RPH - LESSON 17

• February 1986

  Corazon Aquino became the unified opposition’s presidential candidate when Ferdinand E. Marcos unexpectedly called for presidential elections
• February 25, 1986 


  Aquino was inaugurated and proclaimed Corazon Aquino as the Philippines’ rightful president.
• March 1986 


  Aquino proclaimed a provisional constitution and soon thereafter appointed a commission to write a new constitution
• The resulting document, which restored the bicameral Congress and was ratified by a landslide popular vote in February 1987
• After considering different options, they decided to make a new constitution that according to the president herself should be truly reflective of the aspiration and ideals of the Filipino people.
• 1987 Phil. Constitution 


  took effect on February 2, 1987, which is the date of its ratification in the plebiscite held on that same date and not on the date its ratification
• constitution begins with:

  preamble and 18 self-contained articles
• constitution 


  established the Philippines as a democratic republican state where sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
• constitution 


  allocates governmental powers among the executive, legislative and the judicial branches of the government
• Preamble of 1987 Constitution

  We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a govt that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality and peace, do ordain and promulgate this constitution
• Philosophical View of the Constitution

  Constitution is a social contract
• Philosophical View of the Constitution

  It is the very basis of the decision to constitute a civil society or State, breathing life to its juridical existence, laying down the framework by which it is to be governed, enumerating and limiting its powers and declaring certain fundamental rights and principles to be inviolable.
• 1987 Constitution 


  the body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised.
• 1987 Constitution

  written instrument enacted by the direct action of the people by which the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited, and defined, and by which those powers are distributed among the several department
• Executive Branch

  President

  Vice President

  Cabinet
• Legislative Branch

  Senate

  House of Representatives
• Judicial Branch

  Supreme Court

  Regional Trial Court, Municipal Trial Court

  Special Court
• Separation of powers means:

  legislation belongs to Congress,

  execution to the executive

  settlement of legal controversies to the judiciary.
• Division and Assignment


  prevent from invading the domain of others.
• it is also to prevent the concentration of authority in one person or group of persons that might lead to irreparable error or abuse in its exercise detriment to republican institutions
• Executive Branch

  President is the chief executive and the head of the state but his power is limited by significant checks from the two other co-equal branches of government especially during times of emergency.
• Executive Branch

  In case of national emergency, the president may still declare martial law, but no longer than a period of 60 days. Congress through a majority vote can revoke this decision or extend it for a period that they determine. The Supreme Court may also review the declaration of martial law and decide if there were sufficient justifying facts for the act.
• Executive Branch

  president and the vice-president are elected at large by a direct vote, serving a single 6-year term.
• Legislative Branch

  There are 24 senators elected by large by popular vote and can serve no more than 2 consecutives 6-year terms.
• House of Representative


  composed of district representatives representing a particular their geographic area and makes up around 80% of the total number of representatives
• Judicial System 


  also called the Court System
• Judicial Branch 


  Interprets and applies laws in the name of the state
• Judicial Branch 


  Often tasked to ensure equal justice under the law
• Judicial Branch

  Consist of a court of Final Appeal called the Supreme Court or the Constitutional Court together with the lower courts.
• Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
• prime duty of the Government:

  to serve and protect the people.

  may call upon the people to defend the State and,

  in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal military or civil service
• No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws
• Restore the freedom of speech and to form an association.