4.

Meaning of the phrase "imploring the aid of Almighty God"

The spirituality which is innate in the Filipinos’ nature and consciousness as a
people, shaped by tradition and historical experience, is embodied in the preamble
through the phrase "imploring the aid of Almighty God" which manifests the State’s
recognition of the influence and contributions of religion to society.
This recognition can be found in the provisions of the 1935, 1973 and 1987
Constitutions containing benevolent and accommodating provisions towards reli-
gions, such as tax exemptions of church property, salaries of religious officers as-
signed to government institutions, and optional religious instructions in public
schools,1 among others.
ARTICLE I
National 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 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.
4.1. ARTICLE I: NATIONAL TERRITORY
1. Scope of Philippine territory
The scope of the Philippine territory is found under Article I of the 1987 Consti-
tution.
Based on a dissection of the aforesaid Constitutional provision, the Philippine
national territory, therefore, includes:
(a) the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced in it;
(b) all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdic-
tion consisting of territorial, fluvial and aerial domains;
(c) the territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, and insular shelves and other
submarine areas; and
(d) the waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipela-
go, regardless of their breadth and dimensions.2
Simply stated, the national territory is divided into two (2) main groups, namely:
(a) the Philippine archipelago; and
(b) other territories belonging to the Philippines.
2. Philippine archipelago
An archipelago, sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain,
cluster, or collection of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek word
“arkhi” (“chief”) and “pélagos” (“sea”). It is also sometimes referred to as a big body
of water studded with islands.
The Philippine archipelago is a string of over 7,100 islands located in the south-
eastern Asia between the South China Sea (or West Philippine Sea) and the Pacific

____________________________

1 Imbong v. Ochoa Jr., GR 207563. Apr. 8, 2014, 721 SCRA 146

2 Art. I, 1987 Consti.
2 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1
Ocean. It is made up of three (3) major groups of islands: Luzon, Visayas, and
Mindanao.
In Magallona v. Ermita,3 the "Philippine archipelago" of the 1987 Constitution
was held to be the same "Philippine archipelago" referred to in Article I of the 1973
Constitution which in turn corresponds to the territory defined and described in Arti-
cle 1 of the 1935 Constitution,13 which pertinently reads:
“Section 1. The Philippines comprises all the territory ceded to the
[US] by the Treaty of Paris concluded between the [US] and Spain on the
tenth day of December, [1898], the limits of which are set forth in Article
III of said treaty, together with all the islands in the treaty concluded at
Washington, between the [US] and Spain on November [7, 1900] and the
treaty concluded between the [US] and Great Britain xxx.”
3. Treaty of Paris as key reference in definition of national
territory
While the Treaty of Paris is not mentioned in both the 1973 and 1987 Constitu-
tions, its mention, so the nationalistic arguments went, being "a repulsive reminder of
the indignity of our colonial past,"4 it is at once clear that the Treaty of Paris had
been utilized as key reference point in the definition of the national territory.
When Spain signed the Treaty of Paris in 1898, she, in effect, announced to the
whole world that:
(a) she was ceding to the US the Philippine archipelago which was bounded
by lines specified in said Treaty; and
(b) the archipelago consisted of the huge body of water inside the boundaries
and the islands inside said boundaries. 5
4. Phrase "all other territories over which the Philippines has
sovereignty or jurisdiction" construed
The phrase "all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or
jurisdiction" found in the 1987 Constitution which replaced the deleted phrase "all
territories belonging to the Philippines by historic right or legal title"6 found in the
1973 Constitution, covers areas linked to the Philippines with varying degrees of
certainty.7
Under this category would fall:
____________________________

3 GR 187167. Aug. 16, 2011, 655 SCRA 476

4 J. Bernas, S.J., The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines A Commentary, p. 97
(2003)
5 Magallona v. Ermita GR 187167. Aug. 16, 2011, 655 SCRA 476
6 The history of this deleted phrase goes back to the last clause of Art. I of the 1935 Constitution
which included "all territory over which the present Government of the Philippine Islands exercises
jurisdiction. See J. Bernas, S.J., The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines A Com-
mentary, p. 14 (2003)
7 J. Bernas, S.J., The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines A Commentary, p. 16
(2003)
 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1 3
(a) Batanes, described as belonging to the Philippines in all its history;
(b) Sabah, over which a formal claim had been filed;
(c) Freedomland (a group of islands known as Spratleys); and
(d) any other territory, over which the Philippines had filed a claim or might
acquire in the future through recognized modes of acquiring territory.8
The non-retention of the phrase "by historic right or legal title" appearing in the
1973 Constitution in the definition of the national territory under the 1987 Constitution
is generally not interpreted as precluding future claims to areas over which the Phil-
ippines does not actually exercise sovereignty.9
5. Archipelagic principle
The last sentence of Article I of the 1987 Constitution asserts the country’s ad-
herence to the "archipelagic principle."
The archipelagic principle or the archipelagic state doctrine holds that all waters
contained within. the baselines drawn around the outer islands of a State which is
entirely formed. by one or more archipelagoes are the internal waters of that state
and subject. to its sovereignty.10
6. Territorial waters or territorial sea
The territorial waters or territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),11 is a belt of coastal waters extending
at most 12 nautical miles (22.2 kilometers; 13.8 miles) from the baseline (usually the
mean low-water mark) of a coastal state.
The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory of the State, although
foreign ships (both military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it; this
sovereignty also extends to the airspace over and seabed below.
Adjustment of these boundaries is called, in international law, maritime delimita-
tion.
The term “territorial waters” is also sometimes used informally to describe any
area of water over which a state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the con-
tiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and potentially the continental shelf.
It is also called the “marginal sea,” the “marginal belt,” or the “marine belt.”

____________________________

8 Magallona v. Ermita GR 187167. Aug. 16, 2011, 655 SCRA 476

9 De Leon, Philippine Constitution 62 (2011)
10 The Indonesian Archipelagic State Doctrine and Law of the Sea: "Territorial Grab" or Justifiable
Necessity? on JSTOR – Last accessed on July 18, 2022
11 The UNCLOS is a multilateral treaty which was opened for signature on December 10, 1982 at
Montego Bay, Jamaica. It was ratified by the Philippines in 1984 but came into force on Novem-
ber 16, 1994 upon the submission of the 60th ratification. [Arigo v. Swift, GR 206510, Sep. 16,
2014].
4 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1
7. Seabed, subsoil, insular shelves, and other submarine
areas
Seabed is the land that holds the sea, lying beyond the seashore, including
mineral and natural resources. It is at the top portion of the submarine area.
It is simply the ground under the sea; the ocean floor. Also known as the sea-
floor, sea floor, or ocean floor.
Subsoil is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. Like
the topsoil, it is composed of a variable mixture of small particles such as sand, silt
and/or clay.
Insular shelves are the submerged portions of a continent or offshore island
which slope gently seaward from the low waterline to a point where a substantial
break in grade occurs, at which point the bottom slopes seaward at a considerable
increase in slope until the great ocean depths are reached.
Other submarine areas refer to those areas that are under the territorial sea.
They are otherwise referred to as seamounts, troughs, trenches, deeps, banks,
shoals and reefs.
8. Internal waters or archipelagic
The term "internal waters" under the second sentence of Article I of the Consti-
tution12 may also refer to the "archipelagic waters" under Article 49 [1] of UNCLOS
III.13
Whatever the reference be to that the body of water lying landward of the base-
lines, be it termed as internal waters or archipelagic waters, the Philippines exercises
sovereignty over such body, including the air space over it and the submarine areas
underneath it.14
However, internal waters are not covered by the jurisdiction of the UNCLOS
and cannot be subjected to the rights granted to foreign States in archipelagic wa-
ters, such as:
(a) the right of innocent passage15 which is allowed only in the territorial seas
or that area of the ocean comprising twelve (12) miles from the baselines
of the archipelago;16
(b) archipelagic sea-lane passage;17
____________________________

12 “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.”
13 UNCLOS III is short form of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place between 1973 and 1982. UNCLOS replaced the four (4) trea-
ties of the 1958 Convention on the High Seas. UNCLOS came into force in 1994, a year after
Guyana became the 60th nation to ratify the treaty.
14 Magallona v. Ermita GR 187167. Aug. 16, 2011, 655 SCRA 476
15 Right of innocent passage refers to the right of a ship or aircraft to enter and pass through a
State’s territory so long as the passage is not prejudicial to the peace, good order, or security of
such State.
16 Arts. 52 and 54, UNCLOS III
 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1 5
(c) overflight;18 and
(d) traditional fishing rights.19
4.2. ARTICLE II: DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES
1. Principles and State Policies in Article II of the Constitu-
tion
Article II of the Constitution is a "declaration of principles and State policies."
The principles are contained in six (6) Sections while the State policies are laid
down in twenty-two (22) provisions.
2. Principles under Article II not intended to be self-
executing
The principles under Article II are not intended to be self-executing ones that
are ready for enforcement through the courts.
They are used by the Judiciary as aids or as guides in the exercise of its power
of judicial review, and by the legislature in its enactment of laws.20
The principles and state policies enumerated in Article II and some sections of
Article XII are not “self-executing provisions, the disregard of which can give rise to a
cause of action in the courts. They do not embody judicially enforceable Constitu-
tional rights but guidelines for legislation.”21
Article II
Declaration of Principles and State Policies
Section 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty
resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
4.5.1. SECTION 1, ARTICLE II: The Philippines as a democratic
and republican State
1. Democratic State
Given its system of government in which the supreme power is vested in the
people and exercised by them directly or indirectly, the Philippines no doubt is a
democratic State.
But to emphasize the fact that it is not a “purely democratic” State where the
majority can impose its will on the minority, Section 1, Article II of the 1987 Constitu-
tion used the word “republican” alongside the word “democratic” to highlight the
intent to make the State follow a “Constitution or charter of rights that protects certain

____________________________

17 Art. 53 (2), Id.

18 Id., Id.
19 Art. 58 (2), Id.
20 Tañada v. Angara, GR 118295. May 2, 1997, 272 SCRA 18
21 Kilosbayan, Incorporated v. Morato, 246 SCRA 540, July 17, 1995. See also Tolentino v. Secre-
tary of Finance, GR 115455 and consolidated cases, Aug. 25, 1995
6 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1
inalienable rights which cannot be taken away by the government, even if it has
been elected by a majority of voters.”22
In simple terms, the Philippines is a democratic republic ruled by a popularly
elected government with a Constitution which can be amended by the people at
large.
Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from
them
Popular sovereignty is the principle that the authority of a State and its govern-
ment are created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected
representatives (rule by the people), who are the source of all political power.23
It is a government based on the consent of the people who are its source of au-
thority. Its power is not legitimate if it disregards the will of the people.
A government established by free choice of the people is expected to serve the
people who have sovereignty or supreme power.24
2. State as a concept of political science and public law
A State is a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occu-
pying a definite portion of territory, independent, or nearly so, of external control, and
possessing an organized government to which the great body of inhabitants render
habitual obedience.25
It is an association which, acting through law as promulgated by a government,
endowed to this end with coercive power, maintains within a community, territorially
demarcated the universal external conditions of social order.26
3. Elements of a State
For a State to exist, it must have the following absolutely essential components:
(a) Population. A State is both a human institution and a community of per-
sons and, therefore, it must be comprised of a population large enough to
govern and be governed;
(b) Territory. A State is a territorial unit which must have a definite and more
or less permanent territory of land, water, and air over which it can exer-
cise its jurisdiction;
(c) Government. A State must have a political organization, specifically a
government, through which it can exercise its sovereign powers;
(d) Sovereignty. A State must have the sovereign or supreme power to com-
pel obedience of the people within its territory to its laws and commands. It
is by far the most important element of a State; and
____________________________

22 See https://www.diffen.com/difference/Democracy_vs_Republic – Last accessed on July 19,2022

23 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popular_sovereignty – Last accessed on July 19,2022
24 Popular Sovereignty - Annenberg Classroom – Last accessed on July 19,2022
25 James Wilford Garner: American professor of political science (1871 - 1938)
26 The Modern State. By R.M. MacIver. Oxford and New York, The Clarendon Press, 1926.—pp. xii,
504.
 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1 7
(e) International recognition. A State must be recognized as such by the
international community for it to enjoy the rights and duties under interna-
tional law and the advantages of being a member of the family of nations.
4. Population
The population of a State comprises all the people who inhabit the territory
in a permanent way.
It is the people who make the State for without them, there can be none. Alt-
hough no limit can be placed on the number of people constituting a State, the popu-
lation must nevertheless be large enough to make a State and sustain it.27
It is not even necessary that the population of a State be completely homoge-
nous in culture, language, ethnicity, or race.
5. Population of the Philippines
According to the 2020 census, the population of the Philippines is
109,035,343.28 The first census in the Philippines was held in the year 1591 which
counted 667,612 people.
The majority of Filipinos are lowland Austronesians, while the Aetas (Negritos),
and other highland groups form a minority. The indigenous population is related to
the indigenous populations of the Malay Archipelago.
Some ethnic groups that have been in the Philippines for centuries before the
Spanish and American colonial rules have assimilated or intermixed. These groups
include Arabs, Japanese, Han Chinese, and Indians which form parts of the popula-
tion. Around 600,000 people from the United States live in the Philippines,29 repre-
senting 0.56% of the total population.
The most commonly spoken indigenous languages are Tagalog and Cebuano,
with 23.8 million and 16 million speakers, respectively. Eleven (11) other indigenous
languages have at least one million native speakers, namely: Ilocano, Hiligaynon,
Waray, various Bicolano dialects, Kapampangan, Pangasinense, Maranao, Magu-
indanaon, Kinaray-a, Chavacano, and Tausug.
One or more of these languages or dialects are spoken as a mother tongue by
more than 93% of the population. Filipino and English are the official languages but,
depending on expert classifications, there are between 120 and 170 distinct indige-
nous Philippine languages.30

____________________________

27 https://www.politicalscienceview.com/essential-elements-of-state/ – Last accessed on July 19,

2022
28 The 2020 Census of Population and Housing Reveals the Philippine Population at 109.035
million". Philippine Statistics Authority. Archived from the original on July 8, 2021. Retrieved July
8, 2021.
29 https://www.nationaljournal.com/s/66591/why-philippines-is-americas-forgotten-colony
30 Demographics of the Philippines - Wikipedia – Last accessed on July 19, 2022
8 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1
6. Territory and Territoriality principle
Territory is also an important component of a State because in international law,
jurisdiction which is an attribute of State sovereignty is exercised primarily on a terri-
torial basis.
The “territoriality principle” is also important to the State's jurisdictional compe-
tence. This principle confirms the position that events occurring within a State's
territorial boundary and persons found within that territory - even if temporarily - are
as a rule subject to the application of the local law of the State.31
7. Territory of the Philippines
The Philippines is an archipelago that is made up of 7,641 islands32 with a total
land area of 300,000 square kilometers. The archipelago, which is located be-
tween Taiwan and Borneo, is the world's fifth largest island country.
The Philippine archipelago is divided into three (3) major island groups, name-
ly: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The largest of these island groups is Luzon with
an area of around 105,000 square kilometers, followed by Mindanao with 95,000
square kilometers, and Visayas with 71,503 square kilometers.
The Luzon group of islands include Palawan, Mindoro, Marinduque, Masbate,
Romblon, Catanduanes, Batanes, and Polillo. The Visayas group covers the islands
of Panay, Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Siquijor, Biliran, and Guimaras, while
Mindanao islands consist of Dinagat, Siargao, Camiguin, and Samal, including
the Sulu Archipelago which is composed of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
8. Philippines’ territorial claims
Throughout its history, the Philippines has claimed many territories which in-
clude the following:
(a) Spratly Islands (Kapuluan ng Kalayaan);33
(b) portions of North Borneo;34
(c) Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal or Kulumpol ng Panatag);35 and
____________________________

31 http://www.commonlii.org/ke/other/KECKRC/2001/7.html – Last accessed on July 19, 2022

32 The count of islands was pegged at 7,107 in 1945 and was updated to 7,641 in 2017 after
the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) announced that it had identi-
fied 400 to 500 additional land features that might be considered islands.
33 The Philippines claims fifty-two (52) landforms in the Spratly Island group of which only five (5)
islands, two (2) cays, and three (3) reefs are under Philippine occupation: the Flat Island (Patag),
the Loaita Island (Kota), the Nanshan Island (Lawak), the Thitu Island (Pagasa), the West York
Island (Likas), the Lankiam Cay (Panata), the Northeast Cay (Parola), the Irving Reef (Balag-
tas), the Commodore Reef (Rizal), and the Second Thomas (Ayungin) Reef. The Philippines es-
tablished a municipality in the province of Palawan named Kalayaan after all the landforms found
on Pag-asa island. [Territories claimed by the Philippines - Wikipedia – Last accessed on July 20,
2022].
34 The North Borneo dispute, also known as the Sabah dispute, is the territorial dispute between
Malaysia and the Philippines over much of the eastern part of the state of Sabah. Sabah was pre-
viously known as North Borneo prior to the formation of the Malaysian federation. [Ken, Danny
Wong Tze (2015). "The Name of Sabah and the Sustaining of a New Identity in a New Nation"].
 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1 9
(d) South China Sea islands.36
9. Government distinguished from administration
“Government” is generally held as synonymous with “administration.”
They differ only in the sense that the former refers to the more or less perma-
nent political structure that constitutes the governing authority of a State while the
latter pertains to the leadership of certain elected national or local chief executives in
whose hands the reins of the government or its units are placed for the time being.
Hence, government is the general term for the organization that manages the
affair of the State without reference to any particular personality or term, and admin-
istration is the term used to describe the presidency of an elected president (or the
governorship of an elected provincial governor, or the mayorship of a city or munici-
pal mayor, as the case may be), such as, for example, "President Marcos' admin-
istration" or “Governor Fernando’s administration.”
10. Functions of government
The twin functions of the government are:
(a) Constituent functions which constitute the very bonds of society and are
compulsory in nature; and
(b) Ministrant functions which refer to those functions that are undertaken
only by way of advancing the general interest of society and are merely
optional
US President Woodrow Wilson enumerated the constituent functions as follows:
(a) The keeping of order and providing for the protection of persons and prop-
erty from violence and robbery;
(b) The fixing of the legal relations between man and wife and between par-
ents and children;
(c) The regulation of the holding, transmission, and interchange of property,
and the determination of its liabilities for debt or crime;
(d) The determination of contract rights between individuals;
(e) The definition and punishment of crimes;
(f) The administration of justice in civil cases;

____________________________

35 The Scarborough Shoal, more correctly described as a group of islands, atolls, and reefs rather
than a shoal, is located in the South China Sea. Its nearest landmass is Palauig town in Zam-
bales, at 221 kilometers. It is being claimed by the Philippines, the People's Republic of Chi-
na, and Taiwan. [Territories claimed by the Philippines - Wikipedia – Last accessed on July 20,
2022].
36 The Philippine government claims islands with features similar to Spratly Islands which are locat-
ed within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the South China Sea as part of its territory. The
Philippine government has designated its EEZ in the eastern portion of the South China Sea as
the "West Philippine Sea." [Territories claimed by the Philippines - Wikipedia – Last accessed on
July 20, 2022].
10 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1
(g) The determination of the political duties, privileges, and relations of citi-
zens;
(h) Dealings of the State with foreign powers;
(i) The preservation of the State from external danger or encroachment; and
(j) The advancement of its international interests.37
11. Classes of government according to legitimacy
An organized government established in a territory is classified as either a de
jure government or a de facto government, since there is no other class of organized
government known in political and international law.38
A de jure government is the legal and regularly constituted government of a
State, while a de facto- government is one which is actually in control of the political
affairs in a State or a section of the State, though it may have been set up in opposi-
tion to the de jure government.39

____________________________

37 Social Security System Employees Association v. Soriano, GR L-18081. Apr. 30, 1963, 7 SCRA
1016
38 Etorma v. Ravelo, GR L-718. Mar. 24, 1947, 78 Phil. 145
39 https://www.jstor.org/stable/42864794 - Last accessed on July 19, 2022