Objectives:

►define state;S tate

►identify the elements of state;
►describe each element of the state in Philippine
setting; and
►enumerate concrete steps on how can we
become better citizens of their state.
Things to ponder……..

►Can we consider Philippines as one State despite of having

many islands? Or should we call it as States of Philippine
Republic?
►What is the importance of Territory in a certain state?
►How important autonomy (freedom) is in our country?
 Political Ethnic
Concept Concept

S tate
Government;
vs. N ation
People; culture
State and Nation
• The word “nation” is derived from the Latin word “natio” which means
birth or race.
• The terms nation and state are used as synonym
• According to Leacock, a nation is a body of people united by common
descent and language.
• People who share common ideas and naturally linked together by some
affinities and united are now called a nation.
• In the case of state feeling of oneness is not necessary as in the case of the
four elements constituting the State.
 STATE NATION
Existed not only at present but also in the Modern phenomenon.
ancient period

It is legal political It is racial cultural.

People organized for law within a definite People psychologically joined together
territory with common will to live together

A state MUST be sovereign People continue as a nation even if they do

not remain sovereign

Inhabited by heterogenous groups of Inhabited by homogenous groups of

people people
A community of persons, more
or less numerous, occupying a
definite portion of the earth’s
surface, having its own

S
government, through which the
inhabitants render habitual
obedience free from outside
control tate
A community of persons, more or
less numerous, occupying a
definite portion of the earth’s
surface, having its own
government, through which the

S
inhabitants render habitual
obedience free from outside
control
tate
The State and its
Elements
People
Elements of the State

Territory
Governmen
t Sovereignty
People No minimum/maximum

Rational inhabitants of a
state bind by law and living
together.
Capable of self defense and
procreation
Elements of a State
Population
• It is the people who make the state. Population is essential for the state. Greek
thinkers were of the view that the population should neither be too big nor too
small.
• According to Aristotle, the number should be neither too large nor too small. It
should be large enough to be self – sufficing and small enough to be well
governed.
• Inhabitants of the state
• There should be male and female for the continuity of the state
• Necessary for the existence of the state
Territory
Geographical profile of a
state which includes land,
waters and the space above.

Elements of a State
Territory
• There can be no state without a fixed territory.
• Fixed portion of the surface of the Earth inhabited by the people of the State.
As an element of a State, it is an area over which a state has effective control.
• People need territory to live and organize themselves socially and politically. It
may be remembered that the territory of the state includes land, water and air –
space.
• It is the fixed portion of earth inhabited by the people of the state.
• It is an area over which the state has effective control
Modes by which a state can acquire a territory:
• Discovery and Occupation
- a State may acquire a territory by discovering a continent, an island or land with no
inhabitants or occupied by uncivilized inhabitants
- Discovery without subsequent occupation is not sufficient to acquire a territory
• Prescription
- mode of acquiring territory through continuous and undisputed exercises of sovereignty
over it during such period
- the length of time required for the prescription is not definite, although some authorities
consider a period of 50 years as sufficient
• Cession
-it is the assignment, transfer, or yielding up of territory by one state or government to another.
• Subjugation or Annexation
- mode of acquiring a territory belonging to a state by occupation and conquest made by
another state in the course of war and by annexation at the end of the war.
• Accretion
- addition of portions of soil, either artificial such as the reclamation area in Manila bay, or
natural by the gradual deposition through the operation of the natural causes such as the waves
of the ocean
Article 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution
Governmen
Agency/machinery of the state
t through which the will of the
people is formulated,
expressed and carried out.
Elements of a State
Learning Objectives:
►At the end of the lesson, the students are expected
to:
► a. enumerate the three branches of the government and their functions;
► b. define the separation of powers and the principle of checks and balances;
► c. identify the importance of legitimacy to the government;
► d. define contemporary social issues;
► e. identify new challenges faced by human populations in contemporary societies;
and
► f. address the issues for the development and betterment of State.
G o vern m e n t
sets and administers public
policy and exercises executive,
political and sovereign power
through customs, institutions,
and laws within a state
Engage…
► Can you imagine a country existing without a government?
► How do you think laws will be made and how do you think they are
enforced?
► It is in the government that laws are made in policies and programs
for the state are formulated.
► It is also the government, through the Armed Forces, that protect that
the national territory and the people from invaders and lawless
elements. In the absence of government, there will be no organized
society.
► There would be no one to enact the laws and see it that they are
implemented accordingly.
►
PARENS PATRIAE DOCTRINE

The government as guardian of the rights

of the people may initiate legal actions for
and in behalf of particular individual.
(Government of the Philippine Islands vs.
Monte de Piedad, 35 SCRA 738)
► The Philippine government takes place in an organized framework of a presidential,
representative, and democratic republic whereby the president is both the head of
state and the head of government.
► There are three major branches of government. Their powers, functions, and even the
limitations on their powers are grounded on the supreme law of the land which is the
Constitution.
► In its broadest sense, executive power is exercised by the government under the
leadership of the president. Legislative power is vested in both the government and
the two chamber congress—the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of
Representatives (the lower chamber). Judicial power is vested in the courts with the
Supreme Court of the Philippines as the highest judicial body.
Government
• There can be no state without government
• Government is the working agency of the state. It is the political organization
of the state
• Prof. Appadorai defined government as the agency through which the will of
the State is formulated, expressed and realized.
• According to C.F. Strong, in order to make and enforce laws the state must
have supreme authority. This is called the government.
Power vs Authority
Legitimacy
Legitimacy is commonly defined in political
science and sociology as the belief that a rule,
institution, or leader has the right to govern. It
is a judgment by an individual about the
rightfulness of a hierarchy between rule or ruler
and its subject and about the subordinate’s
obligations toward the rule or ruler. Without
legitimacy, power is exerted through coercion;
with legitimacy, power can be exerted through
voluntary or quasi-voluntary compliance.
Power- it is the ability of the
person to influence others to
perform an act.
 Authority- It is the legal right of a
supervisor, which compel his
subordinates to perform certain acts.
“Legal designation of a certain position”
SEPARATION OF POWERS:
• Each branch is independent and supreme in its own sphere. It is not
allowed to encroach upon the authority of the other two.
CHECK AND BALANCE:
• A system which prevents one branch from becoming too POWERFUL.
• One branch may check the function of the other, but not undermine the
other’s independence
 Government

Legislative Executive Judicial

FUNCTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT:

LEGISLATURE EXECUTIVE JUDUCIARY

Make laws Veto legislation Review legislative acts
Recommend Legislation

Confirm executive appointments Enforce laws Review executive acts

Override executive veto

Impeach Grant pardons Interpret laws

Create or eliminate courts Nominate judges
EXECUTIVE:
• State functions through the executive, the namely the government.
• It is the duty of the executive or enforce the laws passed by the legislature.
Powers and functions of executive are:
1. Enforcing law
2. Maintaining peace and order.
3. Repelling aggression.
4. Building friendly relations with other states
5. When necessary to wage war to protect the country.
6. Making appointments to higher posts.
7. Implement schemes and projects to improve the social and economic conditions of the
people.
8. Power to grant pardon, reprieve or remission of punishment
LEGISLATIVE:
• The legislature is the law-making branch.
• The legislature has an important role in the amendment of the constitution
• The legislature is a deliberative body where matters of social, economic
and political concerns are discussed, debated and decided.
• According to Prof. Laski, law- making is not the only function of the
legislature but its real function is to watch the process of administration to
safeguard the liberties of private citizens
The functions of legislature are:
1. Enact laws
2. Oversee administration
3. Pass the budget
4. Hear public grievances
5. Discuss subjects like:
a) Development plans
b) National policies
c) International relations
JUDICIAL:
• Its main function is to interpret laws and administer justice.
• Lord Bryce has said that there is to better test of excellence of government than the
efficiency of its judicial system
• The welfare of citizens depends to a larger extent upon the judiciary.
• Judiciary is one of the pillars of democracy.
• Its interpretation ensures justice, equality and liberty to all its citizens.
• An independent and impartial judiciary is an essential feature of a democratic setup.
Functions of Judiciary:
1. Administration of justice.
2. To determine what is law and what is the cope and meaning of it.
3. To give advisory opinion on matters referred to it.
4. To issue orders or writs for the purpose of preventing violation of rights
and laws.
5. To acts as guardian of the constitution.
Sovereignty
Supreme power of the
state to rule itself without
external interference.

Elements of a State
Sovereignty
• The word ‘sovereignty” means supreme and final legal authority above and
beyond which no legal power exists.
• The concept of “sovereignty” was developed in conjunction with the rise of the
modern state
• The term Sovereignty is derived from the Latin word superanus which means
supreme.
• The father of modern theory of sovereignty was Jean Bodin (1530 – 1597) a
French political thinker.
Sovereignty
Internal

External
► Article 2 of the 1987 Constitution states that:
► “The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national
development.” Social Justice is neither communism, nor
despotism, nor atomism, nor anarchy, but the humanization of the
laws and the equalization of the social and economic forces by
the State so that justice in its rational and objectively secular
conception may at least be approximated. (Calalang v. Williams).

► Social justice simply means the equalization of economic,

political, and social opportunities with special emphasis on the
duty of the state to tilt the balance of social forces by favoring the
disadvantaged in life.
As a F i l i p i no Y o u t h, w h a t
is y o u r s im p le p le d g e t o
protect, a d v a n c e o r
co n t r ib u t e t o t h e w e lf a r e
o r p r o g r e s s o f t h e s t a t e