POLITICAL SCIENCE: the systematic

study of the state and the government

POLITICAL: comes from the Greek word

“polis” which means a “city” or “state”

SCIENCE: comes from the Latin word

“scire” which means “to know”
 SCOPE OF POLITICAL SCIENCE
1. POLITICAL THEORY – body of doctrines relating
to the origin, form, behavior and purposes of the
state.

2. PUBLIC LAW – organization of the government

and its powers and duties; limitation upon
government authority.

3. PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION – methods and

techniques used in the actual management of
state affairs.
 IMPORTANCE OF
POLITICAL SCIENCE
1. To discover the principles that should be
adhered to in public affairs and to study the
operations of the government.

2. Its findings can be used in seeking resolutions

to immediate situations.

3. To be able to deal with social and economic

problems and other matters of public and
private concerns.
CONCEPT OF STATE

A community of persons more or less

numerous, permanently occupying a definite
portion of territory, having a government of
their own, to which the great body of
inhabitants render obedience and enjoying
freedom from external control.
 ELEMENTS OF THE STATE
1. People – the inhabitants or mass population
living within the state.
2. Territory – the fixed portion of the surface of
the earth inhabited by the people of the state.
3. Government – the agency through which the
will of the state is expressed and carried out.
4. Sovereignty – the supreme power of the state
to command and enforce obedience to its will
from people and to have freedom from foreign
control.
 STATE NATION

 legal/political concept  ethnic concept

 one state may consist  one nation may be

of one or more nations made up of several
states
STATE GOVERNMENT

 principal  agent

 abstraction  externalize the will of

the state

 cannot exist without  can exist without a

the government state

 cannot be changed so  can be changed

long as the elements
are present
 FORMS of GOVERNMENT

As to number of persons exercising sovereign powers

1. Monarchy – one in which the supreme and final

authority is in the hands of a single person.
2. Aristocracy – one in which political power is
exercised by a few privileged class
3. Democracy – one in which political power is
exercised by a majority of people.
As to extent of powers by the central government

1. Unitary government – one in which the control

of national and local affairs is exercised by the
central or national government.
2. Federal government – one in which the powers
of government are divided between two sets of
organs, one for national affairs and the other for
local affairs.
As to relationship between the executive and the
legislative branches of the government

1. Parliamentary government – one in which

the state confers upon the legislature the
power to terminate the tenure of office of the
real executive.
2. Presidential government – one in which the
state makes the executive independent of the
legislature as regards his tenure, policies and
acts.
GOVERNMENT
of the
PHILIPPINES
in
TRANSITION
 PRE-SPANISH GOVERNMENT
 Barangay
 Datu
 Social classes
 Early laws
 SPANISH PERIOD
 Ferdinand Magellan (1521)
 Miguel Lopez de Legazpi (1566)
 Katipunan government (1892)
 Biak na Bato Republic (1897)
 Dictatorial government (1898)
“Philippine Independence at Kawit, Cavite”
 Revolutionary government (1898)
 First Philippine Republic (1898)
“Malolos Constitution”
 AMERICAN PERIOD
 Treaty of Paris
 Military government (1898)
 Civil government (1901)
 Commonwealth government (1934)
“Tydings Mc Duffie Law”
 JAPANESE PERIOD

 Japanese Military Administration (1942)

 The Philippine Executive Commission
 The Japanese-sponsored Republic of the
Philippines (1943)
 The PROVISIONAL GOV’T. of 1986
1. Revolutionary
2. De jure/de facto
3. Constitutional
4. Democratic
5. Powers
6. Provisional Constitution
 CONSTITUTION

is a written instrument by which the

fundamental powers of the government
are established, limited and defined by
which these powers are distributed among
the several departments/branches for the
benefit of the people.
 NATURE & PURPOSE OF
CONSTITUTION

1. Supreme/Fundamental Law
Constitution is binding on all citizens and
all organs of the government. It is the law to
which all other laws must conform.

2. Basic Framework
Constitution is providing system to the
government; assigning powers and duties to
different government departments/branches;
protecting the rights of individuals against
arbitrary actions of the government.
 Requisites of a
good written constitution
As to form As to contents
1. Brief 1. Constitution of
2. Broad government
3. Definite 2. Constitution of
liberty
3. Constitution of
sovereignty
 CONSTITUTION STATUTE

 a legislation direct  a legislation from the

from the people people’s representatives
 merely states the  provides the details of
general framework of the subject it treats
the law
 not merely to meet  to meet existing
existing conditions conditions only
but to govern the
future
 the supreme or  Law born-out from the
fundamental law Constitution
CONSTITUTIONS
OF THE
REPUBLIC OF THE
PHILIPPINES
Malolos Constitution
 September 15, 1898, Congress met in
Malolos, Bulacan and framed the Malolos
Constitution
 lasted only for a short period of time from
January 23, 1899 to March 23, 1901
1935 Constitution
 March 24, 1934 – Pres. Roosevelt
authorized the calling of a constitutional
convention to draft a constitution of the
Philippines
 March 23, 1935 – Pres. Roosevelt
approved the Constitution.
 May 14, 1935 – Filipinos ratified the
Constitution
1973 Constitution
 March 16, 1967 – Congress authorized the
holding of a constitutional convention
 June 1, 1971 – the convention started to rewrite
the Constitution
 November 30, 1972 – the proposed Constitution
was signed
 September 21, 1972 – Pre. Marcos placed the
entire country under martial law
 January 17, 1973 – Filipinos ratified the
Constitution
Freedom Constitution

 February 22-25, 1986 - 4 day people

power revolt
 March 25, 1986 - Freedom Constitution
was promulgated
1987 Constitution
 April 23, 1986 - Constitutional Commission
was created to draft the proposed
Constitution
 June 2, 1986 - the Constitutional
Commission convened
 October 15, 1986 - draft of the Constitution
was finished
 February 2, 1987 - the 1987 Constitution
was ratified by the people on a plebiscite