OBJECTIVES

1. Explain the meaning of Constitution2. Understand the Nature and Functions of

Constitution3. Distinguish a constitution from a statue4. Describe the different Kinds of Constitution5. Explain the Requisites of a Good Written

Constitution6. Explain and memorize the Preamble and the

National Territory

CONCEPTOF

CONSTITUTION

CONSTITUTION

• Body of rules and principles in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are regularly exercised

• Written instrument by which the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited, and defined and by which these powers are distributed among the several departments or branches for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the people

NATURE AND

PURPOSE OF

CONSTITUTION

Establishes Basic

Framework And

Underlying Principles Of Government

Serves As The Supreme Or

Fundamental Law

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

Defined as that branch of public law which treats of constitutions,

their nature, formation,

amendment, and interpretation

Refers to the law embodied in the

Constitution as well as the principles growing

out of the interpretation and

application made by the courts

KINDS OF CONSTITUTION

As to their Origin and

History

Conventional or Enacted

Cumulative or Evolved

As to their Form

Written Unwritten

As to Manner of Amending

Them

Rigid or Inelastic

Flexible or Elastic

Pages 29-31

in law, based or dependent on the

consent of the various parties

The proposed legislation was made

into law

created by gradual development or resulting from

successive additions

Laws put into writing to be preserved

accepted through tradition: or generally

accepted and understood, even though not formally

recorded in writing

applied or carried out strictly, with no

allowances or exceptions

unable to incorporate changes or adapt to new

circumstances easily

able to change or be changed according to

circumstances

REQUISITES OF A GOOD WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

AS TO FORM

Brief

Broad

Definite

Set forth the fundamental rights of the people and

imposing certain limitations on the powers of the

government as a means of securing the enjoyment of

these rights

Deals with the framework of government and its

power, and defining the electorate

Pointing out the mode or procedure for amending or

revising the constitution

CONSTITUTION DISTINGUISH FROM STATUTE

CONSTITUTION STATUTE A legislation direct from the

people A legislation from the people’s representatives

Merely states the general framework of the law and the government

Provides the details of the subject of which it treats

Intended not merely to meet existing conditions but to govern the future

Intended primarily to meet existing conditions

It is the supreme fundamental law of the state to which statutes and all other laws must conform

Stands on an specific issue or situation to which it conforms to the constitution

Preamble

Definition of National territory

Definition of Citizenship

Bill of Right (Rights and Obligation of the Citizens)

Method of Suffrage and Election for Government Officials

Structure and Function of government

Method of amending the Constitution

Date of its Effectively

CON

TENTS O

F A WRITTEN

CO

NSTITU

TION

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Conventional or Enacted Written Rigid or

Inelastic

MAY BE

CLASSIFIED

AS FOLLOWS

DRAFTED BY AN APPOINTIVE BODY CALLED

CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION

BASIC UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES OF THE CONSTITUTION

“Ours is the Government of Law and

not of Men”“Rule of

the

Majority”

PREAMBLE

We, the sovereign Filipino people,

imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society

and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations,

promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony,

and secure 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, do ordain and promulgate this constitution

MEANING of PREAMBLE

Derived from the Latin

• PREAMBULARE • which means “to walk before”

It is an introduction to the main subject

It is the prologue of the constitution

Is Preamble Essential In A Constitution?

Technically speaking, the Preamble forms no integral part of our constitution

Of itself alone, it cannot be invoked as a source of private right enforceable by the courts

It cannot be invoked for any governmental power not expressly granted or at least, clearly implied there from

It is significant to note that a majority of the constitutions of the world contain a preamble

Object And Value Of Preamble

IT SETS DOWN ORIGIN AND PURPOSES OF THE CONSTITUTION

• It Serves Five (5) Very Important Ends:• It tells us who are the authors of the Constitution• It tells for whom it has been promulgated• It states the general purposes which are intended to be achieved by the Constitution• It describe the government establish under it• Points out certain basic principles underlying the fundamental charter

IT MAY SERVE AS AN AID IN ITS INTERPRETATION

“I have lived a long life, and the longer I live, the more

convincing proofs I see of this truth-that God governs in the

affairs of men”

• BENJAMIN FRANKLINA statesman and diplomat for the newly formed United States, as

well as a prolific author and inventor

He helped draft, and then signed, the Declaration of Independence in 1776, and he was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention in

1787

SOURCE OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITYThe Sovereign Filipino People

themselves not just their representatives are the source from

which the constitution comes and being so, it is the supreme law of

the land

NATIONAL PURPOSES AND AIMS IN ADOPTING THE CONSTITUTION

As set forth in the Preamble, they are:

To build a just and humane

society

To establish a government that shall:

Embody our ideals and aspirations

Promote the common good

Conserve and develop our patri

mony

Secure to ourselves and our posterity

The blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law

The regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace

Article INATIONAL TERRITORY

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands

and waters embraced therein , and all other territories over which the Philippines has

sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains,

including its territorial sea, the sea bed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around,

between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters

of the Philippines

NECCESSITY OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION ON NATIONAL TERRITORY

• Binding force of such provision under international law• Value of provision defining our national territory• Acquisition of other territories

ARCHIPELAGO

• The Philippine archipelago with all the islands and waters embraced therein• All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty and jurisdiction• The terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains including the territorial sea, the sea

bed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas• The i8nternal watersDerived from the Greek word “PELAGOS” meaning “SEA”

studded with islands, often synonymous with island groups, or as a large group of islands in an extensive body of water, such as sea.

THE FOLLOWING COMPRISES THE NATIONAL TERRITORY OF THE PHILIPPINES

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