CONSTITUTIONAL LAW I authorities to execute the law and indicates the
10 September 2022 individual remedies for the violation of his rights. It
Scope Of Constitutional Law 1
**Constitutional Law 1 tackles Political Law
What is Political Law?
 Macariola vs Asuncion – Political Law is the
branch of public law which deals with the
organization and operation of the government
organs of the State, and it defines the relation of
the state with the inhabitants of its territory.
 People vs Perfecto – Political Law are the laws
regulating the relations sustained by the
inhabitants to the sovereign.
Constitutional Law – is the study of the
maintenance of the proper balance between the
authority as represented by the three inherent
powers of the State and liberty as guaranteed by
the bill of rights.
Fundamental and Inherent Powers of the State:
1. Police power
2. The power to tax
3. Imminent domain
Hierarchy of Rights: Life, Liberty, and Property
IMPT: There will always be a clash between the
exercise of the fundament and inherent powers of
the State and the guarantees under the bill of
rights.
Constitutional Law deals with the guarantees of
the Constitution to individual rights and the
limitations of on governmental actions.
Constitution is both a legal document and a
political plan. It embodies legal rules as well as
political principles. When we speak of
Constitutional Law in the strict sense of the term,
we actually refer to the legal rules of the
Constitution in the sense in which the concept is
understood in American and Philippine
jurisprudence, Constitutional Law is a term used to
designate the law embodied in the Constitution and
the legal principles growing out of the interpretation
and application made by the Courts of the proper
provision of the Constitution in specific cases.
Constitutional Law forms a distinct branch of
jurisprudence dealing with the legal principles
affecting the nature, the adoption, the amendment,
and the operation of the Constitution.
Administrative Law is that branch of public law
which fixes the organization of the government; it
determines the competence of the administrative
also deals with the exercise of executive power in
the making of rules in the decisions of questions
affecting their private rights.
Law on Public Offices – deals with public office
and public officers.
Law on Municipal Corporations / Law on Public
Corporations – deals with local government units;
local autonomy (Sec 25, Art. 2, and Art. 10 of 1987
Constitution)
Election Law – all laws pertaining to elections,
e.g., Omnibus Election Code, Absentee Voting Act,
Party-list System, Voter Registration, right to
suffrage (Art. 5, 1987 Constitution), etc.
Why is there a need to study Constitutional
Law?
 Art 14, Sec. 3, Par.1 states that “All
educational institutions shall include the
study of the Constitution as part of the
curricula.”
 In the study of law, it is required by the
Legal Education Board through LEB
Memorandum No. 25, series of 2021.
 Art. 2, Sec. 1, Sen. 2 states that
“Sovereignty resides in the people and all
government authority emanates from them.”
Basis in the Study of the Constitution
 All Constitution of the Philippines
 1935 Constitution
 1973 Constitution also known as the Marcos
Constitution
 1987 Constitution which is inspired by the
US Constitution
 Other organic laws that are applied in the
Philippines
o Philippine Bill of 1902
o Jones Law of 1916
o Tydings-McDuffie Law
 Statutes, executive orders, and decrees
promulgated
 Judicial decisions along with relevant rulings
of the Supreme Court
 Current political events
Constitution, In General
Constitution is a body of rules and maxims in
accordance with which the power and the
sovereignty are habitually exercised. The
Constitution prescribes the permanent framework
of a system of government to assign to the several
branches or department the respective powers and
duties and also to establish certain principles on
which the government is founded.

Classification of Constitution
 As to its adoption
1. Written Constitution – one where precepts
are embodied in one document or set of
documents (e.g., US Constitution). It can
either be democratic or monarchial.
a. Democratic Constitution – springs
from the authority of the people
b. Monarchial Constitution – granted
by a monarch as an act of grace to
his subjects
These kinds of constitution are also called
octroyed constitution because they
belong to past age.
2. Unwritten Constitution – consists of rules
which have not been integrated into a single
concrete form but are scattered in various
sources such as statutes of a fundament
character, judicial decisions, commentaries
from publicists, customs, and traditions. It is
one which has not been committed to
writing at any specific time but is the
accumulated product of gradual political and
legal development (e.g., English
Constitution).
3. Conventional Constitution – an enacted
Constitution; formally struck off at a definite
time and place following a conscious effort
taken by a constituent body. This is the
same with written constitution because they
are given a definite form by a steadily
constituted body such Con-Con and Con-
Ass.
4. Cumulative Constitution – the result of
political evolution; not inaugurated at any
specific time but changing by accretion
rather than a systematic method. This is the
same with the unwritten constitution
because they are not formulated at any
definite time but rather an outcome of a
political evolutionary process.
 As to its Amendment
1. Rigid Constitution – one that can be
amended only by a formal and usually
difficult process. A constitution is classified
as rigid when it may not be amended except
through a special process distinct from and
more involved than the method in changing
ordinary laws. It is supposed that by such a
special procedure, the constitution is
rendered difficult to change so that it will
acquire a greater degree of stability.
2. Flexible Constitution – one that can be
changed by ordinary legislation. A
constitution is classified as flexible when it
may be changed via and in the same
manner as changing ordinary legislation.
Factors affecting the Stability of a Constitution:
1. Rigidity and Flexibility
2. General temperament of the leaders and
the people
3. Degree of a nation’s political maturity and
homogeneity
IMPT: The Philippine Constitution is written,
conventional, and rigid.
Essential Elements of a Good, Written
Constitution
1. Broad – not just because it provides for the
organization of the entire government and
covers all persons and things within the
territory of the State but because it must be
comprehensive enough to provide for every
contingency.
2. Brief – it must confine itself to basic
principles to be implemented with the
legislative details more adjustable to change
and easier to amend.
3. Definite – to prevent ambiguity in its
provisions which could result in confusion
and divisiveness among the people.
Essential Parts of a Good, Written Constitution
1. Constitution of Liberty – series of
prescription setting forth the fundamental
civil and political rights of the citizens and
imposing limitations on the powers of the
government as a means of securing the
employment of those rights (Art. 3, 1987
Constitution).
2. Constitution of Government – a series of
provisions outlining the organization of the
government, enumerating its powers, laying
down certain rules relative to its
administration and defining the electorate
(Art. 6-9, 1987 Constitution).
3. Constitution of Sovereignty – provides for
provisions pointing out to the mode or
procedure in accordance with which formal
changes in the fundamental law may be
brought about (Art. 17, 1987 Constitution).