Constitution 1 by Isagani | Atty.
Mariacos
Constitution –The written instrument enacted by direct action
of the people by which the fundamental powers of the
government are established, limited and defined, and by which
those powers are distributed among the several departments
for their safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the body
politic.
 The constitution must remain supreme
 Must be upheld as long as it has not been changed by
the sovereign people
CLASSIFICATION
Written Constitution – one whose precepts are embodied in
one document or set of documents.
Unwritten Constitution - consists of rules which have not
been integrated into a single, concrete form but are scattered
in various sources, such as statutes of a fundamental
character, judicial decisions, commentaries and etc.
Conventional Constitution - an enacted constitution, formally
“Struck off” at a definite time and place following a conscious
or deliberate effort taken by a constituent body.
Rigid Constitution – one that can be amended only by a formal
and usually difficult process whereas a Flexible Constitution, is
one that can be changed by ordinary legislation.
CONCEPT OF THE STATE
ART 1: “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 seabed, 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.”
UNCLOS – UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF
THE SEA
FUNDAMENTAL POWERS OF STATE
1. The police power – power of the state to regulate
liberty and property for the promotion of the general
welfare
2. Power of eminent domain – enables the to forcibly
acquire private property, upon payment of just
compensation, for some intended public use
3. Power of taxation – the state is able to demand from
the members of the society their proportionate share
or contribution in the maintenance of the gov’t.
Government – is the agency or instrumentality through which
the will of the State is formulated, expressed and realized. Is
also defined as the corporate gov’t entity through which the
function of gov’t is exercised throughout the PH.
FUNCTIONS:
CONSTITUENT – constitute the very bonds of society and are
therefore compulsory.
 Keeping order and providing for the protection of
persons and property from violence and robbery
 Fixing the legal relations between husband and wife
between parents and children
 Regulation of the holding, transmission and
interchange of property, and the determination of its
liabilities for debt or for crime
 Determination of contractual rights between
individuals
 Definition and punishment of crimes
 Administration of political duties, privileges and
relations of citizens
 Dealings of the State with foreign powers
MINISTRANT – are those undertaken to advance the general
interests of society, such as public works, charity, and
regulations of trade and industry.
One of the important tasks of the gov’t is to act for the State
as parens patriae, or guardian of the rights of the people.
TYPES OF GOV’T
De Jure – gov’t of title, has rightful title but no power to
control, either because this has withdrawn from it or because
it has not yet actually entered into the exercise thereof.
 Gov’t that gets possession and control by force or by
the voice of majority
 Established as an independent gov’t by the
inhabitants of a country who rise in insurrection
against the parent state
 Established and maintained by military forces who
invade a territory of the enemy in the course of war
De Facto – gov’t of fact, exercises control with legal title
 Maintained by active military power within the
territories, and against rightful of an established and
lawful gov’t.
 It must necessarily be obeyed in civil matters by
private citizens who, by acts of obedience rendered in
submission to such force.
SOVEREIGNTY – supreme and uncontrollable power inherent
in a State by which that State is governed. It may be internal or
external. Internal - referring o the power of the State to control
its domestic affairs, external – directs its relations with other
States, is also known as independence.
1. LEGAL – the authority which has the power to issue
final commands
2. POLITICAL – power behind the legal sovereign
SAFEGUARDS IN THE BILL OF RIGHTS
1. The right to due process
2. Prohibition against unreasonable searches and
seizures
3. Freedom of expression
4. The impairments clause
5. Guarantees against injustice to the accuse