Philippine Constitution Notes

I. PRELIMINARIES A. CONSTITUTION 1. Definition: The body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised. 2. Purpose: a. To prescribe the permanent framework of a system of government; b. To assign to the several departments their respective power and duties; c. To establish certain first principles on which the government is founded. 3. Effect if an act is not in accordance with the constitution An unconstitutional act is not a law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; it affords no protection; it creates no office; it is inoperative as if it had not been passed at all. (See Art 7 Civil Code) B. STATE 1. Definition: A community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of the territory, independent of external control, and possessing a government to which a great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience. 2. Distinguished from nation: State is a legal or juristic concept, while nation is an ethnic or racial concept. 3. Distinguished from Government: Government is merely an instrumentality of the State through which the will of the State is implemented and realized. 4. Elements of a State a. People A community of persons sufficient in number and capable of maintaining the continued existence of the community and held together by a common bond of law. b. Territory Components: Terrestrial; Fluvial; Maritime; Aerial domains c. Government The agency or instrumentality through which the will of the State is formulated, expressed, and realized.

 Government of the Philippines is the corporate governmental entity through which the functions of the government are exercised throughout the Philippines, including, save as the contrary appears from the context, the various arms through which political authority is made effective in the Philippines, whether pertaining to the autonomous regions, the provincial, city, municipal, or barangay subdivisions or other form of local government. (Sec 2(1), Administrative Code) d. Sovereignty The supreme and uncontrollable power inherent in a State by which the State is governed. 5. Principal Forms of Government a. As to number of persons exercising sovereign powers 1. Monarchy One in which the supreme and final authority is in the hands of a single person without regard to the source of his election or the nature or duration of his tenure. 2. Aristocracy One in which political power is exercised by a few privileged class. 3. Democracy One in which political power is exercised by a majority of the people. b. As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government 1. Unitary Government One in which the control of national and local affairs is exercised by the central or national government. 2. Federal Government One in which powers of government are divided between two set of argans, one for national affairs and the other for local affairs, each organ being supreme in its own sphere. c. As to relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of government 1. Parliamentary Government Essential Characteristics: a. The members of the government or cabinet or executive arm are, as a rule, simultaneously members of the legislature; b. The government or cabinet, consisting of political leaders of the majority party or of a coalition who are also members of the legislature, is in effect a committee of legislature; c. The government or cabinet has a pyramidal structure at apex of which is the Prime Minister or his equivalent;

d. The government or cabinet remains in power only for as long as it enjoys the support of the majority of the legislature; e. Both government and legislature are possessed of control devices with which each can demand of the other immediate political responsibility. In the hands of the legislature is the vote of non-confidence (censure) whereby a government may be ousted. In the hands of the government is the power to dissolve the legislature and call for new elections. 2. Presidential Government Its principal identifying feature is separation of powers. Legislative power is given to the Legislature; Executive power is given to a separate Executive; Judicial power is held by an independent Judiciary. The system is founded on the belief that by establishing equilibrium among the three power holders, harmony will result, power will not be concentrated, and thus tyranny will be avoided. Designated as such because of the prominent position which the system gives to the president as Chief Executive. Philippine government is a presidential government. C. Other Basic Concepts 1. Presidential vs. Parliamentary Government The principal distinction is that in a presidential government, there is separation of executive and legislative powers; while in parliamentary government, there is fusion of both executive and legislative powers in Parliament, although the actual exercise of the executive powers is vested in a Prime Minister who is chosen by, and accountable to, Parliament. 2. Basic principles and concepts under a presidential form of government a. Separation of Powers Purpose: To prevent concentration of authority in one person or group of persons that might lead to an irreversible error or abuse in its exercise to the detriment of republican institutions; To secure action, to forestall overaction, to prevent despotism, and to obtain efficiency. b. Principle of Blending of Powers Instances when powers are not confined exclusively within one department but are assigned to or shared by several departments, e.g., enactment of general appropriations law. c. Principle of Checks and Balances This allows one department to resist encroachment upon its prerogatives or to rectify mistakes or excesses committed by the other departments, e.g., veto power of the President as check on improvident legislation. 3. State is a corporate entity; government is the institution through which the state exercises power; administration consists of the set of people currently running the institution.

 The transitions from the 1935 Constitution to the 1973 Constitution to the 1987 Constitution involved changes of government but not of state. The transition from President Estrada to President Arroyo did not involve a change of government but only of administration. II. THE 1987 PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION Effectivity: February 2, 1987, the date of the plebiscite when the people ratified the Constitution. A. PREAMBLE 1. Function of the Preamble in the Constitution The Preamble is not a source of rights or of obligations. However, because it sets down the origin, scope, and purpose of the Constitution, it is useful as an aid in the construction (interpretation) of the Constitution. 2. Origin, scope, and purpose of the Constitution as set out in the Preamble Its origin, or authorship, is the will of the sovereign Filipino people. Its scope and purpose is to build a just and humane society and establish a government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace. B. ARTICLE I- THE NATIONAL TERRITORY 1. Binding effect in international law of the definition of national territory in the constitution A constitution is a municipal law. As such, it binds only the nation promulgating it. A definition of national territory in the constitution will bind internationally only if it is supported by proof that can stand in international law. Unilateral assertions in a constitution which is municipal law, by themselves do not establish an international right to a territory. 2. The Philippine Archipelago That body of water studded with islands which is delineated in the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898, as modified by the treaty of Washington of November 7, 1900, and the Treaty with Great Britain of January 2, 1930. These are the same treaties which delineated Philippine territory in the 1935 Constitution. 3. Straight Baseline Method The method used to delineate the territorial sea. Imaginary straight lines are drawn joining the outermost points of the outermost islands of the archipelago without departing to any appreciable extent from the general configuration of the archipelago. The waters within the baselines shall be considered internal waters; while the breadth of the territorial sea shall then be measured from the baselines. 12 miles from the baseline is the territorial sea. 4. Archipelagic Doctrine The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines. This is

based on the principle that an archipelago, which consists of a number of islands separated by bodies of water, should be treated as one integral unit. 5. Contiguous zone and exclusive economic zone UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides for a contiguous zone of 12 miles from the end of the territorial sea and exclusive economic zone of 200 miles from the baseline. Although the contiguous zone and most of the exclusive economic zone may not, technically, be part of the territory of the State, nonetheless, the coastal State enjoys preferential rights over the marine resources found within these zones. 6. Significance of the national territory in criminal law As a rule, penal laws of the Philippines are enforceable only within its territory. Exception: Article 2 of the Revised Penal Code Penal laws of the Philippines can also be enforced outside its territory against those who: a. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or airship b. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine Islands or obligations and securities issued by the Government of the Philippine Islands; c. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction into these islands of the obligations and securities mentioned in the preceding number; d. While being public officers or employees, should commit an offense in the exercise of their functions; or e. Should commit any of the crimes against national security and the law of nations, defined in Title One of Book Two of the Revised Penal Code. C. ARTICLE II- DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES 1. Meaning and significance: It is a statement of the basic ideological principles and policies that underlie the Constitution. As such, the provisions shed light on the meaning of the other provisions of the Constitution and they are guide for all departments of the government in the implementation of the Constitution. 2. Basic concepts Under Section 1 a. Republican State One wherein all government authority emanates from the people and is exercised by representatives chosen by the people. b. The Philippines is not only a representative or republican state but also shares some aspects of direct democracy such as initiative and referendum. Under Section 2 a. The kind of war renounced is aggressive, not, defensive war.

b. Relate to Section 23, Article VI While the Constitution gives to the legislature the power to declare the existence of war and to enact all measures to support the war, the actual power to make war is lodged in the executive power. The executive power, when necessary, may make war even in the absence of a declaration of war. War being a question of actualities, the President was bound to meet it in the shape it presented itself, without waiting for Congress to baptize it with a name; and no name given to it by him or them could change the fact. c. As applied in most countries, the doctrine of incorporation dictates that rules of international law are given equal standing with, and are not superior to, national legislative enactments. d. Some principles of international law acknowledged by the Court as part of the law of the land: 1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights It would be a violation of said international law to detain an alien for an unreasonable length of time since no vessel from his country is willing to take him. (Mejoff v Director of Prisons, 90 Phil 70) 2. The right of a country to establish military commissions to try war criminals. (Kuroda v Jalandoni, 83 Phil 171) 3. Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals Involves the use of early warning devices. 4. Duty to protect the premises of embassies and legations. Under Section 3 a. The principle of civilian supremacy is institutionalized by the provision which makes the President, a civilian and precisely a civilian, commander-in-chief of the armed forces. (See Section 18, Article 7) But this does not mean that civilian officials are superior to military officials. Civilian officials are superior to military officials only when a law makes them so. Under Section 4 Take note of the prime duty of the government. Under Section 6 To be discussed under the Bill of Rights (Article III, Sec 5) Under Section 10 a. Meaning of Social Justice 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.

 How promotion of social justice carried out in all phases of national development See Article XIII Under Section 12 a. Legal meaning and purpose of the protection that is guaranteed for the unborn This is not an assertion that the life of the unborn is placed exactly on the level of the life of the mother. When necessary to save the life of the mother, the life of the unborn may be sacrificed; but not when the purpose is merely to save the mother from emotional suffering, for which other remedies must be sought, or to spare the child from a life of poverty, which can be attended to by welfare institutions. Under Section 14 a. This provision is so worded as not to automatically dislocate the Civil Code and the civil law jurisprudence on the subject. What it does is to give impetus to the removal, through statutes, of existing inequalities. The general idea is for the law to ignore sex where sex is not a relevant factor in determining rights and duties. Nor is the provision meant to ignore customs and traditions. Under Section 15 and 16 a. The right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology is an enforceable right. Under Section 17 a. This does not mean that the government is not free to balance the demands of education against other competing and urgent demands Under Section 18 a. Labor as a primary social economic force means that human factor has primacy over non-human factors in production. Rights of workers See Art XIII Under Section 26 a. The purpose of this provision is to give substance to the desire for equalization of political opportunities. However, the definition of political dynasty is left to the legislature. Under Section 28 Take note of the policy of full public disclosure. D. ARTICLE IV- CITIZENSHIP 1. Definition: It is personal and more or less permanent membership in a political community. It denotes possession within that particular political community of full civil and political rights subject to special disqualifications such as minority. Reciprocally, it imposes the duty of allegiance to the political community. 2. Modes of Acquiring Citizenship a. Jus sanguinis acquisition of citizenship on the basis of blood relationship;

b. Jus soli acquisition of citizenship on the basis of place of birth; c. Naturalization the legal act of adopting an alien and clothing him with the privilege of a natural-born citizen. 3. Other basic concepts a. Basic Philippine law follows the rule of jus sanguinis and provides for naturalization. The principle of jus sanguinis is applied in the 1987 Constitution under Art IV, Sec 1(2). b. Effect of naturalization of a father on legitimate minor children In general, the minor children become citizens of the Philippines. c. Effect on the wife of the naturalized husband She becomes a Filipino citizen, provided she shows, in an administrative procedure for the cancellation of her alien certificate of registration, that she has none of the disqualifications found in CA 473. d. The law can not treat natural-born citizens and naturalized citizens differently except in instances where the Constitution itself makes a distinction. Otherwise, there would be a violation of the equal-protection clause. Under Section 5 a. Dual citizenship, as a disqualification from running for any elective position under the Local Government Code, must refer to citizens with dual allegiance. Persons with mere dual citizenship do not fall under this disqualification. For candidates (to an elective office) with dual citizenship, it is enough that they elect Philippine citizenship upon the filing of their certificate of candidacy, to terminate their status as persons with dual citizenship. The filing of a certificate of candidacy sufficed to renounce foreign citizenship, effectively removing any disqualification as a dual citizen. This is so because in the certificate of candidacy, one declares that he/she is a Filipino citizen and that he/she will support and defend the Constitution of the Philippines and will maintain true faith and allegiance thereto. b. Because Philippine law has no control over citizenship laws of other countries, dual citizenship can be unavoidable under the present Constitution. Example: (1) A child of a Filipina mother is a Filipino and might also have his aliens fathers citizenship; (2) A Filipina married to an alien remains a Philippine citizen but might also require her alien husbands citizenship. c. The specific target of Sec 5 is not dual citizenship but dual allegiance arising from, e.g., mixed marriages or birth in foreign soil. To the extent, however, that dual citizenship also imports dual allegiance, then it must also dealt with by law. The Constitution leaves the disposition of the problem of dual citizenship and dual allegiance to ordinary legislation. E. ARTICLE V- SUFFRAGE 1. Definition: It is the right to vote in elections. 2. Basic concepts

a. Congress has been given the discretion to create disqualifications. However, Congress is prohibited from prescribing any literacy, property, or other substantive requirements. F. ARTICLE VI- LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT 1. Legislative Power It is the authority to make laws and to alter or repeal them. 2. Qualifications of Senators (See Section 3) a. Natural-born Filipino citizen; b. At least 35 years old on the day of the election; c. Able to read and write; d. Registered voter; e. Resident of the Philippines for not less than 2 years immediately preceding the day of the election. 3. Qualifications of Members of House of Representatives a. Natural-born Filipino citizen; b. At least 25 years old on the day of the election; c. Able to read and write; d. Registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected; e. Resident of said district for not less than 1 year immediately preceding the day of the election. 4. Limits on Legislative Power a. Substantive Limits curtail the contents of a law. For example, no law may be passed which impairs freedom of speech. b. Procedural limits curtail the manner of passing laws. For example, a bill must generally be approved by the President before it becomes law. 5. Other basic concepts a. Provided that the substantive and procedural limitations found in the Constitution are observed, the Congress may legislate on any subject matter. In other words, the legislative power of Congress is plenary. b. Congress can not pass irrepealable laws. The power of present and future legislatures must remain plenary. When one attempts to pass an irrepealable law, to that extent it attempts to limit the power of future legislatures. The power of any legislature can be limited only by the Constitution. c. Congress cannot delegate its legislative power. Legislative power must remain where the people have lodged it. However, there are two exceptions to this rule: d. By immemorial practice legislative power may be delegated to local governments;

e. The Constitution itself might in specific instances allow delegation of legislative power. (See Section 28, paragraph 2) f. A local ordinance must not violate law passed by Congress. Under Section 4 a. A senator may serve for more than two terms, provided that the terms are not consecutive. Under Section 7 a. A member of the House may serve for more than three terms, provided that the terms are not consecutive. Under Section 11 a. The privilege from arrest is available while the Congress is in session, whether regular or special and whether or not the legislator is actually attending a session. Hence it is not available while Congress is in recess. Since the purpose of the privilege is to protect the legislator against harassment which will keep him away from legislative session, there is no point in extending the privilege to the period when Congress is not in session. When is Congress in session? See Section 15 b. Members of Congress are not exempt from detention for crime. They may be arrested, even when the house is in session, for crimes punishable by a penalty of more than six years. c. Scope of the parliamentary privilege of speech The privilege is a protection only against forums other that the Congress itself. It does not protect the assemblyman against the disciplinary authority of the Congress but it is an absolute protection against suits for libel. To come under the privilege, it is not essential that the Congress be in session when the utterance is made. What is essential is that the utterance must constitute legislative action, that is, it must be part of the deliberative and communicative process by which legislators participate in committee or congressional proceedings in the consideration of proposed legislation or of other matters which the Constitution has placed within the jurisdiction of the Congress. Under Section 21 a. Purpose of legislative investigation The power of inquiry with process to enforce it is an essential and appropriate auxiliary to the legislative function. A legislative body cannot legislate wisely or effectively in the absence of information respecting the conditions which the legislation is intended to affect or change; and where the legislative body does not itself possess the requisite information which is not infrequently true recourse must be had to others who do possess it. b. The requirement that the investigation be in aid of legislation is not difficult to satisfy. It is not necessary that every question propounded to a witness must be material to a proposed legislation. In other words, the materiality of the question must be determined by its direct relation to the subject of the inquiry and not by its indirect relation to any proposed or possible legislation. The reason is that the necessity or lack of necessity for legislative action and the form and character of the action itself are determined by the sum total of

the information to be gathered as a result of the investigation, and not by a fraction of such information elicited from a single question. c. The rights of persons appearing in or affected by such inquiries shall be respected is just another way of saying that legislative investigations must be subject to the limitations placed by the Constitution on governmental action. Such limitations being principally found on the bill of rights. Under Section 32 a. Congress does not have the exclusive right to pass national legislation. Sec 32 has introduced the concept of initiative and referendum whereby the people themselves can legislate. The enabling law is RA 6735, the Initiative and Referendum Law. G. ARTICLE VII- THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT 1. Executive Power It is the power to administer the laws, which means carrying them into practical operation and enforcing their due observance. 2. Qualifications of the President and Vice-president (See Section 2 & 3) a. Natural-born Filipino citizen; b. Registered voter; c. Able to read and write; d. At least 40 years old on the day of the election; e. Resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately preceding the election. 3. Other basic concepts a. The powers of the President are not limited to what are expressly enumerated in the article on the Executive department and in scattered provisions of the Constitution. The duty of government to serve and protect the people as well as to see to the maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty, and property, and the promotion of the general welfare argue towards the existence of residual unstated powers. Hence, although there is no statute authorizing the President to ban the return of Mr. Marcos, the President has the power to impose the ban. b. President enjoys immunity from suit during tenure. Once out of office, however, even before the end of the six year term, immunity is lost. Under Section 4 Take note of the sentence: The President shall not be eligible for any reelection. Under Section 18 a. Specific military powers given to the President by the Constitution 1. To call out the armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, or rebellion; 2. To suspend the privilege of the writ habeas corpus;

3. To place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. b. Martial Law Under martial law, police power is exercised by the executive with the aid of the military and in place of certain governmental agencies which for the time being are unable to cope with existing conditions in a locality which remains subject to the sovereignty. It authorizes the military to act vigorously for the maintenance of an orderly civil government. It is the exercise of the power which resides in the executive branch of the government to preserve order and insure the public safety in times of emergency, when other branches of the government are unable to function, or their functioning would itself threaten the public safety. It is the law of necessity to be prescribed and administered by the executive power. Its object, the preservation of the public safety and good order, defines the scope, which will vary with the circumstances and necessities of the case. The exercise of the power may not extend beyond what is required by the exigency which calls it forth. Martial law depends on two factual bases: (1) the existence of actual invasion or rebellion; (2) the requirements of public safety. Necessity creates the conditions for martial law and at the same time limits the scope of martial law. Necessarily, therefore, the degree and kind of vigorous executive action needed to meet the varying kinds and degrees of emergency could not be identical under all conditions. c. In general, the limits that have been formulated on the power to suspend the privilege of the writ and the power to impose martial law are: 1. A time limit of sixty days; 2. Review and possible revocation by Congress; 3. Review and possible nullification by Supreme Court. Under Section 19 a. Purpose of the grant of the power of executive clemency: It is a tacit admission that human institutions are imperfect and that there are infirmities in the administration of justice. The power therefore exists as an instrument for correcting these infirmities and for mitigating whatever harshness might be generated by a too strict application of the law. b. Forms of executive clemency 1. Reprieve Postpones the execution of an offense to a day certain. 2. Commutation A remission of a part of the punishment; a substitution of a less penalty for the one originally imposed. 3. Pardon It is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws, which exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed from the punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has committed.

4. Remission of fines and forfeitures Remission of fines and forfeitures prevents the collection of fines or the confiscation of forfeited property. 5. Amnesty. Commonly denotes the general pardon to rebels for their treason and other high political offenses, or the forgiveness which one sovereign grants to the subjects of another, who have offended by some breach of the law of nations. c. Constitutional limits on executive clemency 1. It cannot be exercised over cases of impeachment; 2. A grant of amnesty must be with the concurrence of the majority of all the members of Congress; 3. In addition, Article IX-C, Section 5: no pardon, amnesty, parole, or suspension of sentence for violation of election laws, rules, and regulations shall be granted by the President without the favorable recommendation of the Commission on Elections. H. ARTICLE VIII- THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 1. Judicial Power It is the authority to settle justiciable controversies or disputes involving rights that are enforceable and demandable before the courts of justice or the redress of wrongs for violation of such rights. It includes the duty of the courts of justice settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable, and to determine whether or not 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 It is the Supreme Courts power to declare a law, treaty, international or executive agreement, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or regulation unconstitutional. This does not make the Supreme Court superior to Congress and the President. It shows the superiority of the Constitution over all. 3. Other basic concepts a. Role of legislature in the judicial process Although judicial power is vested in the judiciary, the proper exercise of such power requires prior legislative action: (1) defining such enforceable and demandable rights and prescribing remedies for violations of such rights; and (2) determining the court with jurisdiction to hear and decide controversies or disputes arising from legal rights. b. Courts cannot exercise judicial power when there is no applicable law. I. ARTICLE IX- CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSIONS 1. The constitutional commissions and their general functions

a. Civil Service Commission As the central personnel agency of the government, the CSC shall establish a career service and adopt measures to promote morale, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness, progressiveness, and courtesy in the civil service. (See Article IX-B, Section 3) b. Commission on Election The COMELEC shall administer all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of an election, plebiscite, initiative, referendum, and recall. (See Article IX-C, Section 2) c. Commission on Audit It is the function of the Commission on Audit to examine the accuracy of the records kept by accountable officers and to determine whether expenditures have been made in conformity with law. 2. Basic concepts a. The Civil Service Commission, Commission on Audit, and the Commission on Elections perform key functions in the government. In order to protect their integrity, they have been made constitutional bodies. Because they perform vital functions in the government, it is essential that their independence be protected against outside influences and political pressures. Hence, they enjoy independent powers of appointment; they enjoy fiscal autonomy; the salary of the Commissioners may not be diminished during their continuance in office; the Commissioners have a fixed term; and they are removable only by impeachment. J. ARTICLE X- LOCAL GOVERNMENT 1. Basic concepts a. Significance of the declaration of local autonomy: It is meant to free local governments from the well-nigh absolute control by legislature. b. Autonomy does not transform local governments into kingdoms unto themselves. K. ARTICLE XI- ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC OFFICERS 1. Basic concepts a. Meaning of public office is a public trust The basic idea of government in the Philippines is that of a representative government, the officers being mere agents and nor rulers of the people, one where no one man or set of men has a proprietary or contractual right to an office, but where every officer accepts office pursuant to the provisions of law and holds the office as a trust for the people whom he represents. Take note of the second sentence of Section 1. b. Who may be impeached? (See Section 2) 1. President; 2. Vice-President;

3. Members of the Constitutional Commissions; 4. Ombudsman c. The list of officers subject to impeachment found in Section 2 is exclusive. d. The purpose of impeachment is not to punish but only to remove an officer who does not deserve to hold office. L. ARTICLE XII- NATIONAL ECONOMY AND PATRIMONY 1. Basic Concepts a. Regalian Doctrine See 1st sentence of Section 2. If a person is the owner of agricultural land in which minerals are discovered, his ownership of such land does not give him the right to extract or utilize the said minerals without the permission of the State to which such minerals belong. This is an application of the Regalian Doctrine. Thus, once minerals are discovered in the land, whatever the use to which it is being devoted at the time, such use may be discontinued by the State to enable it to extract the minerals therein in the exercise of its sovereign prerogative. The land is thus converted to mineral land. For the loss sustained, the owner is entitled to compensations under the Mining Law or in appropriate expropriation proceedings. b. The following may acquire private lands: 1. Filipino citizens; 2. Filipino corporations and associations as defined in Section 2; 3. Aliens, but only by hereditary succession; and 4. Natural-born citizen of the Philippines who has lost Philippine citizenship, subject to limitations provided by law. c. The ban on aliens is intended to preserve the nations land for future generations of Filipinos. The aim is achieved when the alien subsequently becomes a citizen of transfers the land to a citizen. M. ARTICLE XIII- SOCIAL JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS 1. Basic concepts a. The import of social justice that has developed in various decisions is that when the law is clear and valid, it simply must be applied; but when the law can be interpreted in more ways than one, an interpretation that favors the underprivileged must be favored. N. ARTICLE IV- EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ARTS, CULTURE, AND SPORTS 1. Take note of Article XIV, Section 3, paragraph 1 O. ARTICLE XV- THE FAMILY 1. Basic concepts

a. Policy of the Constitution regarding annulment of marriage: The constitutional policy is for the protection and strengthening of the family as the basic autonomous social institution. It recognizes marriage as the foundation of the family. Thus, any doubt should be resolved in favor of the validity of the marriage. P. ARTICLE XVI- GENERAL PROVISIONS 1. Doctrine of state immunity from suit The State may not be sued without its consent. (See Section 3) a. Reasons for the rule that the State cannot be sued without its consent It is based on the juridical and practical notion that the State can do no wrong. b. On the logical and practical ground that there can be no legal right as against the authority that makes the law on which the right depends. c. The people gave their consent to the rule when they ratified the Constitution. d. For practical considerations. A continued adherence to the doctrine of non-suability is not to be deplored for as against the inconvenience that may be caused private parties; the loss of governmental efficiency and the obstacle to the performance of its multifarious functions are far greater if such a fundamental principle were abandoned and the availability of judicial remedy were not thus restricted. e. How consent to be sued is given by the State: 1. There is express consent when there is a law (general or special law) expressly granting authority to sue the State or any of its agencies. 2. There is implied consent: a. When the State enters into a private contract, unless the contract is merely incidental to the performance of a governmental function; b.When the State enters into an operation that is essentially a business operation, unless the business operation is merely incidental to the performance of a governmental function. c. When the State sues a private party, unless the suit is entered into only to resist a claim. f. The doctrine of governmental immunity from suit cannot serve as an instrument for perpetrating an injustice on a citizen. Q. ARTICLE XVII- AMENDMENTS OR REVISIONS 1. Basic Concepts a. Amendment vs. Revision Both amendment and revision signify change in the Constitutional text. An amendment envisages an alteration of one or a few specific and isolated provisions of the constitution. Its guiding original intention is to improve specific parts or to add new provisions or to suppress existing ones accordingly as addition or subtraction might be demanded by existing conditions.

 In revision, however, the guiding intention and plan contemplates a re-examination of the entire document or an important cluster of provisions in the document to determine how and to what extent it should be altered. The end product of a revision can be an important structural change in the government or a change which affects several provisions of the Constitution. b. Generally, a constitution may not be changed without following the process prescribed by the existing constitution, because by adopting the article on amendments and revision, the people themselves have imposed on themselves a constitutional limitation on their capacity to dispose of the Constitution. c. However, since the people are the ultimate legal sovereign, they may in extraordinary circumstances decide to disregard the constitution. When they do so, the change they effect is neither amendment nor revision in the constitutional sense but revolution. The ratification of the 1973 Constitution was done in an extra-constitutional way. Similarly, the Freedom Constitution was promulgated by President Aquino under her revolutionary authority conferred by the people through the EDSA event. d. Required steps if the constitutional change is to be effected by amendment or by revision (In general) 1. There must be proposal of amendments or revision, that is, the formulation of the changes contemplated; 2. Submission of the proposed amendments of revision to the people; 3. Ratification. e. The following may propose amendments to or revision of the Constitution: 1. Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members; 2. Constitutional Convention; 3. The electorate, through popular initiative (but only amendment) f. How Congress propose amendments to the Constitution See Section 1 g. How a constitutional convention comes to existence See Section 3 h. How proposal of amendments by initiative and referendum done 1. Through the initiative phase, the people propose the amendments. There is valid proposal when a proposition has received the approval of at least 3% of the registered voters of each district and 12% of the total number of registered voters nationwide. 2. This is followed by the referendum phase where the people vote to reject or ratify the proposal. But there must first be an enabling law. The SC declared RA 6735 inadequate to cover the system of initiative to amend the Constitution. i. A revision of the Constitution may not be effected through initiative and referendum. The change authorized by Sec 2 can only be amendment. Reason: Formulation of provisions revising the Constitution requires both cooperation and debate which can only be done through a collegial body.

j. Effectivity of the amendment or revision See Section 4 k. Essential requisites of a valid ratification Ratification of amendments must be: (1) held in a plebiscite (or election) under the election law; (2) supervised by the independent Commission on Election; and (3) where only franchised voters take part. l. The above requirements apply to amendments and revision under the Constitution. When, however, the people in the exercise of their sovereignty decide that they no longer wish to be bound by the amendatory process of the Constitution, there is legally nothing to prevent them from adopting a new Constitution in a novel extra-constitutional manner. In other words, a new constitution can come into being extra-constitutionally, that is, by revolution. The 1973 Constitution was a product of a bloodless revolution. The Freedom Constitution of 1986 was also a product of revolution. R. ARTICLE XVIII- TRANSITORY PROVISIONS 1. Basic Concept a. Meaning and purpose of transitory provisions Transitory provisions of a constitution are schedules and ordinances forming part of, or appended to provide for the transition from the old government to the new and put the provisions of the new Constitution into effect, or to qualify, restrict, or limit some permanent provisions for a limited period. Their main purpose is to obviate confusion which would otherwise arise during the transition period. They have temporary or transient operation.