3. Definition of Government
“Government” has been defined as that
institution or collection of institutions through
which a sovereign society makes and
implements law which enable men to live with
each other or which are imposed upon the
people forming the society by those who have
the authority of prescribing them.
4. Definition of “Government of the
Republic of the Philippines.”
Under Section 2(1) of the Administrative Code of the
Philippines, the “Government of the Republic of the
Philippines” is defined as “the corporate governmental entity
through which the functions of government are exercised
throughout the Philippines, including, save as the contrary
appears from the context, the various arms through which
political authority is made effective in the Philippines, whether
pertaining to the autonomous regions, the provincial, city,
municipal, or barangay subdivisions, or other forms of local
government.” In other words, it refers to the corporate
institution which acts as an instrument through which the
people exercise their sovereignty. It is composed of the central
or national government and local government units.
5. Overview of the Structure of
the Philippine Government.
As provided in Article II of the Constitution,
the Philippine Government is democratic and
republican. It follows the separation of powers,
so that as provided in Articles VI, VII and VIII, it
divides itself into three branches:
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
6. Overview of the Structure of
the Philippine Government.
Although these branches have their own
particular powers and functions, they form only
one coherent government with a common
purpose.
7. Overview of the Structure of
the Philippine Government.
Independent Constitutional Commissions
were also created as constitutional safeguards for
the other aspects of governance in the
Philippines, such as audit of public funds,
conduct of elections, and maintenance of civil
service. The intricacies of Philippine bureaucracy
are laid down in the Constitution of Government.
8. The Doctrine of Separation of
Powers entails:
First, the division of the powers of the
government into three, which are legislative,
executive, and judicial; and
9. The Doctrine of Separation of
Powers entails:
Second, the distribution of these powers to
the three major branches of the government,
which are the Legislative Department, Executive
Department, and the Judicial Department.
10. The Doctrine of Separation of
Powers entails:
Basically, it means that the Legislative
Department is generally limited to the enactment of
the law and not to implementation or interpretation
of the same; the Executive Department is generally
limited to the implementation of the law and not to
the enactment or interpretation of the same; and the
Judicial Department is generally limited to the
interpretation and application of laws in specific
cases and not to the making or implementation of
the same.
12. Purpose of the Doctrine
Separation of powers is said to be an attribute of
republicanism, in that, among other reasons, it seeks
to prevent monopoly or concentration of power to one
person or group of persons, and thereby forestalls
dictatorship or despotism. Sovereignty resides in the
people, and it should remain that way. Government
officials, who are the representatives of the people,
must exercise the powers of their office in the interest
of the public. While representational exercise of power
brings out the essence of republicanism, too much
concentration of power rips it apart, as were
experienced in some administrations.
13. Separation not Exclusive
Important to understand is the meaning of
“separation” not as exclusivity but as
“collaboration.” While each of the Departments
exercises its respective power, it does so in
collaboration with the other Departments
because in the end they all belong to one unified
government with a common purpose.
14. Separation not Exclusive
Appointment, for example, of Members of the
Supreme Court by the President must be upon
the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar
Council. In here before the President, who
belongs to the executive branch, appoint a
Supreme Court justice, a recommendation must
first be given to him by the JBC, which is an
independent body in the judiciary.
15. Separation not Exclusive
Another example would be the use of public
funds. In here, the President prepares the budget,
on the basis of which the Congress enacts an
appropriations bill which will then be submitted
and approved by the President.
16. Checks and Balances
Under the doctrine, there is no absolute separation of
the three branches of the government, but to maintain
their coequality each department checks the power of the
others. Generally, the departments cannot encroach
each others’ power, but constitutional mechanisms allow
each one of them to perform acts that would check the
power of others to prevent monopoly, concentration, and
abuse of power.
17. Checks and Balances
For example, the Judicial and Bar Council
recommends nominees to the President so that
the latter will not capriciously appoint someone
whom he can easily convert into a puppet and
thereby become his medium to control the
judiciary.
18. Checks and Balances
In the same way, the disbursement of public
funds cannot depend solely upon the discretion of
the President, but must be based on legislation
by the Congress.
19. Legislative Power
The word “legislative” is derived from the
Latin “lex” which means “law.”
In general, legislative power refers to the
power to make and unmake laws.
20. Legislative Power
Laws are rules or collection of rules, whether
written or unwritten, prescribed under the
authority of a political society for the common
good.
The “Legislative Department” (Legislature) is the
law-making branch of the government.
21. Delegation to the Congress
Fundamentally, legislative power is an
attribute of sovereignty, in that the
Constitution itself, the fundamental law of the
State, is a legislation of the sovereign people.
22. Delegation to the Congress
However, through the Constitution, the people
“delegated” the legislative power to the
Congress of the Philippines.
23. Delegation to the Congress
Section 1, Article VI states that “Legislative
power shall be vested in the Congress of the
Philippines…” The delegation of power entails
a surrender of authority to the representatives,
or in the case of legislative power, to the
Congress. Thus, law-making can only be
performed by the Congress, even if the law it
enacts involves the people.
24. Reservation to the People
The Constitution, however, makes a reservation as
to the delegation, in that it explicitly states: “…
except to the extent reserved to the people by the
provision on initiative and referendum.” In other
words, there is no complete delegation of law-
making power to the Congress, as the power is
reserved to the people in cases of initiative and
referendum.
25. Reservation to the People
Thus, laws are made or unmade, first, by the
Congress in the form of “statutes,” and second,
by the people in initiatives and referendums;
Legislative power per se is exercised by the
Congress and the sovereign Filipino people.
26. Legislative Power as Exercised
by Congress
(a) Power of Appropriation
Section 29 (1), Article VI speaks of the power to appropriate.
It states, “No money shall be paid out of the Treasury except
in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.”
27. Legislative Power as Exercised
by Congress
Appropriation means the authorization by law for the use
of a certain sum of the public funds. An appropriations
law is necessary before public funds may be spent by the
government for its projects. The government needs money
in all its activities and projects so that the power of
appropriation, also known as the “power of the purse,” is
said to be one of the most important prerogatives of the
Congress.
28. Legislative Power as Exercised
by Congress
(b) Power of Taxation
The power, which is one of the inherent powers of the state, is
generally exercised by the legislative department. The
Constitution limits such power as follows: “The rule of
taxation shall be uniform and equitable. The Congress shall
evolve a progressive system of taxation.” Taxation must be
uniform, equitable, and progressive. Any law passed by the
Congress contrary to this provision is null and void.
29. Legislative Power as Exercised
by Congress
(c) Power of Concurrence
Section 21, Article VII states that “no treaty or international
agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by
at least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.” This
refers to the power of concurrence of the Congress in which
no treaty can become binding and effective as a domestic law
without the two-thirds concurrence of the Members of the
Senate.
30. Non-Delegation of Powers
The Congress cannot further delegate the power
delegated to it by the people. This is in keeping
with the principle of non-delegation of powers
which is applicable to all the three branches of
the government. The rule states that what has
been delegated cannot further be delegated –
potestas delegata non delegari potest.
31. Non-Delegation of Powers
A delegated power must be discharged directly by the
delegate and not through the delegate’s agent. It is
basically an ethical principle which requires direct
performance by the delegate of an entrusted power.
Further delegation therefore constitutes violation of the
trust reposed by the delegator on the delegate. The
people, through the Constitution, delegated lawmaking
powers to the Congress, and as such, it cannot as a rule
delegate further the same to another.
32. Non-Delegation of Powers -
Exceptions
In order to address the numerous and
complex demands of legislative function, the
Constitution provides exceptions to the rule.
Further delegation is permitted in the
following cases:
33. Non-Delegation of Powers -
Exceptions
(a) Delegation to the people at large.
The Congress further delegates its
legislative power by allowing direct
legislation by the people in cases of
initiative and referendum;
34. Non-Delegation of Powers -
Exceptions
(b) Delegation of emergency powers to the President.
Section 23 (2), Article VI of the Constitution states that
“in times of war or other national emergency, the
Congress may, by law, authorize the President, for a
limited period and subject to such restrictions as it may
prescribe, to exercise powers necessary and proper to
carry out a declared national policy.” Emergency powers
are delegated to the President by the Congress to
effectively solve the problems caused by war or other
crisis which the Congress could not otherwise solve with
more dispatch than the President;
35. Non-Delegation of Powers -
Exceptions
(c) Delegation of tariff powers to the President.
Section 28 (2), Article VI of the Constitution states that “the
Congress may, by law, authorize the President to fix within
specified limits, and subject to such limitations and
restrictions as it may impose, tariff rates, import and export
quotas, tonnage and wharfage dues, and other duties or
imposts within the framework of the national development
program of the Government.” Tariff powers are delegated to
the President by the Congress to efficiently and speedily solve
economic problems posed by foreign trade which the
Congress could not otherwise address with more dispatch
than the President;
36. Non-Delegation of Powers -
Exceptions
(d) Delegation to administrative bodies.
The Congress delegates the so called “power of
subordinate legislation” to administrative
bodies.
37. Non-Delegation of Powers -
Exceptions
(d) Delegation to administrative bodies.
Due to the growing complexity of modern
society, it has become necessary to allow
specialized administrative bodies to promulgate
supplementary rules, so that they can deal with
technical problems with more expertise and
dispatch than the Congress or the courts.
38. Non-Delegation of Powers -
Exceptions
(d) Delegation to administrative bodies.
Regulations or supplementary rules passed by the
administrative bodies are intended to fill-in the gaps and
provide details to what is otherwise a broad statute
passed by Congress. For the rules and regulations to be
valid and binding, they must be in accordance with the
statute on which they are based, complete in
themselves, and fix sufficient standards. If any of the
requirements is not satisfied, the regulation will not be
allowed to affect private rights; and
39. Non-Delegation of Powers -
Exceptions
(e) Delegation to the local governments.
This delegation is based on the principle that
the local government is in better position than
the national government to act on purely local
concerns. Legislative power is therefore given
to them for effective local legislation.
40. Restrictions and
Disqualifications
1. Conflict of Interest.
The Constitution demands transparency in the
Congress, particularly in the financial and
business interests of its members, in order for
the legislature to be aware of a “potential
conflict of interest.”
41. Restrictions and
Disqualifications
Potential conflict of interest happens when a
legislator derives financial advantage from a law
which he legislates or was legislated during his
term and the body was not notified of such conflict.
It constitutes betrayal of public trust in that the
personal interest of the legislator is placed over
that of the public. Note however that the legislator
can still propose a law even if there is a potential
conflict of interest for as long as he has notified the
body about it. The purpose therefore of this
requirement is to allow the House to better
examine the legislation vis-à-vis the legislator.
42. Restrictions and
Disqualifications
2. Incompatible Office.
In keeping with doctrine of separation of powers,
the Constitution provides that “no Senator or
Member of the House of Representatives may hold
any other office or employment in the Government,
or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality
thereof, including government-owned or controlled
corporations or their subsidiaries, during his term
without forfeiting his seat.”
43. Restrictions and
Disqualifications
This disqualification refers to the “incompatible
office” which is any other office in the government
that if held by a member of the Congress would
result to the forfeiture of his seat in the Congress.
The provision allows a member to hold an
incompatible office but the result is the automatic
forfeiture of his seat. For example, if during the
term of Senator Pedro he becomes the head of a
government-owned and controlled corporation, he
will no longer be Senator because of the automatic
forfeiture, the GOCC being an incompatible office.
44. Restrictions and
Disqualifications
3. Forbidden Office.
Another disqualification involves the so-called
“forbidden offices” or offices which have been
created or the emoluments of which were increased
while the legislator was a member of the Congress.
The purpose of this disqualification is to prevent
legislators to create an office or to increase its
emoluments for personal gain.
45. Restrictions and
Disqualifications
Pursuant to this disqualification, a Senator,
for example, cannot be appointed to a civil or
military office which was created while he was
still a senator. The disqualification lasts for
the entire six-year term even if the member
resigns before the end of his term.
46. Independent Bodies
Electoral Tribunal
To ensure fairness and impartiality in deciding
election contests involving members of the
Congress, each House in the Congress shall have
an Electoral Tribunal.
Each Electoral Tribunal shall be the sole judge of
all contests relating to the election, returns, and
qualifications of their respective Members.
47. Independent Bodies
Each shall be composed of nine members, three
are Justices of the Supreme Court, and six are
members of the Senate or the House of
Representatives, as the case may be. The
Chairman shall be the senior Justice. While the
member Justices are designated by the Chief
Justice of the Supreme Court, the six other
legislator members are chosen on the basis of
proportional representation from political parties
and party-list organizations (duly registered under
the party-list system) in the Congress.
48. Independent Bodies
Thus, if there is an election contest, for
instance, involving the qualifications of
Congressman Juan, the case shall be decided
by the House of Representatives Electoral
Tribunal which is the sole judge of election
contests involving the Members of the House
of Representatives.
49. Independent Bodies
Commission on Appointments
Another independent body in the Congress is
the Commission on Appointments which was
created to check the appointing power of the
President, specifically in appointments to
importance offices in the government.
50. Independent Bodies
It consists of twenty five members: the Senate
President, as ex officio Chairman, twelve
Senators, and twelve Members of the House of
Representatives. The Senators and Members of
the House are elected by their respective
Houses based on proportional representation
from the political parties and party-list
organizations (duly registered under the party-
list system) in the Congress.
51. Independent Bodies
The function of the Commission is to approve
or disapprove the nominations submitted to it
by the President to appointments that require
its approval. For example, before a Cabinet
Member may be appointed, the President must
first submit his nomination for approval to the
Commission on Appointments. With the
approval, there could be no appointment.
52. Non-legislative and other
Powers of Congress
1.) Power to Declare the Existence of War
Section 23 (1), Article VI states that “the
Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of both
Houses in joint session assembled, voting
separately, shall have the sole power to
declare the existence of a state of war.”
53. Non-legislative and other
Powers of Congress
This means that when the Philippines is under
attack by foreign invaders, the Congress by
means of enacting a law, affirms that the
Philippines is already at war with the enemy.
War is not solely controlled by the President
who is the commander in chief of the military;
it is likewise controlled by the legislature
because it has power over the money used in
the war.
54. Non-legislative and other
Powers of Congress
2.) Legislative Inquiries
The Congress also conducts legislative inquiries
which power is necessarily implied in its power to
legislate. Legislative inquiry is a process held in the
Congress especially conducted to compulsorily
obtain requisite information from witnesses in aid
of legislation. The process and the requite
information taken are necessary to legislate wisely
and effectively.
55. Non-legislative and other
Powers of Congress
The Constitution provides limitations, to wit:
(1) the inquiries must be in aid of legislation;
(2) it must be in accordance with the duly
published rules of procedure of the Congress;
and (3) the rights of persons appearing shall
be respected.
56. Non-legislative and other
Powers of Congress
3.) Question Hour
Inquiries may also be conducted to obtain
information from the heads of departments on
matters pertaining to how laws are
implemented. This is called the question hour.
57. Non-legislative and other
Powers of Congress
The manner of obtaining information,
however, is not compulsory because of the
doctrine of separation of powers. The heads of
the departments are alter egos of the
President; to maintain the co-equality of the
executive and legislative branch, either House
of Congress may only request for the
appearance of the department heads.
58. Non-legislative and other
Powers of Congress
Conversely, the department heads may appear but
the Congress is not obliged to hear them. Question
hour is different from legislative inquiry in that
appearance in the former is not compulsory, while
appearance in the latter is compulsory; information
derived in the former is in exercise of “oversight
functions,” while informative derived in the latter is
in aid of legislation; and the former is not among
the traditional processes of a presidential
government, while the latter is an inherent
legislative power under a presidential government.
