Political Law Reviewer-Albano

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Chapter I GENERAL PRINCIPLES Q. —

What is political law?

ANS.

Political law is that branch of public law which deals with the organization and operations of the governmental organs of the State and denes the relations of the State with the inhabitants of its territory. (Macariola vs. Asuncion, 114 SCRA 77; People vs. Perfecto, 43 Phil. 887).

Q. —

What is constitutional law?

ANS.

It is the study of the maintenance of the proper balance between authority as represented by the three (3) inherent powers of the State and liberty as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

Q. —

What is a Constitution?

ANS.

A Constitution is the fundamental organic law of a State which contains the principles on which government is founded, and regulates the division and exercise of sovereign powers. (16 C.J.S. Note 1, p. 20). It is that body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised. (Political Law, Neptali A. Gonzales, 1966 Edition, p. 61, citing Cooley, Constitutional Limitations, 8th Ed., p. 4).

Q. —

Are there any distinctions between a Constitution and a statute?

ANS.

Yes. A Constitution is a legislation direct from the people; a statute is a legislation from the people’s representatives. A Constitution states general principles; a statute provides the details of the subject of which it treats. A Constitution is intended not merely to meet existing conditions; a statute 1

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POLITICAL LAW REVIEWER

is intended primarily to meet existing conditions only. A Constitution is the fundamental law of the State to which all other laws and statutes must conform. (Neptali A. Gonzales, Political Law, citing Malcolm, p. 61). Q. —

Is the Constitution a conferment of powers or a limitation of the same?

ANS.

It is both a conferment of powers and a limitation of the same. The Constitution allocates powers to the three (3) departments of the government. It also provides for limitations on the exercise of such powers, like the provisions of the Bill of Rights.

Q. —

What are the essential parts of a written Constitution?

ANS.

They are: (1)

Constitution of liberty which provides for the civil and political rights of citizens and the limitations on the powers of government to secure those rights;

(2)

Constitution of government which provides for the organization of government, and enumerates the powers of the same; and

(3)

Constitution of sovereignty which provides the manner of changing the fundamental law as making amendments thereto.

Q. —

What is meant by the statement, “the Constitution is a social contract?”

ANS.

The Constitution as a social contract means that it is where the people have surrendered their sovereign powers to the State for the common good. Hence, as held in Marcos vs. Manglapus, et al., G.R. No. 88211, September 15, 1989, lest the ofcers of the government exercising the powers delegated by the people forget and the servants of the people become rulers, the Constitution reminds everyone that “sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.” (Sec. 1, Art. II, 1987 Constitution).

TITLE I — GENERAL PROVISIONS

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Chapter II THE STATE Q. —

What is a State?

ANS.

It is a community of persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a denite 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).

Q. —

What are the elements of a State?

ANS.

The elements of a State are: people; territory; sovereignty; and government.

Q. —

How is a State distinguished from nation? From government?

ANS.

State is a legal or juristic concept; nation is an ethnic or racial concept. Government is merely an external manifestation of the State through which the will of the State is exercised.

Q. —

What comprises the national territory of the Philippines?

ANS.

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, uvial 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, 3

DEDICATION This book is dedicated to my late parents, Andres Albano and Guillerma Soriano and to my wife, Lilian and children Jonjon, Myla and Vinci (who are now all lawyers and co-authors of this book).

Judge Ed Vincent S. Albano

To my wife Sheila and to my precious boy Sean Vincent, this work is lovingly dedicated.

Atty. Ed Vincent A. Albano Jr.

I dedicate this work to my husband Carlo who’s ever tolerable of me, and to our little angel Carl Vincent.

Atty. Myla Khristabelle A. Pua

To my family and friends who have helped me pray to hurdle the Bar Examinations, I offer my humble contribution to this book.

Atty. Ed Vincent A. Albano III

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors owe the completion of this work to the people who unselfishly extended their much needed help in putting this book together. We wish to thank them here, however unembellished it may be. Linda Joya for providing advance sheets of Supreme Court decisions cited in this book. Nova Marie M. Estabillo, my assistant in the College of Law, for industriously proofreading the manuscript of this book. Crystal G. Perez, my secretary in the law office, for tirelessly encoding the manuscript of this book. Anton A. Arciaga, our clerk in the College of Law, for diligently running errands during the revision of this book.

The Authors

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PREFACE This book was prepared with the intention of making the subject easier for the students to understand the same. It is the author’s belief that the reviewee must easily understand the complicated aspects of the law; hence, the simplicity of this work. This book contains important provisions of the law and doctrinal decisions up to 2007, designed to prepare the reviewee for the Bar Examinations. The author wishes to convey his heartfelt thanks to all his friends for encouraging him to write the book.

ED VINCENT S. ALBANO

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CONTENTS CHAPTER I – General Principles ........................................... CHAPTER II – The State ........................................................ CHAPTER III – Immunity of the State from Suit ................. CHAPTER IV – Declaration of Principles and State Policies

1 3 15 58

Principles ......................................................................... State Policies ...................................................................

58 70

CHAPTER V – The Bill of Rights ...........................................

84

Due Process and Equal Protection ................................. Equal Protection Clause ................................................. Searches and Seizures..................................................... Privacy of Communications ............................................ Freedom of Expression .................................................... Right to Form Associations ............................................. Freedom of Religion......................................................... Liberty of Abode .............................................................. Habeas Corpus................................................................. Right to Information ....................................................... Non-Impairment Clause ................................................. Rights While Under Investigation.................................. Right to Bail..................................................................... Rights of the Accused ...................................................... Speedy, Impartial and Public Trial ................................ Right to Confrontation .................................................... Compulsory Process ........................................................ Trial In Absentia.............................................................. Presumption of Innocence ............................................... Right to Counsel .............................................................. Right Against Self-Incrimination ................................... Involuntary Servitude ..................................................... Excessive, Cruel or Unusual Punishment ..................... Double Jeopardy .............................................................. Bill of Attainder ...............................................................

84 120 137 197 202 250 254 276 280 282 286 295 324 341 346 351 354 354 356 361 362 366 367 373 394

CHAPTER VI – Citizenship ....................................................

401

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CHAPTER VII – Separation of Powers .................................. CHAPTER VIII – Delegation of Powers ................................. CHAPTER IX – Legislative Department ................................ CHAPTER X – The Executive Department ............................ CHAPTER XI – Judicial Department ..................................... CHAPTER XII – Constitutional Commissions .......................

438 446 462 554 638 683

The Civil Service Commission ........................................ The Commission on Elections .........................................

685 697

CHAPTER XIII – Accountability of Public Officers ...............

701

The Sandiganbayan......................................................... The Ombudsman .............................................................

711 711

CHAPTER XIV – National Economy and Patrimony ............ CHAPTER XV – Social Justice and Human Rights ............... CHAPTER XVI – Labor ........................................................... CHAPTER XVII – Education, Science, Technology Arts, Culture and Sports................................................. CHAPTER XVIII – The Family............................................... CHAPTER XIX – Amendatory Provisions .............................. CHAPTER XX – Power of Eminent Domain .......................... CHAPTER XXI – Police Power................................................ CHAPTER XXII – Taxation ....................................................

715 732 738

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW .......................................................

867

CHAPTER I – General Principles ........................................... CHAPTER II – Powers and Functions of Administrative Agencies ......................................................................... CHAPTER III – Judicial Review of Administrative Actions .........................................................................

867

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS .......................................................

889

CHAPTER I – General Principles ........................................... CHAPTER II – General Powers and Attributes of Local Government Units ............................................. CHAPTER III – Municipal Liability ....................................... CHAPTER IV – Qualifications and Election of Elective Local Officials .................................................................. CHAPTER V – Vacancies and Successions ............................ CHAPTER VI – Local Legislations ......................................... CHAPTER VII – Disciplinary Actions .................................... CHAPTER VIII – Recall .......................................................... CHAPTER IX – Human Resources and Development ...........

889

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743 753 755 775 821 852

869 879

903 921 926 938 954 960 970 977

ELECTION LAWS ...................................................................

982

CHAPTER I – General Principles ........................................... CHAPTER II – The Commission on Elections ....................... CHAPTER III – Time of Election ............................................ CHAPTER IV – Political Parties............................................. CHAPTER V – Candidacies and Eligibility of Candidates.... CHAPTER VI – Contributions and Prohibited Practices ...... CHAPTER VII – List of Voters ............................................... CHAPTER VIII – Election Precincts, Polling Places and Board of Election Inspectors .................................... CHAPTER IX – Official Ballots, Election Returns and Casting of Votes ....................................................... CHAPTER X – Counting of Votes ...........................................

982 985 1000 1006 1008 1022 1032

PUBLIC OFFICERS ................................................................

1081

CHAPTER I – General Principles ........................................... CHAPTER II – Liabilities of Public Officers .......................... CHAPTER III – Rights and Privileges ...................................

1081 1090 1100

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1039 1043 1045