Concept of Political Science, State, Politics,

Government, Governance and Administration

 

Political Science

It is the systematic study of and reflection upon politics. Politics usually describes the processes by which people and institutions exercise and resist power.

Political Science is the systematic study of the state and government.

The word political is derived from the Greek polis, meaning a city, of what today would be equivalent of sovereign state.

 Science comes from the Latin scire, “to know”

Scope of Political Science:

 

1. Political theory

2. Public Law

3. Public Administration

Political Theory

It refers to the entire body of doctrines relating to the origin, form, behaviour, and purposes of the state are dealt with the study of political theory.

Public Law – the (a) organization of governments, (b) the limitations upon government authority, (c) the powers and duties of governmental offices and officers, and (d) the obligations of one state to another are handled in the study of public law.

Private Laws are the one which govern the relations among individuals, public law is so specialized that separate courses offered in each of its subdivisions, namely: (a) constitutional law, (b) administrative law, and (c) international Law.

Public Administration - attention is focused upon methods and techniques used in the actual management of the state affairs by executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government.

 

N.B, today, legislative bodies have been forced to delegate greater discretion to executive officers responsible for the conduct of government policies and powers. Thus we find many administrative agencies exercising quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers.

Interrelationship of Political Science with other branches of learning:

1.History

“History is past politics and politics is present history.”

Political Scientist adopts a “historical approach and employs knowledge of the past when he seeks to interpret present and probable developments in political phenomena.

2. Economics

Refers to the study of production, distribution, and conservation, and consumption of wealth.

Political Scientist adopts an “economic approach” when seeking to interpret matters like public financial policies and government regulation of business.

3. Geography Geopolitics

It is concerned with the study of the influences of physical factors such as population pressures, sources of raw materials, geography, etc. Upon domestic and foreign politics.

4. Sociology & anthropology

It is deeply concerned with the origins and nature of social control and governmental authority, with the abiding influences of race and culture upon society, & with the patterns of collective human behavior.

5. Psychology

It promotes studies of the mental and emotional processes motivating the political behavior of individuals and groups. Particular topics under this are: public opinion, pressure groups, and propaganda.

6. Philosophy

The concepts and doctrines of Plato, Aristotle & Locke are important to the specialist in academic philosophy and also to the political scientist.

7. Statistics and LogicPolitical theorist must have abroad background & knowledge of current political problems and he must employ scientific methods in gathering and evaluating the data & in drawing conclusions.

8. Jurisprudence

This branch of public law is concerned with the analysis of existing legal systems & also with the ethical, historical, sociological, & psychological foundations of law.

Concepts of State Meaning of the State

State is a community of persons more or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control.

Elements of State:

1. People

2. Territory

3. Government

4. Sovereignty

5. Recognition

1. People

This refers to the mass of population living within the state. There is no requirement as to the number of people that should compose a state. But it should be neither too small nor too large: small enough to be well-governed and large enough to be self-sufficing.

The smallest state is Vatican. China has the largest population.

2. TerritoryComponents of Territory:

1. Terrestrial/land mass2. Aerial3. Fluvial4. Maritime Domain

The smallest state is Vatican State with an area of 0.43 square kilometres. It would fit in Rizal Park in Manila. The biggest state is Canada with an area of 3,852,000 square miles

which covers a surface nearly as large as Europe.

The Philippines has a total land area of about 115,707 square miles .

 3. GovernmentIt refers to the agency through which the will of the state is formulated, expressed and carried out.

4. Sovereignty

It is the supreme power of the state to command and enforce obedience to its will from people within its jurisdiction, and to have freedom from foreign control.

Two manifestations of Sovereignty:1. Internal or the power of the state to rule within its territory;2. External or the freedom of the state to carry out its activities without subjection or control by other states. External sovereignty is often referred to as independence.

N.B these internal and external aspects of sovereignty are not absolutely true in practice because of the development of international relations and consequently international law.

5. Recognition

1.Legal sovereignty is the possession of unlimited power to make laws. It is the authority by which law has the power to issue commands.

2.Political sovereignty is the sum total of all the influences in a state which lie behind the law. It is roughly defined as the power of the people.

What is imperium? Dominium?

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 government over its people and territory.

Dominium refers to the independent proprietary right of possession, use, conservation, disposition or sale, and control by the State over its territorial lands.

How do you treat the Claim of the Phils. Over Sabah? Is it imperium or dominium?

Answer:

It is both imperium and dominium. We seek to own exclusively Sabah and in so owning, we have to exercise our sovereignty to govern the same.

Characteristics of Sovereignty

1. Permanence;

2. Exclusivity;

3. Comprehensiveness;

4. Absoluteness;

5. Individuality;

6. Inalienability; and

7. Imprescritibility

Permanence means it exist in the same form forever or for a very long time.

Exclusivity means it is limited to a group of people.

Comprehensiveness means including everything, so as to be complete comprehensive knowledge of the subject.

Absoluteness means possessing unlimited power: having total power and authority.

Individuality means the state or condition of being separate from others.

Inalienability means it is impossible to take away or not able to be transferred or taken away, e.g. because of being protected by law.

Imprescribility it means not to be taken away or impossible to remove or violate the people's imprescriptible rights.

Governance

1. manner of government: the system or manner of government;

2. state of governing a place: the act or state of governing a place;

3. authority: control or authority

ADMINISTRATION

It means the management of the affairs of a business, organization, or institution.

GOVERNMENT

Forms of Government:

The principal forms are the following:

1.As to number of persons exercising sovereign powers;

2. As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government;

3. As to relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the government;

4. As to source of power or authority:

1. As to number of persons exercising sovereign powers:

A. Government by one

A1) Monarchy or one in which the supreme and final authority

is in the hands of a single person without regard to the source of his election or the nature or duration of his tenure. Monarchies are further classified into:

Monarchy, form of government in which one person has the hereditary right to rule as head of state during his or her lifetime; the term is also applied to the state so governed.

Monarchs include such rulers as kings and queens, emperors and empresses, tsars, and kaisers.

Two types of Monarchical government:

1. Absolute Monarchy or one in which the ruler rules by divine right; and

2. Limited monarchy or one in which the ruler rules in accordance with a constitution.The power of the monarch varies from absolute to very limited; the latter is exemplified in modern-day constitutional monarchies.

A2 Authoritarian or one in which the supreme power of the dictator whose power is usually through force.

1. strict and demanding obedience: favoring strict rules and established authority;

2. demanding political obedience: belonging to or believing in a political system in which obedience to the ruling person or group is strongly enforced.

B. Government by fewB1 Aristocracy or one in

which political power is exercised by few privileged class.

1. people of highest social class: people of noble families or the highest social class

 

2. superior group: a group believed to be superior to all others of the same kind

3. government by elite: government of a country by a small group of people, especially a hereditary nobility

4. state run by elite: a state governed by an aristocracy.

B2 Oligarchy

 1. small governing group: a small group of people who together govern a nation or control an organization, often for their own purposes;

2. entity ruled by oligarchy: a nation governed or an organization controlled by an oligarchy;

3. government by small group: government or control by a small group of people.

Sources of their power:

1.By birth2. By wealth3. By wisdom

In an aristocracy, although the power of government is wielded by a few, theoretically the administration of government is carried on for the welfare of the many.

Whenever the interests of the people as a whole are made subservient to the selfish interests of the rulers, aristocracy becomes a form of government known as oligarchy.

C. Government by many

C1 Democracy or one in which political power is exercised by the majority of the people. It is further classified into:

C1.1 Direct or pure democracy or one in which the will of the state is formulated or expressed directly and immediately through the people in a mass meeting or primary assembly rather than through the medium of representatives chosen by the people to act for them.

C1.2 Indirect, representative or republican democracy or one in which the will of the state is formulated and expressed through the agency of a relatively small and select body of persons chosen by the people to act as their representatives.

2. As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government:

A. Unitary government or one in which the control of national and local affairs is exercised by the national government;

B. Federal government or one in which the powers of government are divided between two sets of organs, one for national affairs and the other for local affairs, each organ being supreme within its own sphere.

Dist. bet. Federal & Unitary Gov’t

Federal states, such as the U.S. and Switzerland, comprise unions of states in which the authority of the central or national government is constitutionally limited by the legally established powers of the constituent subdivisions.

In unitary states, such as the United Kingdom and Belgium, the constituent subdivisions of the state are subordinate to the authority of the national government.

Countries with federal political systems have both a central government and governments based in smaller political units, usually called states, provinces, or territories. These smaller political units surrender some of their political power to the central government, relying on it to act for the common good.

In a federal system, laws are made both by state, provincial, or territorial governments and by a central government. In the United States, for example, people who live in the state of Ohio must obey the laws made by the Ohio legislature and the Congress of the United States.

Federal political systems divide power and resources between central and regional governments.Central governments decide issues that concern the whole country, such as organizing an army, building major roads, and making treaties with other countries.

In unitary systems, with laws giving virtually all authority to the central government. The central government may delegate duties to cities or other administrative units, but it retains final authority and can retract any tasks it has delegated.

The central government in a unitary system is much more powerful than the central government in a federal system.

3. As to relationship between the executive and the legislative branches of the government:A. Parliamentary government or cabinet gov’t. is one in which the executive and legislative branch of the government are dependent or executive branch is part of the legislative branch.

B. Presidential government or one in which the state makes the executive independent from the legislative.

Distinctions bet. Presidential & Parliamentary

In parliamentary governments, of which the United Kingdom, India, and Canada are examples, the executive branch is subordinate to the legislature.

In presidential governments, such as in the U.S., the executive is independent of the legislature, although many of the executive's actions are subject to legislative review.

4. As to source of power or authority:

A. De facto is one not so constituted or founded with the existing constitution but has the general support of the people and has effective control of the territory over which it exercises its powers.

B. De Jure is one which is constituted or founded in accordance with the existing constitution of the state but has no control of the territory.

C. Hereditary & Elective

Checks and Balances, the doctrine and practice of dispersing political power and creating mutual accountability among political entities such as the courts, the president or prime minister, the legislature, and the citizens.

The system of checks and balances is a basic feature of the United States government.

The first check comes from the fact that different branches of the government have overlapping authority, so each branch can act as a limit on the other.

For example, the president can veto an act of Congress. A two-thirds majority in Congress can then override the president’s veto. The president appoints major federal officials, but only if the Senate by majority vote agrees.

Separation of

Powers, the doctrine and practice of dividing the powers of a government among different branches to guard against abuse of authority.

A government of separated powers assigns different political and legal powers to the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch has the power to make laws.

The executive branch has the authority to administer the law—primarily by bringing lawbreakers to trial—and to appoint officials and oversee the administration of government responsibilities.

The judicial branch has the power to try cases brought to court and to interpret the meaning of laws under which the trials are conducted.

A government of separated powers is less likely to be tyrannical and more likely to follow the rule of law: the principle that government action must be constrained by laws.

A separation of powers can also make a political system more democratic by making it more difficult for a single ruler, such as a monarch or a president, to become dictatorial.

The division of powers also prevents one branch of government from dominating the others or dictating the laws to the public. Most democratic systems have some degree of separation of powers.

POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

Liberalism, attitude, philosophy, or movement that has as its basic concern the development of personal freedom and social progress.

The course of liberalism in a given country is usually conditioned by the character of the prevailing form of government.

For example, in countries in which the political and religious authorities are separate, liberalism connotes, mainly, political, economic, and social reform.

In countries in which a state church exists or a church is politically influential, liberalism connotes, mainly, anticlericalism.

In domestic politics, liberals have opposed feudal restraints that prevent the individual from rising out of a low social status; barriers such as censorship that limit free expression of opinion; and arbitrary power exercised over the individual by the state.

In international politics, liberals have opposed the domination of foreign policy by militarists and military considerations and the exploitation of native colonial people, and they have sought to substitute a cosmopolitan policy of international cooperation.

In economics, liberals have attacked monopolies and mercantilist state policies that subject the economy to state control.

In religion, liberals have fought against church interference in the affairs of the state and attempts by religious pressure groups to influence public opinion.

Conservatism, a general state of mind that is averse to rapid change and innovation and strives for balance and order, while avoiding extremes. Originally conservatism arose as a reaction against the Age of Enlightenment.

Conservatives advocated belief in faith over reason, tradition over free inquiry, hierarchy over equality, collective values over individualism, and divine or natural law over secular law.

Conservatism emphasizes the merits of the status quo and endorses the prevailing distribution of power, wealth, and social standing.

Democracy (Greek demos,”

the people”; kratein, “to rule”), political system in which the people of a country rule through any form of government they choose to establish.

In modern democracies, supreme authority is exercised for the most part by representatives elected by popular suffrage.

The representatives may be supplanted by the electorate according to the legal procedures of recall and referendum, and they are, at least in principle, responsible to the electorate.

Socialism, economic and social doctrine, political movement inspired by this doctrine, and system or order established when this doctrine is organized in a society.

The socialist doctrine demands state ownership and control of the fundamental means of production and distribution of wealth, to be achieved by reconstruction of the existing capitalist or other political system of a country through peaceful, democratic, and parliamentary means.

The doctrine specifically advocates nationalization of natural resources, basic industries, banking and credit facilities, and public utilities.

It places special emphasis on the nationalization of monopolized branches of industry and trade, viewing monopolies as inimical to the public welfare.

It also advocates state ownership of corporations in which the ownership function has passed from stockholders to managerial personnel.

Capitalism, economic system in which private individuals and business firms carry on the production and exchange of goods and services through a complex network of prices and markets.

Capital in this sense means the buildings, machines, and other equipment used to produce goods and services that are ultimately consumed.

Second, economic activity is organized and coordinated through the interaction of buyers and sellers (or producers) in markets.

Third, owners of land and capital as well as the workers they employ are free to pursue their own self-interests in seeking maximum gain from the use of their resources and labor in production.

This principle, called consumer sovereignty, reflects the idea that under capitalism producers will be forced by competition to use their resources in ways that will best satisfy the wants of consumers.

Fourth, under this system a minimum of government supervision is required; if competition is present, economic activity will be self-regulating.

Communism, a theory and system of social and political organization that was a major force in world politics for much of the 20th century.

As a political movement, communism sought to overthrow capitalism through a workers’ revolution and establish a system in which property is owned by the community as a whole rather than by individuals.

In theory, communism would create a classless society of abundance and freedom, in which all people enjoy equal social and economic status.

In practice, communist regimes have taken the form of coercive, authoritarian governments that cared little for the plight of the working class and sought above all else to preserve their own hold on power.

POLITICAL THINKERS

I. Ancient Political Thinkers:

1. Socrates

2. Plato

3. Aristotle

1. Socrates

Greek philosopher and teacher who lived in Athens, Greece, in the 400s BC. He profoundly altered Western philosophical thought through his influence on his most famous pupil, Plato, who passed on Socrates' teachings in his writings known as dialogues.

Socrates taught that every person has full knowledge of ultimate truth contained within the soul and needs only to be spurred to conscious reflection in order to become aware of it.

His criticism of injustice in Athenian society led to his prosecution and a death sentence for allegedly corrupting the youth of Athens.

Attitude towards Politics

Socrates was obedient to the laws of Athens, but he generally steered clear of politics, restrained by what he believed to be divine warning.

He believed that he had received a call to pursue philosophy and could serve his country best by devoting himself to teaching, and by persuading the Athenians to engage in self-examination and in tending to their souls.

He wrote no books and established no regular school of philosophy. All that is known with certainty about his personality and his way of thinking is derived from the works of two of his distinguished scholars: Plato & Xenophon

He was charged in 399 BC with neglecting the gods of the state and introducing new divinities, a reference to the daemonion, or mystical inner voice, to which Socrates often referred.

He was also charged with corrupting the morals of the young, leading them away from the principles of democracy.He was condemned to die, although the vote was carried by only a small majority.

Socrates' friends planned his escape from prison, but he preferred to comply with the law and die for his cause.

His last day was spent with his friends and admirers, and in the evening he calmly fulfilled his sentence by drinking a cup of hemlock according to a customary procedure of execution.

2. Plato

Plato (428?-347 BC), Greek philosopher, one of the most creative and influential thinkers in Western philosophy.

He was born to an aristocratic family in Athens.

His father, Ariston, was believed to have descended from the early kings of Athens. Perictione, his mother, was distantly related to the 6th-century BC lawmaker Solon.

The Republic, Plato's major political work, is concerned with the question of justice and therefore with the questions “what is a just state” and “who is a just individual?”

The ideal state, according to Plato, is composed of three classes. The economic structure of the state is maintained by the merchant class. Security needs are met by the military class, and political leadership is provided by the philosopher-kings.

A particular person's class is determined by an educational process that begins at birth and proceeds until that person has reached the maximum level of education compatible with interest and ability.

Those who complete the entire educational process become philosopher-kings.

Plato divides the human soul into three parts: the rational part, the will, and the appetites.

The just person is the one in whom the rational element, supported by the will, controls the appetites. An obvious analogy exists here with the threefold class structure of the state, in which the enlightened philosopher-kings, supported by the soldiers, govern the rest of society.

3. Aristotle

Aristotle was born at Stagira, in Macedonia, the son of a physician to the royal court. At the age of 17, he went to Athens to study at Plato's Academy.

In politics, many forms of human association can obviously be found; which one is suitable depends on circumstances, such as the natural resources, cultural traditions, industry, and literacy of each community.

Aristotle did not regard politics as a study of ideal states in some abstract form, but rather as an examination of the way in which ideals, laws, customs, and property interrelate in actual cases.

John Locke (1632-1704), English philosopher

Locke was born in the village of Wrington, Somerset, on August 29, 1632. He was educated at the University of Oxford and lectured on Greek.

Locke's views, in his Two Treatises of Government (1690), attacked the theory of divine right of kings and the nature of the state as conceived by the English philosopher and political theorist Thomas Hobbes.

Locke argued that sovereignty did not reside in the state but with the people, and that the state is supreme, but only if it is bound by civil and what he called “natural” law.

Many of Locke's political ideas, such as those relating to natural rights, property rights, the duty of the government to protect these rights, and the rule of the majority, were later embodied in the U.S. Constitution.

Locke further held that revolution was not only a right but often an obligation, and he advocated a system of checks and balances in government. He also believed in religious freedom and in the separation of church and state.

THOMAS HOBBES

He was born 1588-1679, English philosopher and political theorist (see Political Theory), one of the first modern Western thinkers to provide a secular justification for the political state.

Hobbes held that since people are fearful and predatory they must submit to the absolute supremacy of the state, in both secular and religious matters, in order to live by reason and gain lasting preservation.

Karl marx

Karl Marx (1818-1883), German political philosopher and revolutionist, cofounder with Friedrich Engels of scientific socialism (modern communism), and, as such, one of the most influential thinkers of all times.

That the history of society is a history of struggles between exploiting and exploited, that is, between ruling and oppressed, social classes.

That the capitalist class would be overthrown and that it would be eliminated by a worldwide working-class revolution and replaced by a classless society.

He believed that between the capitalist and communist systems of society lies the period of the revolutionary transformation of the one into the other.

This corresponds to a political transition period, whose state can be nothing else but the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat.”

Adam Smith

He was born in 1723-1790, British philosopher and economist.

The central thesis of The Wealth of Nations is that capital is best employed for the production and distribution of wealth under conditions of governmental non-interference, or laissez-faire, and free trade.

In Smith's view, the production and exchange of goods can be stimulated, and a consequent rise in the general standard of living attained, only through the efficient operations of private industrial and commercial entrepreneurs acting with a minimum of regulation and control by governments.

To explain this concept of government maintaining a laissez-faire attitude toward commercial endeavors, Smith proclaimed the principle of the “invisible hand”

Every individual in pursuing his or her own good is led, as if by an invisible hand, to achieve the best good for all. Therefore any interference with free competition by government is almost certain to be injurious.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

He was born on 1712 & died 1778. He is French philosopher, social and political theorist, musician, botanist, and one of the most eloquent writers of the Age of Enlightenment.

He contributed greatly to the movement in Western Europe for individual freedom and against the absolutism of church and state.

His conception of the state as the embodiment of the abstract will of the people and his arguments for strict enforcement of political and religious conformity are regarded by some historians as a source of totalitarian ideology.

CONSTITUTION

It is a system of fundamental laws or principles for the government of nation, society, corporation or other aggregation of individuals and it may be either written or unwritten.

It is a written enactment by the direct action of the people by which the fundamental powers of the government are established, defined and limited and by which those powers are distributed among several departments for their safe and useful exercise for teh benefit of the body politic.

BASIC PURPOSES OF CONSTITUTION:

1. Prescribes the permanent framework of the system of government;

2. It assigns to the different departments their respective powers and duties; &

3. It establishes basic principles on which the government is founded.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF CONSTITUTION:

1. As to form:

a. Written – one which has been reduced in writing at a particular time fashioned out usually by a constitutional convention; &

b. Unwritten – one that is the product of political evolution, both in form and in substance, not inaugurated at any specific time and changing by accretion rather than by systematic method.

2. As to origin

a. Cumulative or evolved – one where it has its origin mainly on customs, common law principles, and decisions of courts. It is the product of historical evolution and growth rather than of deliberate and formal enactment.

b. Convention or enactment – one that is the product of deliberate assembly and consciously adopted formally.

3. As to modality of amendment

a. Rigid – one that cannot be amended except by the very procedure spelled out in that Charter itself which is rigid.

b. Flexible – one which possesses no higher legal authority than ordinary laws which can be amended easily.

ADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN CONSTITUTION:

1. It is frequently the only possible starting point for the foundation and growth of civil institutions and often forms the first available means to give civil dignity and political consciousness to the people, as well as the beginning of a distinct delineation of power.

2. In times of political apathy, it forms the bridge to pass over to better times.

3. It gives a strong feeling of right and a powerful impetus to action to have the written law clearly on one’s side.

4. It serves as a beacon to apprise the people when their rights and liberties are invaded and endangered.

5. It furnishes a text to which those who are watchful may again rally and recall the people in moments of passion and delusion.

6. It protects the people from frequent and violent fluctuations of public opinion.

DISADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN CONSTITUTION:

1. It establishes iron-clad rules which are difficult to change even if found inconvenient or oppressive.

2. It is often construed on technical principles rather than in the light of great principles.

3. It is likely to invade the domains of ordinary legislation

The advantage and disadvantage of unwritten constitution.

The chief advantage of an unwritten constitution is its flexibility and elasticity which is reflective at all times to the

correct expression of the progressive and changing necessities of the State.

Its principal weakness lies in the fact that it is subject to perpetual changes at the will of the law-making power.

Major parts of a Constitution:

1. The Constitution of Government

That portion which establishes the major organs of government and defines and allocates these powers among the several departments.

2. The Constitution of Liberty

The provisions guaranteeing individual rights which may be invoked against the massive powers of the government in case of excesses or abuses.

3. Constitution of Sovereignty

That part of the Constitution where it spells out the authority of the people as the repository of sovereignty to approve or change a Constitution.

Requisites of a good Constitution:

1. It must be broad

It must outline an organization of the government for the whole State.

2. It must be brief

It is a document that should not be too detailed in form.

3. It must be definite

Clarity and definiteness are indispensable ingredients of a Constitution.

CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE

PHILIPPINES

1. The Malolos Constitution

2. The 1935 Constitution

3. The 1973 Constitution

4. The Freedom Constitution

5. The 1987 Constitution

Basic Principles underlying the new Constitution:

1.Recognition of the Aid of Almighty God; (preamble)

2.Sovereignty of the People (Art. II Sec. 1)

2. Sovereignty of the People (Art. II Sec. 1)

3. Renunciation of war as an instrument of national policy (Art. II Sec. 2)

4. Supremacy of civilian authority over military (Art. II Sec. 3)

5. Separation of church and State (Art. II Sec. 6)

6. Recognition of the importance of the family as basic social institution and of the vital role of the youth in nation-building (Art. II Secs. 12, 13 & Art. XV)

7. Guarantee of human rights (Art. III Secs. 1-22)

8. Government through suffrage (Art. V Sec. 1)

9. Separation of powers (Art. VI, Sec. 1)

10. Independence of the judiciary (Art. VIII Sec.1)

11. Guarantee of local autonomy (Art. X, Sec 2)

12. High sense of public service morality & accountability of public officers (Art. XI, Sec. 1)

13. Nationalization of natural resources and certain private enterprises affected with public interest (Art. XII Secs. 2,3,17 18)

14. Non-suability of the State (Art II. Sec. 16)

15. Rule of majority

16. Government of laws and not of men

Article XVIIAMENDMENTS OR

REVISION

Sec. 1 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.

Amendment is a change effected in some parts of the Constitution without considering the whole document.

Revision is a rewriting or substantial changing in the Constitution viewed in it entirety.

Importance of amending procedure:

No Constitution, however gifted its framers, is likely to prove adequate for an indefinite period. There are problems that no human foresight can anticipate.

As conditions are never static, so must the fundamental law be freed from the constraint of rigidity. While it is reduced to writing, it should not be devoid of the element of flexibility.

Methods by which amendment/revision may be proposed:

Sec. 1&2 prescribe three (3) methods for proposing ant amendment to, or revision of the Constitution, namely:

1. By Congress, as a constituent assembly, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members voting separately;

2. By Constitutional Convention called for the purpose;

3. By the People directly, through Initiative upon petition of the required number of registered voters.

N.B. The vote requirement is more stringent if the amendments are proposed by Congress itself. This is to insure more deliberations and deeper study and consideration of the merits of the proposed changes to the fundamental law.

Sec. 2, Art. XVII

Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered

voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein.

No amendments under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter.

The Congress shall provide for the implementation of the exercise of this right.

Amendments proposed by the people through initiative.

Sections 2 & 4 (par.2) enshrined for the first time the “people power” to effect changes in the fundamental law. Under the concept of initiative (Art.VI, Sec. 32).

The people may directly propose amendments to the Constitution should Congress be remiss in its duty under the two traditional modes available to it.

The requirements are:

1.There must be a petition of at least 12% of the total number of registered voters;

2.Every legislative district must be represented by at least 3% of the registered voters thereof;

The amendment through initiative is not made within five (5) years thereafter.

Congress is required to provide by law for the implementation of the exercise of this right.

Once the required number of voters’ signature is complied with, Congress is bound to submit the proposed amendments to the people in a plebiscite.

The above requirements are designed to ensure that a sizeable portion of the population really desire to propose the amendment and at the same time avoid frequent changes in the fundamental law which are not conducive to political stability.

Sec. 3, Art. XVII

The Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of all its Members, call a constitutional convention, or by a majority vote of all its members, submit to the electorate the question of calling such a convention.

Method by which constitutional convention may be called.

1. Congress by two-thirds vote of all its members may call a constitutional convention; or

2. Congress by a majority vote of all its members (in case neither the ¾ nor 2/3 vote can be mustered) may toss the question to call a constitutional

Convention to the electorate in an election.

Constitutional Convention is a body assembled for the expressed purpose of framing the constitution, or revising the existing Constitution, or formulating amendments to it for the approval of the electorate.

Sec. 4, Art. XVII

Any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution under Section 1 hereof shall be valid when ratified by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite which shall be held not earlier than sixty days nor later than ninety days after approval of such amendment.

Any amendment under Sec. 2 hereof shall be valid when ratified by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite which shall be held not later than sixty days nor later than ninety days after certification by the Commission on Elections of the sufficiency of the petition.

Ratification means the direct approval by the people of the amendment to, or revision of the constitution. It is the final act to make any change in the constitution valid as part thereof.

1987 CONSTITUTION

Preamble

Q. Is preamble an integral part of the Constitution? What is the purpose of Preamble? Is it a source of substantive power?

Answer:

The Preamble is not an integral part of the Constitution. It merely serves to give an introductory statement and convey to the reader the principal objectives sought to be accomplished by the Constitution in broad-terms.

Q. What is the purpose of Preamble?

Answer: While the preamble is not an integral part of the Constitution yet its true office is to expound on the scope and nature, extent and application of the powers actually conferred by the Constitution and not to substantially create them.

It is an aid or devise to help ascertain the meaning of provisions of the Constitution when the intendment of the framers are unclear and ambiguous.

Q. Is it a source of substantive power?

Answer:

The Preamble cannot be considered as a source of substantive power unless apart from the Preamble, it is to be found in express form in the distribution of powers.

Difference between 1935 & 1987 Constitution esp. In Preamble

Q. In both the 1973 & 1987 Constitutions the Preamble starts with the declaration “we, the sovereign Filipino people,” while the 1935 Constitution started with the “The Filipino people.” What is the significance of the variance in phraseology?

Answer:

The phrase “The Filipino people” as used in the 1935 Constitution creates the first impression that the Filipinos were allowed to adopt a Constitution of their own only upon permission of a foreign master.

Article I National Territory

Territory is an area of the earth’s surface which is the subject of sovereign rights and interests. It is that definite or aliquot area of the earth’s surface within which a State exercises jurisdiction, subject to the limitations imposed by international law.

Q. What is the territory of the Philippines?

Answer: NATIONAL TERRITORY (Art. 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 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.

Q. Discuss the archipelagic doctrine

Answer: The archipelagic doctrine which is now an accepted principle of public international law means the integration of a group of islands to the sea and their oneness so

that together they constitute one unit, one country and one state.

A single base line is drawn around the islands by joining appropriate points of the outermost islands of the archipelago with straight base lines. The waters within the baselines are considered as internal waters.

Q. What are the modes of acquiring territory?

Answer:The conventional modes of acquiring territory are:

1. Discovery – it is the oldest mode of acquiring territory.

To be valid and effective, discovery must be accompanied by occupation, management and administration of the island discovered.

2. Prescription – the continued occupation of a territory for a long period of time by one state.

3. Accretion – it is a process where the land area of a State caused by the operation of either the forces of nature, or artificially, through human labor, is increased.

4. Cession – is a bilateral agreement whereby one State transfers over a definite portion of a territory to another.

5. Conquest – is the acquisition of a territory by the use of force which reduces the vanquished territory to the submission of the conquering State.

SABAH

The region came under British control in 1877 when a British trading syndicate, later called the British North Borneo (Chartered) Company, obtained concessions from the sultans of Brunei and Sulu and other rulers in the region.

The British North Borneo Company, under a royal charter granted in 1881, undertook the administration of the region.

In 1888 North Borneo was made a British protectorate, but the company retained its administrative powers until 1946, when British North Borneo was proclaimed a Crown Colony.

During World War II (1939-1945) the region was occupied by Japanese forces. When the Federation of Malaysia came into existence on September 16, 1963, British North Borneo, renamed Sabah, became a member state.

Spratly ISLANDS

Spratly Islands, group of more than 600 islets, coral reefs, sand bars, and atolls in the South China Sea. The islands are located to the northwest of Brunei, the Malaysian state of Sabah, and the Philippine island of Palawan.

Ownership of some or all of the Spratlys is disputed between China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The largest of the 12 main islets is Itu Aba, with a total area of 36 hectares (90 acres); none is permanently inhabited.

The most significant types of local wildlife are seabirds and turtles. Geological surveys indicate that the Spratlys lie atop vast oil and gas reserves, perhaps greater than any previously discovered. The islands also lie along important shipping lanes.

The Spratly Islands were controlled by France from 1933 to 1939, by Japan during World War II (1939-1945), and after the war China established a garrison on Itu Aba, which Taiwan retained following its split with mainland China in 1949.

All the competing claimants except Brunei maintain military installations on one or more of the islands. There are periodic armed clashes in the region; in 1988 more than 70 people were killed during a confrontation between China and Vietnam.

The Spratly Islands are regarded as a potential flashpoint for regional conflict, especially because China has so far resisted submitting the dispute to international courts.

Q. What is a Republican State of which the Philippines is one ordained in Section 1, Art. II of the 1987 Constitution?

Answer: A Republican is one which derives all its powers, directly or indirectly, from the great body of the people and is administered by persons holding their offices for a limited period or during good behaviour.

A republic is a representative democracy. And the essence of republicanism is popular representation and ultimate control by the people.

In other words, a republican government is one in which the powers of government are placed in the hands of persons chosen directly or indirectly by the people.

According to supreme court;

Republican State is a “government of the people, by, the people, & for the people.

Representative government wherein the powers and duties of sovereignty and are exercised and discharged for the common for the common good and general welfare.

Q. What are the characteristics of a Republican State

Characteristics of Republican State are:

1.The Existence of a Bill of rights(Art. III);

2.The observance of the rule of law; is a government of law and not of men,

4. The observance of the principle that the State cannot be sued without its consent;

5. The observance of the principle that Congress cannot pass irreparable laws;

6. The observance of the principle of separation of powers and of checks and balance.

7. The presence of election through popular will or the right of suffrage,;

8. The observance of the public officers known as administrative law.