Executive Department

Executive Power – authority to enforce and administer the laws. Vested with the President of the
Philippines.
Qualifications of President and VP
• Natural born citizen of the Philippines;
• At least 40 years old on election day;
• Able to read and write;
• Registered voter; and
• Resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately preceding the election day.
President and VP serve for a term of 6 years. President is not eligible for any re-election, whether
consecutive or not. If VP, or any other person called to succeed as President, served as such for
more than 4 years, they are ineligible for re-election as President at any time.
No Vice-President shall serve for more than two successive terms.
There will be a special election for President and VP if:
• The President and VP are dead, suffer permanent disability, are removed from office, or
resign;
• The vacancies occur more than 18 months before the next regular presidential election; and
• Congress passed a law calling for such special election to be held not earlier than 45 days
and not later than 60 days from the time of such call.
Congress functions as the canvassing board for the election of President and VP. Their canvassing
function, being non-legislative, can continue after the adjourning of Congress.
For contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of the President and VP, the
Supreme Court en banc shall be the sole judge thereof.
Presidential immunity – immunity of the President from suit during their incumbency.
• Only the President may invoke this immunity.
• The immunity ceases after the President’s term. At that point, they cannot be immune from
suit for damages arising out of acts done while in office which were not performed in the
exercise of official duties.
Executive Privilege – Right of the President and the high-level executive branch officials to
withhold information from Congress, the courts, and the public. The elements of a proper
invocation of executive privilege are as follows:
• The communications relate to a quintessential and non-delegable power of the President,
such as to enter into executive agreements with other countries;
• The communications was received by a Cabinet member who is covered by executive
privilege under the operational proximity test, where the communications are close enough
 to the President to be revelatory of his deliberations or to pose a risk to the candor of his
advisors; and
• There is no compelling need for the information sought as to justify the compulsion of the
President to reveal it, nor was there a showing of the unavailability of the information
elsewhere by an appropriate investigating authority.
Executive privilege covers all classified information between the President and their subordinates,
including:
• Conversations and correspondence between the President and the public official
concerned;
• Military, diplomatic, and other national security matters which, in the interest of national
security, cannot be divulged;
• Information between inter-government agencies prior to the conclusion of executive
agreements and treaties;
• Discussions in closed-door Cabinet meetings; and
• Matters affecting national security and public order.
Prohibitions on the Executive Branch
• No increase in said compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the term of
the incumbent during which such increase was approved.
• They shall not receive during their tenure any other emolument from the Government or
any other source.
• The President, Vice-President, the Members of the Cabinet, and their deputies or assistants
shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or
employment during their tenure.
• They shall not, during said tenure, directly or indirectly, practice any other profession,
participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any
franchise, or special privilege granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency, or
instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their
subsidiaries.
• They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office.
• The spouse and relatives by consanguinity or affinity within the fourth civil degree of the
President shall not, during his tenure, be appointed as Members of the Constitutional
Commissions, or the Office of the Ombudsman, or as Secretaries, Undersecretaries,
chairmen or heads of bureaus or offices, including government-owned or controlled
corporations and their subsidiaries.
Powers of the President
• Executive power
o Includes control over all executive departments, bureaus, and offices and the
continuing authority to reorganize the national government. Reorganization covers
the power to group and consolidate bureaus and agencies, to abolish offices, to
 transfer functions, to create and classify functions, services, and activities, and to
standardize salaries and materials.
o They shall ensure the laws are faithfully executed. This duty shall apply until a law
has been declared unconstitutional.
• Appointment power
o Selection by the President of an individual to exercise the functions of a given
office.
o Midnight appointments – prohibited appointments made by a President, acting or
not, after the election of their successor up to the end of their term.
▪ Exceptions to this prohibition are where it is necessary to make such
appointments when continued vacancies therein will prejudice public
service or endanger public safety. Such appointments are limited to
executive offices only and shall be temporary.
▪ The midnight appointment prohibition will not apply to Supreme court
appointments.
o Appointments for partisan political consideration – those made by the President 2
months before the next Presidential election. Also prohibited.
o Ad interim appointments – made by the President while Congress is not in session
or when it is in recess. Such appointment shall cease to be valid upon adjournment
of the Congress or upon disapproval by the Commission on Appointments.
▪ If there is disapproval, the appointee cannot be granted a new appointment
to their previous office.
▪ If the appointment is by-passed, the President may renew the ad interim
appointment.
o Appointments requiring the consent of the Commission on Appointments
▪ Heads of executive departments, except where the VP is made a Cabinet
member;
▪ Ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls;
▪ Officers of the AFP from the rank of colonel or naval captain; and
▪ Officers whose appointments are vested upon the President by the
Constitution.
▪ Note that this enumeration is exclusive.
o Appointments that don’t require the Commission’s approval
▪ Appointment of all other officers of the Government whose appointments
are not otherwise provided for by law.
▪ Appointments whom the President may be authorized by law to make.
▪ Appointments of officers of lower in rank whose appointment is vested on
the President alone.
o Appointments requiring prior recommendation from the Judicial and Bar Council
▪ Members of the judiciary
▪ Ombudsman and their five deputies.
o Appointments requiring CA approval are deemed complete upon acceptance by the
appointee. Before such acceptance, the President may withdraw the nomination.
 o Limitations
▪ The Members of the Cabinet, and their deputies or assistants shall not,
unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or
employment during their tenure. The exception being when they are
appointed to offices in an ex officio capacity, as provided by law and as
required by the primary functions of the official’s offices, with no additional
compensation.
▪ The spouse and relatives by consanguinity or affinity within the fourth civil
degree of the President shall not, during his tenure, be appointed as
Members of the Constitutional Commissions, or the Office of the
Ombudsman, or as Secretaries, Undersecretaries, chairmen or heads of
bureaus or offices, including government-owned or controlled corporations
and their subsidiaries.
▪ Appointments extended by an Acting President shall remain effective,
unless revoked by the elected President, within ninety days from his
assumption or reassumption of office. The revocation of the elected
President of the appointments of the acting President can only apply to
executive appointments.
▪ 2 months immediately before the next presidential elections and up to the
end of his term, a President or Acting President shall not make
appointments, except temporary appointments to executive positions when
continued vacancies therein will prejudice public service or endanger public
safety.
▪ The President shall have the power to make appointments during the recess
of the Congress, whether voluntary or compulsory, but such appointments
shall be effective only until disapproved by the Commission on
Appointments or until the next adjournment of the Congress.
• Removal/Disciplinary power
o Removal power not applicable to impeachable officers appointed by the President.
o Disciplinary power over judges of lower courts, though appointed by the President,
is under the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.
o In all other cases, removal or disciplinary power may only be exercised for cause
and in accordance with prescribed administrative procedure
• Control and supervision power
o Control – power of an officer to alter, modify, nullify, or set aside the acts of a
subordinate done in the performance of the latter’s official duties and to substitute
his own judgement over the subordinate’s.
o Supervision – power of an officer to see that their subordinates perform their duties.
If the subordinate fails or neglects them, the officer may take such actions as
prescribed by law.
o Control necessarily includes supervision, but supervision does not include control.
o Alter ego principle/Qualified Political Agency doctrine – The heads of executive
departments are alter egos of the President and the former’s acts, when performed
 and promulgated in the regular course of business, are the President’s own acts
unless the latter disapproves of the acts or reprobates the head concerned.
• Military powers
o The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the
Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces
to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, or rebellion (Calling out power).
▪ Conditions of actual invasion or rebellion AND when public security
requires need not concur before the President may exercise the calling out
power.
o Power to suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
▪ Grounds for the power are invasion or rebellion when public safety requires
it.
▪ During the suspension, the right to bail is not affected;
▪ The suspension will affect only persons charged with rebellion or offenses
inherent in or directly connected with invasion.
▪ Persons arrested must be charged within 3 days of the arrest. Otherwise,
they must be released.
▪ Suspension does not supersede civilian authority.
▪ Within forty-eight hours from the suspension of the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to
the Congress.
▪ The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its
Members in regular or special session, may revoke such suspension, which
revocation shall not be set aside by the President.
▪ Upon the initiative of the President, the Congress may, in the same manner,
extend such suspension for a period to be determined by the Congress, if
the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.
▪ The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any
citizen, the sufficiency of the factual basis of the suspension of the privilege
of the writ of habeas corpus or the extension thereof, and must promulgate
its decision thereon within thirty days from its filing.
o Power to declare martial law
▪ Grounds for the power are invasion or rebellion when public safety requires
it.
▪ Martial law will not suspend the operation of the Constitution.
▪ Martial law will not supplant the civil courts and legislative assemblies.
▪ Martial law will not confer jurisdiction over civilians to military courts,
where the civilian courts are still able to function.
▪ Martial law will not automatically suspend the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus.
▪ Martial law shall apply for not more than 60 days, unless further extended
by Congress.
 ▪ Within forty-eight hours from the proclamation of martial law, the President
shall submit a report in person or in writing to the Congress.
▪ The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its
Members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation,
which revocation shall not be set aside by the President.
▪ Upon the initiative of the President, the Congress may, in the same manner,
extend such proclamation for a period to be determined by the Congress, if
the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.
▪ The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any
citizen, the sufficiency of the factual basis of the proclamation of martial
law or the extension thereof, and must promulgate its decision thereon
within thirty days from its filing.
• Pardoning Power
o Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the
President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit fines and
forfeitures, after conviction by final judgment.
o He shall also have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority
of all the Members of the Congress.
o Reprieve – Postponement of execution of an act to a day certain.
o Commutation – Remission of a part of the punishment, substituting the original
penalty with a lesser one.
o Remission of fines and forfeitures – Prevents the collection of fines or of property.
Cannot cause the return of property vested in third parties or of money already in
the public treasury.
o Parole – Release from imprisonment, but without the restoration of liberty.
o Pardon – Exemption of a person from punishment imposed by law for a crime that
the person has committed. Validity of the pardon is premised on delivery and
acceptance by the person being pardoned.
▪ Cannot be controlled by the other branches unless the Constitution is
violated.
▪ Effect of pardon is to restore the offender’s liberty and his civil and political
rights.
▪ Pardon cannot be granted in cases of impeachment.
▪ Pardon for violation of election laws cannot be granted without prior
approval of COMELEC.
▪ Pardon can only be granted after conviction by final judgement.
▪ Pardon cannot be granted in cases of civil or legislative contempt.
▪ Pardon does not absolve person of civil liability.
▪ Pardon cannot restore previously forfeited public offices, except if the
pardon is because of acquittal on the ground that the person being pardoned
did not commit a crime.
o Kinds of pardon
▪ Plenary – removes all penalties imposed, including accessory penalties.
 ▪ Partial – removes some penalties imposed.
▪ Absolute – imposes no condition on the pardonee and is complete even
without acceptance.
▪ Conditional – imposes a condition on the pardonee and is only complete
upon his acceptance.
o Amnesty – general pardon to rebels for their commission of political offenses or
the pardon granted by one sovereign to the subjects of another who have breached
the law of nations.
▪ Unlike pardon, which relieves the pardonee of the consequences of his
crime, amnesty makes it so that those affected did not commit any crime at
all.
▪ Amnesty requires the concurrence of a majority of all members of Congress.
▪ Amnesty may be granted before trial.
• Borrowing power
o The President may contract or guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the Republic of
the Philippines with the prior concurrence of the Monetary Board, and subject to
such limitations as may be provided by law.
o The Monetary Board shall, within thirty days from the end of every quarter of the
calendar year, submit to the Congress a complete report of its decision on
applications for loans to be contracted or guaranteed by the Government or
government-owned and controlled corporations which would have the effect of
increasing the foreign debt, and containing other matters as may be provided by
law.
• Diplomatic power
o No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred
in by at least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.
o The President has the power to ratify a treaty. While the Senate’s power is to concur
with the treaty or to withhold such concurrence, the President is authorized to refuse
to submit the treaty to the Senate or, having gotten the consent for ratification,
refuse to ratify the treaty.
o While it is a serious measure for the President to refuse to ratify a treaty it has
signed on behalf of the Philippines, the President has the authority to do so and
mandamus will not lie to compel the ratification of such treaty.
o Other foreign affairs powers by the President include:
▪ The power to make treaties;
▪ The power to appoint ambassadors, public ministers, and consuls;
▪ The power to receive ambassadors and other public ministers duly
accredited to the Philippines; and
▪ The power to deport aliens.
• Budgetary power
o The President shall submit to the Congress, within thirty days from the opening of
every regular session as the basis of the general appropriations bill, a budget of
 expenditures and sources of financing, including receipts from existing and
proposed revenue measures.
o The Congress may not increase the appropriations recommended by the President
for the operation of the Government as specified in the budget.
• Informing power
o The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He
may also appear before it at any other time.
o The State of the Nation Address fulfills this duty.
• Residual power
o All other executive powers not enumerated by the Constitution, including the duty
of the government to serve and to protect the people, maintenance of peace and
order, protection of life, liberty, and property, and the promotion of general welfare
are residual powers.
• Emergency powers
o Congress may authorize the President to exercise powers necessary and proper to
carry out a declared national policy.
o In times of war or other national emergency, the Congress may, by law, authorize
the President, for a limited period and subject to such restrictions as it may
prescribe, to exercise powers necessary and proper to carry out a declared national
policy. Unless sooner withdrawn by resolution of the Congress, such powers shall
cease upon the next adjournment thereof.
o This must be distinguished with the calling out power, which does not require
Congressional approval.
• Other powers
o Power to call Congress in a special session.
o Power to approve or veto bills.
o Power to deport aliens.
o Power to consent to deputization of government personnel by COMELEC, with the
power to discipline these deputies.
o Power to exercise tariff powers, as delegated by Congress.
o Power to classify and reclassify lands.
Rules on succession where vacancy occurs at the start of the term
• Where the president-elect dies or is permanently disabled, the VP-elect becomes the
President.
• Where the president-elect fails to qualify to become President, the VP-elect assumes the
office of President until the former becomes qualified.
• Where a president-elect has not been chosen, the VP-elect assumes the office of President
before a qualified person is chosen.
• Where both the President and VP do not qualify for their positions, have not been chosen,
dies or become permanently disabled, the Senate President or, in case of his inability, the
Speaker of the House shall act as President until a qualified President or VP has been
chosen.
 • Where the officials mentioned in the immediately preceding scenario die, becomes
permanently incapacitated, or are unable to assume office, Congress will make a law to
designate who will act as President until a qualified President or VP has been chosen.
• In all instances, an acting President is not the incumbent President nor does he become the
President to serve the unexpired portion of the term.
Rules of succession where vacancy occurs during the term
• Where the President dies, becomes permanently disabled, resigns, or is removed from
office, the VP becomes President to serve the unexpired portion of the term. The vacancy
created is permanent
• Where both the President and VP die, become permanently disabled, resign, or are removed
from office, the Senate President, or the Speaker, in that order, shall act as President or as
VP until the President or VP shall have been elected and qualified. In this scenario, the
Senate President and Speaker do not lose their respective positions.
• Where the acting President dies, becomes permanently disabled, is removed from office,
or resigns, Congress will draft a law to determine who will act as President until a new
President or VP shall have qualified.
Whenever there is a vacancy in the Office of the Vice-President during the term for which he was
elected, the President shall nominate a Vice-President from among the Members of the Senate and
the House of Representatives who shall assume office upon confirmation by a majority vote of all
the Members of both Houses of the Congress, voting separately.
Procedure when both the offices of President and VP are vacant
• Congress convenes in accordance with its rules on the third day after the vacancy occurs.
• Within 7 days, Congress shall enact a law calling for a special election to be held not earlier
than 45 days nor later than 60 days after the call.
• The bill will be deemed certified under Sec. 26(2) of Art. VI and becomes law upon
approval on third reading.
o Appropriations shall be charged against any current appropriations and shall be
exempt from the requirements for special appropriations
o Convening of the Congress cannot be suspended nor can the special election be
postponed.
o No special election shall be called if the vacancy occurs within 18 months before
the next presidential election day.
Succession rules in case of disability
• If the President transmits to the Speaker and Senate President his written declaration of
inability to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the VP shall be the acting
President until the President transmits a contrary written declaration.
• If the majority of the Cabinet members transmits the above written declaration, the VP
shall assume the powers and duties of an Acting President.
 o If the President, in the second scenario, makes an opposing declaration, the
Congress shall decide the issue. If, by a vote of 2/3 of the two chambers voting
separately, Congress finds the President to be incapacitated, the VP shall act as
President. Otherwise, the President shall continue to exercise his powers and duties.
Judicial Department
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.
The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law.
Jurisdiction – the power and authority of a court to hear, try, and decide a case
The Congress shall have the power to define, prescribe, and apportion the jurisdiction of the
various courts but may not deprive the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction over cases enumerated in
Section 5 hereof.
No law shall be passed reorganizing the Judiciary when it undermines the security of tenure of its
Members.
Political questions – those questions which are to be decided by the people in their sovereign
capacity or where full discretionary authority has been delegated to the other branches. These
questions are beyond the province of the judiciary.
There are truly political questions and those which are not truly political questions. The
determination as to what kind of question is present lies in answering the question as to whether
there are constitutionally imposed limits or functions conferred upon political bodies.
The Supreme Court and the judiciary in general cannot be required to exercise any power, perform
any trust, or assume any duty not pertaining to or connected with the administering of judicial
functions.
The courts’ function is to determine controversies between litigants, not to give advisory opinions.
Judicial Review is the power of courts to test the validity of executive and legislative acts for their
conformity with the Constitution.
Requisites for judicial review
• Actual case or controversy, or a conflict of legal rights or an assertion of opposite legal
claims susceptible of judicial determination.
o A constitutional question is ripe for adjudication when the challenged governmental
act has had a direct adverse effect on the challenger..
o No case or controversy with regard to a proposed bill.
 o A question is moot when it no longer presents a justiciable controversy because the
issues have become dead or academic.
o Courts may decide moot and academic issues when:
▪ There is a grave violation of the Constitution;
▪ There is an exceptional character of the situation and paramount public
interest is involved;
▪ The constitutional issues raised require formulation of controlling principles
for guidance of the bench, bar, and public; and
▪ The case is capable of repetition yet evading review.
• Locus standi, or where the proper party raises the constitutional question
o The party who has sustained or is in imminent danger of sustaining an injury due
to the law or act complained of has standing.
o For taxpayer’s suit, there must be disbursement of public funds by a political
instrumentality or subdivision and a law is violated or an irregularity is committed
as a result of the disbursement where the petitioner is directly affected thereby.
o Rules on the liberal approach to locus standi
▪ For taxpayers, there must be a claim of illegal disbursement of public funds
or that the tax measure is unconstitutional.
▪ For voters, there must be showing of an obvious interest in the validity of
the election law in question.
▪ For concerned citizens, there must be a showing that the issues raised are of
transcendental importance which must be settled.
▪ For legislators, there must be a claim that the official action complained of
infringes on the prerogatives of the legislator concerned.
▪ The government of the Philippines is a proper party to question the validity
of its own laws.
o Facial challenge
▪ A party can only question the validity of a law as applied to them.
▪ However, when the law operates in the area of freedom of expression, a
facial challenge is allowed even if the petitioner is not affected by the law.
• Constitutional question must be raised at the earliest opportunity
o The earliest opportunity to raise a constitutional issue is to raise it in the pleadings
before the court can resolve the same.
o Exceptions to this rule are:
▪ In criminal cases, the constitutional question can be raised at any time at the
court’s discretion;
▪ In civil cases, the constitutional question can be raised at any stage of the
proceedings if necessary for the determination of the case itself; or
▪ In every case, except where there is estoppel, the constitutional question can
be raised at any stage if it involves the court’s jurisdiction.
• The determination of the constitutional question must be the lis mota of the case, or is
necessary for a final determination thereof.
 o If the case can be resolved on other grounds other than the constitutional question,
the question will not be resolved.
Grave abuse of discretion is the capricious and whimsical exercise of judgement. It must be so
patent and gross as to amount to an evasion of a positive duty, or a virtual refusal to perform a duty
enjoined by law, or to act at all in contemplation of the law, as where the power is exercised in an
arbitrary and despotic manner by reason of passion or hostility.
Effect of declaration of unconstitutionality
• Traditional view – law is void if, on its face, it does not enjoy any presumption of validity
because it is patently offensive to the Constitution. No effect is produced, no office is
created, and no duty is imposed.
• Modern view – law is voidable if, on its face, it enjoys the presumption of constitutionality.
The declaration produces no retroactive effect.
o Operative fact – the law is unconstitutional but the effects thereof, prior to its
declaration of nullity, is undisturbed as a matter of equity and fair play.
Safeguards for judicial independence
• The Supreme Court cannot be abolished by law.
• The members of the Supreme Court can only be removed via impeachment.
• The Supreme Court cannot be deprived of its minimum and appellate jurisdiction. The
Supreme Court’s appellate jurisdiction cannot be increased without its consent or advice.
• The Supreme Court has administrative supervision over all inferior courts and personnel.
• The Supreme Court has exclusive power to discipline judges and justices of inferior courts.
• Members of the judiciary have security of tenure.
• Members of the judiciary cannot be designated to any agency performing quasi-judicial or
administrative functions.
• The salaries of judges may not be reduced.
• The judiciary enjoys fiscal autonomy.
• The Supreme Court alone initiates the promulgation of the Rules of Court.
• The Supreme Court alone may order the temporary detail of judges.
• The Supreme Court appoints all officials and employees of the judiciary.
Note that under current jurisprudence, the salaries of judges and justices are subject to income tax
and the payment thereof is not an impermissible decrease of their salaries during their continuance
in office.
Qualifications for the different courts
Qualification Supreme Court and other Lower Courts (RTC’s and
lower Collegiate Courts first-level courts)
Citizenship Natural born citizen of the Citizen of the Philippines
Philippines
 Age At least 40 years old For RTC judges, at least 35
years old.

For judges of first-level

Experience At least 15 years as a judge of
a lower court or engaged in
the practice of law in the
Philippines
courts, at least 30 years old.
For RTC judges, at least 10
years of engagement in the
practice of law or holding of
a public office in the
Philippines, where admission
to the practice of law is an
indispensable requisite.

For judges of first-level

courts, at least 5 years of
engagement in the practice of
law or holding of a public
office in the Philippines,
where admission to the
practice of law is an
indispensable requisite.
Character Person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and
independence

The Members of the Supreme Court and judges of the lower courts shall be appointed by the
President from a list of at least three nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council for every
vacancy. Such appointments need no confirmation.
Any vacancy in the Supreme Court shall be filled within ninety days from the occurrence thereof.
Justices of the Supreme Court hold office until they reach 70 years of age or become incapacitated
to discharge their duties or they are removed via impeachment.
Judges and justices of lower courts hold office until they reach 70 years of age or become
incapacitated to discharge their duties.
The Supreme Court en banc shall have the power to discipline judges of lower courts, or order
their dismissal by a vote of a majority of the Members who actually took part in the deliberations
on the issues in the case and voted thereon.
The Supreme Court shall be composed of a Chief Justice and fourteen Associate Justices. It may
sit en banc or in its discretion, in division of three, five, or seven Members.
Cases or matters heard by a division shall be decided or resolved with the concurrence of a majority
of the Members who actually took part in the deliberations on the issues in the case and voted
thereon, and in no case without the concurrence of at least three of such Members. When the
required number is not obtained, the case shall be decided en banc. Provided, that no doctrine or
principle of law laid down by the court in a decision rendered en banc or in division may be
modified or reversed except by the court sitting en banc.
Cases to be heard by the SC en banc
• Those involving the constitutionality of a treaty, an international or executive agreement,
or a law.
• Those involving the constitutionality, applications, or operations of presidential decrees,
proclamations, orders, instructions, ordinances, and other regulations.
• Cases heard by division when the required majority in the division was not obtained.
• Those where the SC modifies or reverses a doctrine or principle of law previously laid
down by a division or the en banc.
• Those administrative cases where the vote is for the dismissal of a judge of a lower court
or to otherwise discipline said judge.
• Election contests for President and VP.
No decision shall be rendered by any court without expressing therein clearly and distinctly the
facts and the law on which it is based. Sin perjuico judgments, where the decision is rendered
without a statement of the facts in support thereof, is disapproved of by the Supreme Court.
No petition for review or motion for reconsideration of a decision of the court shall be refused due
course or denied without stating the legal basis therefor.
All cases or matters filed after the effectivity of this Constitution must be decided or resolved
within twenty-four months from date of submission for the Supreme Court, and, unless reduced
by the Supreme Court, twelve months for all lower collegiate courts, and three months for all other
lower courts.
For the Sandiganbayan, being a special court, has its own period for decision-making.
Powers of the Supreme Court
• Exercise original jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and
consuls, and over petitions for certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, and habeas
corpus.
• Original jurisdiction to review the factual basis for declaring martial law or for suspending
the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.
• Review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm on appeal or certiorari, as the law or the Rules
of Court may provide, final judgments and orders of lower courts in:
o All cases in which the constitutionality or validity of any treaty, international or
executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction,
ordinance, or regulation is in question.
o All cases involving the legality of any tax, impost, assessment, or toll, or any
penalty imposed in relation thereto.
o All cases in which the jurisdiction of any lower court is in issue.
o All criminal cases in which the penalty imposed is reclusion perpetua or higher.
 o All cases in which only an error or question of law is involved.
• The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the
election, returns, and qualifications of the President or Vice-President, and may promulgate
its rules for the purpose.
• Assign temporarily judges of lower courts to other stations as public interest may require.
o Such temporary assignment shall not exceed six months without the consent of the
judge concerned.
• Order a change of venue or place of trial to avoid an injustice.
• Promulgate rules concerning the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights,
pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts, the admission to the practice of law, the
integrated bar, and legal assistance to the underprivileged.
o Additionally, the SC has the power to promulgate rules for the protection and
enforcement of constitutional rights and to disapprove rules of procedure of special
courts and quasi-judicial bodies.
o Such rules shall provide a simplified and inexpensive procedure for the speedy
disposition of cases, shall be uniform for all courts of the same grade, and shall not
diminish, increase, or modify substantive rights. Rules of procedure of special
courts and quasi-judicial bodies shall remain effective unless disapproved by the
Supreme Court.
• Appoint all officials and employees of the Judiciary in accordance with the Civil Service
Law.
• The Supreme Court shall have administrative supervision over all courts and the personnel
thereof.
• Power to declare a person in contempt, either direct or indirect.
Judicial and Bar Council
Membership
• SC Chief Justice, as ex officio chairman
• Secretary of Justice and a representative of Congress, as ex officio members
• A representative of the IBP, a professor of law, a retired member of the SC, and a
representative of the private sector, as regular members
• Clerk of the SC, as ex officio secretary
The regular members of the Council shall be appointed by the President for a term of four years
with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
The Council shall have the principal function of recommending appointees to the Judiciary,
including the Ombudsman and their deputies. It may exercise such other functions and duties as
the Supreme Court may assign to it.
Judicial privilege – insulation from improper intrusions into the functions of the judiciary and
shields judges, justices, and court officials and employees from public scrutiny that would impair
them from performing their functions.
Judicial privilege can be invoked to deny access to specific portions of the Supreme Court’s
records to members of the House Prosecution Panel and the Senate Impeachment Court and to
prevent the oral disclosure of specific matters by justices and officials of the Supreme Court before
the Senate Impeachment Court.
The following documents of the Supreme Court are privileged and not subject to disclosure:
• Court actions like the result of the raffle of cases and the actions taken by the Court on each
case included in the agenda of the Court’s session.
• Court deliberations or the deliberations of the members in court sessions on cases and
matters pending before the Supreme Court.
• Court records that are predecisional and deliberative in nature.
• Confidential information secured by justices, judges, court officials and employees in the
course of their official functions.
• Records of cases still pending for decision, except for pleadings, orders and resolutions
that have been made available by the court to the general public.
o Note that these privileges belong to the Supreme Court as an institution, not to
individual members.
Constitutional Commissions
These are the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), and
the Commission on Audit (CoA). They shall be independent from the other branches of
government and each are pre-eminent in their respective spheres. Conflicting rulings among them
shall be resolved by the Judiciary.
No member of a Constitutional Commission shall, during his tenure:
• Hold any other office or employment;
• Engage in the practice of any profession;
• Engage in the active management or control of any business which, in any way, may be
affected by the functions of his office; and
• Be financially interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract with, or in any franchise or
privilege granted by the Government, any of its subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities,
including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries.
Safeguards for independence of the commissions
• They may not be abolished by statute
• Each is described as independent and is conferred with powers and functions that cannot
be reduced by statute.
• The Chairmen and members of each can only be removed via impeachment.
• The Chairmen and members of each have a term of 7 years.
• The terms of office of the Chairmen and members of each are staggered to lessen the
opportunity for the majority of them to be appointed by the same President.
 • The Chairmen and members of each may not be appointed or reappointed in an acting or
temporary capacity.
• The salaries of the Chairmen and members of each are fixed by law and cannot be
decreased during their continuance in office.
• The Commissions enjoy fiscal autonomy. Their approved annual appropriations shall be
automatically and regularly released.
• Each Commission en banc may promulgate its own rules concerning pleadings and practice
before it or before any of its offices. Such rules, however, shall not diminish, increase, or
modify substantive rights.
o Note that the SC can still exercise judicial review over the acts of the Commission,
when warranted.
o In case of conflict between a Commission’s rules of procedure and the Rules of
Court, the former will prevail in proceedings before a Commission while the latter
will prevail in proceedings before courts.
• Each Commission may appoint their own officials and employees in compliance with the
Civil Service Law.
Each Commission shall decide by a majority vote of all its Members, any case or matter brought
before it within sixty days from the date of its submission for decision or resolution.
A case or matter is deemed submitted for decision or resolution upon the filing of the last pleading,
brief, or memorandum required by the rules of the Commission or by the Commission itself.
Unless otherwise provided by this Constitution or by law, any decision, order, or ruling of each
Commission may be brought to the Supreme Court on certiorari by the aggrieved party within
thirty days from receipt of a copy thereof.
Decisions of the CSC may be reviewed by the Court of Appeals under Rule 43 of the Rules of
Court within 15 days from notice of a final judgment from it while decisions of the COMELEC
and CoA may be reviewed by the Supreme Court under Rules 64 and 65 of the Rules of Court
within 30 days from notice of a final judgment from it.
With regard to decisions of COMELEC, the Supreme Court may only review decisions of the en
banc. However, the SC may review a certiorari petition concerning an interlocutory order of a
division of COMELEC on the grounds that it was made without jurisdiction, in excess of
jurisdiction, or with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack of or excess of jurisdiction.
CSC
Made of one Chairman and two Members.
Qualifications of Chairman and Members
• Natural born citizen of the Philippines;
• At least 35 years old at the time of appointment;
• With proven capacity for public administration; and
• Was not a candidate for any election immediately preceding their appointment.
CSC Chairman and Members have a term of 7 years without reappointment. The prohibition on
reappointment applies even when they have served for less than 7 years. Appointments made to
fill a vacancy will only be for the unexpired portion of the term.
The civil service embraces all branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities, and agencies of the
Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters. With
regard to GOCC’s the Civil Service System only covers those with original charters.
Disqualifications for members of the civil service
• No candidate who has lost in any election shall, within one year after such election, be
appointed to any office in the Government or any Government-owned or controlled
corporations or in any of their subsidiaries.
• No elective official shall be eligible for appointment or designation in any capacity to any
public office or position during his tenure.
• Unless otherwise allowed by law or by the primary functions of his position, no appointive
official shall hold any other office or employment in the Government or any subdivision,
agency, or instrumentality thereof, including Government-owned or controlled
corporations or their subsidiaries.
• No officer or employee in the civil service shall engage, directly or indirectly, in any
electioneering or partisan political campaign. Partisan political activity refers to any act
that shows active support for or affiliation of a political party or a candidate.
o Note that this prohibition does not apply to department secretaries.
The Career Service shall be characterized by:
• Entrance based on merit and fitness to be determined as far as practicable by competitive
examinations, or based on highly technical qualifications;
• Opportunity for advancement to higher career positions; and
• Security of tenure.
The Career Service shall include:
• Open Career positions for appointment to which prior qualification in an appropriate
examination is required;
• Closed Career positions which are scientific or highly technical in nature; these include the
faculty and academic staff of state colleges and universities, and scientific and technical
positions in scientific or research institutions which shall establish and maintain their own
merit systems;
• Positions in the Career Executive Service; namely, Undersecretary, Assistant Secretary,
Bureau Director, Assistant Bureau Director, Regional Director, Assistant Regional
Director, Chief of Department Service, and other officers of equivalent rank as may be
identified by the Career Executive Service Board, all of whom are appointed by the
President;
• Career officers, other than those in the Career Executive Service, who are appointed by the
President, such as the Foreign Service Officers in the Department of Foreign Affairs;
 • Commissioned officers and enlisted men of the Armed Forces which shall maintain a
separate merit system;
• Personnel of government-owned or controlled corporations, whether performing
governmental or proprietary functions, who do not fall under the non-career service; and
• Permanent laborers, whether skilled, semi-skilled, or unskilled.
The Non-Career Service shall be characterized by:
• Entrance on bases other than those of the usual tests of merit and fitness utilized for the
career service; and
• Tenure which is limited to a period specified by law, or which is coterminous with that of
the appointing authority or subject to his pleasure, or which is limited to the duration of a
particular project for which purpose employment was made.
The Non-Career Service shall include:
• Elective officials and their personal or confidential staff;
• Department Heads and other officials of Cabinet rank who hold positions at the pleasure
of the President and their personal or confidential staff(s);
• Chairman and members of commissions and boards with fixed terms of office and their
personal or confidential staff;
• Contractual personnel or those whose employment in the government is in accordance with
a special contract to undertake a specific work or job, requiring special or technical skills
not available in the employing agency, to be accomplished within a specific period, which
in no case shall exceed one year, and performs or accomplishes the specific work or job,
under his own responsibility with a minimum of direction and supervision from the hiring
agency; and
• Emergency and seasonal personnel.
Appointment in the career service shall be permanent or temporary.
• A permanent appointment shall be issued to a person who meets all the requirements for
the positions to which he is being appointed, including the appropriate eligibility
prescribed, in accordance with the provisions of law, rules and standards promulgated in
pursuance thereof.
• In the absence of appropriate eligibles and it becomes necessary in the public interest to
fill a vacancy, a temporary appointment shall be issued to a person who meets all the
requirements for the positions to which he is being appointed except the appropriate civil
service eligibility.
o Provided, that such temporary appointment shall not exceed twelve months, but the
appointee may be replaced sooner if a qualified civil service eligible becomes
available.
Appointments in the civil service shall be made only according to merit and fitness to be
determined, as far as practicable, and, except to positions which are policy-determining, primarily
confidential, or highly technical, by competitive examination.
 • Policy-determining position – One charged with the laying down of principal rules, like a
department head.
• Primarily confidential position – One which denotes close intimacy which ensures freedom
of communication without embarrassment or freedom from misgivings or betrayal of
personal trust and confidential matters of state
o A position is primarily confidential when the President, upon the CSC’s
recommendation has declared it to be primarily confidential and when the position
is primarily confidential by its nature.
o The occupant of a particular position can be considered as a confidential employee
if the predominant reason he was chosen by the appointing authority was the latter’s
belief that he can share a close intimate relationship with the occupant.
• Highly technical position – One that requires technical skill or training in the superior
degree.
o Loss of confidence is not a ground for removal of a highly technical employee.
The CSC, in the appointment process, can only determine the qualifications of candidates for
appointment. It has no say as to which candidate should be appointed, which is a decision of the
President.
No officer or employee of the civil service shall be removed or suspended except for cause
provided by law.
The right to self-organization shall not be denied to government employees. However, employees
in the civil service cannot resort to strikes, walkouts, and other temporary work stoppages to
pressure the government to accede to their demands.
COMELEC
Made of one chairman and six commissioners.
Qualifications of COMELEC chairman and commissioners
• Natural born citizen of the Philippines;
• At least 35 years old at the time of appointment;
• A college degree holder;
• Was not a candidate for any election immediately preceding their appointment; and
• Majority of the commissioners, including the chairman, must be members of the Philippine
Bar who have been engaged in the practice of law for at least 10 years.
The Chairman and the Commissioners shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the
Commission on Appointments for a term of seven years without reappointment. Appointment to
any vacancy shall be only for the unexpired term of the predecessor. In no case shall any Member
be appointed or designated in a temporary or acting capacity.
The Commission on Elections shall exercise the following powers and functions:
 • Enforce and administer all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of an election,
plebiscite, initiative, referendum, and recall.
• Exercise exclusive original jurisdiction over all contests relating to the elections, returns,
and qualifications of all elective regional, provincial, and city officials.
• Exercise appellate jurisdiction over all contests involving elective municipal officials
decided by the RTC’s, or involving elective barangay officials decided by the first-level
courts.
o Decisions, final orders, or rulings of the Commission on election contests involving
elective municipal and barangay offices shall be final, executory, and not
appealable.
• Decide, except those involving the right to vote, all questions affecting elections, including
determination of the number and location of polling places, appointment of election
officials and inspectors, and registration of voters.
• Deputize, with the concurrence of the President, law enforcement agencies and
instrumentalities of the Government, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines, for
the exclusive purpose of ensuring free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections.
• Register, after sufficient publication, political parties, organizations, or coalitions which,
in addition to other requirements, must present their platform or program of government;
and accredit citizens’ arms of the Commission on Elections. Religious denominations and
sects shall not be registered.
o Those which seek to achieve their goals through violence or unlawful means, or
refuse to uphold and adhere to this Constitution, or which are supported by any
foreign government shall likewise be refused registration.
o Financial contributions from foreign governments and their agencies to political
parties, organizations, coalitions, or candidates related to elections, constitute
interference in national affairs, and, when accepted, shall be an additional ground
for the cancellation of their registration with the Commission, in addition to other
penalties that may be prescribed by law.
• File, upon a verified complaint, or on its own initiative, petitions in court for inclusion or
exclusion of voters; investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute cases of violations of
election laws, including acts or omissions constituting election frauds, offenses, and
malpractices.
• Recommend to the Congress effective measures to minimize election spending, including
limitation of places where propaganda materials shall be posted, and to prevent and
penalize all forms of election frauds, offenses, malpractices, and nuisance candidates.
• Recommend to the President the removal of any officer or employee it has deputized, or
the imposition of any other disciplinary action, for violation or disregard of, or
disobedience to, its directive, order, or decision.
• Submit to the President and the Congress, a comprehensive report on the conduct of each
election, plebiscite, initiative, referendum, or recall.
The Commission may, during the election period, supervise or regulate the enjoyment or utilization
of all franchises or permits for the operation of transportation and other public utilities, media of
communication or information, all grants, special privileges, or concessions granted by the
Government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including any government-
owned or controlled corporation or its subsidiary.
• Such supervision or regulation shall aim to ensure equal opportunity, time, and space ,and
the right to reply, including reasonable, equal rates therefor, for public information
campaigns and forums among candidates in connection with the objective of holding free,
orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections.
• Note that COMELEC cannot regulate expressions made by private citizens.
• Note that COMELEC may not compel print media to allocate free space to the former since
the same is taking of property without just compensation.
CoA
Made up of one chairman and two commissioners
Qualifications
• Natural born citizen of the Philippines;
• At least 35 years old at the time of appointment;
• Must be certified public accountants with at least ten years of auditing experience or
members of the bar with at least 10 years of experience in the practice of law, with the
caveat that at no time shall all members belong to the same profession; and
• Was not a candidate for any election immediately preceding their appointment.
The Chairman and the Commissioners shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the
Commission on Appointments for a term of seven years without reappointment. Appointment to
any vacancy shall be only for the unexpired term of the predecessor. In no case shall any Member
be appointed or designated in a temporary or acting capacity.
Powers of the CoA
• To examine and audit all forms of government revenue;
• To examine and audit all forms of government expenditures;
• To settle government accounts;
o This refer to liquidated accounts, or those which may be adjusted by an arithmetical
process.
• To define the scope and techniques for its own auditing procedures;
• To promulgate accounting and auditing rules, including those for the prevention and
disallowance of irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant, or unconscionable
expenditures; and
• To decide administrative cases involving expenditures of public funds.
The CoA has post-auditing authority over:
• Constitutional bodies, commissions, and offices that have been granted fiscal autonomy
under the Constitution;
 • Autonomous state universities and colleges;
• Other GOCC’s and their subsidiaries; and
• Non-government entities receiving subsidy or equity, directly or indirectly from or through
the government which are required by law or by the granting institution to submit to such
audit as a condition for the subsidy or equity.
No law shall be passed exempting any entity of the Government or its subsidiaries in any guise
whatever, or any investment of public funds, from the jurisdiction of the Commission on Audit.
GOCC’s with original charters are subject to CoA pre-audit while those without original charters
are subject to CoA post-audit.
LGU’s, though granted local fiscal autonomy, are still under CoA’s audit jurisdiction.