F-PS4-Lesson-3 PDF - The Philippines

LESSON 3: THE PHILIPPINES The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. - Section 1, Article II, 1987 Constitution A state is a community of persons more or less numerous persons, permanently occupying a def...

LESSON 3: THE PHILIPPINES The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. - Section 1, Article II, 1987 Constitution A state is a community of persons more or less numerous persons, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, having government of their own which the great body of inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control. STATE – occupying great portion of territory, having an established government and exercising sovereignty. GOVERNMENT – is used to generally describe the formal institution through which the people is ruled.  THE THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF THE STATE: 1. DIVINE RIGHT THEORY – the state is of divine creation and the ruler ordained by God to ordained people. 2. NECESSITY OF FORCE THEORY – the state must have been create through force, by some great warriors, who would imposed their will upon the weak. 3. PATERNALISTIC THEORY – the state is the enlarged family which remains under the authority of the mother or father it grows into a clan, them develops into a tribe, which broadens into a nation and eventually become a state. 4. SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY – the early state must been formed by deliberate and voluntary people to form a society and organize a government for their common good, it justifies the right to revolt of the people against the bad ruler.  ELEMENTS OF THE STATE: 1. PEOPLE – this refers to the inhabitants living within the state. Without people, there is no functionaries to govern and no subject to be governed. There is no requirement as to the number of people that should compose a state. Ideally, it should be neither too small or too large; small enough to be governed and large enough to be self-sufficing. 2. TERRITORY – includes not only the portion of the land over which the jurisdiction of the state extends (territorial domain), but also the rivers and lakes therein. Thus the domain of the state may be described as terrestrial, fluvial, maritime and fluvial. 4. SOVEREIGNTY – as the supreme power of the state to command and enforce the obedience to its will from people within its jurisdiction to have freedom from foreign control. It has therefore two manifestations: a. INTERNAL: the power of the state to rule within its territory b. EXTERNAL: the freedom of the state to carry out its activities without subjection or control by other states. External sovereignty is often referred to as Independence.  THE THREE INHERENT POWERS OF THE STATE A state is a very powerful entity. Even from the earliest history, the state commands supreme authority to enforce its will upon the people. These powers are inherent in nature and the foundation of its existence. No state can exist without these power, because it through these powers that state derives its authority. Eminent Domain the power of the state or of those to whom the power is delegated to take or expropriate private property for public use upon payment of just compensation conditions for or limitations of the exercise of eminent domain Existence of public use payment of just compensation observance of due process of law in the taking.  Police Power the power of the state to enact laws or regulations in relation to persons and property BASIS OF POLICE POWER The welfare of the people is the supreme law. So use your own so as not to injure another’s property. Illustrations of police power Public health, Public morals Public Safety General welfare and convenience. Power of Taxation the power of the state to impose charge or burden upon persons or property or property rights for the use and support of the government  Nation should not be confused as to the state as they are not the same 1. The state is a political concept, while nation is an ethnic concept. ❖ A nation is a group of people bound together by a certain characteristics such as common social origin, language, customs and traditions, and who they believe that is distinct form others. The term is synonymous with “people” 2. The state is not subject to external control, while nation may or may not be independent of external control and; 3. A single state may or may not consist of a single nations or peoples and conversely, a single nation maybe made up of several states.  NATION AND STATE DESCRIPTION TYPE OF DEFINITION EXAMPLE Nation-state State A state with its own nation Iceland Multinational State A state with one more than nation Scotland and Wales State in the United Kingdom Stateless nation Nation A nation with lack of own state and Palestinians, and the whose people are spread across Kurds several countries Diaspora Nation A nation dispersed beyond a home Jews state  CONCEPT OF CONSTITUTION Constitution - the body of rules and principles in accordance with which the powers of the sovereign are regularly exercised. Constitutional Law - may be defined as that branch of public law which treats as constitutions, their nature, formation, amendment and interpretation. KINDS OF CONSTITUTION 1. As to origin or history: Conventional/Enacted - one which is enacted by the constitution assembly or granted by a monarch Cumulative/Evolved - one which is a product of growth or a long period of development originating in customs, traditions, etc. 2. As to form: Written - which has been given definite form at a particular time Unwritten - entirely a product of political evolution consisting largely of a mass of customs, usage, etc. 3. As to manner of amending them: Rigid/Inelastic - regard as a document or a special sanctity which cannot be altered or amended Flexible/Elastic - possesses no higher legal authority than ordinary laws and which may be altered in the same way as other laws PREAMBLE - derived from the Latin word “preambulare”, which means “to walk before”. It is a prologue or introduction of the Constitution.  CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY ❑ The Philippines had long been used as a trading port in Asia, and this led to their colonization by the Spanish and later by the Americans. ❑ Indios (which was how the Spanish referred to the Filipinos ❑ Illustrados (the Filipino intellegensia). ❑ A revolution was launched against Spain and the revolutionaries declared Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. ❑ January 20, 1899, ushering what is called the Malolos Constitution or the First Philippine Republic. INDEPENDENCE TO MARTIAL LAW From the moment of independence, Filipino politics have been plagued by the twin demons of corruption and scandal. Notwithstanding, Presidents Ramon Magsaysay (1953-57), Carlos Garcia (1957-61), and Diosdado Macapagal (1961- 65) managed to stabilize the country, implement domestic reforms, diversify the economy, and build Philippine ties not only to the United States, but also to its Asian neighbors.  Ferdinand Marcos was elected president in 1965 and was re-elected in 1969, the first president to be so re-elected. Desirous of remaining in power beyond his legal tenure, he declared martial law in 1972, just before the end of his second and last term, citing a growing communist insurgency as its justification. He then manipulated an ongoing Constitutional Convention and caused the drafting of a new constitution – the 1973 Constitution – which allowed him to rule by decree until 1978 when the presidential system of the 1935 Constitution was replaced with a parliamentary one. Under this new system, Marcos held on to power and continued to govern by decree, suppressing democratic institutions and restricting civil freedoms. In 1981, martial law was officially lifted, but Marcos continued to rule by the expedient of being “re-elected” in a farce of an election to a new 6-year term. He continued to suppress dissent and thousands of vocal objectors to his rule either mysteriously disappeared or were incarcerated. Despite economic decline, corruption allowed Marcos and his wife Imelda to live extravagantly, causing resentment domestically and criticism internationally.  THE PEOPLE’S CHOICE When opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated upon returning from exile in 1983, widespread outrage forced Marcos to hold “snap” elections a year early. The election was marked by fraud on the part of Marcos and his supporters but Marcos had himself declared the winner constitutionally, amidst international condemnation and nationwide domestic protests. A small band of military rebels tried to mount a coup, which failed because of its discovery, but this triggered what became internationally celebrated as the “People Power” revolution, when droves of people spilled out onto the streets to protect the rebels, eventually numbering well over a million. Under pressure from the United States, Marcos and his family fled into exile. His election opponent, Benigno Aquino Jr.’s widow Corazon, was installed as president on February 25, 1986.  THE 1987 CONSTITUTION Aquino began her term by repealing many of the Marcos-era regulations that had repressed the people for so long. In March, she issued a unilateral proclamation establishing a provisional constitution. This constitution gave the President broad powers and great authority, but Aquino promised to use them only to restore democracy under a new constitution. This new constitution was drafted in 133 days by an appointed Constitutional Commission of 48 members and ratified by the people in a plebiscite held on February 2, 1987. It was largely modelled on the American Constitution which had so greatly influenced the 1935 Constitution, but it also incorporated Roman, Spanish, and Anglo law. The 1987 Constitution established a representative democracy with power divided among three separate and independent branches of government: the Executive, a bicameral Legislative, and the Judiciary.