handout on the subject constitutional principles

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Handout on the Subject Constitutional Principles De La Salle College-Lipa By: Atty. Gerald Rabena Constitution – It is the fundamental organic law of the state which contains the principle on which the government is founded, the regulation of the division and exercise of sovereign powers. It is that body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised. Constitution v. Statute Constitution is the legislation direct from the people and states general principles merely to meet existing conditions while Statute is a legislation from the Representatives and provides details of the subject it treats. It is intended to meet existing conditions only. The Constitution is a Social Contract The Constitution as a social contract means that it is where the people have surrendered their sovereign powers to the State for the common good. Hence in the case of Marcos v. Manglapus et, GR No. 88211 September 15, 1989 to wit: “Lest the officers of the government exercising powers delegated by the people forget and the servants of the people become rulers, the Constitution reminds everyone that SOVEREIGNTY RESIDES FROM THE PEOPLE AND ALL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY EMANATES FROM THEM. (Sec 1, Art II, 1987 Constitution) Is the preamble part of the Constitution? The preamble is not a part of the constitution which can exist without it but it is an introductory part. It walks before it! It is not a source of rights but it fulfills two (2) fundamental ends. It identifies the sovereign power that ordains the Constitution; and It lays down the great and higher purposes or aims which the Constitution was ordained such as:

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Constitutional Principles

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Handout on the Subject Constitutional PrinciplesDe La Salle College-LipaBy: Atty. Gerald Rabena

Constitution It is the fundamental organic law of the state which contains the principle on which the government is founded, the regulation of the division and exercise of sovereign powers. It is that body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised.

Constitution v. StatuteConstitution is the legislation direct from the people and states general principles merely to meet existing conditions while Statute is a legislation from the Representatives and provides details of the subject it treats. It is intended to meet existing conditions only.

The Constitution is a Social ContractThe Constitution as a social contract means that it is where the people have surrendered their sovereign powers to the State for the common good. Hence in the case of Marcos v. Manglapus et, GR No. 88211 September 15, 1989 to wit:

Lest the officers of the government exercising powers delegated by the people forget and the servants of the people become rulers, the Constitution reminds everyone that SOVEREIGNTY RESIDES FROM THE PEOPLE AND ALL GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY EMANATES FROM THEM. (Sec 1, Art II, 1987 Constitution)

Is the preamble part of the Constitution?The preamble is not a part of the constitution which can exist without it but it is an introductory part. It walks before it! It is not a source of rights but it fulfills two (2) fundamental ends.

It identifies the sovereign power that ordains the Constitution; and It lays down the great and higher purposes or aims which the Constitution was ordained such as:Embody our ideals and aspirationsPromote the common goodConserve and develop our patrimonySecure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace.

What is a State?It is a community of Persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of Territory, independent of external control, and possessing a government to which a great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience.

Elements of State-People, Territory, Governments, Sovereignty

Archipelago doctrine It is a principle where appropriate points are set along the coast of archipelago including the outermost islands and then connects those points with straight baselines. All waters within the baselines are considered internal waters of the archipelagic state. It is adopted in the Constitution when it says the waters around, between and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breath and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.Government is defined as the institution or aggregate of institutions by which independent society makes and carries out those rules of action which are necessary to enable men to live in a social state, or which is imposed upon the people forming that society by those who possess the power or authority of proscribing them.

De Jure government is a government of right, a government established according to the Constitution of the State and lawfully entitled to recognition and supremacy and the administration of the State but is actually ousted of power or control. It is the true and lawful government.

De Facto government is that government which unlawfully gets possession and control of the rightful legal government and maintains itself there by force and arms against the will of the rightful legal government and claims to the exercise the powers thereof. It is a government of fact.

Doctrine of Parens Patriae means parent if the country. The State acts as the guardian of persons under disabilities.

Act of State In its broadest sense. It is an exercise of sovereign power which cannot be challenged, controlled, or interfered with by the municipal courts. It refers to political acts of the State which are exercised by political departments of the government and not subject to judicial review and for the consequences of which, even affecting private interests, they will not hold legally responsible those who command or perform them.

In its limited sense, it refers to acts taken by the State concerning as affecting aliens, like the inherent right to exclude resident aliens from its territory when their continued presence is no longer desirable from the standpoint of domestic interest and tranquility.

Two Functions of Government?Consituent Functions-It constitutes the very bonds of society (example: the keeping of order and providing for the protection of persons and property from violence and robbery or the fixing of legal relations between man and wife, parents and children are obligatory or constituent functions of government.

Ministrant Functions are optional functions of government. The principles for determining whether or not a government shall exercise certain of these optional and these areWhether the government should do for the public welfare those things which capital would not naturally undertake andWhether the government should do things which by its very nature it is better equipped to administer for the public welfare than any private individuals group of individuals.

Sovereignty means the supreme, uncontrollable power, the jures summi imperri, the absolute right to govern. It is the supreme will of the State, the power to make laws and enforce them by all means of coercion it cares to employ.

Dual Aspects:Internal-which means the supremacy of a person or body of person in the State over the individuals or association of individuals within the area of its jurisdiction.

External-which means the absolute independence of one state as a whole with reference to the other states. It is the freedom of the State from subjection to or control by a foreign State that is the supremacy of the state against all foreign wills.

Imperium is the right of the State to pass or enact its own laws and employ force to secure obedience thereto, maintains peace and order within its territorial limits, defend the State against foreign invasion and do any other act of governance over its people.

Dominium refers to independent proprietary right of possession, use, conservation, dispositions or sale and control by the State over its territorial lands.

As a general rule, The State cannot be sued without consent.Consent may be given expressly (by way a general law) or impliedly (when it files a suit or when it enters into a contract in the exercise of it proprietary capacity)

Who gives consent? Congress by way of a law.

JURE IMPERII sovereign and government actsJURE GESTONIS-private, commercial or proprietary acts.

Restrictive Theory-the immunity of the sovereign is recognized only with regards to public acts or acts jure imperii of the state, but not with regard to private acts or acts jure gestionis.

Republic Form of Government. It is a government of the people, by the people and for te people. a representative government wherein the powers and duties of government are exercised and discharged for the common good and welfare.

Doctrine of Incorporation. It is a doctrine where the generally accepted principles of international law are made part of the law of the land either by express provision of the Constitution or by means of judicial declaration.

Basis is Section 2, Art. II, Phils. Renounces war as an instrument of national policy. Adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as a part of the law of the land x x x.

Doctrine of Autolimitations- Phils. Adopts the principles of international law as a limitations to the exercise of its sovereignty.

We only renounced aggressive war not defensive war.

What is posse commitatus? It is the power of the State to require all able bodied citizens to perform civil duty to maintain peace and order.

What is the principle of laissez-faire?It means let alone. It means government should leave the economic and social forces at work without any intervention or interference on its part. It is the foundation of Capitalism. This principle was rejected by the constitution because of the expanded provision on Social Justice.

The Concept of Due Process. It is a law that hears before it condemns which proceeds upon inquiry and renders judgment only after trial.

No personal shall be deprived of life, liberty and property without due process of law.

Life includes the right of an individual to his body in its completeness and extends to the use of God-given faculties which makes it enjoyable.

Liberty includes the right to exist and the right to be free from arbitrary personal restraint, and servitude.

Property means anything that can come under the right of ownership and be the subject of contract.

Is the guarantee absolute? NO. For as longs as the deprivation is with due process.

Citizenship is membership in a political community which is more or less permanent in nature.

Who are citizens of the Philippines?Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of the constitution;Those whose father so mothers are citizens of the Philippines;Those born before January 17, 1973 of Filipino Mothers who elect Phil. Citizenship upon reaching the age of majority.Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

Jus Sanguinis-meaning by blood as when a child was born of Filipino parents.Jus Soli- by place of birth.Naturalization-the artificial means or process whether judicial or administrative by which a state places the imprint of a native citizen when it adopts an alien and gives him an imprint and endowment of a citizen of that country.