Government

Purpose and necessity of government

Distinction between Government and State
Forms of government


Constitution
Meaning and nature of Constitution
Types of Constitution
Characteristics of a Good Written Constitution
Historical development of the Philippine Constitution
The government needs to exist for the
benefit of the people.
To protect lives and property, set up and enforce
rules and laws, settle disputes and in general to
advance the wellbeing of its people

Without the government there would be no
one to administer the affairs of the society
for the common good.
The state is broader in scope than
government because the state consists of
territory, people, sovereignty and government.
Government is only one of the States essential
elements.

There can be no State without a government.

The state is permanent, while the government
may change from one form to another.
Based on:
number of persons exercising the power of
sovereignty
source of power
how the power is distributed
how governments function
legality or constitutionality
Government by One
Monarchy (Absolute monarchy; limited constitutional
or parliamentary monarchy)
Dictatorship and Totalitarianism (extreme form)

Government of the Few
Aristocracy (sovereign power is vested upon the few,
noble, or best qualified people)
Oligarchy (perverted form of aristocracy)
Rule of the wealthy is directed against the poor

Government of the Many (Democracy)
Hereditary (ex. Monarchy) fixed rule of
succession; inherited

Elective Voters elect the leaders
Unitary government whole power of the
government is upon a single organ from which
the local government derive their authority and
autonomy.

Federal government one wherein the national
government delegates many powers and
responsibilities of government to sub-national or
local government units

Confederate government each member of the
state of confederation retains its own sovereignty
and has a form of government as it chooses,
there being a common central government only
and mainly for their mutual support and defense.
Paternalistic government restraining
wrong doings, protecting private rights,
improving the wellbeing of the people

Individualistic government limited to
simple police functions, maintenance of
peace and order and security of society
(internal and external), protecting of private
rights.
Cabinet government aka parliamentary
government.
Executive branch is part and parcel of the legislature
(fusion between the Executive and Legislative)
Members of legislature are elected by the people
Chief Executive is elected by the members of
legislature
Chief Executive can dissolve the legislature

Presidential government Executive
(President) is constitutionally independent of
legislative (Congress)
President as the real Executive, the one who
exercises the powers the Constitution confers upon
him/her.
De Jure Government one established
through legal or constitutional means and
therefore clothed with the authority and
power to administer the nation.

De facto Government established
through unconstitutional or unlawful means
like revolution, secession and military
occupation.
Meaning, Nature and Functions
the whole body of fundamental rules,
written or unwritten, legal or extra-legal,
according to which a particular government
operates (Zaide and Zaide, 1966)

The fundamental law on which the
government of a country is organized and
it prescribes the manner by which the
powers of the government are to be
exercised.
1. Establishment of the basic framework of
government.

2. Regulation of the rights and freedoms
enjoyed by the individual for the
common good.

3. Protection of the people from
government abuses.
Based on origin or history
Enacted / Conventional drafted and
passed by a constituent assembly or
granted by a sovereign to the people
Evolved / Cumulative a product of a
long history of usage by customs,
traditions and judicial decisions rather
than by formal or deliberate enactment.
Written or unwritten
Written granted by a ruler,
enacted by legislature, framed by
a constituent body and ratified by
the people
Unwritten consists of customs,
usage, legal traditions and is
entirely the product of political
development
Rigid or flexible
Rigid / inelastic difficult to change
or alter except by some special
machinery
Flexible / elastic easy to
amend as it can be altered in the
same way as other laws
Broadness it has to be comprehensive
enough to embody all the essential
functions and powers of the government

Brevity has to be brief but concise;
should not be too lengthy or detailed as
only the essentials of government should
be embodied in it

Definiteness should be definite and
clear to avoid errors and ambiguity in their
interpretation
Constitution of Government provides the
framework for the establishment of the
government by defining its powers and
assigning the executive, legislative and judicial
branches
Constitution of Liberty specifies the basic
rights
and freedom of the people

Constitution of Sovereignty stipulates the
manner by which the people can exercise the
sovereign power to approve, alter, and modify
the fundamental law of the land
Malolos Constitution (1899)
to act as the legislative body
Called Constitucion politica , written in Spanish
following the declaration of independence from
Spain
First republican constitution in Asia.
Presidential form of government
Declared that sovereignty resides exclusively in
the people, stated the basic civil rights,
separated the church and state, and called for
the creation of and Assembly of representatives
Commonwealth and Third Republic (1935)
1935 Constitution was spearheaded by Claro
M. Recto and was approved and adopted by
the Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935-
1946) and later used by the Third Republic of
the Philippines (1946-1972)

The original 1935 Constitution provided for a
unicameral National Assembly. This was
amended in 1940 to have a bicameral
Congress composed of the Senate and the
House of Representatives, as well as the
creation of an independent electoral
commission.
Second Philippine Republic (1943)
Drafted by a committee appointed by the
Philippine Executive Commission, the body
established by the Japanese to administer the
Philippines in lieu of the Commonwealth of
the Philippines which had established a
government-in-exile.

In mid-1942 Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo
had promised the Filipinos independence
which meant that the commission would be
supplanted by a formal republic.
The new charter was ratified in 1943 by an
assembly of appointed provincial
representatives of the Kalibapi (organization
established by the Japanese to supplant all
previous political parties)

The 1943 Constitution was in force in
Japanese-controlled areas in the Philippines
but was never recognized as legitimate or
binding by the US government or the
Commonwealth of the Philippines and guerilla
organizations loyal to them.
JP Laurel was the President of the Japanese
sponsored puppet government
The New Society and the Fourth Republic
1973 Constitution promulgated after the
declaration of Martial Law

Introduction of a parliamentary-style of
government: legislative power was vested
in a National Assembly; President as the
symbolic head of the state

This Constitution was amended 4 times (5
depending on how one considers
Proclamation No. 3 of 1986)
Drafted by the constitutional convention
created by President Corazon Aquino by
virtue of Article V of Proclamation No. 3,
issued on March 25, 1986.

This proclamation promulgated a Freedom
Constitution for the Philippines, a few
weeks after the successful People Power
Revolution, which toppled the dictatorial
regime of Ferdinand Marcos.
Our Government
In groups. Pretend that you are a tribe that
decided to form your own government.

What kind of government will you form?
What characteristics will it have? Who
would be the official(s) to manage the
government?
Bond paper: create a poster of YOUR
government.
Write a 1-page paper addressing the following
questions:

1. As a tribe, why did you decide to form your
kind of government?

2. Do you think this form of government would
be more appropriate for the Philippines?
Why / why not?