cruz chapter 8 9

CHAPTER 1: GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

POLITICAL LAW: Branch of public law which deals with the organization and operations of the governmental organs of the State and defines the relations of the state with the inhabitants of its territory.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW – study of the structures and powers of the government of RP

NECESSITY FOR THE STUDY

Every citizen should understand the mechanics and motivations of his government : Art 2, Sec 1

sovereignty resides in the people and all governmental authority emanates from them

o Upon involvement in public affairs of every Filipino that the success of the RP will depend

All educational institutions shall include the study of Constitution as part of the curricula.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Inhabitants of the Phil. consisted of disparate tribes governed by system of laws promulgated by the datu or a council of elders fell under a foreign power, bound by commercial ties

Discovery of Phil by Magellan common rule of Spain 300+ years, abuses of the government and the friars Filipinos developed a sense of unity Rizal and other propagandists, ignite spirit of nationalism

Phil. Revolution started by Bonifacio under the generalship of Aguinaldo Ended the Spanish Sovereignty Phil independence First Phil Republic, Aguinaldo – Pres Malolos Constitution, new government was established; first democratic constitution to be promulgated in Asia

US planting seeds of another sovereignty disregarded the declaration of independence day Treaty on Paris – cession of Phil Is. by Spain to the US Phil-American War

Americans organized a military govt but consolidation of executive, legislative and judicial authority in a military government non-observance of the doctrine of separation of powers

Schurman Commission First Phil Comm. fact-finding survey of the Phil Is. & submit appropriate recommendations to the US Congress

Taft Commission Second Phil Comm. took over all the legislative powers and some of the executive and judicial powers of the military govt

Spooner Amendment civil govt William Howard Taft, governor

Phil Bill 1902 Phil Assembly was crated (1907) to sit with the Phil Comm. in a bicameral legislature, Sergio Osmena, Speaker of the Phil Assembly 1907 Phil Autonomy Act – Jones Law – established inter alia a Phil Legislature consisting of a Senate (Manuel L Quezon) and a Hse of Rep (Sergio Osmena)

Tydings-McDuffie Act – authorized the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Phil Constitutional Convention 1935 Consti inauguration of the Commonwealth government Quezon, Pres & Osmena, VP

Tydings-McDuffie Act promised independence to the Fil – prove their capacity for democratic govt during 10 year transition period Second republic of the Phil Jose P. Laurel, Pres during the Japanese occupancy

Intensification of a subversive movement by communist-oriented groups, Pres. Ferdinand Marcos issued Proclamation No 1081 –Martial Law Proclamation no 1102 – 1973 Consti – effective

Issue of validity of 1973 consti – ratification cases. Habeas Corpus Cases, SC unanimously upheld the proclamation of Martial Law

1973 Consti – Pres Marcos issued Proc No 2045 – lifting Martial Law. However he retained his “standby legislative powers” promulgated National Security Code and Public Order Act

Pres Marcos submitted on the 10th day following the proclamation of the winners in the snap election to be called by the legislature on the strength of such resignation. SC denied the petition and sustained the resignation and the call. Elections Marcos, Pres. Arturo Tolentino, VP

People power, headed by Juan Ponce Enrile and Fidel Ramos Corazon Aquino, Pres & Salvador Laurel, VP

Freedom Constitution Plebiscite

CHAPTER 2: THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES

1987 Constitution – FOURTH fundamental law to govern the Philippines

BETIA, 2012ISAGANI CRUZ, PHILIPPINE POLITICAL LAW 2002

Commonwealth Constitution (1935) – FIRST constitution; operative after the proclamation of the Republic of the Philippines

INDEPENDENT Philippines – July 4, 1946

1973 Constitution – SECOND Constitution; enforced during Marcos regime

PEOPLE POWER – February 25, 1986

Freedom Constitution – THIRD; effective pending the adoption of a permanent Constitution

President Corazon C. Aquino – Proclamation 9 – creation of a Constitutional Commission – 50 members

** deadline: September 2, 1986

** Justice Cecilia Munoz-Palma – accepted and immediately undertook their mission

** October 15, 1986 – approve the final draft

PLEBISCITE – not within 60 days but within 3 months, to give people more opportunity to study

**Plebiscite: February 2, 1987

OUTSTANDING FEATURES

18 articles

Many of the original 1935 provisions have been restored – legislative and executive departments – because of the revival of the bicameral congress of the Philippines and the strictly presidential system

Independence of the judiciary has been strengthened - new provisions for appointment and increase in its authority.

Bill of rights – improved – creation in the document of a commission on human rights

Sounds like a political speech rather than a formal document stating only basic precepts

Inclusion of certain topics that have no place in a Constitution – sports, love, drugs, advertising etc

SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION

CONSTITUTION – basic and paramount law to which all other laws must conform and to which all persons must defer

** No act shall be valid if it conflicts with the Constitution

** All must bow to the mandate of this law

PROSPECTS OF THE CONSTITUTION

CONSTITUTION:

Quintessential rather than superficial, root and not the blossom

Base and framework, core of the dream that must take shape

It must grow within the society it seeks to restructure and march space with progress of the race

CHAPTER 3: THE CONCEPT OF THE STATE

STATE – community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a fixed territory and possessed of an independent government organized for political ends to which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience

STATE v NATION

STATE – legal concept

NATION – racial or ethnic concept

- Evidenced by its etymology- Indicates a relation of birth or origin and implies

a common race, usually characterized by community of language and customs

- May comprise several states

STATE v GOVERNMENT

STATE GOVERNMENTPrincipal Agent

abstraction Externalizes the state and articulates its will

Element of the state

ELEMENTS OF THE STATE

1. PEOPLE2. TERRITORY3. GOVERNMENT4. SOVEREIGNTY

PEOPLE

People - Inhabitants of the state

There is no legal requirement as to the number


**numerous to be self-sufficing and to defend themselves

**small enough to be easily administered and sustained

People must come from both sexes to be able to perpetuate themselves

People are more comprehensive and less cohesive than the nation

NATION: starting as an amorphous group of individuals inhabiting same territory, the people may develop and share certain characteristics and interests, such as common language, common religion, and a common set of customs and traditions that will unite them into a more closely-knit entity

NATION: a people bound together by common attractions and repulsions into a living organism possessed of a common pulse, a common intelligence and inspiration, and destined apparently to have a common history and a common fate

TERRITORY

TERRITORY – fixed portion of the surface of the earth inhabited by the people of the State

Practical requirement ONLY – must be neither too big as to be difficult to administer and defend nor too small as to be unable to provide the needs of the population

COMPONENTS OF TERRITORY

Terrestrial domain – land mass

Maritime and fluvial domain – inland and external waters

Aerial domain – air space above the land and waters

Art 1 – NATIONAL TERRITORY

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves and other submarine areas. The waters around, between and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimension, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines.

National territory by reference to the pertinent treaties concluded by the US during its regime in this country, the present rule now physically lists the components of our territory and so de-emphasizes recollections of our colonial past

The article has deleted reference to the territories we claim “by historic right or legal title”, but this does not mean an outright and formal abandonment of such claim, which was best “left to a judicial body capable of passing judgment over the issue”

SECOND SENTENCE – archipelagic doctrine – which we connect the outermost points of our archipelago with straight baselines and consider all the waters enclosed thereby as internal waters

ARCHIPELAGO – regarded as one integrated unit instead of being fragmented into so many thousand islands

TERRITORIAL SEAS – defined according to the Jamaica Convention on the Law of the Sea

DEFINITION IN ART. 1

1. Those ceded to the US by virtue of the Treaty of Paris of Dec 10, 1898

2. Defined in the treaty concluded between the US and Spain on Nov 7, 1900, which were not defined in the treaty of Paris, specifically islands of Cagayan, Sulu and Sibuto

3. Defined in the treaty concluded on jan 2, 1930, between US and Great Britain, specifically the Turtle and Mangsee islands

4. The island of Batanes, which was covered under a general statement in the 1935 Consti

5. Those contemplated in the phrase “belonging to the Phil by historic right and legal title” in the 1973 Consti

GOVERNMENT

GOVERNMENT – agent or instrumentality through which the will of the State is formulated, expressed and realized

No particular form of government is prescribed, provided that the government is able to represent the State in its dealings with other states.

OUR GOVERNMENT – democratic and republican

DIRECT STATE ACTION – the mandate of the government from the state is to promote the welfare of the people. Whatever is good is done by the government is attributed to the State but every harm inflicted on the people is imputed not to the State but to the government alone. Such inquiry may justify the replacement of the government by revolution, theoretically at the behest of the State.

A.) FUNCTIONS

2 KINDS OF FUNCTIONS


5. Constituent6. Ministrant

CONSTITUENT FUNCTIONS – constitute the very bonds of society and are therefore compulsory.

7. Are exercised by the State as attributes of sovereignty

MINISTRANT FUNCTIONS – undertaken to advance the general interests of the society, such as public works, public charity, and regulation of trade and industry. These functions are merely optional. Basic function: maintaining peace and order

8. promote the welfare, progress and prosperity of the people

Irrelevant distinction because of the laissez faire policy in the constitution

** it is now obligatory on the state to:

** promote social justice

** provide adequate social services to promote a rising standard of living

** afford protection to labor

** formulate and implement urban and agrarian reform programs

** adopt other measures intended to ensure the dignity, welfare and security of the citizens

** establish and maintain a complete, adequate and fully integrated system of education

** offer free elementary and secondary public education

** promote scientific research and invention

** patronize arts and letters and develop Filipino culture for national identity

**THESE FUNCTIONS WHILE TRADITIONALLY REGARDED AS MERELY MINISTRANT AND OPTIONAL, HAVE BEEN MADE COMPULSARY BY THE CONSTITUTION

B.) DOCTRINE OF PARENS PATRIAE

PARENS PATRIAE – guardian of the rights of the people

** it is buttressed by its adherence to the concept that the judiciary, as an agent of the State acting as parens patriae, is called upon whenever a pending suit or litigation affects one who is a MINOR to accord prority to his best interest

** parens patriae in representation of the legitimate claimants

** the prerogative of parens patriae is inherent in the supreme power of every State, whether that power is lodged in a royal person or in the legislature, and has no affinity to those arbitrary powers which are sometimes exerted by irresponsible monarchs to the detriment of the people and the destruction of their liberties

C.) DE JURE AND DE FACTO GOVERNMENTS

DE JURE GOVERNMENT – has rightful title but no power or control, either because this has been (1) withdrawn from it or because it has (2) not yet actually entered into exercised thereof.

DE FACTO GOVERNMENT – government of fact, actually exercises power or control but without legal title

3 KINDS OF DE FACTO GOVT

1. Government that gets possession and control of, or usurps, by force or by the voice of the majority, the rightful legal government and maintains itself against the will of the latter

2. That established as an independent government by the inhabitants of a country who rise in insurrection against the parent state

3. That which is established and maintained by military forces who invade and occupy a territory of the enemy in the course of war, and which is dominated as a government of paramount force

**Second Republic of the Phil – De Facto Government – established by the Japanese belligerent during the occupation of the Philippines in WW II

CHARACTERISTICS OF DE FACTO GOVERNMENT

1. Existence is maintained by active military power within the territories and against the rightful authority of an established and lawful government

2. During its existence, it must necessarily be obeyed in civil matters by private citizens who, by acts of obedience rendered in submission to such force, do not become responsible, as wrongdoers, for those acts, though not warranted by the laws of the rightful government

** They are usually administered by military authority, supported more or less directly by military force

** government of Corazon Aquino – DE JURE GOVT – the people have made the judgment, govt in fact and in law, in effective control of the entire country,


community of nations has recognized the legitimacy of the present govt

D.) GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

GOVT OF THE PHIL – corporate governmental entity through which the functions of govt re exercised throughout the Phil

GOCCs engaged in proprietary functions CANNOT be considered part of the govt for purposes of exemption from the application of the statute of limitations.

E.) ADMINISTRATION

ADMINISRATION – group of persons in whose hands the reins of the government are fr the time being

** Administration runs the government

** administration is TRANSITIONAL, government is PERMANENT

SOVEREIGNTY

SOVEREIGNTY – supreme and uncontrollable power inherent in a State by which that State is governed

2 KINDS OF SOVEREIGNTY

- Legal- Political

LEGAL SOVEREIGNTY – authority which has the power to issue final commands

POLITICAL SOVEREIGNTY – power behind the legal sovereignty, or the sum of the influences that operate upon it

Congress: Legal Sovereignty :: different sectors that mold public opinion: Political Sovereignty

- Internal- External

INTERNAL SOVEREIGNTY – refers to the power of the state to control its domestic affairs

EXTERNAL SOVEREIGNTY (INDEPENDENCE) – power of the state to direct its relations with other states

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOVEREIGNTY

- Permanent- Exclusive- Comprehensive

- Absolute- Indivisible- Inalienable- Imprescriptible

** sovereignty is not deemed suspended although acts of sovereignty cannot be exercised by the legitimate authority.

** there can be no change of sovereignty during a belligerent occupation, the political laws of the occupied territory are merely suspended, subject to revival under the jus postliminium upon the end of the occupation

POSTLIMINIUM. That right in virtue of which persons and things taken by the enemy are restored to their former state, when coming again under the power of the nation to which they belong.

** non-political laws are deemed to continue unless changed by the belligerent occupant since they are intended to govern the relations of individuals as among themselves and are not generally affected by changes in regime of rulers

**rule suspending political laws affects only the civilian inhabitants of the occupied territory and is not intended to bind the enemies in arms

JUDICIAL DECISIONS – valid during the occupation and even beyond except those of a political complexion, which are automatically annulled upon the restoration of the legitimate authority

** where there is a change of sovereignty, the political laws of the former sovereign are not merely suspended but abrogated

** as they regulate the relations between, the ruler and the ruled, these laws fall to the ground of ipso facto unless they are retained or re-enacted by positive act of the new sovereign

** non-political laws continue in operation, for the reason that they only regulate private relations, unless they are changed by the new sovereign or are contrary to its institutions.

** total abrogation of political relations of the inhabitants – that all laws in force which are in conflict with the political character, constitution, or institutions of the substituted sovereign lose force

ACT OF STATE

ACT OF STATE is done by the sovereign power of a country, or by its delegate, within the limits of the power vested in him.


**Act of state – cannot be questioned or made the subject of legal proceedings in a court of law

ACT OF STATE – act done by the political departments of the government and not subject to judicial review

CHAPTER 4: THE DOCTRINE OF STATE IMMUNITY

The state may not be sued without its consent.

- Recognition of the sovereign character of the state and an express affirmation of the unwritten rule insulating it from the jurisdiction of the courts of justice

BASIS

The doctrine of non-suability is based not on “any formal conception or obsolete theory but on the logical and practical ground that there can be no legal right against the authority which makes the law on which the right depends”

** practical consideration – that the demands and inconveniences of litigation will divert the time and resources of the State from the more pressing matters demanding its attention to the prejudice of the public welfare

** principle of the sovereign equality of states, under which one state cannot assert jurisdictionover another in violation of the maxim – PAR IN PAREM NON HABET IMPERIUM – unduly vex the peace of nations

APPLICATION

Actions are rarely instituted directly against the Republic of the Philippines, presumably because such a step will provoke resort to the doctrine of state immunity and possible dismissal of the complaint for lack of jurisdiction.

Alternative: file such claims not against the state itself but against the officer of the government who is supposed to discharge the responsibility or grant the redressed demanded

To determine if the state is the real party in interest, that is, that the claim if proved will be a direct liability off the state and not merely of the officer impleaded

An action can be dismissed as a suit against the State unless its immunity had been previously waived.

Government to perform an affirmative act to satisfy the judgment, viz, thus the appropriation of the necessary amount to cover the damages awarded, thus making

the action a suit against that government without its consent

Suit against the state = appropriation of public funds to satisfy the judgment if the claim were allowed

Claim for recovery of damages = require the government to appropriate the necessary amount for the satisfaction of the judgment

Public officer acts without or in excess of his jurisdiction, any injury caused by him = PERSONAL LIABILITY

WAIVER OF IMMUNITY

‘THE ROYAL PREROGATIVE OF DISHONESTY’

State may be sued if it gives its consent

State may, divest itself of its sovereign immunity and thereby voluntarily open itself to suit

FORMS OF CONSENT

Express consent Implied consent

Express Consent - manifested either through a general law or a special law

Embodied in duly enacted statute and may not be given by a mere counsel of the government

Implied Consent - state itself commences litigation or when it enters into a contract

The doctrine of governmental immunity from suit cannot serve as an instrument for perpetrating an injustice on a citizen

When the government enters into a contract, for the State is then deemed to have divested itself of the mantle of sovereign immunity and descended to the level of the ordinary individual – becomes subject to judicial action and processes

Suability would follow only if the contract s entered into by the government in its proprietary capacity. Governmental contracts do not result in implied waiver of the immunity of the State from suit

The traditional rule of State immunity exempts a state from being sued in the courts of another state without its consent or waiver. – Necessary consequence of the principles of independence and equality of states

FUNCTIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT

Jure Imperii – sovereign and governmental acts


Jure gestionis – private, commercial and proprietary

** State immunity extends only to acts Jure Imperii

State may e said to have descended to the level of an individual and can thus be deemed to have tacitly given its consent to be sued only when it enters into business contracts. – does not apply where the contract relates to the exercise of its sovereign functions

When the State gives its consent to be sued, it does not thereby also consent to the execution of the judgment against it.

UNIVERSAL RULE: where the state gives it consent to be sued by private parties either by general or special law, it may limit claimant’s action ‘only up to the completion of proceedings anterior to the stage of execution’ and that the power of the courts ends when the judgment is rendered. – writ of execution or garnishments to satisfy such judgment

SUIT AGAINST GOVT AGENCIES

Where suit is filed not against the government itself or its officials but against one of its entities, it must be ascertained whether or not the State, as the principal may ultimately be held liable, has given its consent to be sued.

Incorporated agency Unincorporated agency

INCORPORATED AGENCY – has a charter of its own that invests it with a separate judicial personality

Incorporated if the test of its suability is found it its charter

o Suable regardless of the function it is performing

UNINCORPORATED AGENCY – no separate judicial entity but is merged in the general machinery of the govt

Municipal Corporations (provinces and cities) are agencies of the state when they are engaged in governmental functions, should enjoy the sovereign immunity from suit

Subject to suit even in the performance of such functions because their charter provides that they can sue and be sued

UNINCORPORATED AGENCY – no separate juridical personality, any suit filed against it is necessarily an action against the Phil Govt of which it is a part

Necessary to determine the nature of the functions in which the agency is engaged, so as to hold it suable if they are proprietary and not suable if they are proprietary and not suable if they are governmental

Test in every case is the suable of the primary functions being discharged

The non-suablity of the State is available to the agency even if it is shown that it is engaged not only in governmental functions but also, as a sideline, or incidentally, in proprietary functions

Additional work an agency executes for private parties is merely incidental to its function, and although such work may be deemed proprietary in character, there is no showing that the employees performing said proprietary function are separate and distinct from those employed in its general governmental functions.

An office of the govt, without any corporate or juridical personality cannot be sued – any suit, action or proceeding against it, if it were to produce any effect, would actually be a suit, action or proceeding against the govt itself, and the rule is settled, that the govt cannot be sued without its consent

EXEMPTION FROM LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

When the state litigates, either directly or through its authorized officers, it is not required to put up a bond for damages, or an appeal bond since it can be assumed that it is always solvent

Interest is also not chargeable against it except when it has expressly stipulated to pay it or when interest is allowed by an act of the legislature in eminent domain cases where damages sustained by the owner take the form of interest at the legal rate

Statutes of limitation do not run against the state unless the contrary is expressly provided by law, although the rule is not observed where the state is engaged in private business

SUABILITY vs LIABILITY

If the state is suable, it does not mean that it is liable

Waiver of immunity by the state does not mean concession of its liability

SUABILITY – result of the express or implied consent of the state to be sued

LIABILITY – determined after hearing on the basis of the relevant laws and the established facts


When, therefore, he state allows itself to be sued, all it does in effect is to give the other party an opportunity to prove, if it can, that the state is liable

MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS – can sue and be sued – not liable for torts committed by them in the discharge of governmental functions and can be held answerable only if it can be shown that they were acting in a proprietary capacity

In permitting such entities to be sued, the state merely gives the claimant the right to show that the defendant was not acting in its governmental capacity when the injury was committed or that the case comes under the exceptions recognized by law – failing this, the claimant cannot recover

CHAPTER 5: FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES

ART II – “DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES”

Lay down the rules underlying our system of government and must therefore be adhered to in the conduct of public affairs and the resolution of public issues

Purpose – emphasize and articulate more unequivocally the objectives and limitations of governmental actions in pursuit of the general goals announced n the preamble

PREAMBLE

CHAPTER 8: THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

The 1987 Consti revived the Congress of the Phil. And represents a return to bicameralism

UNICAMERAL: Batasang pambansa, Malolos Congress, Taft Commission

BICAMERAL: Phil. Bill of 1902 – provided for a legislature consisting of a Phil Assembly and the Philippine Commission

Jones Law – House of Reps. And Senate = PHIL LEGISLATURE

1987 Consti important modification that have been introduced – SECTION 1, ART 6 = legislative power is

now not exclusively vested in the Congress, un view of the reservation made regarding INITIATIVE and REFERNDUM

ART 6, SEC 1

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

Congress discharges powers of a NON-LEGISLATIVE nature:

Canvass of the presidential election Declaration of the existence of war Confirmation of amnesties Amendment or revision of the constitution Impeachment

THE SENATE

COMPOSITION

Art6, Sec 2

24 senators elected at large

“elected at large” – training ground for national leaders, broader outlook of the problems of the country, more circumspect and broad-minded than the House of Reps.

QUALIFICATIONS

Art 6, Sec 3

No persons shall be a Senator unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, and, in the day of the election, is at least 35 years of age, able to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines for not less than 2 years immediately preceding the day of the election.

NATURAL BORN CITIZENS – citizens of the Phil from birth without having to perform any act to acquire and perfect their Phil citizenship

AGE QUALIFICATIONS – fixed at 35 on the day of the elections and not on the day of the proclamation of the winners.

LITERACY REQUIREMENT

RESIDENCE (domicile) – place where one habitually resides and to which, when he is absent, he has the intention of returning. Residence is in any part of the Philippines.


**the qualifications prescribed in this section are continuing requirements. They must be possessed for the entire duration of the member’s incumbency.

**EXPRESSIO UNIUS EST EXCLUSIO ALTERIUS – not competent for the Congress to provide by mere legislation for additional qualifications

TERM

Art 6 Sec 4 and Art 18 Sec 2

Sec 4. The term office of the senators shall be SIX YEARS and shall commence, unless otherwise provided by law, mat noon on the 30th day of June next following their election

Sec 2. The senators, members of the House of the Reps, and the local officials first elected under this Consti shall serve until noon of June 30, 1992

Of the senators elected in the election of 1992, the first 12 obtaining the highest number of votes shall serve for SIX YEARS and the remaining 12 for THREE YEARS.

The continuity of the life of a Senate is intended to encourage the maintenance of Senate policies as well as help and train new comers in the discharge of their duties.

Art 6, Sec 4

No senator shall serve for more than 2 consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interpretation in the continuity of his service for the full term for which he was elected.

The consti seems to be wary of elective officials who stay too long in office, because they may entrench themselves in the power to the exclusion of other aspirants for the office and prevent political dynasties

*NO SENATOR CAN SERVE NO MORE THAN 12 YEARS

* it might have been better to provide that the term of office of the congress shall commence on the first day of July and without waiting for high noon.

THE HOUSE OF THE REPRESENTATIVES

COMPOSITION

2 kinds of members:

District Reps – elected directly and personally from the territorial unit he is seeking to represent

Party-list Reps – chosen indirectly, through the party he represents

**party-list system – innovation of the 19897 consti

Art 6, Sec 5

Not more than 250 members elected from legislative districts apportioned among the provinces

Part-list reps – 20 % of the total membership of the HR

Each legislative district with a population of at least 250 thousand shall have at least 1 rep.

(A) DISTRICT REP

200 members to be directly elected from the various legislative districts, territory was divided into 13 regions, in turn compromising 200 district apportioned among provinces

Validity of legislative apportionment measure – justiciable question – involving as it does certain requirements the interpretation of which does not call for the exercise of legislative discretion

(B) PARTY-LIST REP

Party-list rep shall constitute 20% of the total membership of the body

RA 7941 – not later than 90 days before election day, any political party, organization or coalition may file a verified petition through its president or secretary for its participation in the party-list system; published in at least 2 newspapers of gen circ and after due notice and hearing be resolved within 15 days and in no case later than 60 days before the election

The sectors shall include: labor, peasant, fisher-folk, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, elderly, handicapped, women, youth, veterans, overseas workers, and professionals.

Upon reg, the pol party shall submit to the COMELEC not later than 45 days before the election 5 names from w/c its reps may be chosen

EVERY VOTER SHALL BE ENTITLED OF 2 VOTES:

District rep Pol party he wants represented in the HR

PARTICIPANTS IN THE PARTY-LIST – ranked accdg to the # of votes they received.


** AT LEAST 2% - 1 seat

** MORE THAN 2% - given additional seats

***but none of them shall have more than 3 seats

They shall have the same rights and be subject to the same inhibition and disqualifications, the SOLE EXCEPTION, cannot change his pol party during his term of office.

If the change is made within 6 mos. before the election, he shall not be eligible for nomination

QUALIFICATIONS

Art 6, Sec 6

No person shall be a member of the HR unless he is a natural born citizen of the Philippines and on the day of the election, is at least 25 years of age, able to read and write and except the party-list reps, a registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected, resident thereof for a period of not less than 1 year immediately preceding the day of the elections.

PARTY LIST REPS – bona fide member of the party he seeks to represent

YOUTH REP – not be more than 30 years old, but may continue beyond that age until the end of his term

RESIDENCE MUST BE IN THE DISTRICT – ensure familiarity with the conditions and problems of the constituency sought to be represented and consequent efficiency and concern in the discharge of legislative duties.

TERM

Art 6, Sec 7

The members of the HR shall be elected for a s which shall begin unless otherwise provided by law at noon on the 30 th

day of June next following their election.

No member of the HR shall serve for more than 3 consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of his service for the full term for which he was elected.

Purpose of reducing the term to 3 years is to synchronize elections

MAX term: 3 TERMS or 9 CONSECUTIVE YEARS

Reason: generally young than the members of the Senate

ELECTION

Art 6, Sec 9.

In case of vacancy in the Senate or in the HR, a special election may e called to fill such vacancy in the manner prescribed by law, but the Senator or member of the HR thus elected shall serve only for the unexpired term.

SALARIES

Art 6, Sec 10

The salaries of the senate and the members of determined by law. No increase in said compensation shall take effect UNTIL AFTER THE EXPIRATION OF THE FULL TERM of all members of the senate and the HR approving such increase

Art 6, Sec 20

The records and books of accounts of the Congress shall be preserved and be open to the public in accordance with law and such books shall be audited by the COA which shall be published annually and itemized list of amounts paid to and expenses incurred for each Member.

**no prohibition against the receipt of allowances by the members of the Congress

** reduction of salaries is not prohibited. If any increase is to be made, the same cannot be effective during the term of the members of the congress who have approved such increase

PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITIES

Art 6, Sec 11

A senator or member of the HR shall, in all offenses punishable by not more than 6 years imprisonment, be privileged from arrest while the Congress is in session. No member shall be questioned nor held liable in any other place for any speech or debate in the congress or in any committee thereof.

2 KINDS OF IMMUNITIES

IMMUNITY FROM ARREST – ensure representation of the constituents of the member of the Congress by preventing attempts to keep him from attending its sessions


PRIVILEGE OF SPEECH AND DEBATE – enables the legislator to express views bearing upon public interest without fear of accountability outside the halls of the legislature for his inability to support his statements with the usual evidence required in the court of justice

(1) PRIVILEGE FROM ARREST

Covers not only civil arrests but also arrests for criminal offenses punishable by not more than 6 years imprisonment

Applies only while the Congress is in session

SESSION – does not refer to day to day meetings but to the entire period from its initial convening until its final adjournment

(2) PRIVILEGE OF SPEECH AND DEBATE

Requisites:

Remarks must be made while the legislature or legislative committee is functioning – in session

Made in connection with the discharge of official duties

“in any other place” – he may be called to account for his remarks by his own colleagues in the congress itself.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Art 6, Sec 12

All members of the senate and the HR shall, upon assumption of office, make a full disclosure of their financial and business interests. They shall notify the House concerned of a potential conflict of interest that may arise from the filing of a proposed legislation of which they are authors.

By requiring them to make known at the outset their financial and business connections or investments, it is hoped that their potential for self-aggrandizement will be reduced and they will be prevented from using their official positions for ulterior purposes

INCOMPATIBLE AND FORBIDDEN OFFICES

Art 6, Sec 13

No senator of members of the HR may hold any other office or employment in the Government, or any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including GOCC and their subsidiaries, during his term without forfeiting his seat. Neither shall he be appointed to any office which may have

been created or the emoluments thereof increased during the term for which he was elected

INCOMPATIBLE OFFICES – which may not be held by the legislator during his tenure in the Congress

The prohibition is against the holding of an incompatible office is not absolute; what is not allowed is the simultaneous holding of that office and the seat in the Congress.

Not every office or employment is to be regarded as incompatible with the legislative position

Membership in the Electoral Tribunal Second ofc is an extension of the legislative

position or is in aid of legislative duties Who serve as treaty negotiators under the Pres

of the Phils continue to seat in the Congress where they can work better for the approval of the treaty and the passage of thee needed implementing legislation

FORBIDDEN OFFICE – even if the member of the congress is willing to forfeit his seat therein, he may not be appointed to any office in the government that has been created or the emoluments thereof have been increased during his term

Purpose: prevent trafficking in public office

The appointment of the member of the congress to the forbidden office is not allowed only during the term for which he was elected. After such term, and even if the legislator is re-elected, the disqualification no longer applies and he may therefore be appointed to the office

INHIBITIONS AND DISQUALIFICATIONS

Art 6, Sec 14

No senator or member of the HR may personally appear as counsel before any court of justice or before the Electoral Tribunals or quasi-judicial or other administrative bodies, neither shall be directly or indirectly, be interested financially in any contract with, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof. He shall not intervene any matter before any office of the government for his pecuniary benefit or where he may be called upon to act on account of his office

Appearance of the legislator is now barred before all courts of justice regardless of rank, composition or jurisdiction


Purpose: prevent the legislator from exerting undue influence, deliberately r not, upon the body where he is appearing. The pressure may not be intended; normally, the appearance is enough, considering the powers available to the legislator which he can exercise to reward or punish a judge deciding his case.

The legislator-lawyer can still engage in the practice of his profession except when it comes to hearings and trials above-mentioned

Legislators are prohibited from being financially interest in any contract with the government

Because of the influence they can easily exercise in obtaining these concessions; prevent abuses from being committed by the members of the Congress to the prejudice of the public welfare

**not every transaction is barred by this provision. Only those involving “financial interests” from which the legislator expects to derive some profit at the expense of the government

SESSIONS

Art 6, Sec 15

The congress shall convene once every year on the 4th

Monday of July for its regular sessions, unless a different date is fixed by law, and shall continue to be in session for such number of days as it may determine until 30 days before the opening of its next regular session, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. The President may call a special session at any time.

Max duration of 100 days for the regular session and 30 days for the special session, exclusive of Sundays – COMMONWEALTH CONSTITUTION

MANDATORY RECESS – prescribed for the 30 day period before the opening of the next regular session, excluding Sat., Sun., and legal holidays

President’s call not necessary (special election):

Canvass the presidential elections Call a special election when both the presidency

and vice-presidency are vacated Exercise the power of impeachment

OFFICERS

Art 6, Sec 16 (1)

The senate shall elect its president and the HR its speaker, by a vote of majority of all its respective Members.

Each house shall choose such other officers as it may deem necessary

QUORUM

Art 6, Sec 16 (2)

A majority of each house shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and may compel the attendance of absent embers in such manner, and under such penalties, as such House may provide.

QUORUM – any number sufficient to transact business which may be less than the majority of the membership

Art 6, Sec 16 (3)

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings punish its members for disorderly behavior and with the concurrence of 2/3 of all its members suspend or expel a member. A penalty of suspension, when imposed shall not exceed 60 days

Rules of proceedings are needed for the orderly conduct of the sessions of the congress. Such rules are to be within the exclusive discretion of the House to formulate and interpret and may not be judicially reversed.

Authority to discipline its members can still be exercised by each House as an inherent power, with the concurrence of only a majority vote

SOFT IMPEACHMENT – expulsion and suspension are deletion of unparliamentarily remarks from the record, fine, imprisonment and censure

JOURNALS

Art 6, Sec 16 (4)

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in its judgment affect national security; and the yeas and nays on any question shall at the request of 1/5 of the members present be entered in the Journal.

Each house shall also keep a Record of its proceedings

JOURNALS – record of what is done and past in a legislative assembly.

Useful not only for authenticating proceedings but also for the interpretation of laws through a study of debates held thereon and for informing the people of the official conduct of legislators


The publication of the journals is in line with the right t information on matters of public concern

ENROLLED BILL – which has been duly introduced, finally passed by both houses, signed by the proper officers of each, approved by the governor and filed by the secretary of state

Conflict between the recitals in the journals and the version of the enrolled bill – resolved be in favor of the enrolled bill

Conflict on the verity of the real contents of the bill – look into the journal. – no enrolled bill to speak in view of the withdrawal of the signatures of the president of the Phil and Sen Pres

JOURNAL – resume or minutes of what transpired during a legislative session

ADJOURNMENT

Art 6, Sec 16 (5)

Neither house during the sessions of the congress shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than 3 days, nor to any other place than that in which 2 houses shall be sitting

Restoration of bicameralism – envisions collaboration and coordination between the 2 chambers of the congress

Constant contact and communication between the 2 bodies is necessary that there be prior agreement before either of them decides to adjourn for more than 3 days

Should not adjourn to a place other than where both chambers are sitting, without the consent of the other.

PLACE – refers not to the building but to the political unit where two houses may be sitting

ELECTORAL TRIBUNALS

Sole judge of all contests involving the election, returns and qualifications of all members of the legislature

Art 6, Sec 17

The senate and the HR shall each have an Electoral Tribunal 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 SC and the remaining 6 shall be members of the Senate or

HR, as the case may be, who shall be chosen on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties and the parties and organizations registered under the party-list system represented therein. The senior justice in the electoral tribunal shall be its Chairman

1987 consti favors the multi-party system as against the 2-party system

Tanada v Cuenco: the legislative seats in the Electoral Tribunals belonged to the majority and minority parties in the chamber, not to the chamber itself or to the majority party therein/ Electoral Tribunals are also entitled to nominate their own reps.

In the discharge of their duties, they are independent of the legislature and also of the other depts. for that matter

Electoral tribunals have the exclusive right to prescribe its own rules of procedures

Decisions rendered are not appealable

The employees of the Electoral Tribunal are its own, and neither of the Senate nor the HR nor of any other entity and it stands to reason that the appointment, the supervision and the control over the said employees are wholly within the tribunal itself

COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS

Art 6, Sec 18

There shall be a commission on appointments consisting of the president of the senate, as an ex officio chairman, 12 senators and 12 members of the HR, elected by each House on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties and parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented therein. The chairman of the commission shall not vote except in case of a tie. The commission shall act on all appointments submitted to it within 30 session days of the congress from their submission. The commission shall by rule a majority vote of all the members

ORGANIZATION

Art 6, Sec 19

The Electoral tribunals and Commission on Appointments shall be constituted within 30 days after the senate and the HR shall have been organized with the election of the president and the speaker. The commission on appointments shall meet only while the congress is in session, at the call of its chairman or a majority of all its members, to discharge such powers and functions as are herein conferred upon it.


This provision is based on the need to enable the President to exercise his appointing power in coordination with the Comm on Appointments

Appointments are made during the recess and subject to consideration later by the commission for confirmation or rejection

But where the congress is in session, the pres must first clear his nominations with the commission

Unless it is organized, no appointment can be made by the pres in the meantime

CHAPTER 9: POWERS OF THE CONGRESS

Powers of the Congress

Legislative – specific powers of appropriation, taxation, and expropriation

Non-legislative – power to canvass the presidential elections, declare the existence of war, give concurrence to treaties and amnesties, propose constitutional amendments, and to impeach.

From such express powers may be derived some implied powers, such as the power to punish contempt in legislative investigations

Congress possess inherent powers such as the determination of its rules of proceedings and the discipline of its members

LEGISLATIVE POWERS IN GENERAL

LEGISLATIVE POWER – the power of law-making, the framing and enactment of laws, effected through the adoption of a bill, or a proposed or projected law, w/c once approved, becomes a statute

STATUTE – written will of the legislature, solemnly expressed accdg to the forms necessary to constitute it the law of the state

POWER TO MAKE LAWS – includes the power to repeal and alter them

On the question of which should prevail as between the executive agreements and the statutes = STATUTES

Main function of the executive is to enforce laws enacted by the Congress. The executive must not interfere in the performance of the legislative and may not defeat legislative enactments by indirectly repealing

the same through an executive agreement providing for the performance of the very act prohibited by such laws.

PROCEDURE

Bill is introduced by any member of either chambers

FIRST RDG: number and title of the bill, referral to the proper committee for study, public hearings are held

If other bills are of the same nature or purpose, they may all be consolidated into one bill.

SECOND RDG: read in its entirety, scrutinized, debated, upon and amended when desired.

IF bill is approved in the 2nd rdg, the bill is printed in its final form and copies are distributed 3 days before the 3rd reading

THIRD RDG: members merely register their votes.

Once the bill passes 3rd rdg, it is sent to the other chamber.

If there are differences between the versions approved by the 2 chambers, a CONFERENCE COMMITTEE representing both houses will draft a compromise measure that if ratified by the senate and the HR will then be submitted to the president for his consideration.

THE BILL IS ENROLLED when printed as finally approved by the Congress, thereafter authenticated with the signatures of the Sen Pres, the Speaker and the Sec of their respective chambers and approved by the pres.

ORIGIN OF BILLS

Art 6, Sec 24

All appropriation, revenue or tariff bills, bills authorizing increase of the public debt, bills of local application and private bills shall originate exclusively in the HR, but the senate may propose or concur with amendments

PURPOSE: more numerous in membership – more representative of the people, more familiar with the needs of the country

APPROPRIATION BILL – primary and specific purpose is to authorize the release of funds from the public treasury

REVENUE BILLS – levies taxes and raises fund for the govt


TARIFF BILLS – rate or duties to be imposed on imported articles

BILL INCREASING THE PUBLIC DEBT – floating bonds for public subscription

BILL OF LOCAL APPLICATION – purely local or municipal matters, ex city charter

PRIVATE BILLS – bill granting honorary citizenship

For senate to introduce what is known as AMENDMENT BY SUBSTITUTION, w/c may replace the bill initiated in the HR

Consti means: the initiative must come from the HR

PROHIBITED MEASURES

Impairing the doctrine of separation of powers Providing for the appointment of elected officers Prohibitions in the bill of rights

o Enactment of ex post facto lawso Bill of attainderso Laws impairing the obligation of

contracts

Art 6, Sec 31

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

PURPOSE: preserve the republican and democratic nature of our society by prohibiting the creation of privileged classes with special prerequisites not available to the rest of the citizenry

Art 6, Sec 30

No law shall be passed increasing the appellate jurisdiction of the SC as provided in the Consti w/o its advice and concurrence

PURPOSE: prevent further additions to the present tremendous case load of the SC

TITLE OF BILLS

Art 6, Sec 26(1)

Every bill passes by the Congress shall embrace only one subject which shall be expressed in the title thereof.

PURPOSES

Prevent hodgepodge or log-rolling legislation: any act containing several subjects dealing with unrelated matters representing diverse

interests, the main object of such combination being to unite the members of the legislature

Prevent surprise or fraud Fairly apprise the people, through such

publications of its proceedings

A practical rather than a technical construction” and said it should suffice if the title expresses gen subject and all the provisions are germane to the gen subj

FORMALITIES

Art 6, Sec 26 (2)

No bill passed by either houses shall become a law unless it has passed 3 readings on separate days, and it printed copies thereof in its final form have been distributed to its members 3 days before its passage, EXCEPT, when the pres certifies its necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency. Upon the LAST READING of a bill, no amendment thereto shall be allowed, and the vote thereon shall be taken immediately thereafter, the yeas and nays entered in the journal.

PURPOSE: prevent half-baked legislation and occasional deception of the legislators themselves and the public, devote the needed time and study to the railroaded measures

3rd READING: limited in the casting of the members’ votes, usually after a brief explanation thereof.

YEAS and NAYS are entered in the journals as a permanent record on how each member voted on particular issued, for the information especially of their constituents

APPROVAL OF BILLS

Art 6, Sec 27

Every bill passed by the Congress shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President. If he approves the same he shall sign it; otherwise, he shall veto it and return the same with his objections to the House where it originated, which shall enter the objections at large in its Journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the Members of such House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the Members of that House, it shall become a law. In all such cases, the votes of each House shall be determined by yeas or nays, and the names of the Members voting for or against shall be entered in its Journal. The President shall communicate his veto of any bill to the House where it originated within thirty days after the date of receipt thereof, otherwise, it shall become a law as if he had signed it.


The President shall have the power to veto any particular item or items in an appropriation, revenue, or tariff bill, but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object.

3 methods

President signs it – actually signing indicates his approval

President vetoes – disapproves, returning the bill to the house of origin, indicate his objections thereto in what is known as a “veto message”

Inaction within 30 days – more practical purpose, employed whenever the president, while not convinced of the necessity or validity of the measure under consideration, is nonetheless unwilling to disapprove it.

30-DAY PERIOD – counted from the date of its receipt

General rule: is that the President must approve entirely or disapprove in toto, EXCEPTION, appropriation, revenue and tariff bills, any particular item or items of w/c may be disapproved without affecting the item or items to w/c he does not object

LEGISLATIVE INQUIRIES

Art 6, Sec 21

The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective committees may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance with its duly published rules of procedure. The rights of persons appearing in, or affected by, such inquiries shall be respected.

Power of the legislative investigation may be implied from the express power of legislation and does not itself have to be expressly granted

Limit the conduct of legislative inquiries

To correct these excesses, it is now provided that the legislative inquiry must be in aid of legislation, the conduct of the investigation must be strictly in conformity with the rules of procedure

We are bound to presume that the action of the legislative body was with a legitimate object id it was capable of being so construed, and we have no right to assume that the contrary was intended.

LEGISLATIVE CONTEMPT – failure or refusal to attend the legitimate legislative investigation or contumacy of the witness may be punished

How long may be a private individual be imprisoned by the legislature for contempt?

Only for the duration of the session

SENATE: imprisoned indefinitely, provided that the punishment did not become so long as to violate due process

HR: imprisonment could not last, not only during the session but until the final adjournment of the body

APPEARANCE OF DEPT. HEADS

Art 6, Sec 22

The heads of departments may, upon their own initiative, with the consent of the President, or upon the request of either House, as the rules of each House shall provide, appear before and be heard by such House on any matter pertaining to their departments. Written questions shall be submitted to the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives at least three days before their scheduled appearance. Interpellations shall not be limited to written questions, but may cover matters related thereto. When the security of the State or the public interest so requires and the President so states in writing, the appearance shall be conducted in executive session.

Enable the congress to obtain information from the dept secretaries on the manner they are implementing the laws it has enacted and also on matters related to pending or prospective legislation.

Reduce the authority of the president for fear of the resurgence or authority of the President

THE POWER OF APPROPRIATION

Art 6, Sec 29 (1)

No money shall be paid out of the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.

LAW – refer to constitutional appropriations

Funds are always needed for the support of public projects

MONEY – motive force and lubricant of the machinery of government

POWER OF PURSE – most impt prerogatives of the Congress

(1) APPROPIATION DEFINED


APPROPRIATION MEASURE – authorize the release of public funds from the treasury

General – intended to provide for the financial operations of the entire government during one fiscal period

Special – designed for a special purpose (ex fund for the relief of typhoon victims

(2) IMPLIED LIMITATIONS

REQUIREMENTS

Essential to the validity of an appropriation that it be devoted to a public purpose

Sum authorized to be released must be determinate or at least determinable

o Otherwise, the national treasurer will have no guide or worse, will have unlimited discretion in the release of public funds

o Where the minimum rather than the maximum is specified – measure is invalid for lack of certainty

(3) CONSTITUTIONAL LIMITATIONS

All appropriation bills should originate in the HR Use of discretionary funds – funds were spent

for personal purposes, or at least unnecessary or excessive public purposes to the prejudice and often without even the knowledge of the public

Art 6, Sec 25 (6)

Discretionary funds appropriated for particular officials shall be disbursed only for public purposes to be supported by appropriate vouchers and subject to such guidelines as may be prescribed by law.

Special appropriationso Purpose: is to discontinue the practice

of fictitious appropriations that were frequently enacted by the Congress even if it knew that no funds were available

Art 6, Sec 25 (4)

A special appropriations bill shall specify the purpose for which it is intended, and shall be supported by funds actually available as certified by the National Treasurer, or to be raised by a corresponding revenue proposal therein.

General appropriations act: president knows more about the needed appropriations than the legislature

Art 6, Sec 25 (1)

The Congress may not increase the appropriations recommended by the President for the operation of the Government as specified in the budget. The form, content, and manner of preparation of the budget shall be prescribed by law.

Congress may not increase the President’s budgetary recommendations; there is no prohibition against its reducing such recommendations

Reduction is not permitted when it comes to the appropriations for the judiciary

BUDGET – proposal, a set of recommendations on the appropriations to be made for the operations of the government; basis for the enactment of the general appropriations law, w/c is the measure that authorizes the release of public funds

Art 6, Sec 25(2)

No provision or enactment shall be embraced in the general appropriations bill unless it relates specifically to some particular appropriation therein. Any such provision or enactment shall be limited in its operation to the appropriation to which it relates.

PURPOSE: prevent “riders” or irrelevant provisions that are included in the general appropriations bill to ensure their approval

Art 6, Sec 25 (3)

The procedure in approving appropriations for the Congress shall strictly follow the procedure for approving appropriations for other departments and agencies.

PURPOSE: prevent the adoption of appropriations sub rosa by the congress; public to ascertain the purposes and exact amount of the outlay for the operations of the congress and the allowances of its members

Other offices of the government : subject to public hearings conducted by the legislature

Art 6, Sec 25(5)

No law shall be passed authorizing any transfer of appropriations; however, the President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the heads of


Constitutional Commissions may, by law, be authorized to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective appropriations.

The provision prohibits one dept from transferring some of its funds to another dept and thereby makes it beholden to the former to the detriment of the doctrine of separation of powers

Transfer of savings in one dept from one item to another in the gen appropriations act may be allowed by law. No danger to the doctrine of separation of powers because the transfer is made within a dept and not from one dept to another

(4) APPROPRIATIONS FOR SECRETARIAN PURPOSES

Whether the appropriations be general or special, it must conform to the prohibition against the use of public funds or property for sectarian purposes

Art 6, Sec 29 (2)

No public money or property shall be appropriated, applied, paid, or employed, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or system of religion, or of any priest, preacher, minister, other religious teacher, or dignitary as such, except when such priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary is assigned to the armed forces, or to any penal institution, or government orphanage or leprosarium.

PURPOSE: further bolster the principle of separation of church and state and emphasize the neutrality of the State in ecclesiastical matters

Applicable only where the appropriation is intended purposely to benefit a religious institution

Does not inhibit the use of public property for religious purposes when the religious character of such use is merely incidental to a temporary use which is available indiscriminately to the public in general

EXCEPTIONS

Payment of public funds is prohibited to ecclesiastics only, “as such” which means that they may be paid from public funds if they serve the government in a non-ecclesiastical capacity. Thus, some priests who serve as members of the Constitutional Comm were paid per diems from public funds for services rendered by them as public officers

(5) AUTOMATIC RE-APPROPRIATION

Art 6, Sec 25 (7)

If, by the end of any fiscal year, the Congress shall have failed to pass the general appropriations bill for the ensuing fiscal year, the general appropriations law for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed re-enacted and shall remain in force and effect until the general appropriations bill is passed by the Congress.

General appropriations act: duration: 1 fiscal year

Old gen appropriations act is deemed continued in operation notwithstanding the lapse of the fiscal year until the Congress enacts a new gen appropriations law

(6) SPECIAL FUNDS

Art 6, Sec 29 (3)

All money collected on any tax levied for a special purpose shall be treated as a special fund and paid out for such purpose only. If the purpose for which a special fund was created has been fulfilled or abandoned, the balance, if any, shall be transferred to the general funds of the Government.

Limitation continues to apply even if the original purpose of the tax has already been fulfilled or abandoned

Whatever of the special tax collections may remain shall then be transferred to the gen funds of the government

THE POWER OF TAXATION

Inherent in the State and is generally vested in the legislature

Art 6, Sec 28 (1)

The rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable. The Congress shall evolve a progressive system of taxation.

UNIFORMITY IN TAXATION – people or things belonging to the same class shall be taxed at the same rate

EQUALITY IN TAXATION – tax imposed to be determined on the basis of the value of the property

Rule of taxation shall also be equitable, tax burden must be imposed accdg to the taxpayer’s capacity to pay


Tax system should be suited to the social conditions of the people

Art 6, Sec 28 (3)

Charitable institutions, churches and personages or convents appurtenant thereto, mosques, non-profit cemeteries, and all lands, buildings, and improvements, actually, directly, and exclusively used for religious, charitable, or educational purposes shall be exempt from taxation.

Art 6, Sec 28 (4)

No law granting any tax exemption shall be passed without the concurrence of a majority of all the Members of the Congress.

Require the absolute majority of the ENTIRE membership of the congress because a tax exemption represents a withholding of the power to tax and consequent loss of revenue to the government

THE POWER OF CONCURRENCE

Art 7, sec 19, authorizes the president to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all members of the Congress

Art 7, Sec 21, no treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least 2/3 of all the members of the senate

THE WAR POWERS

Art 6, Sec 23 (1)

The Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses in joint session assembled, voting separately, shall have the sole power to declare the existence of a state of war.

Authorize a declaration not of war but only of the existence of a state of war

Suggests a war already begun or provoked by the enemy and the existence of which we are only affirming

As commander in chief and diplomatic head, the president may so precipitate or actually begin hostilities that the legislature will have no choice except, “to baptize the hostilities with the name of war”

Congress becomes functus officio once it declares the existence of a state of war. War effort become the sole responsibility of the Pres and must depend heavily on

the congress for the effective exercise of his military powers

REFERENDUM AND INITIATIVE

Art 6, Sec 32

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 a petition therefor 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.

INITIATIVE: power of the people to propose bills and laws and to enact or reject them at the polls; introduce a matter of legislation either to the legislature or directly to the voters

REFERENDUM: adopt or reject any act or measure which has been passed by a legislative body; method of submitting an impt legislative measure to a direct vote of the whole people, the submission of a law passed by the legislature for their approval or rejection


cruz chapter 8 9

Documents

gen appropriations act

general appropriations act

general appropriations bill

general appropriations law

list system represented

electoral tribunals

fiscal year

final adjournment