CONSTITUTIONAL LAW:

PHILIPPINE POLITICAL LAW, CRUZ NOTES

CHAPTER 3: CONCEPT OF THE STATE MAGALLONA vs ERMITA (G.R. No. 187167)
A state is a: FACTS:
Petitioners challenge the constitutionality of R.A. 9522on 2 principal
 community of a persons, more or less numerous grounds namely: (1) RA 9522 reduces Philippine maritime
 permanently occupying a fixed territory territory, and (2) RA 9522 opens the country's waters landward of
 possesses an independent government organized for the baselines to maritime passage by all vessels and aircrafts,
political ends undermining Philippine sovereignty and national security,
 great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience to the contravening the country's nuclear-free policy, and damaging marine
independent government resources, in violation of relevant constitutional provisions
ISSUE: Whether or not R.A. 522 is unconstitutional
Nation (nasci = to be born) - Indicates a relation of birth or origin RULING: NO, R.A. 522 IS NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL. The
and implies a common race (usually characterized by community of court ruled that R.A. 522 is a statutory tool to demarcate the
language and customs) country’s maritime zones and continental shelf under UNCLOS
III, and not to delineate Philippine territory
STATE vs NATION
 Government (republican and democratic) –
STATE NATION agency/instrumentality which the will of the State is
Is a legal concept Racial of ethnic concept formulated, expressed, and realized
Community of persons Community of persons which Direct State Action – replacement of government by
regardless of birth, origin, or indicates a relation of birth, revolution
common race origin, or common race
A. 2 FUNCTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT
STATE vs GOVERNMENT 1. Constituent – constitute the very bonds of society,
therefore, compulsory. The ff are constituent functions:
STATE GOVERNMENT - keeping of order and providing for the protection of
Cannot exist without the gov’t Only an element of the state persons and property from violence and robbery
Principal Agent - fixing of the legal relations between husband and wife and
An abstraction Externalizes the state and between parents and children
articulates its will - regulation of the holding, transmission and interchange of
property, and determination of its liabilities for debt or
crime
ELEMENTS OF A STATE - determination of contractual rights between individuals
- definition of punishment and crimes
 People (permanent) – inhabitants of the state, must be - administration of justice in civil cases
numerous enough to be self-sufficing and to defend - administration of political duties, privileges and relations
themselves, and small enough to be easily administered and of citizens
sustained - dealings of the State with foreign powers; the
 Territory (defined) – fixed portion of the surface of the preservation of the State from external danger or
earth inhabited by the people of the State, must be neither encroachment and the advancement of its int’l interests
too big as to be difficult to administer and defend nor too 2. Ministrant - those undertaken to advance the general
small as to be unable to provide of the needs of the interests of society, such as public works, public charity,
population and registration of trade and industry, functions are optional
*components of the territory are the
 land mass (territorial domain) B. DOCTRINE OF PARENS PATRIAE – gov’t acting for
 the inland and external waters, which the state as parens patriae (guardian) of the rights of the
make up the maritime and fluvial domain people
 the aerial domain which is the air space
above the land and waters PHILIPPINE ISLANDS vs MONTE PIEDAD (G.R. No. 9959)
Archipelago Doctrine (entire archipelago FACTS: In 1863, the inhabitants of the Spanish dominions
regarded as ONE INTERGRATED UNIT) – the contributed funds for the relief of those damaged by an
connection of the outermost points of the earthquake in the Philippine Islands and the money was remitted
archipelago with straight baselines and all the to the Philippines to be distributed by a central relief board.
waters enclosed nearby are considered as internal Parts of the funds contributed were turned over to the board. Part of
waters the funds contributed was turned over to the "Monte de Piedad"
R.A. 3046 – demarcating (to mark the limts) the and was NEVER DISTRIBUTED, hence, this filing of action for
maritime baselines of the Philippines as an recovery. Defendant questioned the competence of plaintiff
archipelagic state ISSUE: WON the Philippine Government is the proper party
R. A. 5446 – amended preceding R.A. correcting RULING: Yes, the Philippine Government is the proper party to
typo errors and reserving the drawing of baselines maintain an action to recover the funds thus loaned or deposited for
around Sabah in North Borneo the purpose of carrying out the intention of the contributors. The
Supreme Court upheld the case for the State as parens patriae in
representation of the legitimate claimants
SY, JESSICA LAURA C.
SBCA SOL
 CONSTITUTIONAL LAW:
PHILIPPINE POLITICAL LAW, CRUZ NOTES
C. DE JURE AND DE FACTO GOVERNMENTS Article of War which fails to allow a review by the Supreme Court
1. De Jure Gov’t - has rightful title BUT no power or of judgments of courts martial imposing death or life imprisonment
control, either because such has been withdrawn/because it does not violate Article VIII, section 2, paragraph 4, of the
not entered into the exercise Constitution which provides that "the National Assembly may not
2. De Facto Gov’t (a gov’t of fact) – exercises power BUT deprive the Supreme Court of its original jurisdiction over all
without any legal title criminal cases in which the penalty imposed is death or life
3 KINDS OF DE FACTO GOV’T imprisonment." Courts martial are agencies of executive
1. The gov’t that gets possession and control of, or usurps, character, and one of the authorities "for the ordering of courts
BY FORCE OR BY THE VOICE OF MAJORITY, the martial has been held to be attached to the constitutional functions of
rightful legal gov’t and maintains itself against the will the President as Commander in Chief, independently of legislation."
of the latter Unlike courts of law, they are not a portion of the judiciary.
2. One established as an independent gov’t BY THE
INHABITANTS OF A COUNTRY who rise in LAUREL vs MISA (G.R. No. L-409)
insurrection against the parent state FACTS: Anastacio Laurel filed a petition for habeas corpus. He was
3. One established and maintained BY MILITARY then charged and held for the crime of treason during the
FORCES who invade and occupy a territory of the Japanese occupation. He anchors his petition based on the theory
enemy in the course of war that a Filipino citizen who adhered to the enemy giving the latter aid
CHARACTERISTICS OF A DE FACTO and comfort during the Japanese occupation cannot be prosecuted
GOVERNMENT for the crime of treason defined and penalized by article 114 of the
1. Its existence is maintained by active military power Revised Penal Code, for the reason (1) that the sovereignty of the
WITHIN THE TERRITORIES, and AGAINST THE legitimate government in the Philippines and, consequently, the
RIGHTFUL AUTHORITY of an established and lawful correlative allegiance of Filipino citizens thereto was then
government suspended; and (2) that there was a change of sovereignty over
2. Such must be obeyed in civil matters BY PRIVATE these Islands upon the proclamation of the Philippine Republic.
CITIZENS who do not become responsible wrongdoers ISSUE: 1. WON sovereignty was suspended during the Japanese
though not warranted by the laws of the rightful gov’t military occupation
during its existence 2. WON there was a change in sovereignty
D. GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES – defined RULING: 1. NO. By virtue of Section 1, Article II of the 1935
as the corporate governmental entity through which the Constitution, which states that “all references in such laws to the
functions of the gov’t are exercised throughout the Government…shall be construed, in so far as applicable, to refer to
Philippines the Government and corresponding officials under this
Government Agency – refers to any of the various units of Constitution”, the crime of treason was made applicable not only to
the gov’t including a department, bureau, office, the sovereignty of the United States but also to the sovereignty of the
instrumentality or GOCC, or a local gov’t/a distinct unit Government of the Philippines.
E. ADMINISTRATION – group of persons in whose 2. NO. The change in form of government from Commonwealth to
hands the reins of the gov’t are for the time being. It runs Republic does not affect the prosecution of those charged with the
the gov’t as a machinist operates his machine crime of treason committed during Commonwealth, because it is an
offense against the same government and the same sovereign people.
 Sovereignty – the supreme and uncontrollable power *Where there is a change of sovereignty, the political laws of the
INHERENT in a State by which such is governed. It is former sovereign are NOT MERELY SUSPENDED BUT
PERMANENT, EXCLUSIVE, ABSOLUTE, ABROGATED
INDIVISIBLE, INALIENABLE AND
IMPRESCRIPTIBLE Ipso Facto – literal translation “by the fact itself”
4 KINDS OF SOVEREIGNTY
1. Legal (Congress) - authority which has the power to  Capacity to enter into relations with other states
issue final commands
2. Political (Different sectors that mold public opinion) – Act of State – an act done by the sovereign power of a country/its
power behind the legal sovereign or the sum of the delegate within the limits of the power vested in him
influences that operate upon it - CANNOT be questioned/made the subject of legal proceedings in a
3. External – power of the State to direct its relations with court of law
other States (Independence) - (Political Law) act done by the political departments of the gov’t
4. Internal – power of the State to control its domestic and NOT subject to judicial review
affairs e.g.decision of the president, in the exercise of his diplomatic power,
to extend recognition to a newly-established foreign State or gov’t
RUFFY vs CHIEF OF STAFF (G.R. No. L-533)
FACTS: The ground of the petition was that the petitioners were
not subject to military law at the time the offense for which they
had been placed on trial was committed. In their memorandum they
have raised an additional question of law — that the 93d Article of
War is unconstitutional.
ISSUE: WON 93D Article of War is unconstitutional
RULING: NO, SUCH IS NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL. The 93d
SY, JESSICA LAURA C.
SBCA SOL