1. Self Executing v.

Non Self Executing

SELF-EXECUTING RATHER THAN NON-SELF-EXECUTING. — In case of doubt, the
Constitution should be considered self-executing rather than non-self-executing . . . Unless the
contrary is clearly intended, the provisions of the Constitution should be considered self-executing,
as a contrary rule would give the legislature discretion to determine when, or whether, they shall
be effective. These provisions would be subordinated to the will of the lawmaking body, which
could make them entirely meaningless by simply refusing to pass the needed implementing statute.
(Cruz, Isagani A., Constitutional Law, 1993 ed., pp. 8-10)
Constitutional provision is self-executing if the nature and extent of the right conferred and the
liability imposed are fixed by the constitution itself, so that they can be determined by an
examination and construction of its terms, and there is no language indicating that the subject is
referred to the legislature for action. (Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS)
a provision which is complete in itself and becomes operative without the aid of supplementary or
enabling legislation, or that which supplies sufficient rule by means of which the right it grants
may be enjoyed or protected, is self-executing. (Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS)
2. Doctrine of Constitutional Supremacy
doctrine of constitutional supremacy, if a law or contract violates any norm of the constitution that
law or contract whether promulgated by the legislative or by the executive branch or entered into
by private persons for private purposes is null and void and without any force and effect. Thus,
since the Constitution is the fundamental paramount and supreme law of the nation, it is deemed
written in every statute and contract. (Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS)
3. Revision v. Amendment
Revision broadly implies a change that alters a basic principle in the constitution, like altering
the principle of separation of powers or the system of checks-and-balances. There is also revision
if the change alters the substantial entirety of the constitution, as when the change affects
substantial provisions of the constitution. On the other hand, amendment broadly refers to a
change that adds, reduces, or deletes without altering the basic principle involved. Revision
generally affects several provisions of the constitution, while amendment generally affects only
the specific provision being amended. (Lambino v. COMELEC)
4. How are amendments proposed
Art 17 Constitution 1987
Sec. 1 Constitution. Any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution may be proposed by:
(1) The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members, or
(2) A constitutional convention.
Sec. 2. Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through
initiative x x x. (Emphasis supplied)
Article XVII of the Constitution speaks of three modes of amending the Constitution. The first
mode is through Congress upon three-fourths vote of all its Members. The second mode is through
a constitutional convention. The third mode is through a people’s initiative.
Section 1 of Article XVII, referring to the first and second modes, applies to “[A]ny amendment
to, or revision of, this Constitution.” In contrast, Section 2 of Article XVII, referring to the third
mode, applies only to “[A]mendments to this Constitution.” This distinction was intentional as
shown by the following deliberations of the Constitutional Commission
5. Elements of a state
 People - the population living in a state.
 Territory - includes the land, the rivers, the sea, and the air space which the jurisdiction
of the sate extends.
 Government - the agency through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed
and carried out.
 Sovereignty or independence - the power to command and enforce obedience free
from foreign control.

6. Constituent v. Ministrant Functions

Constituent functions are those which constitute the very bonds of society and are compulsory in
nature. Examples are keeping of order and providing for the protection of persons and property;
the fixing of the legal relations between man and wife, and between parents and child; the
regulation of property and the determination of contract rights; the definition and punishment of
crime, the administration of justice, the determination of political duties, privileges, and relations
of citizens, dealings of the state with foreign powers, the preservation of the state from external
danger and the advancement of international interest.
Ministrant functions are those that are undertaken only by way of advancing the general interests
of society and are merely optional. Examples are public works, public education, public charity,
health and safety regulations and regulations of trade and industry.
7. Doctrine of Parens Patriae
Parens patriae is Latin for “parent of his or her country.” In the juvenile justice legal system, parens
patriae is a doctrine that allows the State to step in and serve as a guardian for children, the mentally
ill, the incompetent, the elderly, or disabled persons who are unable to care for themselves. “In
law, it refers to the public policy power of the State to intervene against an abusive or negligent
parent, legal guardian, or informal caretaker, and to act as the parent of any child or individual
who is in need of protection.”
 8. De Jure and De Facto Government
A de jure government (government of law) is an organized government of a state which has the
general support of the people.
A de facto government (government of fact) is a government which actually exercises power or
control but without legal title.
There are three kinds of de facto government:
the 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;
that established as an independent government by the inhabitants of a country who rise in
insurrection against the parent state; and
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 as a government of paramount force.
9. National Territory (Article I)
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 dimensions, form
part of the internal waters of the Philippines.
Archipelago Doctrine, Under which we connect the outermost points of our archipelago with
straight baselines and consider all the waters enclosed thereby as internal waters.
10. State Immunity
“The state may not be sued without its consent” To avoid indiscriminate suits against the state that
would result in the impairment of its dignity, besides being a challenge to its supposed infallibility.
a. Waiver of Immunity
The State may, if it desires, divest itself from its sovereign immunity and thereby voluntarily open
itself for suit
b. Forms of Consent
Express Consent may be manifested through a general law or a special law, Implied consent is
given when the State itself commences litigation of when it enters into a contract.
c. Suits against government agencies
Two types of government agencies: incorporated or incorporated, incorporated agency has a
charter of its own that invests it with a separate juridical personality, the test of its suability is
found in its charter, it is suable if the charter provided.
while the unincorporated agency is so called because it has no separate juridical personality but
is merged in the general machinery of the government.
11. Separation of Power
Doctrine of Separation of powers is intended to prevent a concentration of authority. Ordains that
each of the three great branches of government has exclusive cognizance of and is supreme in
matters falling within its own constitutionally allocated sphere.