ARTICLE VII-PROVISIONS 5.

In case of tie, Congress shall vote separately and the candidate having the majority votes
of all members of both Houses shall be proclaimed the winner.
Section 1: President
“The executive power shall be vested in the President of the Philippines.” Role of Congress in Presidential Election is to canvass the votes (See Barbers vs. Comelec)

The president Supreme Court en banc- are the Presidential Electoral Tribunal
1. The head of the state
2. Functions as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Philippines (AFP) NOTE:
3. Has control over all executive departments, bureaus and offices. • No pre-proclamation controversy is allowed against Presidential or Vice-
4. Elected via direct vote of the people. Presidential candidates,
EXCEPT: the correction of manifest errors in the certificate of canvass or election returns or
Section 2: Qualifications State of Votes
1. Natural-born citizen • Only the candidate who garners the second or third highest number of votes may
⁃ Section 2, Article IV of the 1987 Constitution states, “Natural-born citizens are those question the proclamation of a winner.
who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to • COMELEC has no jurisdiction over pre-proclamation controversies in presidential,
acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship.” vice-presidential, senatorial and congressional elections; Correction of Manifest
2. Registered voter Error in the Statement of Votes may be filed directly with COMELEC en banc.
3. Able to read and write
4. At least 40 yrs old on the day of election Section 5: Oath
5. Resident for at least 10 yrs immediately preceding the election PURPOSE: the oath is not a source of substantive power but merely intended to deepen the
⁃ He must have a docile somewhere; the intention to remain there (animus manned) sense of responsibility of the president and ensure a more “conscientious discharge of power”
and the intention to abandon the old domicile (animus non revertendi) ⁃ To properly execute laws
⁃ To do more justice to every man
Section 3: Vice-President ⁃ The oath shall be “registered in heaven.
• Same qualifications and term of office as President. The oath is also intended to preserve and protect the Constitution.
• Elected and removed in same manner as President.
• May be a member of the Cabinet without need of confirmation Section 6: Privilege and Salary
⁃ REASON: to prevent the VP to become merely a standby, “a superfluous excellency” PRIVILEGES:
that has nothing to do but to pray for the vacancy of the presidency. 1. Official residence (Malacanang Palace)
2. Immunity from suit – not provided in the Constitution; to prevent distraction from
Section 4: Election and Term of Office performance of duties.
PRESIDENT – six years without re-election
VICE-PRESIDENT – six years, 2 successive terms In the case of De Lima vs. Duterte, Presidential immunity in this jurisdiction attaches during
the entire tenure of the President. The immunity makes no distinction with regard to the
Q: If the Vice-President succeeds in the Presidency, is he allowed to run for President subject matter of the suit; it applies whether or not the acts subject matter of the suit are part
in the next election? of his duties and functions as President. Furthermore, no balancing of interest has ever been
A: Yes, provided he did not hold the office of the President for more than 4 yrs. applied to Presidential immunity under our jurisprudence.

Congress- are the Board of Canvassers SALARY

• Fixed by law
PROCEDURE: • Cannot be decreased during tenure (actual time he held office) and cannot be increased
1. Duly certified returns from each province or city shall be transmitted to Congress, directed during his term (only upon expiration of the term)
to the Senate President • Shall not receive during tenure any other emolument from Government or any other source.
2. Upon receipt of certificate of canvass, the Senate President shall, not later than 30 days ⁃ Emoluments- any perquisite, advantage, profit arising from the possession of an
after election day, open all the certificates in the presence of the Senate and the House of office.
reps in a joint public session
3. Congress shall determine the due authenticity and due execution of the certificate canvass Section 7: Assumption of Office
and start canvassing the votes The section refers to:
4. Congress shall proclaim the candidate having the highest number of votes • Death or permanent disability of the president;
SOLUTION: VP-elect shall become the president.

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 president,” a term that has only enjoyed popular use after the May 2016 elections.
• Failure to elect the president, as where the canvas of the presidential elections The automation of the vote, and the commanding lead of the top contender, has led
has not yet completed, or where one reason or another the presidential election to an early consensus that results as presented in the informal tallies are definitive,
has not been held; ahead of the formal process mandated by the Constitution. This process begins upon
• Failure of the president-elect to qualify, that is, to assume his office by taking the the Congress’ official proclamation of the candidate as the duly-elected President of
oath and entering into discharge of his duties. the Philippines. The candidate is henceforth officially referred to as the “president-
SOLUTION:VP-elect shall merely act as president until such time as the president shall have elect” until his inaugural. “Incumbent president” is a term called for a president in the
been qualified. middle of his incumbency. When a president in the middle of his tenure, temporarily
unable to fulfill his duty, the VP as “acting president” will take-over.
Section 8: Succession
Deals with the vacancies occurring in the office of the president during his incumbency and is Section 12: Illness of the President
limited to four situation: Public shall be informed of the state of his health
1. Death; Members of the Cabinet in charge of national security and foreign relations and;
2. Permanent disability; The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces shall not be denied access to the President during
⁃ NOTE: permanent disability can be death, impeachment or resignation. such illness.
⁃ Temporary disability- The president is temporarily unable to discharge the powers
and duties of his office. It can be due to temporary illness (Both mental and physical) Section 13: Prohibition
3. Removal 1. Cannot hold any other office or employment during tenure
4. Resignation 2. Cannot, during tenure, directly or indirectly practice any profession, participate in any
business or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special
SUCCESSION IN CASE OF VACANCY: privilege granted by the Government
1. Vice-President 3. Strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office;
2. Senate President 4. President’s spouse and relatives by consanguinity or affinity within the 4th civil degree be
3. Speaker of the House appointed as members of the Constitutional Commissions, or the Office of the Ombudsman,
or as Secretaries, Undersecretaries, chairmen or heads of bureaus or
Section 9: Vacancy of Vice-Presidency offices, including GOCCs and subsidiaries.

If the VP position is vacant: WHO CANNOT HOLD ANY OTHER OFFICE DURING TENURE:
⁃ The President shall nominate one from the Senate and the House of Reps who shall 1. President
assume office upon confirmation by a majority vote of all the Members of the 2. Vice-President
Houses, voting separately. 3. Cabinet Members
4. Deputies and Assistants
Sec. 10: Special Election in Case of Vacancy
WHEN: 10:00 a.m. of the third day after the vacancy EXCEPTIONS:
Congress will convene without need of a call and within 7 days enact a law calling for a 1. When Vice-President is appointed as member of the Cabinet
special election to be held not earlier than 45 days nor later than 60 days from time of such 2. When Vice-President acts as President
call. 3. When Secretary of Justice is also a member of the Judiciary

Sec. 11: Acting President
GROUND: inability to discharge the powers and duties of the office
HOW: written declaration of the President or majority of his Cabinet
Vice-President shall assume office as Acting President
RESUMPTION OF OFFICE: also through written declaration of the President; if majority of
Cabinet denies such declaration, Congress shall decide the issue (if not in session, Congress
will convene within 48 hrs) within 10 days (12 days if not in session), by 2/3 vote
Difference between presumptive president, president elect, incumbent president and acting
president.
⁃ From the time the candidate indisputably wins the polls to the formal proclamation of
Congress, the media has taken to referring to the candidate as the “presumptive
Q: Does the President have the same prohibition as Congress?
A: No, because Congress is only prohibited from holding offices in GOCCs and any other
government instrumentality, agency or subsidiary during term while Executive is prohibited
from holding any other office, whether public or private during tenure.
Q: What is ex officio capacity?
A: When an official holds other duties for the same office where he does not receive
additional compensation and the office is required by his primary function.
Section 14 and 15: Appointments extended by Acting President
• Effective unless revoked by the elected President within 90 days from his
assumption or reassumption of office.

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• Acting President shall not make appointments 2 months immediately before the
next presidential elections and up to the end of his term,
EXCEPT: temporary appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein
will
prejudice public service or endanger public safety.
Section 16: Appointing Power
Appointment may be defined as the selection, by the authority vested with the power, of an
individual who is to exercise the functions of a given office.
⁃ It was likewise defined as “act of designation by the appointing officer, body or board,
to whom that power has been delegated, of the individual who is to exercise the
functions of a given office.”
⁃ Although intrinsically executive and therefore pertaining mainly to the president, the
appointing power may be exercised by the legislature and by the judiciary, as well as
the Constitutional Commission, over their own respective personnel.
An appointment is done in writing through what is called commission. The commission is the
written evidence of an appointment.
In General vs. Urro, G.R. No. 191560. March 29, 2011:
Under the first classification, appointments can either be permanent or temporary (acting).
A basic distinction is that a permanent appointee can only be removed from office for cause;
whereas a temporary appointee can be removed even without hearing or cause.
Under the second classification, an appointment can either be regular or ad interim. A
regular appointment is one made while Congress is in session, while an ad interim
appointment is one issued during the recess of Congress. In strict terms, presidential
appointments that require no confirmation from the Commission on Appointments cannot be
properly characterized as either a regular or an ad interim appointment.
Thorough definitions of the kinds of appointments:
Regular Appointment- made by the president while the congress is in session, takes effect
only after confirmation by the commission on appointments, and once approved, continues
until the end of the term of the appointee.
Permanent Appointment- those extended to persons possessing the requisite eligibility and
are thus protected by the constitution provision on security of tenure.
Temporary appointment- given to persons without such eligibility’s re revocable at will and
without the necessity of just cause or a valid investigation . They are extended upon the
understanding that the appointing power has not yet decided on a permanent appointee and
that the temporary appointee may be replaced at any time of final choice shall have been
made by the president.
Ad interim appointment-means a permanent appointment made by the President in the
meantime that Congress is in recess. It does not mean a temporary appointment that can be
withdrawn or revoked at any time. An ad interim appointment is a permanent appointment
because it takes effect immediately and can no longer be withdrawn by the President once
the appointee has qualified into office.
An ad interim appointment can be terminated for two causes specified in the Constitution:
1. The disapproval of his ad interim appointment by the Commission on Appointments.
2. The adjournment of Congress without the Commission on Appointments acting on his
appointment.
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Ad Interim Appointment vs. Temporary Appointment
While an ad interim appointment is permanent and irrevocable except as provided by law, an
appointment or designation in a temporary or acting capacity can be withdrawn or revoked at
the pleasure of the appointing power. A temporary or acting appointee does not enjoy any
security of tenure, no matter how briefly. This is the kind of appointment that the Constitution
prohibits the President from making to the three independent constitutional commissions,
including the COMELEC.
Was the renewal of appointment valid?
There is no dispute that an ad interim appointee disapproved by the Commission on
Appointments can no longer be extended a new appointment. The disapproval is a final
decision of the Commission on Appointments in the exercise of its checking power on the
appointing authority of the President. The disapproval is a decision on the merits, being a
refusal by the Commission on Appointments to give its consent after deliberating on the
qualifications of the appointee. Since the Constitution does not provide for any appeal from
such decision, the disapproval is final and binding on the appointee as well as on the
appointing power. In this instance, the President can no longer renew the appointment not
because of the constitutional prohibition on reappointment, but because of a final decision by
the Commission on Appointments to withhold its consent to the appointment.
An ad interim appointment that is by-passed because of lack of time or failure of the
Commission on Appointments to organize is another matter. A by-passed appointment is one
that has not been finally acted upon on the merits by the Commission on Appointments at the
close of the session of Congress. There is no final decision by the Commission on
Appointments to give or withhold its consent to the appointment as required by the
Constitution. Absent such decision, the President is free to renew the ad interim appointment
of a by-passed appointee.
Designation and Appointed
Designation may also be loosely defined as an appointment because it likewise involves the
naming of a particular person to a specified public office. That is the common understanding
of the term.
Where the person is merely designated and not appointed, the implication is that he shall
hold the office only in a temporary capacity and may be replaced at will by the appointing
authority. In this sense, the designation is considered only an acting or temporary
appointment, which does not confer only an acting or temporary appointment, which does not
confer security of tenure on the person named.
A designation connotes an imposition of additional duties, usually by law, upon a person
already in the public service by virtue of an earlier appointment. It does not entail payment of
additional benefits or grant upon a person so designated the right to claim the salary attached
to that position.
Both the temporary appointment and designation are not subject to confirmation by the
commission on Appointments.
Officials subject to confirmation of Commission on appointments:
1. Heads of executive departments
2. Ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls;
3. Officers of the AFP from the rank of colonel or naval captain; and
4. Other officers like regular members of the Judicial bar council and chairman and
commissioners (COMELEC, COAUDIT, CSC)
5. Other ministers whose appointments are vested in him by the Constitution (Sarmiento
vs. Mison, December 17, 1987)
Are PNP chiefs need to be submitted to the CA?
No, thereunder, the police force is different from and independent of the armed forces and the
ranks in the military are not similar to those in the philippine national police. Thus, directors
and chief superintendents of the PNP, such as the herein respondent police officers, do not
fall under the first category of presidential appointees requiring the confirmation by the
commission on Appointments (Manalo vs. Sistoza, Aug 11. 1999)
Midnight appointment- those made by the president or acting president two months
immediately before the next presidential elections and up to the end of his term, except
temporary appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein will
prejudice public service or danger public safety. (Section 15, Art VII)
Section 17: Power of Control
4. The Power to Control
The President of the Philippines has the mandate of control over all the executive
departments, bureaus, and offices. This includes restructuring, reconfiguring, and
appointments of their respective officials. The Administrative Code also provides for the
President to be responsible for the abovementioned offices’ strict implementation of laws.
The residual powers of the president means that unless Congress provides otherwise, the
President shall exercise such other powers and functions vested in the President which are
provided for under the laws and which are not specifically enumerated above, or which are
not delegated by the President in accordance with law.
Control vs. Supervision
Control is defines as “the power of an officer to alter or modify or nullify or set aside what a
subordinate officer had done in the performance of his duties and to substitute the judgement
of the former for that of the latter.”
Supervision means “overseeing or the power or authority of an officer to see that subordinate
officers perform their duties if the latter fail or neglected to fulfill them , then the former may
take action or steps as prescribe by law to make them perform these duties.
In the case of Drilon vs. Lim, An officer in control lays down the rules in doing of an act. If they
are not followed, he may, in his discretion, order the act undone or re-done by his subordinate
or he may even decide to do it himself. Supervision does not cover such authority. The
supervisor or superintendent merely sees to it that the rules are followed, but he himself does
not lay down such rules.
The doctrine of qualified political agency essentially postulates that the heads of the
various executive departments are the alter egos of the President, and, thus, the actions
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taken by such heads in the performance of their official duties are deemed the acts of the
President unless the President himself should disapprove such acts. This doctrine is in
recognition of the fact that in our presidential form of government, all executive organizations
are adjuncts of a single Chief Executive; that the heads of the Executive Departments are
assistants and agents of the Chief Executive; and that the multiple executive functions of the
President as the Chief Executive are performed through the Executive Departments. The
doctrine has been adopted here out of practical necessity, considering that the President
cannot be expected to personally perform the multifarious functions of the executive office.
This doctrine however, does not extend to ex officio board of directors of a government-
owned or controlled corporation of which they became members not by appointment of the
president but by authority of law.
The doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies requires that when an
administrative remedy is provided by law, relief must be sought by exhausting this remedy
before judicial intervention may be availed of.
In the executive department, this doctrine entails that a cabinet secretary may be taken to the
Office of the President before resorting to judicial action.
The “take-care” Clause or the faithful execution clause
The power to take care that the laws are be faithfully executed makes the president a
dominant figure in the administration of the government.
The law he supposed to enforce includes:
1. The Constitution
2. Statutes
3. Judicial decisions,
4. Administrative rules and regulations
5. Municipal ordinances
Hence, despite the law being doubtful the president still has the duty to enforce or execute
them. A contrary opinion would allow him not only to negate the will of the legislature but also
to encroach upon the prerogatives of the judiciary.
The faithful execution clause is best construed as an obligation imposed on the President,
not a separate grant of power. It simply underscores the rule of law and, corollary, the
cardinal principle that the president is not above laws but is obligated to obey and execute
them.
Section 18: Commander-in-Chief Powers of the President
The commander-in-chief clause:
In the case of Gudani vs. Corona, The commander-in-chief provision in the Constitution is
denominated as Section 18, Article VII, which begins with the simple declaration that “the
President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines x x x"
Outside explicit constitutional limitations, such as those found in Section 5, Article XVI, the
commander-in-chief clause vests on the President, as commander-in-chief, absolute authority
over the persons and actions of the members of the armed forces. Such authority includes
the ability of the President to restrict the travel, movement and speech of military officers,
activities which may otherwise be sanctioned under civilian law.
The power of the commander-in-chief includes:
• Power to call on the military or armed forces
• Power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus
• Power to declare martial law
CALLING OUT POWER or (Power to call on the military or armed forces)
Conditions for calling out the armed forces:
• To suppress lawless violence, rebellion or invasion.
• Whenever it becomes necessary.
MARTIAL LAW
Conditions for declaration of Martial Law:
• When there is (1) rebellion or (2) invasion (grounds)
• Public safety requires the declaration
NOTA BENE: There must be actual rebellion or invasion. Differ this from the calling out power
which does not require actual rebellion or invasion but only that whenever it (the exercise of
the calling out power) becomes necessary to suppress lawless violence, rebellion or invasion.
(See Sanlakas vs. Reyes, G.R. No. 159085, Feb. 3, 2004)
What happens when Martial Law is declared:
• No suspension of operation of the Constitution
• No supplanting of the functioning of the civil courts and legislative assemblies
• No conferment of jurisdiction on military courts and agencies over civilians where
civil courts are able to function
• No automatic suspension of the writ of habeas corpus
Constitutional guards against the power to declare Martial Law:
• Will last only for 60 days, unless sooner revoked by Congress
• Within 48 hours after declaration, President is required to submit a report to
Congress
• Congress shall revoke or extend the period by jointly voting with an absolute
majority and President may not reverse such revocation
• If Congress is not in session, they shall convene within 24 hours from such
declaration without need for call
• Supreme Court may nullify the declaration on the ground of lack of factual basis,
judgment to be rendered within 30 days from its filing by any ordinary citizen
SUSPENSION OF THE WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS
(NOTE: the conditions and effect of the suspension of the writ is similar to declaration of
martial law)
Restrictions to the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus:
• Apply only to persons judicially charged for rebellion
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• Apply only to persons judicially charged for offenses inherent in or directly
connected with invasion
• The person arrested must be judicially charged within 3 days from arrest,
otherwise he shall be released
Section 19: Executive Clemencies
“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.
He shall also have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the
Members of the Congress.”
EXECUTIVE CLEMENCIES:
1. Amnesty
2. Pardon
3. Reprieve
4. Commutation
5. Remit fines and forfeitures
Amnesty – an act of grace by the Chief Executive as a result of the grant of amnesty, the
criminal liability of the offender and all the effects of the crime are completely erased. It is a
blanket pardon given to a class of persons who committed crimes that are political in nature.
To be valid, Congress has to concur with a majority vote (thus, it is a public act) and the
accused must admit his guilt.
Amnesty is given to political offenders
⁃ It is granted to classes of persons not to individuals.
⁃ Amnesty need not be accepted
⁃ Amnesty requires the concurrence of the congress.
⁃ Amnesty is a public act
⁃ Amnesty looks backward and puts the offense into oblivion.
Pardon – a private act of the President granted after judgment by final conviction for ordinary
offenses. It may be absolute or condition, in which case, acceptance of condition – if
burdensome to the accused – is necessary. The effect is to relieve the accused from further
punishment, thus, if given after sentence has been served, its effect is to extinguish the
accessory penalties. In case of administrative cases, effect is reinstatement but no payment
of backwages.
The very essence of a pardon is forgiveness or remission of guilt but not forgetfulness
(Garcia vs. COA, Sept 14, 1993)
Pardon is given to violators of the laws of the state or ordinary offenders.
⁃ Pardon must be accepted
⁃ Pardon does not need the concurrence of congress
⁃ Pardon is a private act of the President
⁃ Pardon looks forward and relieves the pardon of the consequences of the offense.
Limitations on pardon: Section 21: Treaty-making Power
1. Cannot be granted in cases of impeachment; “No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at
2. Cannot be granted in violations of election laws without favorable recommendations least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.”
of the COMELEC;
3. Can be granted only after convictions by final judgement; Power to enter into and ratify treaties is sole prerogative of the Executive (See AKBAYAN vs.
4. Cannot be granted in cases of legislative contempt or civil contempt; except amnesty Aquino
5. Cannot absolve convict of civil liability;
6. Cannot restore public office No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at
least 2/3 of all members of senate.
Effects of pardon: (G.R. No. 238875, March 16, 2021)
1. Restore not only the offenders liberty but also his civil and political rights.
Executive agreements need no senate concurrence
KINDS OF PARDON: The right of the executive to enter into binding agreements without the necessity of
Absolute or conditional- Absolute pardon is one extended without any strings attached, so subsequent congressional approval has been confirmed by long usage.
to speak, whereas a conditional pardon is one under which the convict is required to comply
with certain requirement. The power of the president to enter into binding executive agreements without senate
Plenary or partial- Plenary pardon extinguishes all the penalties imposed upon the concurrence is already all established in this jurisdiction. (Saguisag vs. Ochoa, January 12,
offender, including accessory disabilities, whereas a partial pardon does not. 2016)

Reprieve – discretionary upon the President to suspend the enforcement of judgment.
⁃ It is merely a postponement of a sentence to a date certain, or a stay of execution. It
may be ordered to enable the government to secure additional evidence to ascertain
the guilt of the convict or, in the case of the execution of the death sentence upon a
pregnant woman, to prevent the killing of her unborn child.
Commutation- reduction or mitigation of the penalty e.g., when the death sentence is
reduced to life imprisonment.
Remission of fines and forfeitures- merely prevents the collection of fines or the
confiscation of forfeited property; it cannot have the. effect of returning property which has
been vested in.
Example: EDCA, VFA
In case of Pangilinan vs. Cayetano, March 16, 2021, while the philippine constitution provides
that a votes of 2/3 of all the members of the senate is required in ratifying a treaty, there is no
similar specification for withdrawal from a treaty, thus, vesting the power to withdraw in the
president alone.
The president, as primary architect of foreign policy, is subject to the Constitution and existing
statute as there were provisions in a prior law, RA 9851, which amended the Rome statute.
An executive agreement, according to the supreme court, is a treaty within the meaning of
that word in international law and constitutes enforceable domestic law.

Extra info’s: JUST IN CASE
Parole- release from imprisonment, but without full restoration of liberty, as a parole is in the
custody of the law although not in confinement.
⁃ Executive in nature
⁃ Parole presupposes the prior service of part of the sentence.
Probation- Judicial in nature
⁃ Probation may be granted before actual service of the sentence.
Section 20: Power to Contract or Guarantee Foreign Loans (BORROWING POWER)
Treaty, an executive agreement does not require legislative concurrence, is usually less
formal and deals with a narrower range of subjects. All that would be required for its efficacy
would be the agreements between states; it must be written; and must be governed by
international law.
Section 22: Preparation and Submission of Budget (BUDGETARY POWER)
Within 30 days from opening session, the president shall submit to congress a budget of
expenditures and sources of financing, including receipts from existing and proposed revenue
measures.

The president may contract guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the republic with the Section 23: SONA (INFORMING POWER)
concurrence of the monetary board (Bangkok sentral, RA 265), subject to such limitations as Sec. 23: The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He
may be provided by law. may also appear before it at any other time.

The monetary board shall subject to congress report on loans within 30 days from end of
every quarter.

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EXTRA EXTRA EXTRA: Proclamations — Acts of the President fixing a date or declaring a status or condition of
public moment or interest, upon the existence of which the operation of a specific law or
Executive Privilege regulation is made to depend, shall be promulgated in proclamations which shall have the
Defined as the power of the government to withhold information form the public, the courts force of an executive order.
and the congress or as the “the right of the president and high-level executive branch officers Memorandum orders — Acts of the President on matters of administrative detail, or of
to withhold information from congress, the courts, and ultimately the public. subordinate or temporary interest which only concern a particular officer or government office
shall be embodied in memorandum orders.
KINDS OF EXECUTIVE PRIVILEGE: Memorandum circulars — Acts of the President on matters relating to internal administration,
Informer’s privilege- kinds of privilege the government not to disclose the identity of the which the President desires to bring to the attention of all or some of the departments,
person or persons who furnish information on violations of law to officers charged with the agencies, bureaus, or offices of the government, for information or compliance, shall be
enforcement of law. embodied in memorandum circulars.
Presidential communications privilege- applies to the decision-making of the president, General or special orders — Acts and commands of the President in his capacity as
rooted in the constitutional principles of separation of powers and the presidents unique commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall be issued as general or
constitutional role. special orders.
⁃ Applies to documents in their entirety, and covers final and post-decisional materials
as well as pre-deliberative ones. It is important to note that during the term of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, he used
executive issuances known as presidential decrees as a form of legislation. These decrees
Elements of Presidential Communications Privilege: have the full force and effect of laws because at the time the legislature did not exist and,
1. The protected communication must relate to “quintessential and non-delegable when the 1973 Constitution was put into full force and effect, it gave the power to the
presidential power,” President to do as such. This continued until the first year of President Corazon C. Aquino’s
2. The communication must be authored or “solicited and received” by a close advisor of term. However, President Aquino opted to used executive orders instead of presidential
the president, such as a member of the cabinet, or the president himself; and, decrees. President Aquino’s executive orders, however, still had the full force and effect of
3. The presidential communications privilege that may be overcome by a showing of laws until the ratification of the 1987 Constitution.
adequate need, such that the information elsewhere by an appropriate investigating
authority.
Deliberative process privilege- confers such upon the documents covered by the same.
“Not on the need to protect national security but, on the obvious realization that officials will
not communicate candidly among themselves if each remark is a potential item of discovery
and front page news, the objective of the privilege being enhance the quality of agency
decisions.
Diplomatic negotiations privilege- similar to presidential communications, this privilege
seeks, through the same means, to protect the independence in decision making of the
president, particularly in its capacity as the ’sole organ of the nations.’ And, as with the
deliberative process privilege, the privilege accorded to diplomatic negotiations arises not on
account of the content of the information per se, but because the information is a part of a
process of deliberation which, in pursuit of the public interest, must be presumed confidential.
State secret privilege- privilege that if types of information that if disclosed would subvert
crucial military or diplomatic objectives.

THE POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

1. Ordinance power
The President of the Philippines has the power to give executive issuances, which are means
to streamline the policy and programs of an administration. There are six issuances that the
President may issue. They are the following as defined in the Administrative Code of 1987:
Executive orders — Acts of the President providing for rules of a general or permanent
character in implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory powers shall be
promulgated in executive orders.
Administrative orders — Acts of the President which relate to particular aspects of
governmental operations in pursuance of his duties as the administrative head shall be
promulgated in administrative orders.