POLITICAL LAW

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a) Discuss Section 1 of Article II of the 1987 Constitution
Section 1. “The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the
people and all government authority emanates from them.”

b) What does democratic and republican state mean?

It is a democratic state, meaning power is derived from the citizens of that state, who have input
into governing processes. It is a republican state, meaning citizens' power is wielded through
representatives constituting a republic.

c) What is a state?
State is a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite
portion of territory, independent of external control, and possessing an organized government
to which the great body of inhabitants render habitual obedience.

d) What are the elements of a state?

People, Territory, Government, and Sovereignty

e) Define the elements of a state:

1.) People – the population living in a state
2.) Territory – includes the land, the rivers, the sea, and the air space which the jurisdiction of
the state extends
3.) Government – the agency through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed, and
carried out
4.) Sovereignty – or independence. It is the power to command or enforce obedience free from
foreign control.

f) What is de jure government?

A de jure government is the legal, legitimate government of a state and is so recognized by
other states. It has rightful title but no power or control, because it may have been withdrawn
or it has not yet actually entered into exercise.

g) What is de facto government?

A de facto government is in actual possession of authority and control of the state. It is a
government of fact—it actually exercises power or control, but has no legal title.

The first, or government de facto in a proper legal sense, is that 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, such as the government of England under the
Commonwealth, first by Parliament and later by Cromwell as Protector. The second is 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 denominated a government of paramount force, as the cases of Castine, in
Maine, which was reduced to British possession in the war of 1812, and of Tampico, Mexico, occupied
during the war with Mexico by the troops of the United States. And the third is that established as an
independent government by the inhabitants of a country who rise in insurrection against the parent
state, such as the government of the Southern Confederacy in revolt against the Union during the war of
secession."
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Were the theory advanced in the dissenting opinion correct, the decisions of the Supreme Court of the
United States in the following cases in which it held that the governments in a territory temporarily
occupied by the invading enemy forces during war, or set up by the insurgents, would be also
necessarily erroneous, and we do not think the dissenting Messrs. Justices Hilado and Perfecto mean to
so hold. The Supreme Court of the United States held in the case of U.S. vs. Rice (4 Wheat on, 258), that
the government established in Castine, Maine, occupied temporarily by the American forces in the war
of 1812 was a de facto government. The same Court held in the case of Fleming vs. Page (9 How., 614),
that the government established by the American forces in Tampico, Mexico, during the war between
the latter and United States was a de facto government. In the cases of Thorington vs. Smith (8 Wall., 1);
Williams vs. Bruffy (95 U.S., 388), it was held that the governments set up by the Confederate States
during the war of secession were de facto governments. And in the case of McCleod vs. United States
(229 U.S., 416), the same Supreme Court of the United States held that the short-lived government
established by Filipino insurgents in the Islands of Cebu during the Spanish-American War, was a de
facto government.

They were called puppet governments because they were not established by legitimate sovereign, but
they were governments de facto. It is simply gratuitous to state that "It goes without saying that a
puppet government is no government at all, not even a de facto government." A puppet government is
one that acts as another wills or dictates. The Republic of the Philippines was a puppet government,
because although set up apparently as a free and independent government, was, in truth and in fact, a
government de facto established by the belligerent occupant or the Japanese military forces.

h) What is ministrant (propriety) function of government?

Ministrant functions-are those taken to advance the general interests of society—such as public
works, public charity, regulation of trade and industry.

i) What is constituent (governmental) function of government?

It constitutes the bonds of society. Constituent functions consist of fixing of legal relations
between husband and wife, parents and children; keeping of order and providing protection
from violence; regulation of the holding, transmission and interchange of property;
determination of liabilities for debt or crime; determination of contractual rights between
individuals; definition and punishment of crimes, administration of justice in civil cases;
administration of political duties, privileges, and relations of citizens, and dealings of the state
with foreign powers, preservation of state from external dangers, and the advancement of
international interests.

j) Difference between government and administration

Administration is concerned with the implementation of the products of governance. While
governance institutions frame laws and policies, it is the administrative institution that
implements them.

k) Discuss sovereignty
• means the supreme, uncontrollable power, the absolute right to govern.
• The supreme will of the State, the power to make laws, and enforce them by all the
means of coercion it cares to employ.
• Legal sovereignty: power to adapt/alter the constitution or supreme power to make
laws vs. Political sovereignty: sum total of all the influences in a state, legal & non-legal
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w/c determine the course of law

l) What is citizenship?
the position or status of being a citizen of a particular country.

m) Section 1 Article 4 of the Constitution

The following are citizens of the Philippines:

[1] Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this Constitution;

[2] Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines;

[3] Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship
upon reaching the age of majority; and

[4] Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

n) What are the three distinct modes of acquiring citizenship?

1.) Jus soli
2.) Jus sanguinis
3.) Naturalization

o) What is jus soli?

Jus soli (right of soil) which is the legal principle that a person’s nationality at birth is determined
by the place of birth (e.g. the territory of a given state)

p) What is jus sanguinis?

Jus sanguinis (right of blood) which is the legal principle that, at birth, an individual acquires the
nationality of his/her natural parent/s. The Philippine adheres to this principle.

q) What is naturalization?
Filipino by naturalization which is the judicial act of adopting a foreigner and clothing him with
the privileges of a native-born citizen. It implies the renunciation of a former nationality and the
fact of entrance into a similar relation towards a new body politic.

r) Who are natural-born Filipino citizens?

Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to
perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those who elect Philippine
citizenship in accordance with paragraph (3), Section 1 hereof shall be deemed natural-born
citizens.

s) Discuss Tecson v. COMELEC, 424 SCRA 277 (2004), G.R. No. 161434, 03 MARCH 2004, 424 SCRA
277 (2004)

t) Discuss Poe-Llamanzares v. COMELEC, G.R. Nos. 221697 to 221700, 08 March 2016.

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u) What is citizenship reaquisition?
Citizenship may be reacquired, even though it is lost, according to the provisions of the law.
There are several ways of reacquiring citizenship. It may be reacquired through naturalization,
repatriation, or through direct act of law.

v) Cite examples of how Philippine citizenship is lost.

1.) By naturalization in a foreign country;
2.) By expressing renunciation of citizenship;
3.) By subscribing to an oath of allegiance to support the constitution or laws of a foreign
country upon attaining twenty-one years of age or more: Provided, however, That a
Filipino may not divest himself of Philippine citizenship in any manner while the
Republic of the Philippines is at war with any country.
4.) By rendering services to, or accepting commission in, the armed forces of a foreign
country, and the taking of an oath of allegiance incident thereto, except in certain
specified cases;
5.) By cancellation of the certificates of naturalization;
6.) By having been declared by competent authority, a deserter of the Philippine armed
forces in time of war, unless subsequently, a plenary pardon or amnesty has been
granted; and
7.) In the case of a woman, upon her marriage to a foreigner if, by virtue of the laws in
force in her husband's country, she acquires his nationality.

w) Discuss Sections 2 to 5 of Republic Act No. 9225

Republic Act No. 9225 otherwise known as the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of
2003 declares that natural-born citizens of the Philippines who become citizens of another
country shall be deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship.

x) What is dual citizenship?

It is citizenship in two countries concurrently.

y) What is dual allegiance?

Dual allegiance refers to the situation in which a person simultaneously owes, by some positive
act, loyalty to two or more states. Dual allegiance is the result of an individual's volition - his
active participation in the naturalization process.

z) Distinguish dual citizenship from dual allegiance

Dual allegiance, on the other hand, refers to the situation in which a person simultaneously
owes, by some positive act, loyalty to two or more states. While dual citizenship is involuntary,
dual allegiance is the result of an individual's volition – his active participation in the
naturalization process.

aa) Discuss Mercado v. Manzano, 307 SCRA 630 (1999), G.R. No. 135083, 26 May 1999.
Is Manzano qualified to hold office as Vice-Mayor?
COMELEC en banc held that Manzano, though dual citizen, his act of filing a certificate of
candidacy tantamount to his election of Phil. citizenship – meaning he forswears allegiance to
the other country and thereby terminating their status as dual. Therefore, Manzano is qualified
to hold office as vice-mayor because dual citizenship doesn't mean dual allegiance.
MERCADO vs MANZANO (307 SCRA 630)
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Article IV Section 5 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution
Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest and shall be dealt with by law.
By all means dual citizenship shall not be dealt with by law for dual citizenship is not dual
allegiance .
In connection with this, Mercado then filed a petition for certiorari but was also dismissed due
to lack of merit.