I. The Philippine Constitution A. Constitution: definition ...

1 I. The Philippine Constitution A. Constitution : definition , nature and concepts Constitution is defined by Cooley as: a. a body of statutory, administrative and political provisions by which the three branches of government are defined; b. a body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised; c. a body of rules and edicts emanating from the rulings of courts and written guidelines of the executive and the legislature by which government is governed; d. a body of interpretations and rules by which the three branches of government are judged for purposes of sovereign compliance with good corporate governance. SUGGESTED ANSWER: b. Cooley, Constitutional Limitations, p.

2 4 (2012) 2014 BAR EXAMS In Serrano v. Gallant Maritime Services, Inc., 582 SCRA 254 (2009), the Supreme Court declared as violative of the Equal Protection Clause the 5th paragraph of 10 No. 8042 (Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995) for discriminating against illegally dismissed OFWs who still had more than a year to their contract compared to those who only had less than a year remaining. The next year, Congress enacted No 10222, an amendment to the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act, which practically reinstated the provision struck down in Serrano. Seamacho, an overseas seafarer who still had two years remaining on his contract when he was illegally terminated, and who would only be entitled to a maximum of six-month s pay under the reinstated provision, engages you as his counsel.

3 How are you to argue that the new law is invalid insofar as it brings back to the statute books a provision that has already been struck down by the Court? (5%). SUGGESTED ANSWER: I will argue that since Section 10 of Republic Act No. 8042 has already been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, its nullity cannot be cured by reincorporation or reenactment of the same or a similar law or provision. Once a law has been declared unconstitutional, it remains unconstitutional unless circumstances have so changed as to warrant a reverse conclusion (Sameer Overseas Placement Agency v. Cabiles, No. 170139, August 5, 2014). 2012 BAR EXAMS Congressman Sugar Oll authored a bill called House Bill No, 0056 which legalizes jueteng.

4 When the Bill became law (RA 10156), Fr. Nosu Gal, a priest, filed a petition seeking for the nullification of RA 10156 on the ground that it is unconstitutional as it violates Section 13, Article II, of the 1987 Constitution which states that "The state recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being". Fr. Gal filed the petition as a concerned citizen and as taxpayer. Does Fr. Gal have locus standi? a. No, because Fr. Gal has no personal and substantial interest that will be prejudiced by the implementation of the law; b. No, the law concerns neither citizens nor expenditure of public funds; c. Yes, because the issue is of transcendental importance; d.

5 Yes, because as priest, Fr. Gal has special interest in the well-being of the youth. SUGGESTED ANSWER: (A) Basco Vs. Philippine Amusements And Gaming Represntatives, 415 Scra 44. It Is Suggested That Either (A) Or (C) May Be Accepted As A Correct Answer B. Parts The three essential parts of a Constitution are: a. the bill of rights, governmental organization and functions, and method of amendment; b. the preamble, the bill of rights, and provisions on checks and balances; c. the national territory, the declaration of principles and state policies, and the transitory provisions; d. the executive department, the legislative department and the judiciary. SUGGESTED ANSWER: A. Nachura, Outline review in political Law, p, 3 (2012) C.

6 Amendments and revisions The constitutional provision on initiative and referendum is not self-executory. This is so because it requires: a. an implementing resolution from the COMELEC; b. an implementing resolution from the Supreme Court; c. an implementing legislation; d. an implementing resolution from the party-list representative of the House of Representatives. SUGGESTED ANSWER: C. SECTION 32, ARTCLE IV OF Constitution (2012) In an amendment to the Constitution by "initiative and referendum", the "initiative" phase is meant that the people propose the amendments. There is a valid proposal when a proposition has received the approval of: a. at least 3% of the persons of majority age of each district, and 12% of the registered voters of the region from proposal emanates; b.

7 At least 3% of the registered voters of each province and 12% of the total number of registered voters nationwide; c. at least 3% of the registered voters of each district and 12% of the total number of registered voters nationwide; d. more than 3% of the 3% of the registered voters of each district but less than 12% of the total number of registered voters nationwide. SUGGESTED ANSWER: B. SECTION 2, ARTICLE XVII OF Constitution (2012) With the passage of time, the members of the House of Representatives increased with the creation of new legislative districts and the corresponding adjustments in the number of party-list representatives. At a time when the House membership was already 290, a great number of the members decided that it was time to propose amendments to the Constitution .

8 The Senators, however, were cool to the idea. But the members of the House insisted. They accordingly convened Congress into a constituent assembly in spite of the opposition of the majority of the members of the Senate. When the votes were counted, 275 members of the House of Representatives approved the proposed amendments. Only 10 Senators supported such proposals. The proponents now claim that the proposals were validly made, since more than the required three-fourths vote of Congress has been obtained. The 14 Senators who voted against the proposals claim that the proposals needed not three-fourths vote of the entire Congress but each house. Since the required number of votes in the Senate was not obtained, then there could be no valid proposals, so argued the Senators.

9 Were the proposals validly adopted by Congress? (5%) SUGGESTED ANSWER: The proposal were not validly adopted, because the ten (10) Senators who voted in favor of the proposed amendments constituted less than three-fourths of all the Members of the Senate. Although Section 1, Article XVII of the Constitution did not expressly provide that the Senate and the House of Representatives must vote separately, when the Legislature consist of two (2) houses, the determination of one house is to be submitted to the separate determination of the other house iller v. Mardo, 2 SCRA 898 [1961]. (2014) Constituent power refers to the authority (1%) (A) of public officials to command respect (B) given to Congress to enact police power measures (C) to propose constitutional amendments or revisions (D) of the people to take back the power entrusted to those in government (E) of the President to call out the armed forces to suppress lawless violence (2014) D.

10 Self-executing and non-self-executing provisions Which one of the following is a non-self-executing provision of the Constitution : a. no law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech; b. no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion; c. no person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law; d. the state shall encourage and support researches and studies on the arts and culture. SUGGESTED ANSWER: D. SECTION 15, ARTICLE XIV OF Constitution (2012) E. General provisions II. General Considerations A. National territory 1. Archipelagic doctrine (1) A bill was introduced in the House of Representatives in order to implement faithfully the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to which the Philippines is a signatory.