Constitutional Law 1, Comm.
Sarmiento
MODULE 3: CONCEPT OF STATE
IMMUNITY
• Concept of State Immunity
“The State cannot be sued without its
consent” [Sec. 3, Art. XVI].
There can be no legal right against the
authority which makes the law on which the
right depends [Republic v. Villasor, 54
SCRA 83], However, it may be sued if it
gives consent, whether express or implied.
The doctrine is also known as the Royal
Prerogative of Dishonesty.
• Tests if Suit is Against the State
On the assumption that decision is rendered
against the public officer or agency
impleaded, will the enforcement thereof
require an affirmative act from the State,
such as the appropriation of the needed
amount to satisfy the judgment? If so, then it
is a suit against the State. See: Sanders v.
Veridiano, 162 SCRA 88; Republic v.
Feliciano, 148 SCRA 424.
State immunity from suit may be invoked as
long as the suit really affects the property,
rights or interests of the State and not
merely those of the officers nominally made
party defendants. In this case, the Court
said that the promotion of public welfare and
the protection of the inhabitants near the
public forest are property rights and
interests of the State.
• Suit Against Public Officers
GR: The doctrine of State immunity applies
to complaints filed against officials of the
Staate for acts performed by them in the
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discharge of their duties within the scope of
their authority. A suit against public officers
in the discharge of official functions which
are governmental in character is a suit
against the State
Exceptions:
1. To compel the public officer to do an
act required by law
2. To restrain him from enforcing an act
claimed to be unconstitutional
3. To compel the payment of damages
from already appropriated assurance
fund or to refund tax over-payments
from a fund already available for that
purpose
4. To secure a judgment that the officer
impleaded may satisfy by himself
without the State having to do a
positive act to assist him
5. Where the government itself has
violated its own laws
6. Where the public official is sued in
his personal capacity
• Suit Against Government Agencies
Ø Incorporated v. Unincorporated
a) Incorporated: If the charter provides that
the agency can sue and be sued, then suit
will lie, including one for tort. The provision
in the charter constitutes express consent
on the part of the State to be sued.
Municipal corporations are agencies of the
State when they are engaged in
governmental functions and, therefore,
should enjoy the sovereign immunity from
suit. However, they are subject to suit even
in the performance of such functions
because their respective charters provide
that they can sue and be sued
Constitutional Law 1, Comm. Sarmiento
the Supreme Court reiterated that NIAis a
corporate body performing proprietary
functions, whose charter, P.D. 552, provides
that it may sue and be sued.
although the charter of PNR is silent on
whether it may sue or be sued, it had
already been ruled in Malong v. PNR, 185
SCRA 63, that the PNR “is not performing
any governmental function” and may,
therefore, be sued.
b) Unincorporated: Inquire into principal
functions of the agency:
i) If governmental: NO suit without consent
the Court said that the PC Chief and
PC-SUSIA are instrumentalities of the
national government exercising primarily
governmental functions (regulating the
organization and operation of private
detective, watchmen or security guard
agencies), and thus may not be sued
without consent
Ø Local Government Units
LGU have the power to sue and be sued
(LGU Code Sec 22, Par 2)
SECTION 22. Corporate Powers.
a. Every local government unit, as a
corporation, shall have the following
powers:
1. To have continuous succession
in its corporate name;
2. To sue and be sued;
• Suit Against Foreign State and
International Organizations
Immunity is commonly understood as an
exemption of the state and its organs from
the jurisdiction of another state. This is
anchored on the principle of the sovereign
equality of states under which one state
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cannot assert jurisdiction over another in
violation of the maxim, par in parem non
habet imperium, (an equal has no power
over an equal)
• Consent to be Sued
Ø Express v. Implied
Express
- Can be given only by an act
of the legislative body, in a
general or special law.
Implied
- When the State commences
litigation, it becomes
vulnerable to counterclaim
Exception:
- When the State intervenes
not for the purpose of asking
for an affirmative relief, but
only for the purpose of
resisting the claim precisely
because of immunity from
suit (Lim v. Brownell, 1960)
Ø Scope of Consent - Suability v.
Liability
** By consenting to be sued, the State does
not necessarily admit that it is liable. State is
merely giving the paintiff a chance to prove
that the state is liable but the state retains
the right to raise all lawful defenses (PH
Rock Industries Inc. v. Board of Liquidators,
1989)
Suability not equated with outright liability.
Liability will have to be determined by the
Court on the basis of the evidence and the
applicable law.
• Remedies
Constitutional Law 1, Comm. Sarmiento

NOTE: [Constitution: Philippines is a

MODULE 4: DECLARATION OF
republican STATE] Philippines is a state
PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES
whose government is republican in form,
that is, whose government is democratic in
the sense of American constitutionalism
• Democracy and Republicanism
1987 Constitution Art II, Sec1: - Committee on the Declaration of
“SECTION 1. The Philippines is a democratic Principles and Ideologies, 1971,
and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the propose that the PH be a “national
people and all government authority emanates and social democratic republic”
from them.”
- But the Convention did not accept a
designation whose meaning and
DEMOCRATIC
implications it did not fully
- The people would act directly and
comprehend
not through their representatives
- Retained the formulation of the 1935
(Tolentino v COMELEC, 2004)
Consti, added “democratic” after the
-
euphoria of the February 1986
REPUBLICAN (Bernas. p56)
Revolution which re-won the
- republican form of government is
democracy
understood as "one constructed on
- The PH under the new Constitution
this principle, that the supreme
is not just a representative
power resides in the body of the
government but also shares some
people."
aspect of direct democracy such as
- purpose is to guarantee against two
the initiative and referendum under
extremes: on the one hand, against
Art VI Sec 32.
monarchy and oligarchy, and on the
other, against pure democracy.
Nachura:
- Requirement in the
Republicanism
Tydings-McDuffies Law for the 1934
a. Special Features
constitution draft was that the
i. Representation
constitution must be republican in
ii. Renovation
form
b. Manifestations:
- JAMES MADISON: “a government
i. Ours is a government of laws
which derives all its power directly or
and not of men [Villavicencio
indirectly from the great body of
v. Lukban, 39 Phil 778].
people; and is administered by
ii. Rule of the majority. [Plurality
persons holding their offices during
in elections]
pleasure, for a limited period, or
iii. Accountability of public
during good behaviour.”
officials.
- derived from the great body of the
iv. Bill of Rights.
society, not from an inconsiderable
v. Legislature cannot pass
proportion, or a favorable class of it.
irrepealable laws.
- Person administering it be appointed
vi. Separation of powers.
directly or indirectly by the people

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Constitutional Law 1, Comm. Sarmiento
• Generally Accepted Principles of
International Law
1987 Constitution, Art II, Sec 2:
“SECTION 2. The Philippines renounces war as
an instrument of national policy, adopts the
generally accepted principles of international
law as part of the law of the land and adheres to
the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom,
cooperation, and amity with all nations.”
Ø Municipal Law v. Treaty
- dualism holds that
international law and
municipal law belong to
different spheres,
international law becomes
part of municipal law only if it
is incorporated into municipal
law. (Bernas, p60)
- In other jurisdictions,
international law can become
part of municipal law if it is
transformed into domestic
law through the appropriate
constitutional machinery
such as an act of parliament
(doctrine of transformation)
Ø Doctrine of Incorporation
The Incorporation Clause [Sec. 2. Art. II]:
“The Philippines renounces war as an
instrument of national policy, adopts the
generally accepted principles of
international law as part of the law of the
land, and adheres to the policy of peace,
equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and
amity with all nations"].
- The law authorizes a declaration not
of war but only of the existence of a
state of war, in line with tour
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renunciation of war as an instrument
of national policy (Cruz, Political law)
It suggests a war already begun or
provoked by the enemy and the
existence of which we are only
affirming. In other words, we are the
aggressor but merely reacting to
aggression
- As a member of the United Nations,
PH also adheres to Art 2(4) of the
UN Charter which says: “All
members shall refrain in their
international relations from the threat
or use of force against the territorial
integrity or political independence of
any state, or in any other manner
inconsistent with purposes of the
United Nations.”
NOTE: Renunciation of War was adopted
from the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928 which
renounced wars of aggression.
TWO METHODS OF MAKIN
INTERNATIONAL LAWS PART OF THE
LOCAL LAWS IN THE PH
1. DOCTRINE OF INCORPORATION
- By virtue of this doctrine, the
Courts have applied the rules
of international law in a
number of cases even if such
rules had not previously been
subject of statutory
enactments because these
generally accepted principles
of international law are
automatically part of our own
lands (Kurodav Jalandoni,
1949)
- IL can be used in the PH to
settle domestic disputes in
much the same way that they
would use the Civ Code or
Constitutional Law 1, Comm. Sarmiento

the Penal Code and other power which, being inherent, could
laws passed by Congress not be bargained away or
- Since treaties become part of surrendered through the medium of
the PH only by ratification, treaty (Ichong v Hernandez, 1957)
the principle of incorporation
applies only to customary law • Service in defense of the State
and to treaties which have 1987 Constitution, Art II, Sec 2:
become part of customary SECTION 4. The prime duty of the Government is
law (Bernas, p61) to serve and protect the people. The
Government may call upon the people to defend
2. DOCTRINE OF the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all
TRANSFORMATION citizens may be required, under conditions
- Generally accepted principles of provided by law, to render personal military or
civil service.
international law are localized
through legislation (Agustin v Edu,
1979)
- For treaties and international • Separation of Church and State
SECTION 6. The separation of Church and State
agreements, it is the Doctrine of
shall be inviolable.
Transformation which PH follows
considering ArtVII, Sec21 of the
Ø Concept and Rationale
Constitution expressly provides that
It is not the task of the State to favor any
“no treaty or international agreement
religion by protecting it against an attack by
shall be valid and effective unless
another religion. Vis-a-vis religious
concurred in by at least ⅔ of all
differences, the State enjoys no banquet of
members of the Senate.”
option (INC v CA, 1996)
- ON the contrary it must be noted
that there's is nothin in Art II, Sec2,
Should not be interpreted to mean hostility
of the Constitution which proves that
to religion (Aglipay v Ruiz, 1937)
it shall apply to treaties and
international agreements
Under this principle, there are matters and
(HOFILENA, International Law,
issues which are beyond the competence
Pre-Bar Reviewer, 2018 as cited in
and jurisdiction of the courts of justice i.e.
Pharmaceutical and Health Care
religious doctrines and disciplinary matters
Association v Health Secretary
(Taruc v Dela Cruz, 2005)
Duque, et al, 2007)

Ø Different Kinds of Wall of

RULES IN CASE OF CONFLICT
Separation
BETWEEN IL AND ML:
1. Efforts should first be exerted to
1. Strict Separation
harmonize them so as to give effect
- An absolute barrier to formal
to both; or
interdependence meant to
2. If the conflict is irreconcilable, ML
protect the state from the
should be upheld because it
church. The state’s hostility
represented an exercise of police

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Constitutional Law 1, Comm. Sarmiento

towards religion allows no b. PERMISSIVE

interaction between the two - that which is discretionary or
2. Strict neutrality legislative, or not required by the
- An approach not totally Free Exercise Clause but
hostile to religion but it is nonetheless permitted by the
strict in holding that religion Establishment Clause; and
may not be used as a basis
for classification for purposes c. PROHIBITED
of governmental action./ only - that which is prohibited by the
secular criteria may be the religion clauses.
basis of the governmental - no basis for a mandatory
action. accommodation, or it determines
- (and strict separation), From that legislative accommodation runs
the State, religious afoul of the Establishment or the
institutions cannot receive Free Exercise Clause
aid, whether direct or
indirect. Neither can it adjust Ø Tests to Determine
its secular programs to Accommodation
alleviate the burdens they - a statute or government action has
have placed on believers burdened the claimant’s free
(Estrada v Escritor, 2006) exercise of religion, and there is no
3. Benevolent Neutrality doubt as to the sincerity of the
- Wall of separation is meant religious belief;
to protect the Church from - The State has failed to demonstrate
the state. It recognizes that a particularly important or compelling
religion plays an important governmental goal in preventing an
role in the public life of the exemption;
people. It does not say that in - and the State has failed to
every aspect and all demonstrate that it used the least
respects, there shall be a restrictive means.
separation.
- 1987 constitution adheres to • International Policy
benevolent neutrality. SECTION 7. The State shall pursue an
independent foreign policy. In its relations with
Ø Accommodation other states the paramount consideration shall
be national sovereignty, territorial integrity,
a. MANDATORY: national interest, and the right to
- that which is found to be self-determination.
constitutionally compelled or
required by the Free Exercise Ø Government Policies
Clause;
- when the court itself carves out an Ø Trade
exemption. The Constitutional policy of a “self-reliant
and independent national economy” does

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Constitutional Law 1, Comm. Sarmiento

not necessarily rule out the entry of foreign socio-economic but also on political
investments, goods and services. It and cultural inequities
contemplates neither economic seclusion -
nor mendicancy in the international
community • Policy on Human Rights

Ø Nuclear Weapon • Protection on Family, Life and Children

Consistent with the national interest adopts
and pursues a policy of freedom from Ø Same Sex Marriage
nuclear weapons in its territory (Consti ArtII,
Sec8). The policy, however, does not Ø Abortion
prohibit the peaceful uses of nuclear energy
(Bernas, p16). Ø Commencement of
Constitutional Protection for the Unborn
SECTION 8. The Philippines, consistent with the
national interest, adopts and pursues a policy of Ø Double Effect Principle
freedom from nuclear weapons in its territory. Ø Curfew Ordinances

• Social Justice • Gender Equality

SECTION 9. The State shall promote a just and
dynamic social order that will ensure the • Health and Environment
prosperity and independence of the nation and Ø Writ of Kalikasan
free the people from poverty through policies
that provide adequate social services, promote
• Policy on Education
full employment, a rising standard of living, and
an improved quality of life for all.
• Autonomy of Private Enterprises
Ø Different Concepts
[j]ustice to the common tao, the "little man"
• Agrarian Reform
so-called. It means justice to him, his wife,
and children in relation to their employers in
• Autonomy of Local Government
the factories, in the farms, in the mines, and
Ø Relationship
in other employment's. It means justice to
Between the
him in the education of his children in the
National and Local
schools, in his dealings with the different
Governments
offices of government, including the courts
Ø Kinds of
of justice (Delegate Locsin, 1935 ConCon)
Decentralization
Ø Associative
- 1973 - property
Principle
- former Constitutions focused their
• Opportunity to Public Service
attention on economic inequities
- the new Constitution covers all
• Policy of Full Public
phases of national development but
Disclosure
with emphasis not just on the
Ø Concept of Full

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Constitutional Law 1, Comm. Sarmiento

Public Disclosure
Ø Right to
Information
Ø Limitation of the
Policy on Full
Public Disclosure
Ø Privileged
Information

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