constitution of government handout

8/11/2019 Constitution of Government Handout

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Philippine Government and Constitution. Lingayen Technological Institute. Sherry Lyn F. Lamsen-Orjalo Page 1of 7

NAME: __________________________________

FINAL NOTES/HANDOUT

in PHIL. GOVT. AND CONSTITUTION

Sherr y Lyn F . Lamsen-Or jalo

CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT

Our government is a tripartite system ofgovernment composed of three great branches:

Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Department

(Judiciary)

ART. VI: LEGISLATI VE DEPARTMENT

Sections 1 to 7:

The legislative department is more popularlyknown as the CONGRESS. It is the department

granted by our Constitution the exercise of

legislative power.

LEGISLATIVE POWER is the authority tomake, alter and repeal laws.

Hence, the law-making body of the Philippine

Government is vested in Congress. LAWS refer to the rules and regulations enacted

by the legislature to guide our actions in society,

to govern our relations with our fellow Filipinosand our relation with our government.

CLASSIFICATION OF LEGISLATIVE

POWER:

CONSTITUENT power to amend and

revise the Constitution ORDINARY power to pass ordinary laws

The Congress of the Philippines is a bicameralbody. It consists of two houses/bodies:

1. SENATE the upper Chamber of the

Congress.Composition: The Senate consists of 24Senators elected at large by qualified voters,

which means that they are national elected

officials.

Qualifications:

i.

Natural-born Filipino citizenii. At least 35 years of age on the day of the

electioniii. Able to read and write

iv. A registered voter

v. A resident of the Philippines for not lessthan two years immediately preceding the

day of election

Term of Of fi ce:

TERM OF OFFICE refers to the period

fixed by law/constitution during which a

member of Congress or an elective

official will hold office.

TENURE OF OFFICE speaks of theactual number of years during which the

official holds the office.

The term of office of senators is 6 yearswhich shall begin unless otherwise

provided by law at noon on the 30thday

of June after their election. No senator can serve for more than 2

consecutive term of office. (12 years)

Voluntary renunciation of office for any

length of time (i.e. resignation) shall notbe considered as an interruption in the

continuity of his service for the full term

for which he was elected.

2.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES consists of men and women who are elected

representatives of the Filipino people.Composition: TWO KINDS OFREPRESENTATIVES:

i. DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES elected from legislative districtsapportioned among the provinces, cities

and the Metropolitan Manila area. They

constitute the majority members of the

House of Representatives.

ii.

PARTY-LIST REPRESENTATIVES

elected through the party-list system of

registered national, regional, and sectoralparties or organization. They shal

constitute 20% of the total number of

representatives.

Qualifications:

Di str ict Representativesi. Natural-born Filipino citizen

ii. At least 25 years of age on the day of the

election

iii.

Able to read and writeiv. A resident of the district in which he shall

be elected for a period of not less than 1year immediately preceding the election

v. A registered voter in the district in which

he shall be elected


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Party-li st Representatives

i. Natural-born Filipino citizen

ii. At least 25 years of age on the day ofelection

iii. Able to read and write

iv. A resident anywhere in the Philippinesv. A registered voter anywhere in the

Philippines

Term of Off ice:

The term of office of congressmen is 3years which shall begin unless otherwise

provided by law at noon on the 30thday

of June after their election. No representative can serve for more than

3 consecutive term of office. (9 years).

Voluntary renunciation of office for any

length of time (i.e. resignation) shall notbe considered as an interruption in the

continuity of his service for the full term

for which he was elected. Sec. 5. (3) and (4): APPORTIONMENT OF

LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS is dividing

provinces, cities and the Metropolitan Manila

into legislative districts. RULES IN REAPPORTIONMENT:

Legislative districts shall be apportioned

among the provinces, cities and theMetropolitan Manila area in accordance with

the number of their respective inhabitants, on

the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio.

Uniform ratiomeans that each districtmust be equal in population, or as equal

as possible.

Progressive ratio means that theincrease in population in relation to thesize of the House of Representatives must

be considered.

Each city/municipality with a population ofnot less than 250,000 shall be entitled to at

least one representative and each province,

irrespective of population is entitled to one

representative. Each legislative district shall comprise, as far

as practicable, contiguous (immediate;

connected without break), compact (closely

united or packed together), and adjacent(immediately adjoining without intermediate

space) territory. This is intended to prevent

gerrymandering, which means creating

legislative district out of separate territories

for the purpose of obtaining partisanadvantage. The word gerrymandering came

from the name of Governor Elbridge Gerry of

Massachusetts and the salamander shaped

district that was created to favor his party inthe election.

Sec. 11: The members of Congress are accorded

under the Constitution two parliamentaryimmunities of privileges:

1. Privilege from Arrest applies while Congress

is in session in all offenses punishable by notmore than 6 years imprisonment. This

includes both civil and criminal offenses

provided it is not punishable by

imprisonment of six years or a member ofCongress can only invoke the immunity from

arrest for relatively minor offenses.

2. Privilege of Speech and Debate applies for

any speech or debate in Congress or in any ofits committee. This privilege means that

members of Congress cannot be sued or

prosecuted for anything they say or write inconnection with their legislative duties.

WHAT ARE THE ACTIVITIES A MEMBER

OF CONGRESS IS PROHIBITED OF? Sec. 13: Holding any other office or

employment in the government, or any

subdivision, agency, or instrumentality

thereof, including government owned and

controlled corporations (GOCCs) or theirsubsidiaries, during his term without

forfeiting his seat in, or what is known asincompatible office.

Being appointed to any office, which may

have been created, or the emoluments thereof

increased during the term for which he waselected, or blown asforbidden office.

Sec. 14: Personally appearing as counsel

before any court of justice or before the

electoral tribunals, or quasi-judicial and other

administrative bodies. Being financially interested, directly or

indirectly in any contract with, or in anyfranchise or special privilege granted by the

Government, or any subdivision, agency, or

instrumentality thereof, including GOCCs, orits subsidiary during their term of office.


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Intervening in any matter before any office of

the Government for their pecuniary benefit orwhere they may be called upon to act on

account of their office.

Sec. 16: ORGANIZATION OF THE

CONGRESS:

A.Off icers of the Congress:

The Senate shall elect its President

and the House of Representatives itsSpeaker.

The Senate President is the presiding

officer of the Senate elected by majorityvotes of all its members. He holds office at

the pleasure of his members and may be

replaced at any time. In the political

hierarchical order of leadership, the SenatePresident is the third highest official of the

government.

The Speaker of the House, who

presides over the House, is elected bymajority votes of all members of the House,

but in practice is chosen by the majority

party. As the presiding officer of the House,the Speaker decides on all questions of order,

refer bills introduced in the House to the

proper standing committees, signs all acts,resolutions, orders issued by or upon order of

the House, appoints members of joint

committees and conference committees, and

exercises administrative functions over house

personnel. Like the Senate President, heholds office at the pleasure of his members

and may be replaced at any time.

B.Congressional /Legislati ve Committees:

i. Standing Committees are permanently

established legislative committees that

review proposed legislation. They are theonly ones who proposed legislation by

reporting a bill out to the full House or

Senate. In Congress, each standing

committee is given a specific area of concern.

ii.

Select Committees are those that arecreated for a specific purpose and usually for

a limited period only such as conducting aninvestigation or addressing matters of great

national concern.

iii. Joint Committees are those created byboth Houses of Congress with members

coming from both. An example is the

Bicameral Conference Committee, which

irons out differences in the versions of billspassed by the Senate and the House.

C.Sessions.

The House of Representatives holds

its session in Batasang Pambansa Complexwhile the Senate in GSIS Complex.

i. Regular Session is convened once every

year starting on the fourth Monday of Julyunless a different date is fixed by law. It may

continue for such number of days or may las

as long as Congress wishes until 30 daysbefore the opening of its next regular session

exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal

holidays.

ii.Special Session is called by the Presidentwhile the Congress is in recess, generally to

consider a legislation he may designate in his

call, like the session called by President

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to pass into lawthe power reform bill.

The Constitution requires that neither

House during the sessions of the Congressshall, without the consent of the other

adjourn for more than 3 days, nor to any other

place than that in which the two Houses shalbe sitting.

D.Quorumnumber of members of the body

which, when legally assembled in their

proper places, will enable the body to transac

its proper business, or in other words, thatnumber that makes a lawful body and gives it

power to pass a law. A majority of each shalconstitute a quorum to do business.

E.Rules of Procedure rules made by any

legislative body as to the mode and manner

of conducting the business of the bodyHence, rules of procedure are clearly

mandatory for the orderly functioning of

either House or Congress.

F .Journal and Record of Proceedings.

Journal is a record of what is doneand passed in a legislative assembly. It is a

day-to-day record of the proceedings ofCongress.

Record is a word for word transcript

of the deliberations of Congress or theproceedings taken during session.


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G.

Discipli ne of M embers

Suspension can be imposed as asanction to a Member of Congress for

disorderly behavior. It can only be imposed

with the concurrence of two-thirds of all

members of Congress. It should not exceed60 days.

Expulsion can also only be imposed

with the concurrence of two-thirds of allmembers of Congress. The Constitution,

however, does not provide ground for

expulsion. Sections 17-19: AGENCIES IN CONGRESS

A. Electoral Tribunal sole judge of all

contests relating to election, returns and

qualifications of the members of the legislativehouses, and, as such, are independent of

congress. It was created to function as a

nonpartisan court although two-thirds of its

members are politicians. Each electoral tribunalshall be composed of 9 members:

TheHRET is composed of 3 Justices of

the Supreme Court to be designated by the ChiefJustice and 6 members of the Senate chosen on

the basis of proportional representation from the

political parties and the parties or organizationsregistered under the party-list system therein.

The SET is likewise composed of 3

Justices designated by the Chief Justice and 6

members of the House of Representatives also

chosen on the basis of proportionalrepresentation.

The most senior Justice in each electoraltribunal shall be its chairman.

B. Commission on Appointments

created by the Constitution as an independent

commission in Congress although its membersare confined to members of Congress, to function

as a check on the appointing power of the

President. Like the electoral tribunals, the

Commission shall also be constituted within 30

days after the Senate and the House ofRepresentatives shall have been organized with

the election of the President and Speaker.The Commission is composed of 25

members, the Senate as ex-officio chairman, 12

Senators and 12 members of the House ofRepresentatives. Like in the electoral tribunal,

the members of the Commission are also chosen

on basis of proportional representation from the

political parties and the parties or organizationsregistered under the party-list system.

The Commission functions as a check on

the appointing power of the President, by

approving or disapproving appointments toimportant offices in the government submitted to

it by the President. It shall act on all appointment

with 30 days from their submission. Inconsidering nominations submitted to it by the

President, the Chairman (Senate President) shall

not vote except in case of a tie. POWERS OF CONGRESS

Classifications:

1. Enumerated Powers refer to those

specifically or expressly conferred to theCongress by the Constitution. The

enumerated powers of the Congress

includes the power to impose taxes, the

power of appropriations, declare theexistence of war, power to meet as board

of canvassers in the election of President

and Vice President, the power ofimpeachment, the power to propose

amendments to the Constitution among

many others.2. Implied Powersrefer to such powers as

are necessarily implied from the given

powers. This includes the power to

punish witness for contempt in the

conduct of legislative investigation andoversight, to elect such the formal

leadership of both Houses, to determinethe rules of its proceedings, etc.

3. Inherent Powers are those that are

neither granted nor implied therefrom

but rather they refer to those that grow oufrom the very existence of Congress. It is

sometimes referred to as incidental

powers of the State, which are primarily

exercised by the Congress such as the

police power, power of eminent domainand power to taxation.

Power of Legislative Investigation [Sec. 21]

Power of Appropriation [Sections 24, 25, 29]

Power of Taxation [Sec. 28(1)]

Non-Legislative Powers Power to declare the existence of war

[Sec. 23(1), Art.VI]


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Power to concur in presidential amnesties

[Sec. 21, Art VII] Power to impeach the President [Sec. 3,

Art. XI]

Board of Canvasser [Sec. 4, Art. VII]

Call Special Election (SNAP) for theOffice of the President [Sec. 10, Art. VII]

ART. VII : EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT Executive power is the power to enforce and

execute the laws faithfully.

The President of the Philippines is theExecutive of the Government of the Philippines.

The whole of executive power is vested to only

one person, hence the President is the most

powerful officer of our Government. Roles of the President: As Chief of State, the

President stands as the head of our government

and such he represents the nation. As Chief

Executive of the Government, the President is thehead of the executive department, the largest

bureaucracy of the government. As Chief

Diplomat, the Constitution empowers thePresident to receive ambassadors and initiate

diplomatic relations with other nations, as well as

to appoint diplomatic representatives of thecountry abroad. Finally, as Commander-in-

Chief, the Constitution grants the President

command of the nations Military.

Qualifications:

i.

Natural-born Filipino citizenii. Registered voter

iii. Able to read and writeiv. At least 40 years of age on the day of the

election

v. Resident of the Philippines for at least 10

years immediately preceding the election

Term of Off ice:

The president is elected by direct vote of

the people and shall serve for a term of 6 years.

Voluntary renunciation of the office for any

length of time shall not be considered as aninterruption in the continuity of the service of the

full term for which he was elected. The Presidentshall not be eligible for any reelection.

No person who has succeeded as

President and has served as such for more than 4years shall be qualified for election to the same

office at any time.

Privileges:

Official residence Salary

Immunity from Suit

Prohibitions:

The President during his tenure isprohibited under the Constitution from:

1. Receiving any other emolument from the

Government or any other source.2. Holding any other office of employment

unless otherwise provided in this

Constitution.3. Directly or indirectly, practicing any other

profession, participating in any business, or

being financially interested in any contract

with, or in any franchise, or special privilegegranted by the Government or any

subdivision, agency, or instrumentality

thereof, including GOCCs or their

subsidiaries.4. Strictly avoiding conflict of interest in the

conduct of his office.

5. Appointing spouse and relatives byconsanguinity or affinity within the fourth

civil degree as members of the Constitutiona

Commissions, of the Office of theOmbudsman, or as Secretaries

Undersecretaries, chairmen or heads of

bureaus or offices, including GOCCs and

their subsidiaries.

Our Constitution does not specify the role as wellas the powers of the Vice President except to

succeed as President as provided in the order ofPresidential Succession. Since the Constitution

allows the Vice President to be appointed as

member of the Cabinet with the privilege of not

being subject to confirmation by the Commissionon Appointments, the Vice President is usually

appointed as a Cabinet Secretary.

The Vice President has the same qualification

and is elected in the same manner as the

President. Likewise, the Vice President has aterm of 6 years. However, unlike the President

the Vice President is entitled to one immediatere-election.


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RULE ON PRESIDENTIAL SUCCESSION:

Vacancy in the Office of the President

at the beginning of hi s term:

1. If the President-elect fails to qualify,

the Vice President-elect shall act as

President until the President-electshall have qualified.

2. If a President shall not have been

chosen, the Vice President elect shallact as President until a President shallhave been chosen and qualified.

3. If at the beginning of the term of the

President, the President-elect shallhave died or have become

permanently disable, the Vice

President elect shall become

President.4. Where no President and Vice

President shall have been chosen or

shall have qualified, or where bothshall have died or become

permanently disabled, the President

of the Senate or, in case of his

inability, the Speaker of the House ofRepresentatives shall act as President

until a President or Vice President

shall have chosen and qualified.

duri ng his term:When the office of the President

becomes vacant as a result of death,

permanent disability, removal fromoffice, or resignation, the Vice President

will become President to serve for the

unexpired term.

In case the vacancy resulted from thecauses mentioned when the former Vice

President turned President existed, the

Senate President or, in case of inability,the Speaker of the House shall act as

President until a President or a Vice

President shall have been elected and

qualified. Vacancy in the Office of the Vice President

at the beginning of his term:-it is the Senate President or, in case of his

inability the Speaker shall act until theVice President shall have been chosen

and qualified.

during his term:

The President shall nominate a Vice

President to serve for the unexpired termamong the members of the Senate or

House of Representatives. The nominee

shall assume office upon confirmation ofa majority vote of all the members of both

Houses of the Congress, voting

separately.

POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT:1. Executive power(Sec. 1, Art. VII)

2. Power of Appointmentthe selection of an

individual who is to exercise the functions ofa given office. (Sections 14-16)

3. Power of Removal power to remove

officials appointed by the President. The

President, however, cannot remove thoseofficials even if appointed by him when the

Constitution provides for the manner of their

removal from office.4. Power of Control(Sec. 17) power to alter

modify, nullify, or set aside what a

subordinate officer had done in the

performance of his duties and to substitutethe judgment of the former to that of the

latter.

5. Military powers(Sec. 18)

President as Commander-in-Chief

Power to suspend the privilege ofHabeas Corpus

Power to declare martial law6. Pardoning Power (Sec. 19) or the power

of executive clemency includes the granting

of the following with the concurrence of the

majority of the members of Congress:

Pardon is an act of grace, proceedingfrom the power entrusted with the

execution of the laws, which exempts an

individual on whom it is bestowed from

the punishment the law inflicts for acrime he has committed

Absolute Pardon is grantedwithout any conditionswhatsoever. An absolute pardon

not only blots out the crime

committed, but removes aldisabilities resulting from the

conviction.


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Conditional Pardon is grantedsubject to such conditions or

qualifications, as he may deem

necessary or see fit.

Commutationis a remission of a part ofthe punishment, a submission of a lesspenalty for the one originally imposed

Reprieveis a postponement of execution

or a temporary suspension of execution Remit Fines and Forfeiture mean

exoneration of fines and forfeited

property

Amnestycommonly denotes the generalpardon to rebels for their treason andother high political offenses, of the

forgiveness which one sovereign grants

to the subjects of another, who have

offended some breach of the law ofnations.

7.

Diplomatic Power8. Borrowing Power(Sec. 20)9. Informing Power(SONA) (Sec. 23)

10.Residual Powersor other powers neither

legislative nor judicial

ART VII I : JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

Judicial poweris the power to apply the laws to

contests or disputes concerning legallyrecognized rights or duties between the State and

a private person, or between individual litigants,

in cases properly brought before the judicialtribunals, which includes the power to ascertainwhat the valid and binding laws of the State are

and interpret and construe them.

Judicial power is clarified in Sec. 1, Art VIII Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court

and other lower courts established by law.

The Supreme Court is a body composed of 15members (1 Chief Justice and 14 Associate

Justices). They are appointed by the President

from a list of at least 3 nominees prepared by the

Judicial and Bar Council.

Qualifications for Members of the Supreme

Court:1. Natural-born Filipino citizen

2. At least 40 years of age

3. A judge of lower court or engages in the

practice of law in the Philippines for 15 yearsor more

4. Must be of persons of proven competence

integrity, probity and independenceThis enumeration is exclusive; Congress may no

add additional qualifications through ordinary

legislation

Qualifications for Members of the Lower

Collegiate Court:

1. Natural-born Filipino citizen

2. Member of the Philippine Bar3. Other qualifications that Congress may

prescribe

4. Must be of persons of proven competence

integrity, probity and independence Qualifications for Members of the Lower

Courts:

1. Citizen of the Philippines2. Member of the Philippine Bar

3. Other qualifications that Congress may

prescribe4. Must be of persons of proven competence

integrity, probity and independence

POWERS OF THE SUPREME COURT:

1. Judicial reviewis the power to declare act of

the Executive and Legislative departmentsunconstitutional in the light of its conformity

with the Constitution.2. Jurisdiction refers to the authority of the

court to hear and decide a particular case.

3. Power to temporarily assign judges of

lower courts to other stations as publicinterests may require provided that it shall not

exceed 6 months without the consent of the

judge concerned.

4. Power to order a change of venue or place

of trial to avoid miscarriage of justice.5. Rule-making power6. Appoint officials and employees of the

judiciary

7. Administrative supervision over court and

personnel

Study hard! Good luck and God bless you!

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