Lecture Notes on

Good Governance Part 3.

BY: PROF. ILDEFONSO G. MARIQUIT

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND STATE POLICIES

Sec. 1, Article II

The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all
government authority emanates from them.
(Relate this to Article XI)

1. Essential features: Representation and Renovation.

2. Manifestations:
1. Ours is a government of law and not of men
2. Rule of the majority. (Plurality in elections)
3. Accountability of public officials
4. Bill of rights
5. Legislature cannot pass irrepealable laws.
6. Separation of powers.

Republicanism

What is a republican form of government?

It is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, a representative government
wherein the powers and duties of government are exercised and discharged for the common
good and welfare.

Characteristics of a republican form of government:

1. The people do not govern themselves directly but through their representatives;
2. It is founded upon popular suffrage;
3. There is the tripartite system of the government, the mutual interdependence of the three
departments of the government.

STATE—a community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of
territory, independent of external control, and possessing a government to which a great body of
inhabitants render habitual obedience. (CIR vs. Campos Rueda, 42 SCRA 23)
through which the will of the State is implemented and realized.
Republican state—one constructed on the principle that the supreme power resides in
the body of the people. Its purpose therefore is to guarantee against two (2) extremes:
1. On the one hand, monarchy and oligarchy;
2. On the other, pure democracy.

Elements of State:
1. People—the inhabitants of the State; the # of which is capable for self-
sufficiency and self-defense; of both sexes for perpetuity.
a. Inhabitants;
b. Citizens;
c. Electors.
2. Territory—a fixed portion of the surface of the earth inhabited by the people of
the State.

3. Government—the agency or instrumentality through which the will of the State is

formulated, expressed and realized. 

Government of the Philippines—refers to the corporate governmental entity

through which the functions of the government are exercised throughout the
Philippines, including, save as the contrary appears from the context, the various
arms through which political authority is made effective in the Philippines,
whether pertaining to the autonomous regions, the provincial, city, municipal or
barangay subdivisions or other forms of local government.

Presidential vs. Parliamentary

Presidential
There is separation of legislative and
executive powers. The first is lodged in
the President and the second is vested
in Congress.
Parliamentary
There is fusion of both executive and
legislative powers in Parliament,
although the actual exercise of the
executive powers is vested in a Prime
Minister who is chosen by, and
accountable to, Parliament.

It embodies interdependence by It embodies interdependence by

separation and coordination. integration.

Functions of the government:

a. Constituent—compulsory because constitutive of the society;
b. Ministrant—undertaken to advance the general interest of the society; merely
optional.
Doctrine of Parens Patriae—the government as guardian of the rights of the people may
initiate legal actions for and in behalf of particular individual. (Government of the
Philippine Islands vs. Monte de Piedad, 35 SCRA 738; Cabañas vs. Pilapil, 58
SCRA 94)

4. Sovereignty—the supreme and uncontrollable power inherent in a State by which

that State is governed.

It is the right to exercise the functions of a State to the exclusion of any other
State.

While sovereignty has traditionally been deemed absolute and all-encompassing

on the domestic level, it is however subject to restrictions and limitations voluntarily agreed
to by the Philippines, expressly or impliedly, as a member of the family of nations.
In its Declaration of Principles and State Policies, the Constitution adopts the generally
accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land, and adheres to the
policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation and amity, with all nations. By the
doctrine of incorporation, the country is bound by generally accepted principles of
international law, which are considered to be automatically part of our own laws.

“Government of Laws and Not of Men.”—sovereignty of the people also

includes the concept that government officials have only the authority given them
by law and defined by law, and such authority continues only with the consent of
the people.

KindsofSovereignty: 
a. Legal—the power to issue final commands;
b. Political—the sum total of all the influences which lie behind the law;
c. Internal—the supreme power over everything within its territory;
d. External—also known as independence—freedom from external control.

Characteristics:
a. Permanence
b. Exclusiveness
c. Comprehensiveness
d. Absoluteness
e. Indivisibility
f. Inalienability
g. Imprescriptibility

Sovereignty, often referred to as Imperium—is the State’s authority to govern; it

includes passing laws governing a territory, maintaining peace and order over it, and
defending it against foreign invasion.
 It is the government authority possessed by the State expressed in the concept
of sovereignty.

Dominium—is the capacity of the State to own or acquire property such as lands and
natural resources. (Lee Hong Hok vs. David, No. L-30389, December 27, 1972;
Separate Opinion of Justice Kapunan in Cruz vs. Secretary of DENR, G.R. No.
135385, December 2000)

It necessarily includes the power to alienate what is owned. It was the foundation
for the early Spanish decrees embracing the feudal theory of jura regalia that all lands
were held from the Crown.

Effect of Belligerent Occupation—there is no change in sovereignty. However,

political laws, except those of treason, are suspended; municipal laws remain in force
unless changed by the belligerent occupant.

Principle of Jus Postliminium—at the end of the occupation, when the occupant is
ousted from the territory, the political laws which have been suspended shall automatically
become effective again. (Peralta vs. Director of Prisons, No. L049, November 12,
1945)

Effect of Change of Sovereignty—political laws of the former sovereign are abrogated

unless they are expressly reenacted by the affirmative act of the new sovereign. Municipal
laws remain in force. (Macariola vs. Asuncion, Adm. Case No. 133-J, May
31, 1982)

Effect of Revolutionary Government—it is bound by no constitution. However, it did not

repudiate the Covenant or Declaration in the same way it repudiated the
Constitution. As the de jure government, the revolutionary government could not escape
responsibility for the State’s good faith compliance with its treaty obligations under
international law. During the interregnum when no constitution or Bill of Rights existed,
directives and orders issued by government officers did not exceed the authority
granted them by the revolutionary government. The directives or orders should not have
also violated the Covenant or the Declaration. (Republic vs. Sandiganbayan, G.R.
No. 104768, July 21, 2003)

Jurisdiction—is the manifestation of sovereignty.

a. Territorial—power of the State over persons and things within its territory
subject to its control and protection.
 b. Personal—power of the State over its nationals, which may be exercised by
the state even if the individual is outside the territory of the State.
c. Extraterritorial—power of the State over persons, things or acts beyond its
territorial limits by reason of their effects to its territory.

Sec. 2, Article II
(Incorporation Clause)
The Philippine renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the
generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land
and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and
amity with all nations.

Three(3)parts:
1. Renunciation of war—the power to wage a defensive war is of the very essence
of sovereignty;
2. Adoption of the principles of international law;
3. Adherence to a policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation & amity.

The second part is nothing more than a formal acceptance of a principle to which all
civilized nations must conform.

The third part is called the “selfish policy”—the guiding principle of Philippine foreign
policy is the national interest. However, this is tempered with concern for “equality, peace,
freedom and justice.

Section 23 (1), Article VI: The Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses in
join session assembled, voting separately, shall have the sole power to declare the
existence of a state of war.

Doctrine of Incorporation—the doctrine where the generally accepted principles of

international law are made part of the law of the land either by express provision of the
Constitution or by means of judicial declaration or fiat. The doctrine is applied whenever
municipal tribunals or local courts are confronted with situations in which there appears to
be a conflict between a rule of international law and the provisions of the Constitution or
statute of a State.

Efforts should first be exerted to harmonize them so as to give effect to both. In

case of conflict between international law and municipal law, the latter shall prevail.

However, the doctrine dictates that rules of international law are given equal
standing with, and are not superior to, national legislative enactments.
 Lex posterior derogate priori—in States where the constitution is
the highest law of the land, both statutes and treaties may be invalidated if
they are in conflict with the Constitution. (Secretary of Justice vs.
Lantion, G.R. No. 139465, January 18,
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)

Philip Morris, Inc. vs. CA, the fact that the international law has
been made part of the law of the land does not by any means imply the
primacy of international law over national law in the municipal sphere.

Doctrine of
Autolimitation
—
It is the doctrine where the Philippines adheres to principles of
international law asalimitation to the exercise of its sovereignty.

What war does the Philippines

renounce?
The Philippines renounces an aggressive war because of its
membership in the United Nations whose charter renounces war as an
instrument of national policies of its member States.

Sec. 3, Article
II (Civilian
Supremacy
Clause)
Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military. The
Armed Forces of the Philippines is the protector of the people and
the State. Its goal is to secure the sovereignty of the State and the
integrity of the national territory.

Civilian
Supremacy
Clause

Sec. 18, Art. VII—installation of the President as the highest civilian

authority, as the commander-in-chief of the AFP—external manifestation
that civilian authority is supreme over the military.
Sec. 5(1), Art. XVI—members of the AFP swear to uphold and defend the
Constitution, which is the fundamental law of the civil government.
Civilian supremacy is not a guaranteed supremacy of civilian
officers who are in power but of supremacy of the sovereign people. The
Armed Forces, in this sense, “is the protector of the people and the State”.

Sec. 6, Article XVI—The State shall establish and maintain one police
force, which shall be national in scope and civilian in character, to be
administered and controlled by a national police commission. The authority
of local executives over the police units in their jurisdiction shall be provided
by law.

Sec. 4, Article II
The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect
the people. The
Government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in
the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under
conditions provided by law, to render personal military or civil
service.

Does the Philippines renounce

defensive war?
No, because it is duty bound to defend its citizens. Under the Constitution,
the prime duty of the government is to serve and protect the people.

Posse Commitatus—it is the power of the state to require all able-bodied

citizens to perform civic duty to maintain peace and order.

In People vs. Lagman, 66 Phil. 13, the accused in this case,

prosecuted for failure to register for military service under the National
Defense Act, assailed the validity of the Act. The Supreme Court upheld
the law on the basis of the compulsory military and civil service provision
of then 1935 Constitution. It said that: “x x x. The duty of the Government
to defend the State cannot be performed except through an army. To
leave the organization of an army to the will of the citizens would be to
make this duty to the Government excusable should there be no sufficient
men who volunteer to enlist therein…x x x the right of the Government to
require compulsory military service is a consequence of its duty to defend
the State and is reciprocal with its duty to defend the life, liberty, and
property of the citizen. x x x.”
 Sec. 5, Article II
The maintenance of peace and order, the protection of life, liberty,
and property, and the promotion of the general welfare are
essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the blessings of
democracy.

Right to beararms: It is statutory and not a constitutional right. The license

to carry a firearm is neither a property nor a property right. Neither does it
create a vested right. Even if it were a property right, it cannot be
considered absolute as to be placed beyond the reach of police power.
The maintenance of peace and order, and the protection of the people
against violence are constitutional duties of the State, and the right to bear
firearm is to be construed in connection and in harmony with these
constitutional duties. (Chavez vs. Romulo, G.R. No. 157036, June 9,
2004)

Sec. 6, Article II
The separation of Church and State shall
be inviolable.

The State should not use its money and coercive power to establish
religion. It should not support a particular religion. The State is prohibited
from interfering with purely ecclesiastical affairs. But it does not mean that
there is total or absolute separation. The better rule is symbiotic relations
between the church and State.

Constitutional provisions evidencingthe Separation of Church

andState:
1. Sec. 6, Art. II
2. Sec. 5, Art. III—No law shall be made respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and
enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or
preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required
for the exercise of civil and political rights.
3. Sec. 2 (5), Art. IX-C—religious sect cannot be registered as political party
4. Sec. 5 (2), Art. VI—no sectoral representative from the religious sector
5. Sec. 28 (3), Art. VI—Charitable institutions, churches and parsonages 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.
6. Sec. 29 (2), Art. VI—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, or 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.
7. Sec. 3 (3), Art. XIV—At the option expressed in writing by the parents
or guardians, religion shall be allowed to be taught to their children or
wards in public elementary and high schools within the regular class hours
by instructors designated or approved by the religious authorities of the
religion to which the children or wards belong, without additional cost to
the Government.
8. Sec. 4 (2), Art. XIV—Filipino ownership requirement for educational
institutions,
except those established by religious groups and mission boards.