ the fixed portion of the surface of the earth inhabited by people

PHILIPPINE TERRITORY
▪ ART. 1, 1987 CONSTI
NATIONAL TERRITORY comprises the Philippine Arcipelago, with all the islands and waters
embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or
jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the
sea bed, the subsoil, the insular shelves and other submarine areas. The waters around, between
and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breath and dimensions, form
part of the internal waters of the Philippines.

▪ ARCHIPELAGIC DOCTRINE
• we connect the outermost points of our archipelago with straight baselines and consider
all the waters enclosed therby as internal waters.

• includes the land mass which is terrestrial domain, the inland and external waters which
is the maritime and fluvial domain and the air space above which is the aerial domain

▪ UNCLOS III ( United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)

• territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline
• contigous zone up to 24 nautical miles (which is 12 miles from the territorial waters)

baseline means low water mark considered to be part of the internal waters
UNCLOS III UN Tribunal
Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague on July 12, 2016
awards the West Philippine Sea as part of the territory of the
Philippines, that includes:
• Spratleys
• Kalayaan Island Group
• Scarborough Shoal
- a.k.a. Panatag Shoal
- a.k.a. Bajo de Masinloc

3. GOVERNMENT
▪ is the agency or instrumentality through which the will of the State is formulated, expressed and
realized.

GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

▪ Section 2 (1), Administrative Code
▪ The corporate government entity through which the functions of government are exercised
throughout the Philippines, including the various arms through which political authority is made
effective in the Philippines, whether pertaining to the autonomous regions, provinacial, city,
municipal, or barangay subdivisions or other forms of local government.

DOCTRINE OF PARENS PATRIAE

▪ is the task of the government to act as guardian of the rights of the people
▪ a prerogative inherent power of the state, which is power to govern

4. SOVEREIGNTY
▪ the supreme and uncontrollable power inherent in a State by which that State is governed.

BASIS:
1. LEGAL
2. POLITICAL

SCOPE:
1. INTERNAL - control domestic affairs, simply known as sovereignty
2. EXTERNAL - relations to other states, also known as independence

POWER
1. IMPERIUM - authority to govern
2. DOMINIUM - capacity to own a property

INHERENT POWERS OF THE STATE:

1. POLICE POWER
2. TAXATION POWER
3. POWER OF IMMENENT DOMAIN
DOCTRINE OF STATE IMMUNITY
• Sec.3, Article 16, 1987 Consti
• the State may not be sued without its consent
• there can be no legal right as against the authority that makes the laws on which the right depends

DOCTRINE OF ROYAL PREROGATIVE OF DISHONESTY

• there can be no legal right as against the authority that makes the laws on which the right depends

PRINCIPLE OF SOVEREIGN EQUALITY OF STATES

• par in parem non habet imperium
• suing them (represenatatives) means suing the States they represents
and may unduly vex the peace of nations

Personalities immune from prosecution by virtue of 1961 Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR)
1. ambassadors
2. ministers
3. papal nuncio
4. charges de affaires

GENERAL RULE : the State cannot be sued

EXCEPTION : unless the State waive its immunity to be sued

CONSENT:
1. EXPRESSED - manifested either through general law or special law
2. IMPLIED - given when the State commences litigation or when it enters into contract

1. EXPRESSED
➢ MINISTERIO V. CEBU
Facts: The petitioner filed a complaint against the government and sought payment for just
compensation of his regisletered lot which has been used for the widening of the road.
Issue: WON, the petitioner claimed for compensation as against the doctrine of state
immunity from suit without its consent.
Held: Yes. The petitioner has the right for just compensation. The doctrine of state immunity
from suit cannot be served as an instrument for perpetrating injustice to a citizen. If the
right procedure had been followed then just compensation has been taken earlier
before the expropraition of the said lot.

➢ AMIGABLE V. CUENCA
Facts: The petitioner, Victoria Amigable, sued the government for the recovery of the value of
property which have been converted into public streets.
Issue: WON the petitioner, can claim for the recovery of the value of property as against the
doctrine of state immunity from suit without its consent.
Held: Yes. There was no conveyance of the said portion of the lot to the governement as it
should be through expropriation and or negaotiated sale, she remains the owner of the
said lot. However, the lot had already been used for such purpose, the only relief is for
the government to make due compensation.
2. IMPLIED
➢ US V. GUINTO
Facts: The respondents filed a motion to cancel the award to Dizon with regard to the bidding
on a barbershop located at the base in US Air Force in Clark Air Base.
Issue: WON the respondents can file a case to several officers of the US Air Force in
connection to the bidding as against the state immunity from suit.
Held: No. Even though the case was against the officers of the US Air Force, the said actions
are performed in the discharge of their duties. In effect, it is a suit against State, to
which the US did not give its consent to be sued. This is a doctrine of incorporation.
➢ US V. RODRIGO
Facts: Genove filed a complaint for damages for his dismissal as cook in the US Air Force
Recreation Center at Camp John Hay Air Station. It had been ascertained after
investigation that Genove had poured urine into the soup stock used in cooking the
vegetables served to the club customers.
Issue: WON the complaint is against the state immunity from suit without its consent.
Held: Yes. The state immunity from suit cannot be assailed because the US government enters
into private contract with the restaurant business thus giving it commercial nature of
the acts and not performance of its governmental acts.

it must be necessary to distinguish the acts whether it is of sovereign and governmental acts (jure imperii)
or it is of commercial and proprietary acts (jure gestionis):
• SOVEREIGN/GOVERNMENTAL ACTS - THE STATE IS IMMUNE FROM SUIT WITHOUT ITS CONSENT
- INCLUDING ITS EMPOYEES, OFFICERS, ESTABLISHMENT AS A
DOCTRINE OF INCORPORATION
• COMMERCIAL/PROPRIETARY ACTS - THE STATE CAN BE SUED WITHOUT ITS CONSENT

3. SOVEREIGN EQUALITY OF STATE

➢ HOLY SEE V. ROSARIO
Facts: The Holy See as represented by the papal nuncio has been filed a case against him as a
result of the land dispute between him and the real state developer PRC. In return the
papal nuncio petitioned the court to dismiss the case invoking his right from immunity
from suit.
Issue: WON the papal nuncio is immune from suit.
Held: Yes. The papal nuncio is immune from suit as afforded in the 1961 VCDR, where the acts
is in relation to activities of the Holy See with regard to the ownership and dispossal of
the land. This is in furtherance of the doctrine of sovereign equality of states.

4. SUIT AGAINST THE STATE

➢ SANDERS V. VERIDIANO
Facts: Sanders, the special service director of the U.S. Naval Staion in Olongapo City. On the
other hand, Rossi and Wyer filed a protest in the CFI Olongapo that they would be
reinstituted in their full time employment plus backwages. Moreover, Rossi and Wyer
filed for dmages against the petitioners. The petitioners, Sanders and Moreau filed
motion to dismiss arguing that the acts were performed in discharge of their duties.
Issue: WON, petitioners Sanders and Moreau be immune from suit in the performance of their
duties.
Held: Yes. The court found that their acts is in accordance to the discharge of their duties. And
since, their actions qualified as governemental acts by the US, in this virtue as the
doctrine of incorporation dictates, the state immunity from suit can be applied to them.