INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPINE POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

PREAMBLE
Meaning - Preamble means “to walk before.” (Praeambulus: Walking in front)

Functions
1. It sets down the origin, scope and purpose of the Constitution.
2. It enumerates the primary aims and expresses the aspirations of the framers in drafting the
Constitution.
3. Useful as an aid in the construction and interpretation of the text of the Constitution.

Thus, Preamble is a source of light. It is not a source of rights or obligations.

Origin/Authorship
Its origin, or authorship, is the will of the “sovereign Filipino people.” The identification of
the Filipino people as the author of the constitution also calls attention to an important principle: that
the document is not just the work of representatives of the people but of the people themselves who
put their mark of approval by ratifying it in a plebiscite.

Scope and Purpose

“To build a just and humane society as to 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 the regime
of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace.”

ARTICLE I: NATIONAL TERRITORY

(MEMORIZE BY MIND AND BY HEART ARTICLE I)

What is Territory?
Territory is the fixed portion of the surface of the earth inhabited by the people of the state.
Territory as an element of a state means an area over which a state has effective control.

What does territory include?

Territory includes land, maritime areas, airspace and outer space.

Airspace
1. Each state has exclusive jurisdiction over the air above its territory.
2. The consent for transit must be obtained from the subject nation.
3. Aircrafts not engaged in international air service, shall have the right to make flights into or
in transit non-stop across its territory and to make steps for non-traffic purposes without the
necessity of obtaining prior permission and subject to the right of the State flown over to
require landing.

Outerspace
1. Sovereignty over airspace extends only until where outerspace begins. (50-100 miles from
earth)

Different areas beyond the land territory

1. Territorial Seas (12 N.mi from baseline)
2. Contiguous Zone (24 N.mi from baseline)
3. Exclusive Economic Zone/Patrimonial Sea (200 N.mi from baseline)
4. High seas (Waters beyond territorial sea)

Scope of Philippine National Territory Defined in Article I, Section 1. It includes:

(1) The Philippine archipelago;
(2) All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction;
(3) The territorial sea, seabed, subsoil, insular shelves and other submarine areas corresponding to (1)
and (2). Moreover, (1) and (2) consist of terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains.

LECTURE #1
“All other territories which the Philippines has sovereignty and jurisdiction.”
This includes any territory which presently belongs or might in the future belong to the Philippines
through any of the internationally modes of acquiring territory.
1. Batanes islands.
2. Those belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal title.

Archipelago
Archipelago is a body of water studded with islands.

Archipelagic State
Archipelagic state means a state constituted wholly by one or more archipelagos and may
include other islands.

Archipelagic Waters
According to UNCLOS, Archipelagic waters refers to areas enclosed as internal waters by
using the baseline method which had not been previously considered as internal waters.

According to UNCLOS, in “archipelagic waters”, a right of innocent passage shall exist in

these waters. But, the Philippines made a reservation, thus, “The concept of archipelagic waters is
similar to the concept of internal waters under the Constitution of the Philippines, and removes straits
connecting these waters with the economic zone or high sea from the rights of foreign vessel to transit
passage for international navigation.”

Philippine Archipelago
The Philippine archipelago is that body of water studded with islands which is delineated in
the Treaty of Paris, modified by the Treaty of Washington and the Treaty of Great Britain.

Archipelagic Doctrine
It is the principle whereby the body of water studded with islands, or the islands surrounded
with water, is viewed as a unity of islands and waters together forming one integrated unit. For this
purpose, it requires that baselines be drawn by connecting the appropriate points of the “outermost
islands to encircle the islands within the archipelago. We consider all the waters enclosed by the
straight baselines as internal waters.

Purposes of Archipelagic Doctrine

1. Territorial Integrity
2. National Security
3. Economic reasons
It is said that the purpose of archipelagic doctrine is to protect the territorial integrity of the
archipelago. Without it, there would be “pockets of high seas” between some of our islands and islets,
thus foreign vessels would be able to pass through these “pockets of seas” and would have no
jurisdiction over them.

Answer the following question briefly and neatly on a piece of yellow paper. Take a photo of
your answer sheet and submit it in our Group Chat on or before 4:30pm. (YOU MAY BASE
YOUR ANSWERS USING OTHER INFORMATIONS PROVIDED IN THE INTERNET BUT
AVOID PLAGIARISM)
1. Differentiate archipelagic waters, territorial sea and internal waters.
2. Distinguish briefly but clearly between the contiguous zone and the exclusive
economic zone.
3. Distinguish the flag state and the flag of convenience.
4. Explain why preamble is a manifestation of Social Contract Theory.

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