Politics and

Governance
with
Philippine
Constitution

The State

The State
It is 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. (Collector of Internal
Revenue vs. Campos Rueda, 42 SCRA
23).

Elements of States

Elements of States
People this refers to the mass of
population living within the State.
Without people are can be no
functionaries to govern and no
subjects to be governed.

Elements of States
Territory it includes only the land over
which the jurisdiction of the State extends,
but also the rivers and lakes therein, a
certain area of the sea which abuts upon
its coasts and the air space above it. Thus,
the domain of the State may be described
as terrestrial, fluvial, maritime, and aerial.

Elements of States
Government it refers to the agency
through which the will of the State is
formulated, expressed and carried out.
The word sometimes is used to refer
to the person or aggregate of those
persons in whose hands are placed for
the time being the function of political
control. This body of men is usually
spoken as administration. The
ordinary citizens of the country are a
part of the State, but are not part of

Elements of States
Sovereignty juristically speaking,
sovereignty means the supreme,
uncontrollable power, the jures summi
imperri, the absolute right to govern.
(Story on the Constitution, cited in
Gonzales, Phil. Political Law, 1966
Edition,p.23). it is the supreme will of
the State, the power to make laws and
enforce them by all the means of
coercion it cares to employ. (Strong on
the Constitution, cited in Gonzales,
Phil. Political Law, 1996 Edition, p. 23).

Origin of States
Various theories as regards the
creation of states have been
postulated by authorities, inter alia:
O Divine right theory
O Necessity or force theory
O Paternalistic theory
O Social contract theory

State distinguished from

nation
O It says that nation should not be confused

with state as they are not the same.

O The state is political concept, while nation
is an ethnic concept. A nation is a group of
people
bound
together
by
certain
characteristics such as common social
origin, language, customs, and traditions,
and who believe that they are one and
distinct from others. The term is more
strictly synonymous with people.

State distinguished from

government
O In common speech, they are usually regarded as

identical. Ordinarily, the acts of the government

(within the limits of the delegations of powers)
are the acts of the state, former is meant when
the letter is mentioned, and vice versa.
O The government is only the agency through
which the state expresses its will. A state cannot
exist without a government, but it is possible to
have a government without a state. Thus, we had
various governments at different periods of our
history, from pre-Spanish times to the present.
O A government may change, its form may
change, but the State, as long as its essential
elements are present, remains the same.

O People as an Element of the

State
O No requirement as to the number

of people
O The doctrine of parens patriae
O Territory as an Element of the

State
O The national territory of the

Philippines
O The archipelago doctrine and its
adaptation in the Constitution
O The archipelago principle is not
part of international law

O Sovereignty as an Element of

State
O The dual aspects of sovereignty are:
O Internal - which means the supremacy of

a person or body of persons in the State

over the individuals or association of
individuals within the area of its
jurisdiction. (Gonzales, Phil. Political law,
1966 Edition, p. 23, cutting Sinco, Phil.
Political Law, p. 18).

O External

which means the

absolute independence of one State
as a whole with reference to the
other States. External sovereignty is
nothing more than the freedom of
the State from subjection to or
control by a foreign State, that is the
supremacy of the State as against all
foreign wills. (Gonzales, Phil. Political
Law, supr.; citing Garner, p. 168).
O Legal sovereignty and upon whom it
is conferred.
O Political sovereignty and upon whom
it is conferred.

Imperium and dominium

O Imperium is the right of the State to

pass or enact its own laws and

employ force to secure obedience
thereto, maintain peace and order
within its territorial limits, defend the
State against foreign invasion, and do
any other act of governance over its
people and territory.
O Dominium refers to the independent
proprietary right of possession, use,
conservation, disposition or sale, and
control by the State over its territorial

Nature of the claim of the

Philippines over Sabah
O Possession
of
sovereignty
and
exercise of sovereignty distinguished

O Government

as an Element of

the State
De Jure and De facto governments
A de jure government is a
government of right; a government
established
according
to
the
Constitution of the State, and lawfully
entitled to recognition and supremacy
and the administration of the State
but is actually ousted from power or
control, it is the true and lawful
government. (Gonzales, Phil. Political
Law, 1966 edition, p. 16, citing

A de facto government, on the

other hand, is that government
which unlawfully gets the possession
and control of the rightful legal
government, and maintains itself
there by force and arms against the
will of the rightful legal government,
and claims to exercise the power
thereof. It is a government of fact.
(Gonzales, Phil. Political Law, 1966
Edition, p. 16, citing Blacks law
Dictionary; Co Kim Chan vs. Valdez
Tan Keh, 75 Phil. 113).

Forms of government
O Monarchy
O Aristocracy
O Democracy
O Unitary government
O Federal government
O Parliamentary government
O Presidential government

Constituent
and
ministrant
functions of government
O Under the expanded provisions of the

Constitution on social justice, what used

to be optional functions of government
became mandated or imposed, hence,
they are now mandatory. In ACCFA vs.
Federation of Labor Unions, 30 SCRA 649,
and PVTA vs. CIR, 65 SCRA 416, the
Supreme
Court,
explaining
the
irrelevance of the distinctions between
the two (2) functions said that the
growing complexities of modern society
have
rendered
the
traditional
classification
of
the
functions
of

The areas which used to be left to private

enterprise and initiative and which the government
was called upon
to enter optionally and only
because it was better equipped to administer for
the public welfare than any private individual or
group of individuals continue to lose their welldefined boundaries and to be undertaken in its
sovereign capacity if it is to meet the increasing
challenge of the times. Here, as almost everywhere
else, the tendency is undoubtedly towards a
greater socialization of economic forces.

POLICE POWER
Concept of police power
Police power is the power vested in the
legislature by the Constitution to make,
ordain establish all manner of wholesome
and reasonable laws, statutes, or ordinances,
either with penalties, or without, not
repugnant to the Constitution, as they shall
judge to be for the good and welfare of the
State and its subjects.

Basis of the exercise of the police

power of the State
The exercise of police power is founded on
the basic principles of salus populi est
suprema lex (the welfare of the people is the
supreme law), and sic utere tu et alienum
non laedas (so use your own property so as
not to impair another). (Rubi vs. Provincial
Board of Mindoro, 39 Phil. 660).

Congress has the ultimate

power
to
determine
the
necessity and the means of
exercising of the police power
of the State.

Congress has the ultimate power,

because it is the judge of necessity,
adequacy, reasonableness and wisdom of
any law. In Ichong vs. Hernandez, 101 Phil.,
1155, the Supreme Court said that Congress
is the constitutional respiratory of police
power and exercises the prerogative of
determining the policy of the State.

There is no need to provide for the

exercise of police power in the
Constitution
Police power is an inherent attribute of
sovereignty. It can exist even without
reservation in the Constitution, as it is the
most
illimitable
of
the
powers
of
government. It is based on necessity, as
without it, there can be no effective
government.

Courts can interfere with the

determination by Congress of
the necessity and means of the
exercise of police power
The purpose of judicial interference, however, is
to ascertain whether or not the exertion of that
authority is within or outside lawful limits. Cinco,
in his book on Constitutional Law, said that This
does not mean that the courts may substitute
their judgment for that of the legislature as to
whether the purpose is good or bad, advisable or
not, expedient or otherwise. To do so would permit
the courts to usurp the legislative function of
determining policies, which is outside their field.

Limitation on the States

exercise of police power
They are: (1) the due process clause
which provides that no person shall be
deprived of life,. Liberty or property without
due
process of law; and (2) the equal
protection clause which provides that: nor
shall any person be denied the equal
protection of the laws. (Sec.1, Art.III, 1987
Constitution).

The due process clause limits

the exercise of the police
power of the State
The due process clause has something to
do with the reasonableness of the laws
enacted in the implementation of the police
power of the State. Laws implementing
police power concern public interest, public
purpose and, general welfare. (Ichong vs.
Hernandez, supra).

The equal protection clause limits

the exercise of police power.
In Ichong vs. Hernandez, supra., the Supreme
Court said that the equal protection clause is
against undue favor and individual or class
privileges, as well as hostile discrimination,
oppression or inequality. It is not intended to
prohibit legislation, which is limited either in
the object to which is to operate. It does not
demand absolute equality among residents, it
merely requires that all person be treated alike
under like circumstances and conditions, both
as to privileges conferred and liabilities
enforced.

Purposes of police power

The basic purposes of police power are:
1 To serve the general welfare, comfort,
and convenience of the people;
2 To promote and preserve public health;
3 To promote and protect public safety;
4 To maintain and safeguard public order;
5 To protect public morals; and
6 To promote the economic security oh\f
the people.

Exercises of police power in

regulating overseas workers
The DOLE issued a circular requiring an Artist
Record Book as a precondition for the processing
by the POEA of any contract for overseas
employment to Japan. It was contended that the
right to overseas employment is a property right,
hence, the onerous requirement violates the due
process and non-impairment clauses and
constitutes an invalid exercise of police power.
The State, on the other hand, contended that the
regulation is a valid exercise of police power.

The contention of the State is valid. The

Latin maxim salus populi est suprema lex
embodies the entire spectrum of public law
aimed at promoting the general welfare of
the people under the States police power. As
an inherent attribute of sovereignty which
virtually extended to all public needs, this
least limitable of governmental powers
granted a wide panoply of instruments
through which the State as parens patriae
gives effect to a host of its regulatory
powers.

The welfare of the Filipino performing

artists, particularly women, was paramount
in the issuance of DOLE Order No. 3. Short of
a total and absolute ban against deployment
of
performing
artists
to
high-risk
destinations, a measure which would only
drive recruitment further underground, the
new scheme at the very least rationalizes
the method of screening performing artists
by requiring reasonable educational and
artistic skills from them and limits
deployment to only those individuals
adequately prepared for the unpredictable
demands of employment as artists abroad

The scheme lessens the room for

exploitation by unscrupulous individuals and
agencies, as it defined the minimum skills
required from entertainers and performing
artists. The tests are aimed at segregating
real artists or performers from those passing
themselves off as such, eager to accept any
available job and therefore exposing
themselves to possible exploitation.

The
constitution
mandates
the
government to extend protection to
overseas workers. The regulation does not
violate the non-impairment of contract
clause for the same must yield to the loftier
purposes targeted by the Government.
Equally important, into every contract is
read, provisions of existing laws, and
always, a reservation of the police power
for so long as the agreement deals with the
public interest or welfare. (JMM Promotions
and Management, Inc. vs. CA, 73 SCAD 68.
G.R. No. 120095, August 5, 1996).

No class legislation in the abovecited case

There is no class legislation. The equal
protection clause is directed principally
against undue favour and individual or class
privilege. It is not
intended to prohibit
legislation which is limited to the object to
which it is directed or by the territory in
which it is operate. It does not require
absolute equality, but merely that all
persons be treated alike under like
conditions both as to privileges conferred
and liabilities imposed. Equal protection
does not forbid classification, provided, it is
based on real and substantial differences
having reasonable relation to the subject of

If classification is germane to the purpose of

the law, concerns all members of the same
class, and applies equally to present and
future conditions, the classification does not
violate the equal protection clause. Note
that the order applies to all performing
artists destined for jobs abroad. (JMM
Promotions and Management, Inc., vs. CA,
73 SCAD 68, G.R. No. 120095, August 5,
1996 .)

Instances where a law, or an act is valid and

justified on the grounds of public health
O Some instances are:

1 A law seeking to apprehend and confine leppers. (Lorenzo vs.

Director of Health, 50 Phil. 595);
2 Compulsory vaccination and imprisonment in case of refusal.
(People vs. Lopez);
3 Ordinance compelling owners of buildings to make connections
with new sewer system. (Cose vs. Board of Health of Manila, 24
Phil. 250);
4 Shooting of sick animals. It has been held that the quarantine,
isolation and slaughter of cattle suffering from infectious and
contagious diseases are samples of valid exercise of police power.
(Punzalan vs. Ferrols, 19 Phil. 215); and
5 An ordinance limiting the sale of theatre tickets has been
upheld to be valid because to public health and inimical to public
convenience. (People vs. Chan, 65 Phil. 611).