Philippine Constitution

& Government

Prepared by:
Ernie Ronel T. Mabahague
National Territory

Article 1

“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.”
National Territory

Article 1

- definition of national territory will bind internationally

if supported by international law
- included in the 1935 Constitution to prevent possible
dismemberment of the Philippines
- project adherence to the “archipelagic principle”
- legally situates the Philippines in the body of water
studded with islands delineated by the Treaty of
Paris (1898), modified by the Treaty of Washington
(1900), and Treaty with Great Britain (1930)
- national territory includes present and future
territories acquired through internationally
acceptable means
National Territory

Article 1

- also includes territories referred to by the1973

Constitution as those over which the Philippines has
historic right or legal title (e.g., Sabah, the Marianas,
Freedomland)
- Claim over aerial domain, territorial sea, the seabed,
the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other
submarine areas is based on the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) and the
Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation
(1944)
- internal waters are delineated based on the
archipelagic principle recognized in the UNCLOS
National Territory

*Archipelagic Principle
- the Philippines as one integrated unit instead of
being divided into more than 7,000 islands
- asserted along with the straight baseline method
- Outermost point of the archipelago are connected
with straight baseline
- all waters inside the baseline are considered internal
waters

*Baseline Method
- line from which the seaward limits of a state’s
territorial sea and certain other maritime zones of
jurisdiction are measured
- Follows low-water line of a coastal state
National Territory
• The UNCLOS does not entirely recognize the
Philippine position on the archipelagic principle.

• Vast areas of water claimed as internal waters are

subject to right of innocent passage.

• Philippines signed the UNCLOS with reservations

and designated sea lanes for foreign vessels.

• Republic Act 9522 or Baseline Law provide for one

baseline around the archipelago and separate
baseline for “regime of islands” outside the
archipelago
National Territory

*Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

- sea zone prescribed by the UNCLOS over which a

state has special rights regarding the exploration
and use of marine resources, including energy
production from water and wind
- stretches from the baseline out to 200 nautical miles
from its coast
- Confers “sovereign right” to a coastal state to
resources below the surface of the sea
- surface water is considered as international waters
Machineries of Government

A. The Philippine Executive

- consists of the President, the Vice-President,
the Cabinet and Local Governments

1. President (Article VII, Sec 1 of the 1987

Constitution)
- executive power is vested in the President
- President is “Head of State” and “Head of the
Government”
- commander in chief of the Armed Forces
- exercises power over all executive
departments, bureaus and offices
Machineries of Government

- elected by direct vote for a 6-year term

- ineligible for re-election
- term begins at noon of 30 of June after
election
- qualifications for Philippine president:
1. natural-born Filipino citizen
2. registered voter
3. able to read and write
4. at least forty years of age on election
day
5. resident for at least ten years
immediately before the election
 Presidential Seal

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Machineries of Government
*History

- Philippines had 15 presidents from January 23,

1899 to the present
- Emilio Aguinaldo was the first President until his
capture on March 23, 1901 by the Americans
- ceased to exist temporarily until the Philippine
Commonwealth in 1935
- Manuel Quezon became the 2nd President on
November 15, 1935
- Constitutional amendments in 1940 allowed him to
run for re-election in 1941
- extended his term in 1943 due to the outbreak of
World War II
Machineries of Government
- exile of the Commonwealth government led to the
creation of the Second Philippine Republic
- Jose P. Laurel served as the 3rd Philippine President
from October 14, 1943 to August 17, 1945
- Second Republic was dissolved by the Supreme
Court on September 17, 1945
- Commonwealth Republic was re-established with
Sergio Osmena, Sr. as the 4th President
- Osmena lost to Senate President Manuel Roxas in
the elections of 1946
- Manuel Roxas was inaugurated as the last
President of the Commonwealth and the first
President of the Third Republic (Independent
Republic)
- independence was recognized by the US on July 4,
1946
 Philippine Presidents

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Machineries of Government
- Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay, Carlos P.
Garcia, Diosdado Macapagal succeeded as the 2nd,
3rd, 4th and 5th presidents of the Third Republic
- Ferdinand Marcos became the last President of the
Third Republic when he declared Martial Law in
1972
- adopted a new Constitution in 1973 but declared a
Fourth Republic only in 1981 with him as first
President
- Marcos ruled the country for 20 years, the longest
by any Philippine President
- the 1986 Revolution installed Corazon Aquino as the
2nd President of the Fourth Republic
- a transitional Freedom Constitution was put into
effect
Machineries of Government

- the adoption of the 1987 Constitution

established Aquino as the first President of
the Fifth Republic
- Aquino was succeeded by Fidel V. Ramos,
Joseph Ejercito Estrada, and Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
presidents of the Fifth Republic
- Benigno S. Aquino III is currently the
President of the Philippines (5th president of
the 5th Republic and 15th president of the
Philippines)
Machineries of Government
*Powers of the President (Administrative Code of 1987)
1. Control over the Executive Branch
- power over all executive departments,
bureaus, and offices
- restructure, reconfigure offices and
appoint officials
- strict implementation of laws
2. Ordinance power
- give executive issuances to
streamline the policy and programs of the
government
- includes:
a) Executive orders – provides rules of
general character for implementation of
constitutional or statutory powers
Machineries of Government
b) Administrative Orders – relates to particular
aspects of governmental operations
c) Proclamations – fixing a date or declaring a
status or condition of public moment or interest upon
which the operation of a specific law is made
to depend; has the force of an executive order
d) Memorandum Orders – pertains to matters of
administrative detail for compliance of a specific
department
e) Memorandum Circulars – pertains to matters
relating to internal administration for
compliance of some or all departments
f) General or Special Orders – acts or
commands of the President as Commander- in-Chief
of the Armed Forces
Machineries of Government
*During the Marcos administration, Presidential Decrees
were issued as legislation and became part of the powers
of the President under the 1973 Constitution. However,
President Corazon Aquino preferred to issue Executive
Orders until the ratification of the 1987 Constitution.

3. Power over Aliens

- power over non-Filipinos in the country
- includes:
1) deportation
2) change of status from non-immigrant to
permanent resident without a visa
3) overrule decisions on deportation cases by the
Bureau of Immigration within 30 days of its issuance
4) exercise powers according to international law
Machineries of Government
4. Powers of eminent domain, escheat, land reservation
and recovery of ill-gotten wealth
- eminent domain: seizure of private property for
public use with just compensation
- escheat: reversion proceedings over lands
transferred or assigned to persons disqualified under the
constitution to acquire land
- land reservation: designate public land for
settlement or public use for a specific purpose;
reserve from sale, disposition or public use any land
belonging to the private domain of the government or any
friar lands the use of which is not directed by law
- recovery of ill-gotten wealth: issue orders of
sequestration or freezing of assets or accounts of public
officials or employees who illegally amassed properties
or wealth
Machineries of Government
5. Power of Appointment
- appoint officials of the government as provided by
the constitution and laws
- some will have to be approved by the
Commission on Appointments
6. Supervision over local governments
- supervise local governments despite their
autonomous status based on the Local
Government Code of 1991 (R.A. 7160)
- done by the Secretary of Interior and Local
Government
7. Other Powers
- residual powers enumerated by the
constitution and given by law
Machineries of Government
*Line of Succession
- if the President is unable to discharge the duties of his
office due to death, disability, or resignation, he may be
succeeded by:
1. Vice President
2. Senate President
3. Speaker of the House of Representatives

*Congress is mandated to enact a law calling for a special

election 3 days after the vacancy of the Office of the
President and Vice-President.

*Special election should occur 40 days after the enactment

of the law but not later than 60 days after its enactment.
Machineries of Government
2. Vice-President (Article VII, Sec 1 of the 1987
Constitution)

- elected directly by the people for a term of 6 years

and may run for re-election once
- term begins noon of June 30 after election
- may concurrently assume a Cabinet position if
appointed by the President
- mandated to assume the presidency if the position
becomes vacant
- in case of vacancy of this office, the President is
mandated to nominate a replacement with the
concurrence of the Committee on Appointments
- qualifications are the same as the President
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Machineries of Government
*History
- Malolos Constitution (1899) did not have a provision
for the Office of the vice-president (only prime
minister)
- first established under the 1935 Constitution
- Philippines had 12 vice-presidents since 1935
- Sergio Osmena, Sr. was the first vice-president who
served until 1944
- Osmena was re-elected in 1941 but term was
extended while in the United States
- Elpidio Quirino served as the 1st vice-president
under the Third Republic (1946)
- Fernando Lopez, Carlos P. Garcia, and Emmanuel
Pelaez succeeded as the 2nd, 3rd, 4th vice-presidents
Machineries of Government
- Lopez won again in 1965 and was re-elected until the
office of the vice-president was abolished with the
declaration of martial law in 1972
- the 1973 Constitution did not provide for the position
until constitutional amendments were made in 1978
- Arturo Tolentino occupied the position during the snap
election of 1986
- Tolentino stayed in office for just a few days after the
People Power Revolution installed a new government
- Salvador Laurel, Jr. held the position with the
ratification of the 1987 Constitution
- six people held the office of the Vice-President under
the Fifth Republic: Laurel, Joseph Ejercito Estrada,
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Noli de Castro,Jejomar
Binay (all elected); Teofisto Guingona, Jr. (appointed)
Machineries of Government
3. Cabinet Secretaries
- alter ego of the President in executing, with his
authority, the power of the Office of the President, in
their respective departments
- number vary from time to time depending on the
needs of a government
- President may create or dissolve any departments as
he sees fit
- Article 7, Section 16 allows the President to appoint
anyone to executive departments with the consent of
the Commission on Appointments
- individuals may become cabinet secretaries in acting
capacity until confirmed by the Commission on
Appointments
- may be removed if disapproved by the Commission
Machineries of Government
• Executive Secretary
• Secretary of Agrarian Reform
• Secretary of Agriculture
• Secretary of Budget and Management
• Secretary of Education
• Secretary of Energy
• Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources
• Secretary of Finance
• Secretary of Foreign Affairs
• Secretary of Health
• Secretary of Justice
• Secretary of Labor and Employment
• Secretary of National Defense
Machineries of Government
• Secretary of Public Works and Highways
• Secretary of Science and Technology
• Secretary of Social Welfare and Development
• Secretary of the Interior and Local Government
• Secretary of Trade and Industry
• Secretary of Transportation and Communications
• Secretary of Tourism
• Commission on Higher Education
• Director General of the National Economic and
Development Authority

*Not all Cabinet officials are subject to confirmation by

the Commission on Appointments.
Machineries of Government

*Powers of Cabinet Secretaries

- power to issue directives relative

to their departments (department
orders)
- Act as advisors to the President
for their respective areas
Machineries of Government
4. Local Governments
- Article X, Section 4 mandates that the President
supervise all local governments
- Local Government Code of 1991 grants relative
autonomy to local governments
- services that local governments must provide based
on the Local Government Code:

• facilities and research services for agriculture

and fishery activities, which include seedling
nurseries, demonstration farms, and irrigation
systems;
• health services, which include access to primary
health care, maternal and child care, and
medicines, medical supplies and equipment;
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ment.png
Machineries of Government
• social welfare services, which include programs and
projects for women, children, elderly, and persons with
disabilities, as well as vagrants, beggars, street
children, juvenile delinquents, and victims of drug
abuse;
• information services, which include job placement
information systems and a public library;
• a solid waste disposal system or environmental
management system;
• municipal/city/provincial buildings, cultural centers,
public parks, playgrounds, and sports facilities and
equipment;
• infrastructure facilities such as roads, bridges, school
buildings, health clinics, fish ports, water supply
systems, seawalls, dikes, drainage and sewerage, and
traffic signals and road signs;
Machineries of Government
• public markets, slaughterhouses, and other local
enterprises;
• public cemetery;
• tourism facilities and other tourist attractions; and
• sites for police and fire stations and substations
and municipal jail.

*They also have the power to levy taxes, fees and

charges that shall accrue exclusively to them.

*They can create their own sources of revenue.

Machineries of Government

* Local Chief Executives

1. Punong barangay (barangay)
2. Municipal Mayor (municipality)
3. City Mayor (city)
4. Governor (province)

- all local chief executives have the power to approve

or veto local ordinances recommended by local
legislators (councilors)
- offices of local chief executives are limited to three
consecutive three-year terms; they may not run
again unless they let one term pass
References
Bernas SJ, Joaquin. “The 1987 Philippine Constitution: A
Comprehensive Reviewer.” Quezon City: Rex Book Store, 2011

http://www.gov.ph/about/gov/exec/