Hernandez, Alaizza Jane F.

Legal Research - 1B1

1. Constitution

It is defined as that body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of
sovereignty are habitually exercised [Cooley, Constitutional Limitations, p. 4].With
particular reference to the Constitution of the Philippines: That 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
[Malcolm, Philippine Constitutional Law, p. 6].

2. What does it mean that the Philippines is a democratic and republican state

It means that we adhere to Republicanism [Sec. 1. Art. II: “The Philippines is a democratic
and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority
emanates from them”].

1. Essential features: representation and renovation.

2. Manifestations.

a) Ours is a government of laws and not of men [Villavicencio v. Lukban, 39 Phil 778].
b) Rule of the majority. [Plurality in elections]
c) Accountability of public officials.
d) Bill of Rights.
e) Legislature cannot pass irrepealable laws.
f) Separation of powers.

3. What do you mean by the doctrinal phrase, Supremacy of the Constitution?

A Constitution is a system of fundamental laws for the governance and administration of a

nation. It is supreme, imperious, absolute and unalterable except by authority from which it
emanates.

4. Arrange the following according to primacy

a. Constitution- It is the Supreme law. It speaks for the entire people from whom it
derives its claim to obedience. It is law to which all other laws must conform and in
accordance with which all public authority

b. Statutes enacted by Congress

– act of the legislature as an organized body, expressed in the form, and passed
according to the procedure, required to constitute it as part of the law of the land.

c. Implementing Rules and Regulations

The implementing rules and regulations of a law cannot extend the law or expand its
coverage, as the power to amend or repeal a statute is vested in the legislature.

d. Ordinances
It must not contravene the Constitution or any statute, It must not be unfair or
oppressive, It must not be partial or discriminatory, It must not prohibit but may
regulate trade, It must be general and consistent with public policy, It must not be
unreasonable.
 e. Rules of Procedure

Rules that provide for Organization and election of officers, creation of standing
committees, order and calendar of business for each section, process and
procedures, disciplinary rules for members.
Congress cannot amend the Rules of Court. In Echegaray v. Secretary of Justice, G.R.
No. 132601, January 19, 1999, the Supreme Court declared: “But most importantly,
the 1987 Constitution took away the power of Congress to repeal, alter or
supplement rules concerning pleading, practice and procedure. In fine, the power to
promulgate rules of pleading, practice and procedure is no longer shared by this
Court with Congress, more so with the Executive.” Rules of procedure of special
courts and quasi-judicial bodies shall remain effective unless disapproved by the
Supreme Court.

5. What are the kinds of Laws?

Political Law – is that branch of public law which deals with the organization and
operation of the governmental organs of the State and defines the relations of the
States with the inhabitants of its territory (People v. Perfecto)

Political Law – is that branch of public law which deals with the organization and
operation of the governmental organs of the State and defines the relations of the
States with the inhabitants of its territory (People v. Perfecto)

• Labor and Social Legislation – o Labor

Law – is that branch of law which governs the rights and obligations of employers
and employees and provides the rules for which such rights and obligations may be
enforced. o

Social Legislation – means the promotion of the welfare of all the people, the
adoption by the Government of measures calculated to insure economic stability of
all the competent elements of society, through the maintenance of a proper
economic and social equilibrium in the interrelations of the members of the
community, constitutionally, through the adoption of measures legally justifiable, or
extra-constitutionally, through the exercise of powers underlying the existence of all
governments on the time honored principles of salus populi est suprema lex.
(Calalang v. Williams) o Civil Law – a mass of precepts that determine and regulate
the systems, authorities, and obedience among the members of the family, and those
which exist in society for the protection of private interest. (Sanchez Roman)

Taxation Law – is that branch of law which deals with the inherent power of the
sovereign, exercised through the legislature, to impose burdens upon the subjects
and objects within its jurisdiction, for the purpose of raising revenues to carry out
the legitimate objects of the government.

Mercantile Law – is that branch of private law which regulates the juridical
relations arising from commercial acts and according to which the questions or
controversies which may arise therefrom are resolved (Vivante’s Institutiones p. 3)
o Criminal Law – is that branch of public law which defines crimes, treats of their
nature and provides for their punishment.

Legal Ethics – is that branch of moral science which treats of the duties which an
attorney owes to the court, to his clients, to his colleagues in the profession and to
the public as embodied in the Constitution, Rules of Court, the Code of Professional
 Responsibility, Canons of Professional Ethics, Jurisprudence, Moral Laws, and
Special Laws.
6. What are the sources of Laws in the Philippines?

The sources of law are: o Primary Sources – are those recorded laws and rules
which are enforced by the State such as: ▪ Statutes passed by the Legislature; ▪ Rules
and Regulations of Administrative agencies; and ▪ Decision of Appellate Courts. o
Secondary Sources – is created by lawyers, scholars, and non-governmental bodies
and are usually commentaries that explain how the law came to be, and contain
analyses or the critiques of law, and includes dictionaries, treatises.

Customs, Precedents, Legislation, Judicial Decisions.

7. What is a common law system?

Principles of common law
Known as Anglo-American jurisprudence which is no in force in this country, save
only insofar as it is founded on sound principles applicable to local conditions and is
not in conflict with existing law nevertheless, many of the principles of the common
law have been imported into this jurisdiction as a result of the enactment of laws
and establishment of institutions similar to those of the US.

8. What is substantive law? What is procedural law?

Remedial Law – branch of law which deals with protection and enforcement of
rights, redress and prevention of wrong o Substantive Law - is that branch of law
which creates, defines or regulates rights concerning life, liberty or property, or the
powers of agencies or instrumentalities for the administration of public affairs,
whereas rules of procedure are provisions prescribing the method by which
substantive rights may be enforced in courts of justice.

9. What is application of Criminal laws?

Characteristics of Penal Laws [GTP]:

1. Generality
Persons to whom criminal law shall apply. Penal laws shall be applied to all persons
on being within the Philippine territory whether they are Filipino Citizens or
foreigners regardless of any of their personal circumstances. Applicable to all so
long as within the Philippines Applies to non-citizens since while they are within the
Philippines, they are given protection in the same way that the government protects
its own citizen

2. Territoriality
- Place where penal law shall be applied. Penal laws shall be applicable only within
the Philippine jurisdiction including its atmosphere, internal waters, etc.
3. Prospectivity
- Time when it shall apply. Penal laws shall only be applied from the time of
effectivity. Penal laws cannot be given retroactive application

10. Study the nature and application of

Family laws are binding upon citizens of the Philippines even though living
abroad-
Laws relating to legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the
Philippines, even though living abroad.103 With respect to aliens, their national law
 shall govern with respect to their legal capacity, following the “nationality principle”
embodied in Article 15.

Lex rei sitae (Article 16, New Civil Code)

-real and personal properties are subject to the law of the country in which they are
situated.

Exceptions even if real and personal properties are involved, in the matter of the
intestate and testate succession of a decedent. Instead, what is applicable is the
national law of the decedent, with respect to the following aspects of intestate or
testamentary succession: (1) the order of succession; (b) the amount of successional
rights; and (c) the intrinsic validity of the provisions of the will. In addition, the
national law of the decedent likewise governs the capacity of the heir to succeed.

Lex Loci celebrationis (Article 17, New Civil Code)

the forms and solemnities of contracts, wills and other public instruments are
governed by the laws of the country in which they are executed under the principle
of “lex loci celebrationis.”

Political laws are abrogated by the change of sovereignty

When there is change of sovereignty, the political laws of the former sovereign
whether compatible or not with those of the new sovereign are automatically
abrogated unless they are expressly re-enacted by affirmative act of the new
sovereign.

What are the branches of the government?

1. The three branches of the government are Executive, Legislative and Judiciary
branches

The Legislative Power

1. Defined: The power to propose, enact, amend and repeal laws.

2. Where vested. In the Congress, except to the extent reserved to the people by the
provision on initiative and referendum.

Article VII, Section 1

The executive power shall be vested in the President of the Philippines

Under the doctrine of Qualified Political Agency, the acts of the various heads of
Departments are presumed to be acts of the President. Thus, when the Secretary of
the DENR, transferred the Regional Office of DENR Region 12, he did so acting as the
President’s alter-ego (DENR v. DENR Region 12 Employees, supra)

Exceptions:

a. When the President is required by the Constitution or

by the law to act in person (i.e. Commander-in-Chief Powers)

b. The exigencies of the situation demand that he acts personally

ARTICLE VIII: THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

 Section 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such
lower courts as may be established by law. Judicial power includes the duty of the
courts of justice to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally
demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not there has been a
grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part of
any branch or
instrumentality of the Government.

What are the authorities that can be used in legal research? Primary and secondary
authority?

Primary authority or sources include the actual rules of law created by a governmental
body – constitutions, statutes and codes (from the legislature), case opinions (from the
courts) and regulations (from administrative agencies). These materials may be generated
from the local, state or federal level.

Secondary authority or sources include materials that explain or comment on areas of law
such as articles, treatises, hornbooks or legal encyclopedias. Secondary authority is useful
in helping you understand a particular legal topic or as a means of finding the primary
resources since there are often citations in the text or footnotes. Secondary authority is
usually not cited in a brief because it is only persuasive, meaning that the court is not
required to follow the analysis.

What are the sources of Legal Research?

• It involves the use of variety of printed materials such as the Constitution,

Statutes, Jurisprudence, Rules and Regulation, and the like, as well as, electronic
sources containing these materials.

The sources of legal research are:

Primary Sources – are those recorded laws and rules which are enforced by the
State such as:
▪ Statutes passed by the Legislature;
▪ Rules and Regulations of Administrative agencies; and,
▪ Decision of Appellate Courts.

Secondary Sources – is created by lawyers, scholars, and non-governmental bodies

and are usually commentaries that explain how the law came to be, and contain
analyses or the critiques of law, and includes dictionaries, treatises, encyclopedias,
and periodic tables.

What are the sources of authorities?

A number of theories exist about the sources of authority:

Some persons are of the view that it flows from upward to downward subordinates, others
feel that it goes from bottom to upward because of its acceptance by those on whom it is to
be used, the theories of authority are discussed as;

1. Legal/Formal Authority:

According to this theory authority is based upon the rank or position of the person and this
authority may be given by law or by social rules and regulations protected by law. A law
may grant authority to a policeman to arrest a person committing a crime. The president of
a company may take an action against an employee for not complying with rules because
company rules has bestowed this authority in him.

This authority is called formal authority. This type of authority is embedded in the
bureaucracy where authority is bestowed upon contractually hired and appointed officials.
In a company form of organization shareholders appoint Board of Directors to exercise all
authority. The Board to Directors delegates its powers to the Chief Executive who delegates
it to the managers and so on.

While bureaucracy is the purest form of legal authority, other forms may comprise of
elected office bearers or office bearers appointed by the members. These persons follow
authority since their roles are defined by the rules and regulations framed by such bodies.

2. Traditional Authority:

Traditional authority has evolved from a social order and communal relationship in the
form of ruling lord and obedient subjects. The obedience results in traditional authority of
the lord. The traditional chief rules as per his own pleasure and makes his own decisions.
Generally, these decisions are based on considerations like ethnic equity and justice. The
authority passes from the father to the son.

In a family system, father exercises traditional authority over members of the family. The
traditional authority is generally followed in Indian family system. It is the father who
guides the activities of the family and others obey out of respect and traditions. In
traditional form of authority there is no formal law or structured discipline and
relationships are governed by personal loyalty and faithfulness rather than compulsions of
rules and regulations or duties of the office.

3. Acceptance Theory:

The authority of the superior has no meaning unless it is accepted by the subordinates.
Chester Bernard was of the view that it is the acceptance of authority which is more
important. If the subordinates do not accept the orders of a superior, there will be no use of
exercising authority.

4. Competence Theory:

There is also a feeling that authority is generated by personal competence of a person. A

person may get his orders accepted not due to formal authority but because of his personal
qualities. These qualities may be personal or technical. The advice of some persons may be
accepted even if they do not have a formal authority. They enjoy this authority by virtue of
their intelligence, knowledge, skill and experience.

When a doctor advises rest to a patient he accepts this advice because of Doctor’s
knowledge and not because of his formal authority or legal right. The patient will get relief
only if he obeys the doctor. Similarly, we accept the diagnosis of a car mechanic without
questioning it because of his competency for this work. So the knowledge or competency of
a person gives him a status where his authority is accepted by others.

5. Charismatic Authority:

The charismatic authority rests on the personal charisma of a leader who commands
respect of his followers. The personal traits such as good looks, intelligence, integrity
influence others and people follow the dictates of their leaders because of such traits. The
followers become attached to the leader because they feel that he will help them in
achieving their goals. The charismatic leaders are generally good orators and have hypnotic
effect on their followers. The religious and political leaders come under this category.