ARTICLE VII

THE PRESIDENCY
b. Power to suspend the
privilege of the Writ of Habeas
Corpus
 Privilege of habeas corpus is a writ directed to
the person detaining another, commanding him
to produce the body of the prisoner at a
designated time and place, with the day and
cause oh his caption and detention, to do ,
submit to, and receive whatever the court or the
judge awarding the writ shall consider in that
behalf.
Grounds for suspension
 The president may, in case of invasion
when public safety requires it or rebellion
when public safety requires It or both
cases suspend the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus. The enumeration for
suspension under the constitution is
exclusive, which means that no other
ground may justify the suspension of the
writ
Duration
1. The duration of such suspension or
proclamation shall not exceed sixty
days, following which it shall be
automatically lifted.
2. Within forty-eight hours after such
suspension or proclamation, the President
shall personally or in writing report his
action to the Congress.
 The Congress by a majority vote of all its
members voting jointly, revoke the suspension
and may also extend upon the initiative of the
president.
Factual basis of suspension
 The present constitution now provides that
the supreme court may review, in an
appropriate proceeding filled by any
citizen, the sufficiency of the factual basis
of the proclamation or martial law or the
suspension of the privilege of the writ or
the extension thereof, and must
promulgate its decision thereon within 30
days from filing.
6. PARDONING POWER
 Governor-general is granted the exclusive
power to grant pardon and reprieves and remit
fines and forfeitures.
 This power is now vested in the president of
the Philippines.
 The pardoning power exclusively vested in the
chief executive , and the exercise of the power
may not,therefore,be vested in anyone else.
 The pardoning power cannot be restricted or
controlled by legislative action
 This power is purely executive acts, which are
not subject to judicial scrutiny
PARDON
 Is an act of grace , proceeding from the
power entrusted with the execution of the
laws, which exempts an individual on
whom it is bestowed from the punishment
the law inflicts for a crime he has
committed.
COMMUTATION
 Is a remission of a part of the punishment,
a submission of a less penalty for the
originally imposed
Reprieve
 Is a postponement of execution or a
temporary suspension of execution
Remit fines and forfeiture
 meaning exoneration of fines and forfeited
property
AMNESTY
 act of grace, concurred in by the
Legislature, usually extended to groups of
persons who committed political offenses,
which puts into oblivion the offense itself.
1. It may not be given or granted in
impeachment cases
2. No pardon can be granted to cases of
violation of election laws without the
recommendation of the COMELEC
3. Amnesty cannot be granted without the
concurrence of congress
4. Pardoning power can only be exercised
or be granted after conviction
KINDS OF PARDON
ABSOLUTE PARDON
 Is granted without any conditions
whatsoever.
 Not only blots out the crime committed, but
removes all disabilities resulting from the
conviction
CONDITIONAL PARDON
 Is granted by the president subject to such
conditions or qualifications, as he may
deem necessary or see fit.
DIPLOMATIC POWER
 As the chief diplomat, the president
exercises the power to conduct the
country’s external affairs. This power
includes the power to send and receive
diplomatic representatives, the power to
recognize foreign government and the
power to enter into treaty and international
agreement.
Power to send and receive
diplomats
 It is the president who appoints, sends, and
instructs diplomatic agents and consuls.
These agents represent the country abroad and
are essential in carrying and maintaining our
diplomatic relations with other countries .The
assignment to and recall from posts of
ambassadors are prerogatives of the president,
for him to exercise as the exigencies of the
foreign service and the interests of the nation
from time to time dictate.
Power of Recognition
 The power of recognition is an important
power exercised by the president as Chief
Diplomat. This power refers to the power
recognized the legitimacy of foreign
governments. Such recognition of the
legitimacy of another country’s
government is a pre-requisite to diplomatic
relations with that country.
Treaty making power
 The president possesses the power to
enter into treaties and international
agreement. Treaties are international
agreement concluded between states in
written form and governed by international
law, weather embodied in a single
instrument and whatever its particular
designation.
 Treaty and executive Agreement,
distinguished .Treaties are formal,
documents which require ratification with
the approval of two thirds of the senate.
Executive agreements become binding
through executive action without the need
of vote by the senate or the congress.
 Executive agreement refers to
international agreements embodying
adjustments of detail carrying out well
established national policies and traditions
and those involving arrangements of a
more or less temporary nature.
BORROWING POWER
 The president has the authority to contract or
guarantee loan in the name of the republic of the
Philippines. The president is in best position to
exercise this power because he is responsible in
the implementation of the programs of our
government, aside from the fact, that his office
is equipped with the needed information to
determine the exigency of borrowing money.
These loans may be used to augment the
budget of the government as well as to finance
important development projects.
 However, it is required that before the president
can guarantee such foreign loan in the name of
the government, it must first receive the prior
concurrence of the monetary board of the central
bank. This limitation is provided because the
monetary board is in the best position to
determine weather an application for foreign
loan initiated by the president is within the
paying capacity of our country or not. Congress
can also provide other limitations on the
president’s power to contract or guarantee loan
through legislative enactments.
 Furthermore, the constitution requires the
monetary board to submit, within thirty (30)
days from the end of every quarter of the
calendar year, a complete report of its
decisions on applications for loans to be
contracted or guaranteed by the
government or government-owned and
controlled corporations which would have
the effect of increasing the foreign debt,
and containing other matters as may be
provided by law.
INFORMING POWER
 The president shall address the congress,
at the opening of its regular session (this is
referred to as the SONA). He may also
appear before it at any other time
Other Powers
 The president also exercises such other
powers, which are expressly conferred to
him under the constitution like the general
supervision over all local governments, the
power to call special session in the
congress to address emergency
measures, the power to approve bills at
the same tie to veto bills passed by
congress.