Legislative Department

The Legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall
consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the extent reserved to the
people by the provision on initiative and referendum.

Legislative Power- is essentially the authority under the Constitution to make laws and
subsequently, when then need arises, to alter and to repeal them.
Law- Refers to statutes which are the written enactments of the legislature governing the
relations of the people among themselves or between them and the government and its
agencies.

Classification of Powers of Congress

➢ General legislative power
-the power to enact laws intended as rules of conduct to govern the relations among
individuals or between the individuals and the State.
➢ Specific powers
-powers which the constitution expressly directs or authorizes Congress to exercise
➢ Implied Power
-those essential or necessary to the effective exercise of the powers expressly granted.
➢ Inherent Powers
-the powers which are possessed and can be exercise by every government because
they exist as an attribute of sovereignty..

Kind of Election for Members of Congress

➢ Regular Election- shall be held on the second Monday of May.
➢ Special Election- it may be called in case of vacancy arises in the Senate to fill such
vacancy in the manner prescribed by law.

Disqualification to Hold any other Office or Employment

➢ Incompatible Office
➢ Forbidden Office

Quorum- A number of the membership of an assembly or collective body as is competent to

transact its business.

Rules of Procedure- the rules made by any legislative body to regulate the mode and manner of
conducting its business.
Legislative Journal- defined as the official record of what is done and passed in a legislative
assembly.

Electoral Tribunal

The Senate and the House of the Representatives shall each have an Electoral Tribunals which
shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their
respective Members. Each Electoral Tribunal shall be composed of 9 members, 3 of whom shall
be Justices of the Supreme Court to be designated by the Chief Justice, and the remaining six
shall be Members of the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case may be.

Who shall be chosen on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties and
the parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented therein. The senior
Justice in the Electoral Tribunal shall be its Chairman.

❖ There shall be a Commission on Appointments consisting of the President of the Senate,

as ex officio Chairman, twelve Senators and twelve Members of the House of
Representatives, elected by each House on the basis of proportional representation from
 the political parties and the parties or organizations registered under the party-list system
represented therein.

Electoral Tribunal in each House

➢ Composition, constitution and jurisdiction-composed of 9 members -3justices of the
Supreme court designated by the Chief justice and 6 members of the Senate
➢ Reason for Creation-under the 1973 Constitution, this power was given to the
Commission on Elections

The Commission on Appointments in Congress

➢ Composition, constitution and nature-composed of 25 members – the President of the
Senate as Ex officio Chairman, 12 Senators and 12 members of the House of
Representatives
➢ Power or function-the power of the Commission on Appointments is to approve or
disapprove appointments submitted to it by the President.
➢ Reason for Creation-the creation of a Commission on appointments, which was provided
in the 1935 Constitution, is based on the principle that it is best to have a deliberative
body pass upon appointments to important positions in the government.

The Congress, by a vote of 2/3 of both houses in joint sessions assembled, voting separately,
shall have the sole power to declare the existence of a state of war.

Appropriations Bill- The primary and specific aim of which is to make appropriations of money
from the public treasury.

Appropriations – an authorization made by law or other legislative enactment, directing payment

out of government funds under specified conditions and/or for specified purposes.

Kinds of Appropriations
➢ Annual or General Appropriations -popularly known as the budget.
➢ Special or Supplemental Appropriations-they are designed to supplement the general
appropriations
➢ Specific Appropriations-one which set aside a named sum of money for the payment of a
particular expense
➢ Continuing Appropriations-one which provides a definite sum to be always available from
year to year, without the necessity of further legislative action, for the purpose
appropriated even after the original amount shall have been fully spent.

Other Bills
➢ Revenue Bill
-the primary specific purpose of which is to raise revenue
➢ Tariff Bill
-it has reference to one imposing customs duties for revenue purposes
➢ Bill Authorizing Increase of the Public Debt
-creates public indebtedness such as a bill providing for the issuance of bonds and other
f
forms of obligations.
➢ Bill of Local Application-one affecting purely local or municipal concerns like one creating
a city or municipality or changing its name.
➢ Private Bill -one affecting purely private interest, such as one granting a franchise to a
person or corporation, or compensation to a person for damages suffered by him for
which the government considers itself liable.

Every bill passed by the Congress shall embrace only one subject which shall be expressed on
the title
Steps in the Passage of a Bill
1. First Reading
Referral to appropriate committee
2. Second Reading
Debates
Printing and Distribution
3. Third Reading
Referral to the other House
Submission to join bicameral committee
Submission to the President

Formal parts of a Law

➢ Title-it announces the subject matter of the act
➢ Preamble-a sort of introduction or preface of a law
➢ Enacting Clause-precedes the body of the statute and it serves as formal means of
identifying the legislative body that enacts the law.
➢ Body-portion containing the proposed law or statute itself
➢ Effectivity Clause-portion providing for the time when the law shall take effect

Resolution- A formal expression of opinion, will, or intent by an official body or assembled group.

Kinds of resolutions
➢ Simple
➢ Concurrent
➢ joint

Uniformity in Taxation
➢ means that “all taxable articles or properties of the same class shall be taxed at the
same rate.”
Uniformity implies equality in burden, not equality in amount.

Prohibition Against Use of Public Money or Property for Religious Purpose

➢ Payment given as compensation
➢ Religious use incidental
➢ Use, public in nature
➢ Payment based on contract
➢ Consideration received

No law shall be passed increasing the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as provided in
this Constitution without its advice and concurrence.

No law granting a title of royalty or nobility shall be enacted.

The Congress shall, as early as possible, provide for a system of initiative and referendum, and
the exceptions therefrom, whereby the people can directly propose and enact laws or approve or
reject any act or law or part thereof passed by the Congress or local Legislative body after the
registration of any petition thereof signed by at least ten per centum of the total number of
registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per
centum of the registered voters thereof.
 The Executive Department and Powers of the President

EXECUTIVE POWER- It is the power to enforce and administer the laws (Cooley, Constitutional
Limitation, 8th ed., p. 183)

The executive power is vested in the President of the Philippines (Art. VII, Sec. 1)

Qualifications
1. Natural Born Citizen
2. A Registered Voter
3. Able to Read and Write
4. Atleast 40 years of age on the day of election
5. Resident of the Philippines for atleast ten years immediately preceding the election.

Term of Office
• The President and Vice-President shall be elected by the people for six (6) years. (Art.
VII, Sec 4(1)
• Shall not be eligible for any re-election
• No Person who has succeded as President xxx for more than 4 years shall be qualified
xxx (Art. VII, Sec 4)

Oath- an outward pledge made under an immediate sense of responsibility to God (Cruz, 2002)

Vice-President
1. Qualifications are same with the President.
2. Eligible for the position of member of the Cabinet (no need for CA confirmation)
3. Allowed to serve for two successive terms.

Presidential Succession(Sec 7-8)

2 sets of rule:
a.) Occuring before the term
– Death/Permanent Disability
– Failure to elect the President
– Failure to qualify
b.) Occuring mid-term
– Death/Permanent Disability
– Removal
– Resignation

Presidential Immunity- Immunity from suits during incumbency.

Executive Privileges- Right of the President to withold information from Congress, the Courts,
and the Public (Sec.2(a) of E.O. 464)

Prohibitions and Inhibitions

1. No increase in salaries during the term.
2. Shall not receive emoluments
3. Shall not hold any other office.
4. Shall not, directly or indirectly, practice any other profession, business, or be financially
interested in any other contract with franchises of the government.
5. Avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office
6. May not appoint spouse or relatives by consanguinity or affinity within 4th civil degree
(ART. VII, SECTIONS 6, 13)

POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

1. Executive Power
 • President shall have the control of all executive departments, bureaus, and offices. He
shall ensure that laws are faithfull executed (Art. VII, Sec.17)
• Until and unless a law is declared unconstitutional, the President has a duty to execute it
regardless of his doubts as to its validity (Faithful Execution Clause) (Cruz, Phil.
Political Law)

2. Power of Appointment
• Selection by the authority vested with the power, of an individual who is to exercise the
functions of a given office.

Kinds of Presidential Appointment

1. Appointment made by an Acting President
2. Midnight Appointment
3. Regular Presidential Appointment
4. Ad-Interim Appointment

Appointements Requiring the consent of the Commission on Appointements (VII, Sec.16)

A.) Heads of executive departments(except VP)
B.) Ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls
C.) Officers of the AFP from the rank of colonel or naval captain
D.) Officers whose appointments are vested in him by the Constitution

3. Power of Removal
General Rule: This power is implied from the power to appoint (Cruz)
• Exception – Those appointed by him where the Constitution prescribes certain
methods for separation from public service.

4. Power of Control
• Control – The power of an officer to alter, modify, nuillify, 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 – Overseeing or the power or authority of an officer to see that
subordinate officers perform their duties. If the latter fail or neglect to fulfill them, then
the former may take such action or steps as prescribed by law to make them perform
these duties.

Doctrine of Qualified Political Agency or Alter Ego Principle

The multifarious executive and administrative functions of the Chief Executive are performed
by and through the executive departments. The acts of the Secretaries of Executive departments
in the regular course of business or unless dispproved xxx are presumptively the acts of the Chief
Executive.

5. Military Powers
a.) Commander-in-Chief clause
• To call out the Armed Forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or
rebellion(whenever it becomes neccessary);
• Vested directly by the Constitution
• Authority to declare a state of rebellion

Military Tribunals are simply instrumentalities of the executive power provided by the legislature
for the Commander-in-Chief to aid him in enforcing discipline in the armed forces.

b.) Suspension of writ of Habeas Corpus- A writ directed to the person detaining
another, commanding him to produce the body of the prisoner at a designated time and place xxx
the object of which is the liberation of those who may be in prison without sufficient cause.
– Ground for suspension: invasion, rebellion, when public safety requires it
Effects of suspension of Writ:
1. does not affect the right to bail
2. Applies only to persons facing charges of rebellion
3. The arrested must be charged within 3 days; if not they must be released
4. Does not supersede civilian authority.

c.) Martial LAW

– Grounds for declaration: Invasion and Rébellion
• The following cannot be done:
– Suspend the operation of the Constitution
– Supplant the function of the civil courts and législative assemblies
– Violate Open Court Doctrine (civilians cannot be tried by military courts if the
civil courts are open and functioning)
– Automatically suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus
– Olaguer v. Military Commission No.34

Constitutional Limitations of Martial Law And the suspension of privilège of Habeas

Corpus:
• Not more than 60 days, unless extended by congress
• President to report to congress within 48 hours
• Authority of the congress to revoke or extend
• Authority of the Supreme Court to inquire of the factual basis for such action

6. Pardoning Power(Sec.19)
Pardon- Act of grace which exempts individual from punishment which the law inflicts.
As to presence of condition:
a.)Conditional Pardon
b.)Absolute Pardon

Amnesty – A general pardon to rebels for their treason or political offence; it so overlooks
and obliterates the offnse with which he is charged.
Person released by amnest stands before the law precisely as though he had committed no
offense.

Other forms of executive clemency:

1. Commutation – reduction of sentence or mitigation of penalty
2. Reprieve – postponement of sentence or stay of execution
3. Parole – release from imprisonment, but without full restoration of liberty(in custody of law
although not in confinement
4. Remission of fines and forfeiture – Prevents the collection of fines and confiscation of
forfeited property; cannot affect rights of third party and money already in the treasury.

7. Borrowing Power(Sec. 20)

• The President may contract or guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the Republic with the
concurrence of the Monetary Board, subject to such limitations as may be provided by
law.
• The Monetary board shall submit to the Congress report on loans within 30 days from the
end of every quarter.

8. Diplomatic Power(sec.21)
• No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by
atleast 2/3 of all the Members of the Senate
• The power to ratify is vested in the President, subject to the concurrence of the Senate.

Other foreign affairs powers:

a.) power to make treaties
 b.) the power to appoint ambassadors, public ministers, and consuls
c.) power to receive ambassadors and other public ministers
d.) Deportation Power

9. Budgetary Power
• Within 30 days from the opening of every regular session, President shall submit to
Congress a budget or expenditures and sources of financing, including receipts from
existing and proposed revenue measure.
• Congress may not increase the appropriation recommended by the President for the
operation of the Government as specified in the budget.

10. Informing Power

• The President shall address Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also
appear before it at any other time.
• The information may be needed for the basis of legislation(Cruz)
• The President usally discharges the informing power through what is known as the State
of the Nation Address

Other Powers
a.) Call to Congress to a special session
b.) Approve or veto bills
c.) Deport Aliens
d.) Consent to deputization of government personnel by COMELEC and discipline them
e.) Exercise emergency(war, law, limited, necessary) and Tariff powers
f.) Power to classify or reclassify lands

Article VIII
Judicial Department

Section 1
The Judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law.

Judicial Power- The power to apply the laws to contests or disputes concerning legally
recognized rights or duties between the State and private persons, or between individual litigants
in cases properly brought before the judicial tribunals.

Scope of Judicial power

1. Adjudicatory power- includes the duty of courts of justice:
• to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and
enforceable
• To determine whether there has been a grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or
excess of jurisdiction on the part of any branch or instrumentality of the government.
2. Power of judicial review- includes the power:
• To pass upon the validity or constitutionally of the laws of the State and the acts of the
other departments of the government
• To interpret them
• To render binding judgement
3. Incidental powers- includes the incidental powers necessary to the effective discharge of
the judicial functions such as the power to punish persons adjudged in contempt.

Organization of courts
1. Regular courts
1. Court of Appeals
 2. Regional Trial Court
3. Metropolitan Trial Court
4. Municipal Trial Court
5. Municipal Circuit Trial Court
6. Shari’a District Court

2. Special courts
• The Sandiganbayan
• The Court of Tax Appeals

Jurisdiction of Court
The power and authority of a court to hear, try, and decide a case. It may be:
1. General- when it is empowered to decide all disputes which may come before it except
those assigned to other courts
2. Limited- when it has authority to hear and determine only a few specified cases
3. Original- when it can try and decide a case presented for the first time.
4. Appellate- when it can take a case already heard and decided by a lower court removed
from the latter by appeal;
5. Exclusive- when it can try and decide a case which cannot be presented before any
other
court.
6. Concurrent- when any one of the two or more courts may take cognizance of a case.
7. Criminal- that which exists for the punishment of crim.
8. Civil- that which exists when the subject matter is not of a criminal nature.

Powers of Judiciary
1. Settle disputes concerning consuls or diplomats- They enjoy immunity from domestic
suits or cases
2. Petition for Certiorari- Special civil action requesting a lower court or body to transmit
the records to the superior court for review
3. Prohibition- Writ by which the superior court prohibits the lower court or body to stop
further proceedings
4. Mandamus is an order by a superior court to a lower court to do perform a certain act
which it is bound to do so.
5. Quo Warranto is an action by the government to recover an office or franchise from an
individual unlawfully holding it.

Executive Agreement - Is an agreement entered into by the President on behalf of the

Philippines with the government of another country and is effective and binding upon the
Philippines even without the concurrence of Congress.

Meaning of power of judicial review

• The power of the courts, ultimately of the Supreme Court, to interpret the Constitution
and to declare any legislative or executive act invalid because it is in conflict with the
fundamental law.

Justiciable question distinguished from political question

• Justiciable question- one which affects personal or property rights accorded to every
member of the community in cases properly brought before the judicial tribunals.
• Political question- one which, under the Constitution,” is to be decided by the people in
their sovereign capacity, or in regard to which full discretionary authority has been
delegated to the legislative or executive branch of the government”.

Exclusive appellate jurisdiction of the supreme court

• Refers to cases of great public interests or of serious moment to individual rights.
 • A question of law is that which involves no examination of the probative value of the
evidence presented by the parties or any of them in the lower court.

Rule-making power of the supreme court

1. Protection and enforcement of constitutional rights
2. Pleading
3. Practice of law
4. Procedure
5. Admission to the practice of law or to the Bar
6. Integrated bar
7. Legal assistance to the underpriviledged

Substantive and procedural law/rights distinguished

• Substantive law is that part of the law which creates, defines, and regulates rights
concerning life, liberty, or property, or the powers of agencies or instrumentalities for the
administration of public affairs.
• Procedural law is that part of the law which prescribes the method of enforcing rights or
obtaining redress for their violation.

Administrative supervision over lower courts

• The Supreme Court exercises administrative supervision over all courts from the Court of
Appeals down to the lowest courts and the personnel thereof.

Qualifications for members of the supreme court and any lower collegiate court
1. He must be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines.
2. He must be at least forty years of age
3. He must have, for fifteen years or more
4. He must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence

Qualifications of judges of lower courts

1. Constitutional
• He must be a natural born citizen
• He must be a member of the Philippines Bar
• He must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence
2. Statutory
• The administration of Justice
1. Nature
2. Character and fitness of judges
3. Judicial standards more exacting
Appointment of members of the supreme court and judges of lower courts
1. Non-political process of election and appointment
2. List of at least three nominees
3. Judicial and Bar Council
4. Exclusive authority to recommend appointees to judiciary

Compensation of members of the judiciary

1. Prohibition against reduction- the salary of the members of the Supreme Court and of
judges of lower courts shall be fixed by law.
2. Purpose of the prohibition- the purpose is not to benefit the judges but to attract good and
competent men to the bench and to promote their independence of action and
judgement.

Tenure of office of members of the judiciary

1. Importance of security of tenure
2. Retirement age
3. Termination of right to hold office
 4. Abolition office

Meaning of good behaviour- is conduct authorized by law. So, mere mistake or error of
judgement is not a breach of good behaviour, within the meaning of the Constitution, to justify
expulsion from office.

Prohibition against designation to quasi-judicial and/or administrative agencies

• In the past administration, members of judiciary were sometimes designated to executive
positions in the government, at the same time retaining their rank or seniority as such
members. This practice is no longer possible under the new Constitution. Section 8
prohibits the designation by the President of members of the Supreme court and of other
courts established by law to any agency performing quasi-judicial and/or administrative
functions.

Requirement in case of non-participation, dissent, or abstention

• Any member of the Supreme Court or a lower collegiate court who took no part, or
dissented or abstained from a decision shall state the reason for his non-participation,
dissent, or abstention

Section 14 No decision shall be rendered by any court without expressing therein clearly and
distinctly the facts and the law on which it is based.
No petition for review or motion for reconsideration of a decision of the court shall be refused due
course or denied without stating the legal basis thereof.

Meaning of decision- is the judgement rendered by a court of justice or other competent tribunal
after the presentation of the respective positions of the parties in an ordinary of criminal case or
upon a stipulation of facts upon which the disposition of the case is based.

Maximum periods for rendition of decisions

Supreme Court- within 24 months
The Court of Appeals and other collegiate appellate courts- within 12 months unless
reduced by the Supreme Court
Lower Courts- within 3 moths unless reduced by Supreme Court