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POLITICS &
GOVERNANCE
With Philippine Constitution
_____
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1:
THE NATURE OF POLITICS
CHAPER 2:
THE STUDY OF POLITICS AS A SCIENCE
CHAPTER 3:
ON THE CONCEPT & NATURE OF STATE
CHAPTER 4:
THE CONCEPTS OF GOVERMENT AND GOVERNANCE
CHAPTER 5:
FORMS & STRUCTURES OF GOVERNMENT
CHAPTER 6:
POLITICAL & ECONOMIC IDEOLOGIES
CHAPTER 7:
THE PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT SYSTEM
CHAPTER 8:
PHILIPPINE POLITICS & GOVERNANCE: ISSUES & CHALLENGES
CHAPTER 9:
CONSTITUTION
CHAPTER 10:
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHAPTER 1:
THE NATURE OF POLITICS
Before we delve on some specific issues concerning Politics and Governance, it
would be much better if we begin first with a brief review of the most basic ideas
of Politics.
Defining Politics
Politics, in the most essential sense, is a means of organizing collective
human activity.
In daily life, it refers to any collective decision making process.
As a discipline, it focuses on conflict and conflict resolution.
Seeking and using the power of the State to make allocations of
scarce resources throughout a given polity.
For Harold Lasswell, politics is the study of who gets what, when and
how.
For Aristotle, Politics is both a royal art and a royal science. Because
unlike other fields of human inquiry, it attempts to understand the
political nature of a subject that is considered to be the only rational
and free physical entity in the world.
The Historical Role of Politics
According to Marx, there are five stages or levels of societal development, and
each of these stages demonstrate the evolution of the uses or roles of politics:
1. Primitive Communal Society- characterized by the common ownership of
the means of production; non-existence of class divisions and the value of
the product produced is determined by labor. The role of politics is for the
collective actions of man to confront resistance or challenges to common
survival in the primitive state.
2. Feudal society- characterized by the first emergence of private property
ownership and introduction of social classes. The means of production in
this stage is land. Here, landowners, tenants, artisans, merchants etc.
emerged. The main and conflicting classes are landowners (those who
own lands) and the tenants (persons who are used by landowners to till
their vast lands). Politics n this stage is geared towards the protection of
the interest of the dominant class (i.e. land owners ). Great armies are
formed to enforce order and to ensure the continuous control of the
dominant class over the means of production. The modern concept of a
State emerged during this period.
CHAPER 2:
THE STUDY OF POLITICS AS A
SCIENCE
The theoretical and practical study of the state and of politics dates back at least
to the Ancient Greeks (about 500 to 300 B.C.)
EARLY TRENDS IN THE STUDY OF POLITICS
Plato ( 427-347 B.C. ) may be considered the father of Political Philosophy, and
Aristotle, the Father of Political Science. But both viewed the state from the
perspective of the Philosopher to whom all knowledge was an integrated whole.
The legacy of the Ancient Rome to Political Science consisted chiefly of
contributions in the fields of law, jurisprudence and public administration, all of
which bore the imprint of Stoic notions of human equality, the brotherhood of all
men, the Fatherhood of God, and the unique value of the individual, who,
however lowly, had within him spark of the divine reason animating the universe.
The philosophy of democracy, with its assumptions of human rationality, morality
and equality and its concepts of natural law and natural rights, owes much to
Stoicism and to Cicero, who incorporated Stoic philosophy into Western Political
Thought.
During the Middle Ages, the state was less important than the Church, which
indeed, came to assert its power to crown and dispose princess and to dictate
public policy. Political Philosophy was little more than a subordinate branch of
theology, political controversies were resolved by appeals to authority. The
medieval age left a legacy of concepts that are still vital parts of modern political
thought, such as the ideal world unity and a body of ethico-religious restraints
upon political action, including what Christian philosophers called the peace of
God , the fair wage, the just price, and the idea of a higher law, that was
necessarily superior to the commands of a ruler or the state. The Middle Ages
was far more consistent with Platonic tradition (philosophy) than with Aristotelian
(science ). Was it merely coincidental that the Christian church itself bore some
remarkable resemblance to Platos ideal a state philosopher-king (pope) who
was the embodiment of absolute truth ( Gods revealed law), and who presided
over the rigid hierarchy and guardians who live without family and private
property, and who in turn supervised the activities of the laboring classes. The
eighteenth century with such concepts as the separation of governmental powers
and checks the balances represented an attempt to apply mechanical principles
to the structure to the governmental politics led to greater use of the empirical
method observing actual human institutions and processes in order to discover
fundamental political laws.
In the mid-nineteenth century, Darwins theory of evolution and natural selection
began to exert a powerful influence upon Political Science; biology came to
reinforce history in the study of the political institutions, which were seen as the
product of especially after the nineteenth century, prompted political scientists to
give more attention to the impact on government of social forces not defined with
references to the institutional outlines of the state.
METHODOLOGY OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
Observational or Empirical Method
The scientific attitude toward government has made the empirical method an
essential way of observing actual political institutions are laboratories of
empirically oriented political scientists where they experiment the workings of
these political institutions. Every change in their operation and structure, every
method in the formulation and determination of their laws and policies, and every
new system of administration in a state has great significance. The empirical or
observational method may best be employed, also, in determining the voting
behavior of the electorate in which election statistics and opinion polls are
measures used to predict the election winner. By these devices, the students of
Political Science have much to learn about voters motivations and how votes are
influenced by political issues and political candidates.
Historical Method
The historical method enlightens the students of politics on the origin and
evolution of the state and institutions, by seeking to explain what they are and
what they will be. The historical approach will make the students interested in
knowing not only the origin of the state, its government and practices, but also
the forces and factors influence its growth and development. In other words,
students should depend much upon the evidence of past experiences of the state
in order to be able to explain the present and future development of its
institutions.
Comparative Method
The comparative method in the study of Political science brings into focus
contemporary political institutions and practices of various countries at different
periods of history. From this focus, students can draw similarities and differences
in the structures and systems of the governments of these countries, in their laws
and constitutions, in their judicial system, in their Local Government Units, in their
electoral processes, political parties, and even in the culture and customs of their
peoples.
The employment of the comparative approach has been very helpful to political
scientist in prescribing solutions to certain political problems. It presents to
students of politics and to government leaders the different processes of political
institutions and their various aspects, and gives them the opportunity to select
the best that can be adopted and suited to present conditions.
Analytical Method
Another approach to the study of Political science is the analytical method. This
field of endeavor is aimed at discovering the significant or essential elements of
political institutions in an attempt to analyze and examine their worth and value
on how they work.
The analytical method when used by the Political scientists would force him to
make a detailed study of these political institutions, evaluating their interrelations
in the exercise of their powers and performance of their functions for maximizing
government in their relations with other functional groups in society.
Therefore, a large part of the analytical study of these institutions is devoted to
understanding the mechanics and operation of institutional systems and how
they are belated to the policy within which they function.
RELATIONSHIP OF POLITICAL SCIENCE TO OTHER STUDIES
Political Science & History
The study of a state and its political institutions depend on history in knowing its
origin, its growth and development, and its institutions. An analysis of the causes
and factors that influence the states growth and development makes it
necessary for political writers to rely on historical facts. Thus, knowledge of
historical foundations of the state will help political thinkers in analyzing and
describing present political phenomena, and consequently enables them to
provide, through the lessons of the past, direction to and meaning for the future.
It can be stressed that all political institutions can be better understood in their
structure, organization and operation, in their laws and constitution by employing
the historical approach.
Political Science & Economics
Economics is a social science or branch or a study that concerns itself with the
problem of allocating scarce resources so as to attain the optimum satisfaction of
societys to unlimited wants. It is in this essence that the Political Science
8
CHAPTER 3
ON THE CONCEPT & NATURE OF
STATE
If there is one thing we should take note concerning the concept of a State, it is
this: State is a political entity, formed by men and women, based upon a definite
territory free from external control, with a government of their own, and alterable
(i.e. could be changed) by the ones who formed it.
Based from this definition, we have the following elements of States, which could
also be considered as requisites for its existence:
10
11
In the 70s there was no Palestinian State yet (but the Palestinian people,
through the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), seek this, and their
struggle against Israel has caused a lot of troubles in the region then).
However, even with the absence of a Palestinian State, the Palestinian
liberation Organization (PLO) was afforded by the United Nations a seat in
the General assembly, which for many observers, is tantamount to
recognizing a government but not a State.
3. The state is an ideal person (i.e. self-sufficient) while the government is just
one of its mere instruments.
12
13
Instinctive Theory
This theory claims that political institutions are but the objective expressions of
the instinct of men for association.
Aristotle, in his book The Politics, claimed that it is natural for men to join or to
form association because man by nature is a social animal. Mans nature is the
force behind the creation of the first families, which later developed into
communities, then into the city-states, and finally, to the modern States.
However, It is important to take note that for Aristotle, theres another instinctive
basis for the formation of human associations: self-sufficiency, or the instinct of
man to satisfy his needs which, without other people, he cannot possibly meet.
The city-state already satisfies the requirement of self-sufficiency, hence, he
does not originally contemplated the necessity of forming large units of
association like our modern States today.
Following the Aristotelian tradition, St. Aquinas claimed that men are not only
social animals but also political animals who naturally play politics. The state is
therefore natural, since it is a product of mans instinct for association.
14
of other men and this predisposes them to form associations. These associations
will later develop into states.
Aristotles idea of self-sufficiency should also be recalled here.
The Historical Or Evolution Theory
The State is a product of long history of development. As compared to theoretical
theories, historical theory is the only theory that can be validated by facts; hard
evidence such as historical records and other artifacts support the development
of primitive societies to the modern day state.
However, this theory has its limitations. It cannot, for instance, account for the
first-ever coming together of men and women to form the very first stage of
State development. What it could only discuss is when this event has already
taken place. What made the first wondering men and women finally decided to
stay in just one place and form the first State? The answer to this question falls in
the realm of speculative theories.
Noting this, we now discuss in detail the Historical Basis of the Modern States
THE HISTORICAL BASIS OF THE MODERN STATES
There are five (5) different kinds of states. They are presented below according
to the order of their development:
The Primitive state
The first state formed by primitive men. It first developed in the orient (Asia).
States characterized by:
(i.)
The presence of centralized organization under one military supreme
ruler.
(ii.)
The absolute rule of the authorities, there being no political freedom
and no citizenship in the modern sense of the terms.
The City-State
Made its first appearance in the Balkan and Italian peninsula (e.g. Athens,
Sparta, etc.) these are states in small units. In the city-state of Rome, it already
posses a three Fold division of government:
(i.)
The King
(ii.)
The council (i.e. comitis curiatia)
(iii.) The Senate
15
The Roman City-state, because of its more complex and effective organization,
has proved to be more powerful than the Greek City-states. It is also important to
take note that the contribution of Rome to the modern political Thought is more
on its legal institution rather than its political theories.
The Roman Imperial State
The Roman City-State has grown to become one of the leading military
superpower. Through its impressive and many successful military conquests, the
Roman City-state gradually became an empire.
Because of its huge territory (covering almost all of Europe and a part of Africa
and Middle East) and because of its growing population, the empire necessarily
required a system that could assure Unity, Organization and Law and Order.
The Romans had been successful in developing efficient system of governance
and it maintained this for many centuries. The Empire lasted for 500 years (5
centuries) in the west and for 1,500 years (15 centuries) in the East.
When the Romans Empire fell, out from its ashes arose the feudal states of
medieval Europe.
The Feudal States
After the Teutonic Tribes defeated the Romans and became the uncontested
lords of Europe, they introduced a new Political innovation based on the
combination of the Teutonic concept of the relation of the individual to the local
chief and the Romans concept of control over a definite portion of the territory.
Later on, these political units became under heavy influence of Papal authority.
This political concept became the foundation of Feudalism.
The modern State
The first appearance of the modern States could generally be traced back to the
Peace of Westphalia of 1648.
The old system crumbled and a new system is born. The former as the subject of
Papal authority and the latter as an independent political entity and accepts no
higher authority than themselves. States are now in control of their own destinies.
Thus, modern states are built on the concept of nationalism and state
sovereignty. The following are the concepts of Westphalian international law:
16
(i.)
(ii.)
(iii.)
These concepts were widely accepted and paved the way for the first
proliferation on Nation-States.
Colonies adopted these concepts and broke away from the traditional empires
(e.g. the case of America, formerly known as the New World, from Great
Britain) and small territorial units were also transformed into Nations-States. The
growing consciousness of men about Self-Determination further accelerated the
growth of new nation-states.
The second proliferation of states occurred after World War II when European
states gradually granted the independence of their former colonial territories. It is
important to take note that the 3rd World countries, which include the Philippines,
are former colonial territories. Thus, it is not only Nationalism but also
Colonialism that led to the proliferation of States.
POLITICAL BASIS OF STATE
The most important concept here is Sovereignty. Sovereignty refers to the full
and exclusive power of the state to determine the course of its destiny. It also
refers to the right of states for self-determination, the supreme power of the state
to enforce obedience among its people.
Its external manifestation is States Independence.
Two Types of Sovereignty
Sovereignty is of two types:
(a.) Legal sovereignty refers t6o the power of the state to enact laws.
(b.) Political Sovereignty refers to the supreme power of the people to
determine or to elect the persons who will be in power.
Essentials of Sovereignty
The following are the essentials of Sovereignty:
(a.) Perpetuity it claims that sovereignty is inherent in state sovereignty
last as the state last.
17
Location of Sovereignty
Most political Scientists usually claim that political sovereignty rest in the people
while Legal Sovereignty rest in the government specifically in the legislature. But
it is more correct to consider the nature of ideology which a state holds before we
can address the problem of locating sovereignty. In a Totalitarian Regimes like
that of former USSR and dictatorial regime like the Peoples Republic of China,
political and legal Sovereignty rest entirely in the government. But in a
Democratic States like the United States of America, Political Sovereignty rests
in the People and legal Sovereignty rest in the government. But since the people
elect their representatives in their government (in a democratic states of course)
and can participate directly in law making processes, we can say that in the final
analysis sovereignty, be it legal or political, entirely rest in the people.
18
(iv.)
(v.)
(vi.)
Right of Existence
Right of Independence
Right of Equality (that nation states are presumed to have equal
status, and thus expects equal treatment in the community of
nations)
Right of Property (that states is a legal entity that has a right to
own particular things within its territories, if such ownership
further the reasons for it existence)
Right of Jurisdiction (that states has the right to exercise its
authority within its territories)
Right of Intercourse (that states has the right to initiate
diplomatic communications with other states)
TYPES OF STATES
There are 2 general types of state.
(i.)
(ii.)
19
(iv.)
(v.)
Thus, the World State was established to provide mechanism for international
cooperation and for the protection of National Sovereignty of individual States.
The World State promises a better way of settling international disputes and the
avoidance of a new and probably the last World war.
RECOGNITION OF STATES
Recognition is an act by the family of nations giving States an international
status. It is an act by the people of a particular territory giving their government
the legitimacy of governance or their polity or association (the state) the right to
exist.
Some Differences Between Recognizing a State and a Government
Recognition of States refers to recognition of all the essential elements of state
for its existence (e.g. People. Territory, Government, sovereignty,
independence). Once a state is recognized, recognizing states can no longer
withdraw such recognition.
Recognition of Government, on the other hand, refers to a recognition given to
the government of the recognized state.
Unlike Recognition of States,
Recognition of Government can be withdrawn by recognizing states. But
withdrawal of such recognition will not hinder the continuity of statehood.
Two General Types of States Based on Recognition
(1) De Facto States Refers to all the requirements of statehood
except recognition from the international family of nations.
(2) De Jure States Refers to all states possessing all the
requirements of
statehood including recognition from the
international family of nations. Thus, a de facto state becomes a
de jure state once it is recognized by the family of nations.
The term de facto means by fact and the terms de jure means by
law. De facto recognition is less formal or an indirect recognition
while de jure recognition is formal and direct or recognition done with
he power of a law, which means binding to all concerned nations or
recognizing states.
20
21
(c)
22
Effects Of Recognition
Once a state is recognized, it implies recognition of its essential elements (i.e.
the people, its government, sovereignty and independence). It gives the
recognized state the right and duties equally enjoyed by other state before the
International law.
23
CHAPTER 4
THE CONCEPTS OF GOVERMENT
AND GOVERNANCE
Government refers to the body of people and institutions that make and enforce
laws for a society. It has been said that there are no societies of man without
governments and different societies necessarily require different forms of
government. But although these governments vary from one form to another,
they share some characteristics.
These characteristics are best seen once government is compared to other
social organizations.
A. GOVERNMENT AND OTHER SOCIAL ORGANIZATIONS: A COMPARISON
IN TERMS OF COMPREHENSIVE AUTHORITY
Government
Authority over the entire society which Authority applicable only to members of
includes social organizations together the organization
with their members.
IN TERMS OF INVOLUNTARY MEMBERSHIP
Government
Membership to the state most of the
time, without deliberate choice the
same with subjection to the
government.
Membership or withdrawal
Is very difficult and complicated, and in
some cases impossible.
IN TERMS OF AUTHORITATIVE RULE
Government
Authority is directly binding to all
members of the society.
24
It is important to take note that the uniqueness of States (and their governments)
lies on the concept of sovereignty and independence.
However, the recent actual and theoretical challenges to the concept of State
sovereignty (by International Governmental organizations, like the United Nations
and the European Union) and independence (from Multinational Corporations like
the Philip Morris International, Toyota, and Ford Motors and other world
organizations like the IMF and the World Bank) have caused the diminishing
importance of States as actors in international politics.
25
26
CHAPTER 5
FORMS & STRUCTURES OF
GOVERNMENT
The existence of governments is a fact which is universally true to all societies of
man. This means that whenever there is a society there exists at least one form
of governance (be it primitive or modern).
Governments exist for it is better equipped to administer for the public welfare
than any private individual or groups of individuals.
Primary governments
Most Scholars believed that it was Aristotle who first systemized the study of
governments (which the term constitution was used to refer to forms of
governance. For this reason, the government he used in his comparative study
is considered the primary forms of governments:
RIGHT
CONSTITUTIONS
PERVERTED
CONSTITUTIONS
One
Kingship
Tyranny
Few
Aristocracy
Oligarchy
Many
RULER/
INTEREST OF
RULING
The best form of Government according to Aristotle is the Polity, or the rule of the
middle class, because: Where the middle class is large there is least likely to be
factions and dissensions. The idea behind this is largely based on his
Nichomachean Ethics: The mean of both extremes is good: Many things are
best in the mean.
27
For our purpose, let us consider some other important ideas of Aristotle about
politics and governance.
According to Aristotle, he who has the power to take part in the deliberative or
judicial administration of any State is the citizen of that State; Citizens differ
under each form of Constitution (Note: Constitution here is different from our
modern idea of Constitution as the fundamental law of the land, for the Greeks
Constitution simply means the form of government or simply the government)
However, the common business of all citizens is the salvation and preservation of
the commonwealth.
There is a distinction between good man and good citizen, good man is he who
posses the moral virtue, committed to the eternal and unchanging ideals of good
and justice, while the good citizen is he who posses civil virtues, who respects
and obeys the law.
Hence, a good man is not necessarily a good citizen and vice versa: the good
man could be a bad citizen since he may resist to obey the law of the ruler which
he may perceive as contrary to good and justice, like wise, the good citizen may
become a bad man if he obeys the law that is contrary to moral good.
Note therefore that for Aristotle, the virtue of the good man and the good citizen
may coincide only if the ruler is good and a wise man.
28
Hereditary Government
Monarchy is a government which the supreme and final authority is in the hands
of a single person without regards to the source of his election or the nature and
duration of his tenure. There are two (2) general classification of Monarchy:
Absolute monarchy one in which the rulers rules by divine right. The State
is identical with the ruling individual whose word is law. Thus, the ruler is the
law and above the law.
Limited Monarchy one in which the ruler rules in accordance with a
Constitution. Thus, the powers of the ruler are provided by a constitution and
are limited by a constitution.(e.g. the present queen of Great Britain)
Representative Government
Democratic government is a government which the political power is exercised
by a majority of the People (i.e. Citizens). It is a political system which
opportunity for participation in decision making is widely shared by or among all
adult citizens (Dahl, 1995). There are two (2) general classification of
Democracy:
1) Direct or Pure Democracy one in which the will of the state is formulated
or Expressed directly and immediately through the people in a primary
assembly. This classification of Democracy could be exemplified when
one considers the Athenian experience of Democracy. Athenians
assemble in public places whenever issues arise and call for their
informed decisions. (e.g. declaration of wars, establishment of an
economic relations with other city-states, etc.) In his book The Apology,
Plato described how the Athenians assembled and decided the fate of
Socrates.
2) Representative, Indirect, or Republican Democracy one in which the will
of the State is formulated or expressed through the body of person chosen
by the people to act as their representatives. The peoples representatives
decide in their (people) behalf.
29
THE GOVERNMENT
EXECUTIVE
Vetoes Bills
LEGISLATIVE
Overrides Vetoes
JUDICIARY
Determines
Constitutionality of laws.
Suggest Legislations
Calls Special Sessions
The notion that centralized power is dangerous, thus power must be distributed
and checked, reached maturity in the eighteenth century, and its first full-scale
application was to be found in the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in
1787. There, delegates to the Federal Convention continuously cited the
celebrated Montesquieu, John Locke, Thomas Hobbes and other support of the
idea that political power, in order to be safe, had to be divided. The legislature
needs to have a check on the executive, the executive on the legislature, and so
on. Many of Johns Locke ideas were adopted and can be found in The Federalist
30
(especially no.47), among other places, and expressed the philosophy that the
executive force had to be kept separate from the legislative force. For example,
the president can veto work of the Congress, and Congress can refuse to pass
the legislative request of the president, but neither can force the other to do
anything.
A pure presidential regime or system, or Presidentialism, in a democracy is a
system of mutual independence (Stepan & Skatch, 1993):
1. The legislative power has a fixed electoral mandate that is its own
source of legitimacy.
2. The chief executive power has a fixed electoral mandate that is its own
source of legitimacy.
Presidentialism has been a popular choice amongst many new democracies in
the last decade, especially in Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America (Mahler,
1995; Lawson, 1992). While the influence of the United States, the world's best
known presidential system, is probably partly responsible for this trend, recent
experience has also highlighted a number of advantages of presidentialism:
A directly elected president is identifiable and accountable to voters
to a high degree. The office of the president can be held directly
accountable for decisions taken because, in contrast to parliamentary
systems, the chief executive is directly chosen by popular vote. It is thus
easier for the electorate to reward or retrospectively punish a president (by
voting him or her out of office) than is the case with parliamentary systems
(Mahler, 1995; Lawson, 1992; Healey and Tordoff, 1995; Hyden, 1992).
Ability of a president to act as a unifying national figure, standing
above the fray of sectarian disputes. A president enjoying broad public
support can represent the nation to itself, becoming a unifying symbol
between rival political groupings. To play this role, however, it is important
that the rules used to elect the president are tailored so as to achieve this
type of broad support.
In a presidential system, there is a higher degree of choice. The fact that
presidential systems typically give voters a dual choice - one vote for the
president and one vote for the legislature - means that voters can be
presented with a broader range of choice under presidential systems than
parliamentary ones.
Closely linked to this is the presidential systems stability of the office
and continuity in terms of public policy. Unlike parliamentary
governments, a president and his or her administration normally remains
relatively constant throughout their term, which can give greater stability in
office and predictability in policy-making than some alternatives. This
leads, in theory at least, to more efficient and decisive governance,
31
32
Chief executive
Prime Minister
A full-time politician, Chief Diplomat
Chief Economist, Commander in Chief
Chief Legislator and usually, the Chief
of the Party
Form
Parliamentary
Parliamentary
Parliamentary
Parliamentary
Parliamentary
Parliamentary
Parliamentary
Head of State
Governor General
Governor general
President
Emperor
Queen
President
President
Chief Executive
Prime Minister
Prime Minister
Prime Minister
Prime Minister
Prime Minister
Chancellor
Prime Minister
What follows are its advantages in terms of the general context of government
accountability.
A parliamentary system has the ability to facilitate the inclusion of all
groups within the legislature and the executive. Because cabinets in
parliamentary systems are usually drawn from members of the elected
33
However, the parliamentary system is not all together free from any
disadvantages.
First, it exhibits a tendency towards ponderous or immobile decisionmaking. The inclusiveness that typifies coalition governments can easily
turn into executive deadlocks caused by the inability of the various parties
to agree upon key issues. This was typified by the "immobilism" that
affected Fourth Republic France and that was partly responsible for
General de Gaulle's assumption of presidential power (Mahler, 1995).
PARLIAMENTARY
Direct
Indirect
High
Low
Executive: Veto
Legislative: Impeachment
Judiciary: Judicial Review
Slow
High
Stability
Stable
Fixed Term
Unstable
Prime Minister could be
dismissed any time e.g. vote
of no confidence
Tendency towards
authoritarianism
High
Studies show that
presidentialism has fallen into
authoritarianism in every
country it has been attempted,
except the United States.
Low
Impediments to leadership
change
High
Low
Impeachment is usually
difficult and protracted; may
result to ultra-legal and or
extra-constitutional means.
Separation of powers
35
Low
High
It reduces accountability by
allowing the president and the
legislature to shift blame to
each other.
the prime minister and the president come from opposing political parties.
Closely related to this problem is the observation that the benefits of
compromise and moderation can degenerate into a stand-off (Mahler,
1995). This is especially the case when the division of responsibility
between the two offices is not always clear (e.g., foreign policy in the
French system), and where the timing and sequencing of elections
between the houses differs (Ibid.).
STRUCTURES OF GOVERNMENT
Federal Structure
National Govt: 10%
State Government: 90%
Unitary Structure
National Govt: 90%
Local Government: 10%
37
38
39
40
CHAPTER 6:
POLITICAL & ECONOMIC
IDEOLOGIES
It is common for political thinkers and writers, especially in comparative politics,
to claim that one of the easiest ways of differentiating the nature of governments
is to identify the nature or type of the ideologies they adopted, that is, the
differences in the nature of governments in the world are usually associated with
the differences in their ideologies. For example, the former USSR, CHINA,
VIETNAM, CUBA and NORTH KOREA adhere to Socialism and Communism as
having a different political system as compared to US, GREAT BRITAIN,
FRANCE, CANADA, and the PHILIPPINES because of their adherence to
Democracy and Capitalism.
In this Chapter we will study the nature, the function and structure of major
political and economic ideologies.
Defining Ideologies
Heywood defines Ideology as a coherent set of ideas that provides the basis for
organized political action, where this is intended to Preserve, modify, or
overthrow the existing system of power.
This definition provides us with three important ideas that applies to all sorts of
ideology:
1. Ideology is a coherent set of ideas not just a mere collection of
statements or philosophical articulations.
2. Ideology provides a basis for political action put in other way, ideologies
is action oriented, it primarily arouse people who hold them into a
purposeful action. And this political action is geared to:
3. Ideology is used to Preserve, modify, or overthrow the existing system of
power.
As such, we can say that all or any ideology:
1. Situates people within a particular social environment.
2. Is both idea and action oriented.
3. Offers an account of the existing order.
4. Provides the model of a designed future.
5. Explains how political change can be best achieved.
41
In the next sections we shall look into these claims much closer, focusing on the
structure and function of political and economic ideologies. Then towards the
concluding section, we will consider some major types of ideologies which helped
form the world as we know it today.
42
The Program component effectively serves as the connecting link between the
Philosophical component and the highly concrete imagery of the propaganda
component.
Propaganda: How to provoke Action
Of the three structural component of Ideology, Propaganda is the most elusive. It
is directly linked to the mobilization function (i.e. arousing people to political
action). The concept of Propaganda could either be perceived as traditional or
modern:
a) Traditional Propaganda Propaganda referring both to a process
and means to modify ideas, to change adherence to a doctrine, to
lead people to a choice, or to transform opinion.
b) Modern Propaganda Propaganda as a means to provoke action,
to make individual cling irrationally to a process of action, to loosen
reflexes of people, to arouse in people an active and mythical
belief.
Propaganda is usually done by employing any or all of the following means:
a) Rational and Intellectual Discourse;
b) Exaggerations and Crude oversimplifications;
c) Hypercharged Rhetorics; and
d) Mythic Themes
44
Left
Center
Communism
Socialism
Liberalism
Right
Conservatism
Fascism
ECONOMIC VIEWS
LEFT
State
regulated/
Economy
RIGHT
planned Free-market economy
Protection of
private property
Right
to
45
The linear spectrum also locates the position of the ideologues (i.e. believers of a
particular ideology) as to their proximity to the center, to the extreme Right and
extreme Left of the spectrum. Each of these classes of people manifests certain
values.
Left
Radical
Right
Liberal
Moderate
Conservatives
Reactionary
46
DEMOCRACY
Democracy is a form of government in which a substantial proportion of the
citizenry directly or indirectly participates in ruling the state. It is thus distinct from
governments controlled by a particular social class or group or by a single
person. In a direct democracy citizens vote on laws in an assembly, as they did
in ancient Greek city-states. In an indirect democracy citizens elect officials to
represent them in government; representation is typical of most modern
democracies. Today the essential features of democracy, as understood in the
Western world, are that citizens be sufficiently free in speech and assembly, for
example to form competing political parties and that voters be able to choose
among the candidates of these parties in regularly held elections.
Origins Of Democracy
The term democracy is derived from the Greek words demos ("the people") and
kratia ("rule"). The first democratic forms of government developed in the Greek
city-states during the 6th century BC. Although demos is sometimes said to
mean just "the poor," Aristotle's Constitution of Athens shows that in Athens all
citizens, rich and poor, participated fully in government; minors, women, slaves,
and foreigners, however perhaps 90 percent of the population were not citizens.
The Following are its primary Characteristics:
a) Representation: Government as a representative body that is, a body elected
by the entire adult population on the basis of one person, one vote;
b) Popular Sovereignty: John Locke, articulated a theory of government that was
to be seminal in democratic development i.e. end of government and right to
rebel (See Chapter 4, Section 4.8.2) Lockes idea of popular sovereignty was
taken a step further by Jean Jacques Rousseau who argued that the only
legitimate state was one based on the "general will" of the people;
c) The Ideal of Justice: Democracy has attracted support from the time of ancient
Greece until today because it represents an ideal of justice as well as a form
of government. The ideal is the belief that freedom and equality are good in
themselves and that democratic participation in ruling enhances human
dignity. Political participation encourages the fair treatment of a minority;
d) Freedom and Faction: The vote itself is not enough to guarantee that
oppression will be eliminated. For participation to be an effective method or a
feasible ideal, it must be accompanied by political liberty. As James Madison
wrote in The Federalist, "Liberty is to faction as air is to fire." The freedoms
47
that promote faction are important, not only as high moral ideals, but also as a
method of realizing democracy.
Difficulties Of Democracy
Democracies are not easy to establish or to maintain. Because two sets of rulers
are required, one to govern and the other to take over when the first set loses an
election, democracy is expensive. Some societies seem too poor to afford the
luxury of leaders-in-reserve. In the modern world, moreover, democracy requires
almost universal literacy, which is also expensive. The worst defect of democracy
is that politicians are under constant pressure from the lobbyists of specialinterest groups to support particular public policies. Because their future depends
on winning elections, and because elections are won by attracting marginal
voters, politicians seek the support of marginal voters who belong to such groups
by promising to vote for legislation they favor. This weights the legislative
process in favor of interest groups, especially the well organized and well funded.
The sum of the benefits granted to these groups may be more than the society
can afford. These kinds of expenses have contributed to the downfall of
democratic governments as has happened in various regions in the second half
of the 20th century.
system ruled by competition. But capitalism in this ideal sense cannot be found
anywhere in the world. The economic systems operating in Western countries
today are mixtures of free competition and governmental control.
COMMUNISM
The term communism is generally applied to the Marxist-Leninist political and
socioeconomic doctrines. This system, associated with the collective ownership
of the means of production, central economic planning, and rule by a single
political party. We will include in this section the basic idea of Maoism.
49
Marxism
Marxism is a body of social, political, and economic thought derived from the
writings of Karl Marx and his collaborator, Friedrich Engels. At the center of
Marx's work is his analysis of capitalism: how it arose, how it works (for whom it
works better and for whom worse), and where it is likely to lead. Concentrating
on the social and economic relations in which people earn their livings, Marx saw
behind capitalism's legal facade a struggle of two main classes: the capitalists,
who own the productive resources, and the workers, or proletariat, who must
work for wages in order to survive. The main theories that make up this analysis
is the theory of alienation, the labor theory of value, and the materialist
conception of history must all be understood with this focus in mind. Even Marx's
vision of socialism emerges from his study of capitalism, for socialism is the
unrealized potential inherent in capitalism itself for a more rational and egalitarian
social order in which people can develop more fully their distinctively human
qualities.
On Alienation: Marx's theories about capitalism are best understood as answers
to his pointed questions about its nature, effects, and development. How do the
ways and conditions in which people earn their living affect their bodies, minds,
and daily lives? In the theory of alienation Marx gives his answer. The people
who do the work in capitalism own none of the means (machines and raw
materials, for example) that they use in their work. These are owned by the
capitalists, to whom workers must sell their "labor power,"or ability to do work, in
return for a wage. This system of labor displays four relations that lie at the core
of Marx's theory of alienation. The worker is alienated from his or her productive
activity, playing no part in deciding what to do or how to do it. The worker is
alienated from the product of that activity, having no control over what is made or
what becomes of it. The worker is alienated from other human beings, with
competition and mutual indifference replacing most forms of cooperation. Finally,
the worker is alienated from the distinctive potential inherent in the notion of
human being.
50
On the Theory of Value: It is primarily concerned with the more basic problem
of why goods have prices at all. The slave owner takes by force what slaves
produce. The feudal lord claims as a right some part of what is produced by the
serfs. Only in capitalism is the distribution of what is produced a function of
markets and prices. Marx's explanation of this anomaly concentrates on the
separation of the worker from his or her means of production and the sale of his
or her labor power that this separation makes necessary. As a result of this
separation, all the things that workers produce become available for exchange,
indeed are produced with this exchange in mind. "Value" is the general social
form taken by all the products of alienated labor (labor to which the four relations
of alienated labor apply). Such products could only sell (have "exchange values")
and serve (have "use values") in ways that express and contribute to this
alienation. Surplus value, the third aspect of value, is the difference between the
amount of exchange and use value created by workers and the amount of value
returned to them as wages. The capitalist's control over this surplus is the basis
of their power over the workers and the rest of society. Marx's labor theory of
value also provides a detailed account of the struggle between capitalists and
workers over the size of the surplus value. Because of competition among
capitalists, workers are constantly being replaced by machinery, enabling and
requiring capitalists to extract ever-greater amounts of surplus value from
workers remaining. Paradoxically, the amount of surplus value is also the source
of capitalism's greatest weakness. Because only part of their product is returned
to them as wages, the workers, as consumers, cannot buy a large portion of what
they produce. Under pressure from the constant growth of the total product, the
capitalists periodically fail to find new markets to take up the slack. This leads to
crises of "overproduction," capitalism's classic contradiction, in which people are
forced to live on too little because they have produced too much.
On Materialistic Conception of History: The actual course of history is
determined by class struggle. According to Marx, each class is defined chiefly by
its relation to the productive process and has objective interests rooted in that
relation. The capitalists' interests lie in securing their power and expanding
profits. Workers, on the other hand, have interests in higher wages, safer working
conditions, shorter hours, job security, and because it is required to realize other
interests a new distribution of power. The class struggle involves everything that
these two major classes do to promote their incompatible interests at each
other's expense. In this battle, which rages throughout society, the capitalists are
aided by their wealth, their control of the state, and their domination over other
institutions schools, media, churches that guide and distort people's thinking. On
the workers' side are their sheer numbers, their experience of cooperation
however alienated while at work, trade unions, working-class political parties
(where they exist), and the growing contradictions within capitalism that make
present conditions increasingly irrational. Marx believed that once most workers
51
ANARCHISM
Anarchism is an ideology that regards abolition of government as the necessary
precondition for a free and just society. The term itself comes from the Greek
53
CHAPTER 7:
THE PHILIPPINE POLITICAL
SYSTEM
Section 1, Article II of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines declares
that the country is a democratic and republican state and that all government
authority emanates from the people.
A republic is a representative government where public officials derive their
mandate from the people, act on their behalf, and are at all times accountable to
them on the principle that their office is a public trust. Three equal branches of
government existexecutive, legislative, and judicialand operate under the
doctrine of separation of powers and a system of checks and balances.
Executive power is vested in the president. Legislative power is vested in a
bicameral Congress that consists of the House of Representatives and the
Senate. Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and such lower courts as
may be created by law. The branches of government are examined in the
following sections. Constitutional commissions, and local governments and
autonomous regions are also included for us to better understand the system of
accountability which is already in place as provided by the 1987 constitution.
55
program targets for the year, including its legislative agenda. Within 30 days
thereafter, the president has a duty to submit to Congress a budget message and
a proposed national budget consisting of a budget of expenditures and sources
of financing and revenues that will serve as the basis for the annual general
appropriations bill. The president also has the power to contract or guarantee
foreign loans on behalf of the country, with the prior concurrence of the Monetary
Board, and to enter into treaties or international agreements that become
effective only with the concurrence of the Senate.
The president is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president
may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and place the country or
any part thereof under martial law, under limited conditions prescribed by the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines that also include mechanisms for
congressional revocation and Supreme Court review of the factual basis thereof.
A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution of the
Republic of the Philippines or supplant civil courts and legislative assemblies.
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The present Congress of the Philippines, created under the 1987 Constitution of
the Republic of the Philippines, represents a return to bicameralism after almost
a decade of experimenting with the unicameral Batasang Pambansa (National
Legislature) that was mandated by the 1973 Constitution of the Republic of the
Philippines.
When President Aquino assumed office through what is now known as the EDSA
Revolution or People Power Revolution, she declared the 1973 Constitution of
the Republic of the Philippines without force and effect by virtue of her exercise
of revolutionary powers. Exercising the same powers, she promulgated the
Freedom Constitution, which was in effect until the ratification of a new
constitution (i.e. the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines). The
1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, crafted by some 50
delegates appointed by President Aquino through the exercise of revolutionary
powers under the Freedom Constitution restored the presidential system of
government together with a bicameral Congress of the Philippines, which
consists of the House of Representatives and Senate. Upon its restoration, the
Congress of the Philippines proceeded to its 8th Congress (19871992), taking
up where it left off during the 7th Congress, when Martial Law was declared.
Presently, the Congress of the Philippines is in its 13th Congress (2004 2007).
The Senate is composed of 24 senators elected at-large (Section 2, Article VI, of
the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines). To qualify for election as
senator, one must be a natural-born citizen and, on the day of the election, 35
years of age or older and able to read and write; a registered voter; and a
56
Philippine resident for not less than 2 years preceding the day of the election.(
Section 3, Article VI, of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines).
Senators each serve a 6-year term and can only be elected to two consecutive
terms. After two consecutive terms, senators are barred from running for another
consecutive term. However, after 6 years from the end of a senators two
consecutive 6-year terms, a former senator can run for a senate post again.
Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered
as an interruption in the continuity of service for the full term for which a senator
is elected (Section 4, Article VI, of the Constitution of the Republic of the
Philippines).
The House of Representatives is composed of district representatives and partylist representatives. The former are elected directly by qualified constituencies of
specific political and territorial units. The latter are elected at-large and indirectly,
through the parties they represent, which are qualified to participate in party-list
elections and are able to garner the requisite percentage of votes (Section 5,
Article VI, of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines) as provided in
RA 7941 (Party List Law). Congress can increase the number of districts
nationwide and thus the number of district representatives. Party-list
representatives, by constitutional mandate, should constitute 20% of the total
membership of the House (including the total number of party-list
representatives). To date, in the 13th Congress (20042007), 212 district
representatives and 24 party-list representatives constitute the total membership
of the House. To qualify for election as a member of the House of
Representatives, one must be a natural born citizen who is at least 25 years of
age on the day of the election and able to read and write, a registered voter in
the district in which he or she would be elected (except party-list
representatives), and a resident therein for at least 1 year immediately preceding
the day of the election. Representatives each serve a term of 3 years (Section 6
and Section 7, Article VI, of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines)
and can only be elected to serve three consecutive terms. After the third
consecutive 3-year term, a representative cannot be elected for another
consecutive term. Individuals seeking reelection must wait 3 years from the day
their three consecutive 3-year terms ended before running for election again as
representatives of their districts. Like senators, voluntary renunciation of their
office for any length of time shall not interrupt the continuity of service for the full
term for which they were elected.
A vacancy created by the death or permanent incapacity of a senator or
representative may be filled through a special election. Anyone elected through
such special election shall serve only the unexpired term of his or her
predecessor. Salaries of legislators are determined by law. Any increase in their
compensation can take effect only after the expiration of the term of the
legislators approving such an increase. This limitation does not include
allowances and other emoluments. The Constitution of the Republic of the
Philippines also mandates that records and books of accounts of Congress be
57
59
Powers of Congress
Congress exercises legislative and nonlegislative powers (Cruz, 1998).
Legislative power includes lawmaking, appropriation, and taxation. The power of
investigation and oversight are inherent to the power of lawmaking.
Nonlegislative power includes the power to canvass presidential elections,
declare war, concur with treaties and amnesties, propose constitutional
amendments, and impeach officials (Section 4, Article VII; Section 23, Article VI;
Section 21, Article VII; Section 1, Section 2, and Section 3, Article XVII; and
Section 3, Article XI, of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines). From
express powers granted by the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines,
Congress derives its implied powers, such as the power to punish for contempt in
legislative investigations.
Legislative Power
Legislative power is the power to enact laws and is exercised through the
approval of a bill that, upon such approval, becomes a law or statute. The power
to make laws includes the power to amend and repeal them. The legislative
process, briefly, is as follows:
Bills are introduced or filed by members of the House or Senate in
respective chambers (According to Section 24, Article VI, of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, a bill may be introduced
either in the House or in the Senate. Bills concerning the same subject
may also be filed simultaneously and separately in the House and
Senate. Bills concerning appropriation, revenue, or tariffs; bills
authorizing increases in the public debt; bills of local application; and bills
that are private must originate exclusively in the House of
Representatives. The Senate, however, may propose or concur with
amendments.). Each bill must relate to only one subject, and this subject
should be expressed in the title (Section 26 (1), Article VI, of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines). Bills then undergo first
readings in plenary, where their numbers and titles and the names of the
authors are read. The speaker or senate president thereafter refers bills
to the appropriate committees for study. Bills may be tabled or
dispatched in committees or recommended for approval, with or without
amendments or in consolidation with other bills of the same nature
and/or purpose. In the latter case, bills are reported through committee
reports (A committee prepares a report on a bill only if a committee
decides to recommend a bill for approval by the House) and are
deliberated upon by the Committee on Rules, which decides whether or
not bills should be calendared for second readings. On second reading,
a bill is read in its entirety, on the floor by the chair of the sponsoring
committee and its authors, and subjected to debate and amendments as
warranted. Amendments may be submitted by the committee or by
individual members. Thereafter, the bill is subjected to voting on second
60
reading. When approved on second reading, the bill is printed in its final
form, and copies are distributed to the members at least 3 days before
the same can be calendared for third reading. A bill can be recommitted
to the committee of origin any time before its approval on third reading
(According to Section 26 (2), Article VI, of the Constitution of the
Republic of the Philippines, a bill must undergo three readings, on three
separate days, except when the president certifies that bill as urgent to
meet a public calamity or emergency). On third reading, no further
debate or amendment is allowed. Members register their vote and may
explain their votes in such manner as allowed by the rules of each
chamber. After approval on third reading, the bill is transmitted to the
other chamber, where it undergoes the same process (If a chamber has
a counterpart bill to a bill passed by the other chamber and these bills
have conflicting provisions, a bicameral conference committee
composed of representatives from each chamber is formed to harmonize
the conflicting provisions. Thereafter, a conference committee report is
prepared for ratification or approval by both chambers). If approved by
the other chamber, the bill is enrolled and printed as finally approved by
Congress and transmitted to the president for final approval. The
president may sign the bill into law or veto it. Should the president fail to
act on a bill within 30 days of receiving it, that bill is deemed to have
lapsed into law. If the bill is vetoed, the bill may still become a law if
Congress decides to override the veto by a two-thirds vote of all its
members.
administrative branches with a view to determining their efficiency; and (iii) those
that seek primarily to inform and mold public opinion (Rivera 1962).
Each chamber has rules governing inquiries in aid of legislation. Anyone who
fails or refuses to attend a legislative investigation upon proper summons may be
punished for contempt of court (Arnault vs. Nazareno, 87 Phil 29, [1950]).
Questions that may be raised in a legislative inquiry need not be relevant to any
pending measure. They need only be germane to the subject matter of the
investigation, as the proceedings may result in a proposed legislation based on
the findings of the investigating committee. In effect, virtually nothing is immune
from legislative investigation. Under the Rules of the House governing Inquiries
in Aid of Legislation, not even the filing or pendency of a case before any court,
tribunal, or quasi-judicial or administrative body can stop or abate any inquiry.
Legislative power also embraces the power to summon heads of executive
departments to appear and be questioned before Congress in plenary sessions
on any matter pertaining to their departments, through the conduct of a question
hour (Section 22, Article VI, of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines).
Like the power of investigation, this power strengthens legislative oversight or
congressional watchfulness over an executive department to ensure that laws
are effectively implemented and enable the legislature to formulate remedial
measures, should laws fail to respond to the needs they were intended to
address.
Power of Appropriation
According to Section 25, Article VI, of the Constitution of the Republic of the
Philippines, Congress may not increase the budget recommended by the
president for the operation of the Government. Congress can, however, reduce
the same, provided that the budget of the Judiciary will not be reduced to a level
lower than the preceding years appropriations (Section 3, Article VIII, of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines). Moreover, to be valid, an
appropriation must be for a public purpose and not for the benefit of any private
individual or interest. The sum authorized to be released must be determinate or
determinable. Even discretionary funds should be disbursed for public purposes
only and supported by appropriate vouchers. According to the Constitution of the
Republic of the Philippines, however, the president, the president of the Senate,
the speaker of the House of Representatives, the chief justice of the Supreme
Court, and the heads of constitutional commissions may, by law, be authorized to
augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices
from savings in other items of their respective appropriations. But any transfer of
funds from one branch or department to another by the president subverts the
doctrine of separation of powers and the will of the Legislature that enacted the
measure. The president does not have the power to appropriate or to change the
appropriations approved by Congress through a general appropriations act. Only
Congress can make such transfers through an appropriations law.
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Power of Taxation
Congress alone exercises the power of taxation. Members decide what to tax,
how to tax, and how much tax will be imposed. The president only exercises
such tax powers as may be delegated by Congress. Without legislative
authorization, the president cannot increase or reduce taxes or diminish or
expand the coverage of tax laws. The power of taxation is circumscribed by
constitutional mandates stating that taxation shall be uniform, equitable, and
progressive (Section 28 (1), Article VI, of the Constitution of the Republic of the
Philippines). Uniformity in taxation means that people or things belonging to the
same class shall be taxed at the same rate. Equality in taxation means that the
tax imposed should be determined on the basis of the value of the property
taxed. To be equitable means that the tax burden should be imposed on the
basis of a taxpayers capacity to pay. A progressive system of taxation is
essentially an equitable system of taxation and is suited to the economic
conditions of the people.
War Power and Power of Concurrence
Congress, by a vote of two thirds of both houses, in joint session assembled,
voting separately, has the sole power to declare the existence of a state of war
(Section 23 (1), Article VI, of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines).
The war power of Congress proceeds from a recognition that war has already
begun or has been provoked by the enemy, and Congress is only affirming its
existence. Any amnesty granted by the president and any treaty or international
agreement the president entered into in behalf of the Government becomes valid
and effective only upon concurrence of at least two thirds of all the members of
the Senate (Section 19 and Section 21, Article VI, of the Constitution of the
Republic of the Philippines). The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
does not distinguish between a treaty and an international agreement. Both are
subject to the power of concurrence of Congress through the Senate. This
underlies controversies on the validity of the Mutual Logistics and Support
Agreement between the United States and the Philippines. Billed as an executive
agreement, it is, nonetheless, an international agreement that, under the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, requires Senate concurrence to
be valid.
Impeachment Power
Cruz (1998) writes that impeachment is a method of national inquest into the
conduct of public men. In reality, however, except where there is a strong public
outcry against the respondent the decision to impeach is usually blocked by a
protective majority on the basis of partisan or pragmatic considerations. As noted
earlier, it is a fact of Philippine political history that no single President, or VicePresident has ever been impeached. Politics may also provoke the impeachment
63
of an official who has incurred the hostility of the party in power, or even a
hyperactive minority.
In the Philippines, the impeachable officers are the president, vice-president,
members of the Supreme Court, members of constitutional commissions, and the
ombudsman (Section 2, Article XI, of the Constitution of the Republic of the
Philippines). The list is exclusive and may not be increased or reduced by
legislative enactment. The grounds for impeachment are culpable violation of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, treason, bribery, other high
crimes, graft and corruption, or betrayal of public trust. Culpable violation of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines is the willful, wrongful, and
intentional disregard of the same. Treason is committed by any person who,
owing allegiance to the Philippine Government, levies war against it or adheres
to its enemies, giving them aid and comfort (Article 114 of the Revised Penal
Code (Republic of the Philippines 1938). Bribery is committed by a public officer
who agrees to perform any act, whether or not constituting a crime; refrains from
performing an act that he or she is officially required to perform, in consideration
of any offer, promise, gift, or present received by him or her, personally or
through the mediation of another; or accepts gifts offered to him or her by reason
of his or her office (Article 210 and Article 211 of the Revised Penal Code
(Republic of the Philippines 1938). The term other high crimes refers to
offenses that are of so serious and enormous a nature as to strike at the very life
of the orderly workings of the Government. Graft and corruption are understood
in the context of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in force at the time of
the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. Betrayal of
public trust is a new ground for impeachment intended as a catch-all provision to
cover all offenses unbecoming a public functionary that are not punishable under
criminal statutes, such as inexcusable negligence of duty, tyrannical abuse of
authority, cronyism, favoritism, and obstruction of justice (Volume 2, p.272 of the
Records of the Constitutional Convention).
The House of Representatives has the sole power to initiate impeachment by a
vote of at least one third of its members. Under the House Impeachment Rules
following the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Francisco, et al. vs. the House
of Representatives (General Record [GR] No. 160261,10 November 2003),
impeachment is initiated when the complaint is filed and referred to the
Committee on Justice. Within 1 year from the time impeachment is initiated, no
impeachment complaint can prosper against the same official. An impeachment
complaint may be filed through a verified complaint of a member of the House or
through a verified complaint of any citizen that is endorsed via a resolution by a
member of the House. These complaints are processed by the Committee on
Justice, which determines the sufficiency in form and substance of such
complaints. If it is found sufficient in form and substance, the impeachment
complaint is endorsed by the House through the articles of impeachment that the
House then transmits to the Senate, which has the power to try and decide the
impeachment case. For an impeachment complaint to be directly transmitted to
64
the Senate, serving already as the articles of impeachment, the complaint must
be subscribed to and signed by at least one third of the members of the House
upon its filing.47 In the impeachment trial, the House, through a committee of 11
members (selected from among those who voted in favor of the impeachment),
acts as the sole prosecutor in the impeachment case (The impeachment
complaint against President Joseph Estrada, which was directly transmitted as
articles of impeachment to the Senate through the action of then Speaker Manuel
Villar, was not subscribed to and signed by one third of the total members at the
time it was filed, as required by the House Impeachment Rules. Said complaint
was appropriately filed as a complaint accompanied by a resolution of
endorsement of a House member, which requires a finding of sufficiency in form
and substance by the Committee on Justice, and approval by the House in
plenary before it could be transmitted, together with the articles of impeachment,
to the Senate). When the president is on trial, the chief justice of the Supreme
Court presides but shall not vote. A conviction requires the concurrence of two
thirds of all members of the Senate.
Impeachment proceedings are judicial and penal in character. Thus, the rights of
the accused to due process and against self-incrimination must be respected.
The Rules of Court, while not strictly applicable, are, nonetheless, observed. As
in ordinary criminal actions, proof beyond reasonable doubt is necessary for
conviction (Cruz 1998). A judgment of conviction is not subject to judicial review.
The official so convicted is not subject to the pardoning power of the president.
Power to Amend the Constitution. Amendments to or revision of the
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines may be proposed by Congress by
a vote of three fourths of all its members. By a vote of two thirds of all its
members, Congress can call a constitutional convention, or by a majority vote of
all its members, submit to the electorate the question of calling such a
convention. Amendments refer to piecemeal changes, while revision entails a
wholesale rewriting of the document. Any amendment or revision must be ratified
by a majority of votes cast in a plebiscite, which shall be held not earlier than 60
days or later than 90 days after the approval of such amendment or revision.
THE JUDICIAL BRANCH
Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and in lower courts as may be
established by law. Section 1, Article VII, of the Constitution of the Republic of
the Philippines states that judicial power includes the duty of the courts of justice
to settle actual controversies involving rights that are legally demandable and
enforceable and the power of judicial review to determine whether or not an
abuse of discretion occurred that amounted to a lack or excess of jurisdiction on
the part of any branch or instrumentality of government. The Supreme Court is
composed of a chief justice and 14 associate justices. The members of the
Supreme Court and judges of lower courts are appointed by the president without
need for confirmation and hold office during good behavior until they are 70 years
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of age or cannot discharge their duties due to incapacitation. Judges are chosen
from a list of nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council, whose principal
function is to recommend appointees.
The Supreme Court exercises original jurisdiction over cases affecting
ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls and petitions for certiorari,
prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, and habeas corpus. The Supreme Court
has appellate jurisdiction over final judgments and orders of lower courts in such
cases as are enumerated in the Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. It
promulgates rules on pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts and
admission to the practice of law. Moreover, the Supreme Court exercises
administrative supervision over all courts and their personnel. The Constitution of
the Republic of the Philippines also vests the Judiciary with fiscal autonomy.
According to Section 2 and Section 3, Article VII, of the Constitution of the
Republic of the Philippines, appropriations for the Judiciary may not be reduced
by Congress below the amount appropriated for the previous years and, after
approval thereof, shall be automatically and regularly released. These sections
also state that no law can be passed to reorganize the Judiciary when it
undermines the security of tenure of its members.
CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSIONS
The constitutional commissions, namely the Civil Service Commission,
Commission on Audit, and Commission on Elections, are empowered to appoint
their own personnel in accordance with law, exercise fiscal autonomy, and
promulgate their own rules concerning pleadings and practices before them or
before any of their offices.
The Civil Service Commission, headed by a chairperson and two commissioners,
is the Governments central personnel agency and is tasked with establishing a
career service, strengthening the merit and rewards system, integrating all
human resource development programs, and institutionalizing a management
climate conducive to public accountability in the bureaucracy. The Commission
on Audit, headed by a chairperson and two commissioners, examines, audits,
and settles all accounts pertaining to the revenue and receipts of, and
expenditures or uses of, funds and property owned and held in trust by the
Government. The Commission on Elections, headed by a chairperson and six
commissioners, enforces and administers all laws and regulations relative to the
conduct of elections, plebiscites, initiatives, referenda, and recalls. The
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines provides for the evolution of a free
and open party system according to the free choice of the people.
The respective chairs and commissioners of constitutional commissions serve for
terms of 7 years without reappointment.
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Here are the summary of other information you may want to know about Local
Governments in the Philippines (for a more specific discussion of the following,
consult the Local Government Code of 1991):
ELEMENTS OF A LOCAL GOVERNMENT
(1) Defined area
(2) Population
(3) Continuing Organization.
(4) Authority to undertake and power to carry out public activities.
MUNICIPAL CORPORATION
It refers to a public corporation created by the government for political purposes
and having subordinate and local powers of legislation. It consist of six (6)
elements:
(1) Legal creation or incorporation.
(2) Corporate name
(3) Inhabitants
(4) Place or Territory
(5) Charter
(6) Legislative Power
FIVE LEVELS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
(1) Barnggay
(2) Municipality
(3) City
(4) Province
(5) Region
GENERAL POWERS OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT
There are five(5) general powers of the Local Government, namely:
(1) Corporate powers
(a) To have continuous succession in the corporate name
(b) To sue and be sued
(c) To have and use a corporate seal
(d) To acquire and convey real or personal property
(e) To enter into contracts
(f) To exercise such powers as granted to corporations.
(2) Governmental Powers
(a) Promotion of health and safety
(b) Improvement of poverty
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executive
orders
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CHAPTER 8:
PHILIPPINE POLITICS &
GOVERNANCE: ISSUES &
CHALLENGES
Improving government performance is the battle cry of every political
administration. The absence of good governance is the reason why many
countriesespecially in the third world continue to fail in their efforts at poverty
reduction and in their quest for economic and human development.
Accountability plays a very crucial role in good governance (Healey & Tordoff ,
1995).
Our bid for good governance stretched back since we gained our independence
as a nation. The later part of 1990s witnessed the most recent attempt with the
Ramos administrations plan to reengineer the bureaucracy and set the guiding
principles for reorganizing and improving government operations (World Bank &
Asian Development Bank, 2002). Then came the Estrada administrations
creation of the Presidential Commission on Effective Governance (PCEG) (which
was created through Executive Order (EO) No. 165, dated 19 October 1999), to
formulate an institutional strengthening and streamlining program for the
executive branch, including GOCCs and state universities and colleges. Then the
reform bid of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration, the blue print of which was
laid down in her MTPDP aiming to reorient the government bureaucracy,
minimize overlaps in public programs and projects, check the expansion of
government activities, and stress the importance of building strong institutions
capable of implementing good policies and delivering responsive essential
services.
Sadly, none of the names mentioned above successfully made the Philippine
government comes nearer to the ideals of a good or accountable government.
The constitutional and legal frameworks in the Philippines may provide the
foundations for good governance, but with the absence of a serious system of
making political leaders accountable, many policies fail to command respect and
compliance. Lack of accountability has resulted to extensive graft and corruption
in the country which undermines and subverts the rule of law.
We shall here consider some of the many perennial problems of governance in
the Philippines.
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This vicious cycle of elite democracy, money politics and poor governance
prevails today more than ever. It has distorted public policies and weakened
public institutions by undermining its decision-making and continuously
threatening its integrity and autonomy.
Election education and information campaign are weak and have repeatedly
failed to improve the quality of citizen involvement in the electoral processes,
and/or to ensure the election of quality leaders.
When the highest officials of the government are accused of graft and corruption,
they can be removed from office through impeachment. The Constitution lists the
following impeachable officials: the President, the Vice President, justices of the
Supreme Court, officials of the Constitutional Commissions and the Ombudsman.
The following are among the grounds for impeachment:
1.
2.
3.
4.
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sentenced him to life imprisonment for gun running. He served time, but was
released years later due to failing health.
As a rule, the house, through the Ethics Committee, glosses over its members
misdeeds or launches token investigations of them, but hardly metes out any
sanctions or penalties. Twice in the past, the Committee has failed to investigate
allegations of bribe taking.
In 1996, Quezon City Rep. Michael Defensor claimed to have received a
P200,000 bribe from Benpres Holdings, the parent company of First Philippine
Holdings, which was vying for a contract to rehabilitate the North Luzon
Expressway. The house Ethics Committee investigated the allegation, but the
inquiry turned into a investigation of Defensor himself, who backed down from his
allegations, saying he could not go against a giant like Benpres, which also owns
the broadcast network ABS-CBN and the utilities firm Meralco.
In 2000, party-list representatives Renato Magtubo and Etta Rosales accused
the House leadership of giving each congressman bribes amounting to as much
as P500,00 in exchange for approval of the Omnibus Power Bill. Both lawmakers
sought an independent investigation of their allegations and refused to recognize
the Authority of the House Ethics Committee, saying that the majority of the 25member committee were likely recipients of the payola. No independent
investigation of the matter was ever conducted.
In November 2001, the House Ethics Committee investigated five congressmen
who had been named in a news report as alleged recipients of P2 million each
from telecommunications companies Globe and Smart, which were then being
probed by the House Committee on Transportation and Communication for their
plan to reduce the number of tree messages allowed to subscribers.
Instead of interrogating the lawmakers, the committee picked on the writer of the
story, journalist Tita Valderrama, and forced and forced her to divulge her
sources. Worse, instead of inhibiting themselves from the hearing, three of the
five lawmakers took turns interrogating Valderrama and forcing her to reveal her
sources. Even while the hearings were in progress, one of them filed a libel suit
against Valderrama and her paper, The Journal. Valderrama, whose editors
initially refused to allow her to appear for fear she would only be ridiculed and
who have to be subpoenaed themselves to appear before the committee, refused
to respond to the lawmakers questions. They invoked their right against selfincrimination in light of the libel suit. Since the investigation was getting nowhere,
the House Ethics Committee decided to end it, but not the filing of the libel suit.
At the Senate, the Ethics Committee failed to investigate Senators John Osmena
and Tessie Aquino-Oreta who publicly admitted to having received a P1 million
each as their share in former President Estradas winnings from a high-stakes
game of mahjong with cronies. The two lawmakers claimed they gave their
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balato to charity, and made a show of giving the money back. Reacting to a
public outcry that the two lawmakers be investigated, the Senate Ethics
Committee said it was looking into the possibility of an inquiry to the balato
fiasco. It never did conduct an investigation.
In late 2001, the Senate Ethics Committee cleared Senator Rene Cayetano of
the allegation that he had profited from the sale of stocks of BW Resources at a
time when the Senate was already investigating the firm for alleged insider
trading. Dante Tan, a crony of former president Joseph Estrada, headed BW
Resources at the time. During Estradas impeachment trial, Cayetano himself
admitted having invested in BW and having raked in profits of P60 to P70 million
pesos. The Senate ethics Committee launched an investigation into Cayetanos
impropriety, but it eventually dropped it and cleared the Senator, purportedly
because the Committee could not get Tan to appear and substantiate the
allegation.
These actions rendered Congress vulnerable to public condemnation as a socalled old boys club that will not punish or exact accountability from one of their
own and as an enclave of the powerful who can ignore the law.
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it deserves next years fund. In reality, however, lawmakers use the budget
process for their own purposes. An example would be the Budget Law of 1989, in
which lawmakers allowed the appropriation of funds for the vaguely worded
miscellaneous and extraordinary expenses a clear sign of their intention to
breach their duty to observe fiscal accountability.
Much of the decision making that goes into crafting the national budget comes
from Congress, specifically the House of Representatives where the President
first submits his or her budget for approval. The Constitution states: All
appropriation, revenue or tariff bills shall originate exclusively in the House of
Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments.
Although the final word on the budget belongs to the President, disagreements
between Congress and the Chief Executive have not been difficult to iron out.
Overtime, Congress has repeatedly displayed its immense powers over the
national purse, especially the lawmakers power to allocate public funds for
themselves. The PCIJ book Pork and Other Perks tells the story of the budget
deliberations for the year 1998, when the country was reeling from the
devastation caused by the 1997 financial crisis. Finance officials had proposed
an austere budget that would enable government to save P1 billion. After
passing through Congress, government ended up bracing for a deficit because
the law-makers had given themselves an almost 200-percent increase in pork
barrel funds.
The power to make congressional insertions has allowed lawmakers to get away
with such abuses. In 1996, news reports revealed how the House committee on
appropriation, the committee in charge of budget deliberations, gave itself huge
cuts from the budget labeled as Congressional Initiative Allocations, supposedly
a fund intended for projects to benefit the lawmakers constituents. That year, the
committee chairperson allocated P3 billion for himself.
The Commission on Appointments
Another tool that is misused by the legislature is its power to scrutinize and to
approve or reject persons named by the President to key positions in government
a power that could have been used to guarantee accountability by people
appointed in sensitive posts in the executive branch. This is done through the
Commission on Appointments or CA, which is composed of 25 members 13
from the Senate and 12 from the House of Representatives. It reviews the
nominations of Cabinet appointees, as well as colonels and higher-ranking
military officials, and the top brass of the Department of Foreign Affairs. During
its confirmation hearings, the CA entertains objections and criticisms from the
public of officials under scrutiny and then votes to either confirm or reject them.
Presidential nominees, in ensuring proper accountability, are supposed to submit
to the CA a variety of documents detailing, among others, their personal
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The Supreme Court, however, dismisses many cases against judges because
these are viewed as flimsy and frivolous, says Ismael Khan, public information
officer of the Supreme Court. The high court does not discount the possibility that
charges against judges are filed by litigants who, unhappy with the judges
rulings, accuse them of ignorance of the law.
THREATS TO JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE
The executive and legislative branches of the Government considerably influence
administrative and operational facets of the judicial system. The president has
the power to appoint justices and judges. Through the Department of Budget and
Management (DBM), the president determines financial resources available to
the Judiciary through budgetary allocation and release, and Congress
determines the number of courts and their jurisdiction, the permanent assignment
of judges, and the Judiciarys annual budget. A senator and house representative
sit as members of the Judicial and Bar Council, the body tasked to select and
nominate prospective appointees to the bench. Under these conditions, political
influence and patronage impinging on the processes of selection and
appointment of judicial officials is the biggest threat to judicial independence.
Accusations have been rife in the media that the presidential power to appoint
Supreme Court justices has been exercised for political ends and to benefit
political allies. The quality of judicial appointments, especially in lower courts, has
also been put to question due to alleged interference of Congress members and
local government executives in the choice of appointees. Despite clear
constitutional fiat, judicial fiscal autonomy remains illusory, as automatic release
of its budgetary allocations and full control over their disbursements have not
been implemented. The president, through DBM, treats the Judiciary like any
other executive department or agency and retains control of the Judiciarys
budget through obligation, cash, programming, and releasing controls. DBM also
approves the realignment of funds, use of savings, and use of funds for specific
purposes. Limited fiscal autonomy impacts on judicial independence, as it places
the Judiciary and its operations under the control and influence of another branch
of the Government.
Without a strong and genuinely independent Judiciary, government accountability
in the Philippines remains an unreachable goal and any statements concerning
its attainment, a mere rhetoric.
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CHAPTER 9
CONSTITUTION & CONSTITUTION
MAKING
According to Mahler, it may be useful to think of constitutions as power maps
for political systems. That is, it is often the constitution of a nation that shows us
the political lay of the land and that describes the manner in which power is
distributed among the many actors in the political movement, or in the political
environment in general. We look to the constitution for an explanation of who has
the power to do what, what the limitations on power are in a given state, and
what the relationship are between and among the many political actors we may
find in a given state.
The idea of a constitution as a fundamental expression of the power relationships
in a political regime dates back to the time of the Greek and Roman republics;
constitutions were the focus for comparison in Aristotles major studies of political
systems.
TYPES OF CONSTITUTION
Constitutions can be classified according to:
(1.) Genesis or development
(a.) Conventional or Enacted the conventional constitution is crafted
and promulgated by the people through their representatives in a
constitutional conventions.
(b.) Cumulative or Evolved one which is product of growth or a long
period of development originating in customs, traditions, judicial
decisions, rather than from a deliberate and formal enactment.
(2.) Form
(a.) Written one which has been given definite written form at a
particular time, usually by a specially constituted authority called a
constitutional convention
(b.) Unwritten one which is entirely the product of political evolution,
constituted by a large mass of customs, usages and judicial
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CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
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(a.) Constitutions that gives right it implies that the government had also
the powers to take away these rights.
(b.) Constitutions that recognizes rights rights are not given; they are
recognized, by limiting the things the government can do. Rights appear
to be existing and these belong to the people, and the constitution
recognizes this fact by forbidding the congress to limit them.
Statutes
Originates
from
the
peoples
representatives as they interpret the
constitution
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Statutes
Explains in detail the subject matter
of the Constitution. Statute provides
the details of the subject of which it
treats.
It tries to primarily to meet existing
conditions only, that is, it address the
present conditions but It always
adheres with constitutions.
Constituent Assembly
As a Constituent Assembly, the Senate and House of Representatives become a
constituent body exercising special power to formulate a new constitution or
propose amendments to the constitution.
It is to be noted that the vote requirements is more stringent if the amendments
are proposed by Congress itself. This is to ensure more deliberations and deeper
study and consideration of the merits of the proposed changes to the
fundamental law.
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Problem: One of the problems in the 1987 constitution is that it is not clear on
whether the two houses will vote jointly or separately.
Peoples Initiative
The people may directly propose amendments to the Constitution provided that
there is a petition of at least 12% of all registered voters, and provided that every
legislative district is represented by at least 3% of its registered voters.
Requirement for Peoples Initiative
(a.) There must be a petition of at least 12% of the total number of registered
voters.
(b.) Every legislative district must be represented by at least 3% of the registered
voters thereof.
(c.) The amendment through initiative is not made within 5 years following the
ratification of the present constitution or oftener than once every five (5)
years thereafter.
Problem: In 1997, the Supreme Court ruled that this mode cannot be used
without implementing legislation by Congress. Just recently, Rep. Imee Marcos
has introduced the required enabling bill.
SOME NOTES ON CHARTER CHANGE
To have five constitutions since we regained our independence in 1946, a period of
some 60 years, does not only reflect our inability to consolidate our constitutional
democracy, but also reflects our general sentiment to put in place a more reliable and
desirable system of political accountability. The lack of a more accountable system of
governance contributes largely to our continuing political instability as a nation-state. In
1986, we restored our adversarial separation of powers in a presidential system that
continually creates conflict and gridlock between the President and Congress. Our
outmoded form of government and dysfunctional political parties sustain our politics of
personality, patronage, cronyism, and corruption and without transparency and public
accountability. Despite its many positive features that are worth preserving, the 1987
Constitution has not enabled us to rebuild our various institutions for good governance.
As many Filipino political scientists have noted, we have a counter-productive system
with its powers, authority and resources centralized in the national government, with a
problematic system of accountability, at the expense of local governments, leaders,
citizens, and entrepreneurs and countrywide development. The call for changing certain
parts of the 1987 Constitution to improve governance and empower our people should
not be dismissed without due consideration. Our system of governmental accountability
must be strengthened for in this way we will enable our government, our private sector
and our citizens to respond more effectively to our continuing problems, challenges and
goals as a nation.
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CHAPTER 10
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 1987
CONSTITUION
DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICY
The following are the Principles and Policies of the Philippines:
1. The Philippines is a democratic and Republican State (Sec.1)
Manifestation of a Democratic and republican State:
(d.) The existence of a bill of rights.
(See discussion on Article III)
(e.) The observance of the rule of the majority.
(f.) The observance of the principle that ours is a government of
laws, and not of man.
(g.) Suffrage as expression of the popular will.
(h.) The observance of the principle of separation of powers and
the system of check and balances.
(i.) The observance of the principle that legislature cannot pass
irrepealable laws.
2. Sovereignty of the people (Art. II, Sec. 1)
Sovereignty implies the supreme authority to govern. The government
governs through the sovereignty of the Filipino people, As such, they
have the right to constitute their own government, to change it, and to
define its jurisdiction and powers.
The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people
and all government authority emanates from them.
And thus:
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Goal to promote a Just and dynamic social order (Art. II, Sec.9);
Promotion of Social justice (Art. II, Sec 10); respect for human Rights (Art.
II, Sec.11); the right of the people to health (Art. II, Sec. 15); recognition of
the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology (Art.II, Sec.
16); priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture and sports
(Art.II, Sec.17); promotion of a comprehensive rural development and
agrarian reform (Art II, Sec. 21); etc.
Art. II, Sec. 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 services, promote full employment, a rising standard of
living and an improved quality of life for all
Art. II, Sec.11: The state values the dignity of every human person and guarantees full
respect for human rights.
Manifestations:
A civilian president is the commander in chief of all armed forces of the
Philippines. This arrangement is considered an important safeguard against
the rise of military dictatorship.
The subordination of the military to the civilian even in times of war.
6. Principle of separation of the Church and state.(Art. II, Sec.6)
The separation of church and State shall be inviolable.
Manifestation:
The state has no official religion.
The state cannot set up its own religion nor aid one religion, aid all
religions, or prefer one religion over another.
Every person is free to profess belief or disbelief in any religion.
Every religion or religious ministry is free to practice his/her calling.
The state cannot punish a person for entertaining or professing religious
beliefs or disbeliefs.
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Section 1:
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor
shall any person be denied the equal protection of the law.
Due Process : Action done under the authority of law that is valid, and after
compliance with the regular methods of procedure prescribed by law). Due
process in judicial proceedings requires:
(a.) An impartial court clothed by law with authority to hear and determine
the matter before it.
(b.) Jurisdiction lawfully acquired over the person of the defendant or
property, which is the subject matter of the proceedings.
(c.) Opportunity to be heard given the defendant.
(d.) Judgment to be rendered after lawful hearings.
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Persons Protected
The term persons in this provision refers to all persons within the territorial
jurisdiction of the Philippines without regard to any difference of race, color, or
nationality, including aliens (De Leon,1994).
Meaning of Life
Life, as protected by due process of law, means something more than mere
animal existence. It extends to all limbs and faculties by which it is enjoyed.
Meaning of Liberty
Liberty is not licensed or unlimited freedom. It is the right of man to exercise his
will to act as long as it does not violate the right of other individual.
Meaning of Property
Property refers to right over the thing.
Equal Protection of the Laws
It means that all persons subject to legislation should be treated alike, under like
circumstances and conditions both in the privileges conferred and liabilities
imposed.
ON SEARCH, SEIZURE & ARREST
Section 2
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects
against unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose
shall be inviolable, and no search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon
probable cause to be determined personally by the judge after examination under oath
or affirmation of the complainant and the witness he may produce, and particularly
describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
Search Warrant
It is an order in writing, issued in the name of the people, signed by a judge and
directed to a peace officer, commanding in him to search for personal property
and bring it before the court.
Warrant of Arrest
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freely utter and published whatever one pleases without previous restraint,
and to be protected against any responsibility for so doing.
Limitation of the Freedom of Expression: It shall be protected by law as long
as it does not violate the law, or injure someones character, reputation or
business.
Meaning of right of Assembly and right of Petition.
Right of Assembly refers to the right on the part of the citizens to meet
peaceably for consultation in respect to public affairs.
Right of Petition refers to the right of any person or group of persons to apply,
without fear of penalty, to the appropriate branch or office of the government of
grievances.
Sec. 5: No law shall be passed respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting
the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious preference, shall
be forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or
political rights.
Limitations
This right is limited to peaceful associations and it does not cover the right
(if there is any) of people to form associations that create imminent danger
to public safety, public peace, public morals and public order.
Sec. 9: Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.
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(b) Power of police power police power has been referred to as the power of
the state to such laws or regulations in relation to persons and property as
may promote public health, public morals, public safety, and the general
welfare and convenience of the people.
(c) Power of taxation refers to the power of the state to impose charge or
burden upon persons, property rights, for the use and support of the
government and to enable it to discharge its functions.
The reason for the theoretical basis of the state taking private property for public
use is two, namely:
(1) The welfare of the people is the supreme law; salus populi supreme
est lex Meaning, if the act is necessary to promote the welfare of the
people or the public, it overrides the right (but not necessarily the
welfare) of the individual.
(2) Every citizen of every community must bear certain burdens imposed
for the good of all. This maxim provides also the basis of taxation.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aruego, et.al. Principles of Political Science. Manila., 1980.
Cruz, Isagani A. 1998. Philippine Political Law. Quezon City: Central Lawbook
Publishing Co.
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