WEEK 2

STATE
State is a community (social order which refers to association of individuals
who share common identity) of persons, more or less numerous, permanently
occupying a definite portion of territory, with a government of their own, in
which the great body of inhabitants render obedience and enjoying freedom
from external control. (De Leon and De Leon, 2011)

STATE VS. NATION

State and nation are not the same
- State is a political concept, nation is an ethnic concept.
- Nation is a group of people bound together by certain characteristics
such as common social origin, language, customs, and traditions who
believe they are one and distinct from others. Strictly synonymous with
‘people’.
- A state is not subject to external control while a nation may or may not
be independent of external control
- A single state may consist of one or more nations or people and
conversely, a single nation may be made up of several states.

Statehood means being recognized as an independent state.

The accepted criteria of statehood, as laid down in the Montevideo Convention

(1933), are permanent population, definite territory, a government and a
capacity to conduct international relations.
States have status in the international relations. They are responsible for the
actions taken under their name, they can go into treaties and war, they have
rights, they have defined territory and people.

ELEMENTS OF THE STATE

PEOPLE
- These are the residents of the state. They must be neither too many or
too few in order to maintain and perpetuate (preserve) the state.
Citizenship
The term denoting to the membership in a political body in which
membership implies, reciprocally, allegiance to the part of the member
and protection in the part of the state.
 Citizen
Is a person having the title of citizenship. He is a member of a
democratic country who enjoys full civil and political rights and is
accorded with the protection of the state inside and outside of its
territory.
Nationals
Embrace allegiance to the state, democratic or not, but does not
necessarily mean a citizen of the country. Nationals of the state do not
only mean the citizens but also all others who are not its citizens but
they owe allegiance to it.
All citizens are nationals but not all nationals are citizens.

Aliens
Those who are residing in, or passing through another country. They are
popularly called as Foreigners. They are not given full rights to
citizenship but are protected by the state as to his person and property.

WHO ARE THE CITIZENS OF THE PHILIPPINES?

1987 Constitution, Article IV
- Those who are citizens of the Philippines as the time of the adoption of
this constitution. (Those who are already citizens in accordance with
the 1935 constitution may retain their citizenship for the reason of
protection their citizenship status.)
- Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines. (The
child of Filipino parents or Filipino father or Filipino mother will
automatically be given Filipino citizenship.)
- Those who are born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who
elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority. (After Jan.
17, 1973, those who are born to Filipino mothers do not have elect
Filipino citizenship anymore upon reaching the age of 21, as said by the
constitution. Meaning, those who are born before that day, of Filipino
mothers, still have to elect the Filipino citizenship at 21 or else, they will
become aliens.)
- Those who are naturalized in accordance with the law. (The
naturalization processes.)

GENERAL WAYS OF ACQUIRING CITIZENSHIP

Involuntary Method: By birth, acquiring through blood relationship or place of
birth.
- Jus Sanguinis- Acquiring citizenship is in the basis of blood relationship.
The predominating principle in the PH.
- Jus Soli- Citizenship attainment is through the place of birth.
Voluntary Method: Through Naturalization (except in a case of collective
naturalization wherein territory is ceded by a state).

NATURALIZATION
- The act of formally adopting a foreigner into the political body of the
state and clothing him with the full rights and privileges of a citizen. It is
renouncing allegiance to one’s former state. 2

WAYS OF ACQUIRING CITIZENSHIP THROUGH NATURALIZATION

- By judgment of the court (An alien must apply for naturalization in the
regional trial court in accordance with the Revised Naturalization Law.)
- By direct act of congress (The congress simply enacts an act directly
conferring citizenship to an alien)
- By administrative proceedings (Administrative Naturalization Law of
2000)
- RA 9139- An Act Providing for the Acquisition of Philippine Citizenship
for Certain Aliens by Administrative Naturalization and for other
Purpose
- The Administrative Naturalization Law of 2000

LOSS OF CITIZENSHIP
Voluntarily
- By naturalizing in a foreign country
- By express renunciation of citizenship
- By subscribing to an oath of allegiance to support the constitution and
laws of a foreign country
- By rendering service to or accepting commission in the armed forces of
a foreign country

Involuntarily
- By cancellation of his certificate of naturalization by the court
 - By having been declared by competent authority, a deserter (runaway)
in the Philippine Armed Forces in times of war.

The voluntary loss or renunciation of one’s nationality is a called expatriation.

A Filipino may expatriate himself in times of war.

REACQUISITION OF LOSS CITIZENSHIP

- By naturalization
- By repatriation of deserter of the PH armed forces and women who loss
citizenship by reason of marriage to alien
- By direct act of congress

Repatriation is effected by merely the necessary oath of allegiance to the

Republic of the Philippines and registering the same in the civil property
registry.

SEC. 4. Citizens of the Philippine who marry aliens shall retain their
citizenship, unless by their act or omission they are deemed, under the
law, to have renounced it.
SEC. 5, Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest and
shall be dealt with by the law.

- The Constitution does not prohibit dual citizenship, only dual allegiance.
It arises because our laws cannot control the laws of other countries on
citizenship. The status of dual citizenship may be regulated by law
where it could lead to dual allegiance.

Dual Allegiance refers to the continued allegiance of naturalized nationals to

his motherland even if he is already a naturalized Filipino.
Dual Citizenship means possession of two citizenship, to that of his
motherland and to that of the country where he’s been naturalized. In the case
of public officers and employees, elective or appointed, may be prohibited by
the constitution to have dual citizenship.

TERRITORY
 - Refers to the total area from which the jurisdiction of the state extends.
It has four domains: Terrestrial, Fluvial, Maritime, Aerial.
(FURTHER EXPLAIN EACH DOMAIN)
Terrestrial
- Refers to the land mass, which may be integrated or dismembered
(partitioned or divided up), or partly bound by water or consist of one
whole island.
Fluvial
- A territory relating to stream and river.
Maritime
- A territory relating to sea or waterways to the sea.
Aerial

Constitutional Provisions on National territory

1. Binding Force of such provision under the international law- There is no
rule in the international law that obliges the states to define its
territorial boundaries in its constitution. In any case, territorial disputes
have to be settled according to the international law.
2. Value of Provision Defining our National Territory- Nevertheless, it is
still important to define the extent of territory of our state for the
purpose of making known to the world the areas in which we assert
ownership to avoid conflicts with other nations. International law
recognizes the supreme powers of the state within its territory.
3. Acquisition of other Territories- The definition of our territory does not
prevent the Philippines to acquire another or more territory through
any means.

Every Filipino citizen, residing in or out of the country, is still obligated to pay
taxed to the PH government for the means that he is still under the personal
jurisdiction of the state.

Archipelago- Derived from the Greek work “pelagos” which means sea or part
of the sea studded with islands or island groups.

Pending Philippine Claim to Sabah

- Please review this after you’re done reading everything.

The PH territory consists of its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains.

Included in its fluvial domains are:
 1. The Territorial Sea- It is that part of the sea extending 12 nautical miles
from the low-watermark base.
2. The Seabed- This refers to the land that holds the sea, lying beyond the
seashore, including minerals and water resources.
3. The subsoil- Everything beneath the surface soil and the seabed,
including minerals and natural resources.
4. Insular Shelves
5. Other submarine areas

Three-fold division of navigable waters

1. Internal Waters- They are part of the sea within the land territory.
Examples are rivers, streams, canals and lakes.
2. Territorial Sea- Belt of water outside and parallel to the coastline or to
the outer limit of the territorial water.
3. High or open seas- They are waters that lie seaward of the territorial sea

In territorial sea, foreign vessels have the right to an innocent pass. No state,
however, has a jurisdiction to the international waters.

- Territory follows the Latin Maxim: “cuius est solum, eius est usque ad
coelum et ad infernos.” (Whoever’s is the soil, it is his all the way to
heaven and all the way to hell.)
- This maxim guides the English Property Law into what extent are the
rights of the property owners in an immovable property or land.
- This Maxim says that everything that is right above or below one’s plot
of land is his. Meaning, his rights does not end to the land itself. In the
contemporary world, this principle is still acceptable only in a limited
form. Property Titles now only extend to the IMMEDIATE above and
below the of the land. Property owner’s rights in the space above his
land only extends to the overhanging of neighboring building, and has
no control in the flights above nor is entitled to materials deep
underneath the ground.
(EXAMPLES OF THESE MAXIMS)
- Res Communis.
A territory that belongs to no one shall remain available for all to use.
- Terra Nullius.
A territory that belongs to no one.
 - Titre de Souvarain.
A title of sovereignty, A manifestation of sovereignty. State exercising
sovereignty over a territory.

MODES OF ACQUISITION OF TERRITORIAL SOVEREIGNTY

- Occupation.
When a particular territory is not under the territory of other states, the
state can establish its sovereignty to that territory through occupation.
It is an act of establishing sovereignty of a state to a terra nullius
territory. Denmark occupied Greenland on the grounds that it can
establish it sovereignty over that territory.
- Annexation.
It means to incorporate a territory in the domain of the country.
Annexation is a unilateral act where territory is seized by one state.
German Nazi marched into Austria to annex it. They did it because they
want to unify the German-Austrian.
- Accretion.
When a territory is added mainly through natural causes to a territory
already under a jurisdiction of the state, acquisition by accretion takes
place. It is an increase (sometimes decrease) to the territory of the state.
When new islands arise within the territory of the state.
- Cession.
When a state transfers its territory to another state, acquisition by
cession takes place in favor of the later state. The losing state transfers
some of its territory to the victor state. It could be a treaty or a purchase
or the outcome of war. With Austria’s defeat in the war with Prussia and
Italy, it ceded Venice to France then France ceded Venice to Italy.
- Prescription.
It means continued occupation of the state to a territory actually and
originally belonging to another state.
- Subjugation
Acquisition of territory thru a use of force. It is often through the means
of war. The League of Nations Convention now prohibits war or the use
of force to take territory.

GOVERNMENT
- The agency of the state in which the will of the people are
formulated, expressed and recognized.
Government may be classified into two:
 - De Jure Government (Government of Law)
It is organized under the constitution of the state. Constituted or
founded in accordance with the existing constitution of the state
(according to law).
- De Facto Government (Government of Fact)
A government organized through means of revolution, secession and
occupation. Not constituted nor founded but has the general support
of the people and effective control of the territory
over which it exercises its power.
Three Kinds of De Facto Government
1. The government that gets possession and control through the voice of
majority
2. Establishment of a new independent government by the inhabitants
3. Established by military forces who invaded and occupied a territory of
the enemy

- A de facto government acquires a de jure status when it gains wide

acceptance from the people and recognition from the community of
nations.
- The revolutionary government was a de facto government that
acquired a de jure status. There was no question then that the
revolutionary government had won Constitution public acceptance
and support without any resistance whatsoever anywhere in the
Philippines and the recognition of practically all foreign
governments.

ARISTOTLE’S CLASSIFICATION OF GOVERNMENT

Legitimate Forms Rule in the INTEREST OF ALL
- Monarchy (1 ruler)
The supreme and final rule is in the authority of only one ruler, the
monarch, without a regard to the source of election or the number of
years in the tenure. This is a good form of government because the
monarch considers the people and the kingdom as his own so, he
does not have any reasons to destroy it.
a. Absolute Monarchy- Ruler rules by divine rights. A form of
government in which a single individual exercises complete
control of the state and government. It is hereditary.
 b. Constitutional Monarchy- The ruler rules in accordance with the
constitution. The monarch has only a limited power. The ability to
make and pass legislations lies in within the elected parliament.
- Aristocracy (Few Rulers)
Political power is exercised by a few privileged classes which is
known
as the aristocrats. It comes from the Greek word, Aristokratia, which
means “rule of the best”. They are considered as the best fit to rule
because of their intellectual and moral superiority.
- Polity (Many Rulers)
An organized society formulated through dissimilar yet formal
machineries of the government. An organized structure of the
government of the state. It is a portmanteau of aristocracy and
democracy. The people rule and are ruled; therefore, no class of
people monopolizes the power. Moreover, contrary to democracy
which is the rule for leadership, polity is rule for the interest of all.

Corrupt Forms Rule in the INTEREST OF SELVES

- Tyranny (One Ruler)
An autocratic (relating to a ruler with absolute power which does not
take accounts to actions) form of rule in which one individual
exercised power without any legal restraint. In modern usage,
tyranny connotes illegitimate possession or use of such power. The
monarch can also be a tyrant if he rules for selfish reasons and not
for his subjects.
- Oligarchy (Few Rulers)
A despotic (unlimited power over the people, often using it unfairly)
power exercised by a small and privileged group for corrupt and
selfish purposes. Oligarchs are wealthy, that’s why they have power.
It came from the Greek word Oligarchia, which means rule by few.
Oligarchy is associated with oppression and corruption.
- Democracy
Type of government wherein the political power is exercised by the
majority of the people. Although the democracies are much larger
now, it still remains in its true form: Our vote is our means of
exercising our rule, and any of us may choose to run for the office of
the state.
a. Direct or Pure Democracy- will of the state is formulated
directly and immediately through the people in a mass meeting or
 primary assembly rather than through the medium of delegates or
representatives chosen to act for them.
b. Indirect or Representative Democracy- will of the state is
formulated and expressed through the agency of a small and
selected body of people chosen by the people to act as their
representative.

Monarchy vs. Tyranny

- Monarchy is a government with a hereditary head of state (whether
as a figurehead or an absolute ruler) while Tyranny is a government
in which a single ruler has absolute power.

Aristocracy vs. Oligarchy

- Aristocracy and Oligarchy are both forms of the government which
are “rule by only a few people”. However, there are some key
differences. Aristocracy is the “Rule of the Best’ while Oligarchy “Rule
by Few”. Aristocrats are considered best to rule because of their
nobility- moral and intellectual superiority. Oligarchs are made up of
people who are simply more wealthy and powerful than the rest of
the population. They are often associated with oppression and
corruption.

Polity vs. Democracy

- Polity is an organizational structure of the government in which
organized societies operate though dissimilar yet formal machineries
of the government. It is also the portmanteau of aristocracy and
democracy and in which people rule and are ruled. It has the strong
support of the middle class. Meanwhile Democracy is the rule by the
people, especially as a form of government, either through pure or
representative democracy. Polity is an ideal democracy that governs
for the interest of all. Though Aristotle does not totally pronounce
democracy as a bad form of government because it also gives a
livable society, he just said that there is just a better form which is
the polity. We must also consider that Aristotle is a strong critic of
democracy.

THE STRUCTURE OF PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT

 - The Philippine Government is a Representative, Unitary and
Presidential Forms of Government.
- Representative means people elect leaders who represent them,
Unitary Government means the national and local affairs are handled
by the national government and Presidential Government means it is
headed by the President with separate yet interconnected branches,
unlike the Parliamentary, Legislative and Executive are separated.
- The Philippines is a Presidential Form of Government wherein power
is equally divided among three branches: Executive, Legislative and
Judiciary.
- Legislation (law-making) belongs to the legislative, execution (law-
enforcing) belongs to the executive and the settlement of the legal
controversies (law-interpreting) belongs to the Judiciary.
- The President is both the Head of State and the Head of Government.
- The country has three separate yet interdependent branches:
Executive (law-enforcing), Legislative (law-making) and Judiciary
(law-interpreting).
- The Executive is vested in the government and is headed by the
President.
- The Legislative is vested to both the government and the two
chambers of congress: Senate (upper chamber) and House of
Representative (lower chamber).
- The Judicial is vested in the courts with the supreme court as the
highest judicial body.

Executive Branch
- This branch has the power to administer the laws, which means
carrying them into practical operation and observing their due
observance.
- The executive power is vested only to one person, the President. He
is the Executive, not the chief Executive (1935 Charter).
- Headed by the President, who is also the Head of State, Head of
Government and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
- He is elected through a popular vote with a term of six year. He may
not run anymore unless he gains the position through constitutional
succession and has served for no more than four years as President.
- He appoints/dismisses his cabinet (members to whom he presides
over.
 - The executive seat of government is administered in the Malacanang
Palace.
- The second highest official is the Vice President. He is the first in line
in succession should the President resign, impeached or die. He is
usually, but now always, a member of the cabinet. If ever the position
of VP is vacant, the President can appoint any member of the
congress. The appointment will be validated by the ¾ votes of the
majority.

Legislative Branch
- Authorized to make laws, alter and repeal them through the power
vested in the Philippine Congress. The institution is divided into the
Senate and the House of Representatives.
- The term laws refer to the statutes which are the written enactments of
the legislature governing the relationships of the people among
themselves or between them and the government and its agencies.
- The Upper House is located in Pasay City while the Lower is located in
Quezon City.
- The Upper House has 24 senators, headed by the Senate President (Juan
Miguel Zubiri). They are elected in the national elections, 12 from the
midterm election and another 12 from the presidential election. The
senators are elected to a six-year term. They can be reelected but can no
longer run for the 3rd consecutive term. The district and sectoral
representatives are elected with a term of three years. They can be
reelected but can no longer run for the 4th consecutive term. In the
House of Representatives, there are 243 legislative districts in the
country. There are 243 representatives elected by district. In addition,
there are representatives elected through party list system who
constitute not more than 20% of the total number of the
representatives. The lower house is headed by the Speaker of the House
(Martin Romualdez).
- Each city with a population of at least 250,000 or each province shall
have at least one representative.
- This ensures that the majority vote of such members represents the
majority of people.
- Each district representative should represent their congressional
district with a population of at least 250,000.
Party-list System
 - Aim: The party-list system has been adopted in the constitution to
assure various groups and sectors of representation in the highest law-
making body of the republic.
- Selection of Sectoral Representatives: It constitutes 20% of the total
number of representatives with a ratio of 1:4 (1 party-list
representative is to 4 legislative district representatives). People do not
note for one party-list nominee but the party-list itself. The winning
parties will be entitled to number of seats depending on their received
votes. They can be entitled to not more than three seats.
- Need for Sectoral Representation: Sectoral Representation is deemed
necessary to represent the marginalized sectors in the congress. The
marginalized sectors have been, for so long, not given enough
representation. It also promotes genuine grassroot consultation.
Political Party
- Political Party is a political group considered and recognized to be a part
of the electoral process that has means to support the election
candidates on regular basis.

Judiciary Branch
- It has the power and duty to interpret and apply the laws to disputes
concerning legally recognized rights or duties.
- It holds the power to settle legal controversies.
- The Judiciary branch of the government is headed by the Supreme
Court, which has the Chief Justice as its head and 14 associate justices,
which are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the
judicial and bar council.
- Other types of court: Lower Collegiate Courts () Regular Courts and
Muslim Courts.

Classification of Courts
- Only the supreme court is the Constitutional Court.
- All other courts are statutory courts (created by laws). All of them are
lower courts, lower than the supreme court.
- Congress can abolish all the lower courts, not the SC, except the
Sandiganbayan because it is constitutionally recognized. But congress
can determine its functions and jurisdictions.

Organization of Courts
 1. Regular Courts- The Philippine judicial system consists of hierarchy of
courts resembling a pyramid with Supreme Court at the apex.
a. Court of Appeals has 69 justices headed by the presiding judge. It has
23 branches, with three judges each. It is vested to review all the final
judgements, decisions, resolutions, orders or awards of the regional
trial court and the quasi-judicial agencies.
b. Regional Trial Court is presided by 720 Regional Trial Judges, in each
of the 13 regions of the country
c. Metropolitan Trial Court in each Metropolitan Area, A Municipal Trial
Court in every city not forming part in Metropolitan Area

2. Special Courts- under present law special courts

a. The Sandiganbayan has 14 judges with the presiding judge. It has five
branches with three judges each. It is a special appellate [court that
hears and reviews the appeals of legal cases] collegiate court in the
Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases
involving graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed
by public officers and employees.
b. The Court of Tax Appeals has five judges and a presiding judge. It has
the power to review the decisions of the Internal Revenue
Commissioner involving internal revenue taxes and decisions of
customs commissioner involving customs duties.

Quasi-judicial Agencies
- Administrative Bodies under the executive branch performing quasi-
judicial functions, like the Securities and Exchange Commission,
Insurance Commission.
- Quasi-judicial functions are proceedings conducted by an administrative
or executive officials.

Constitutional Commissions
- These are the agencies of the state, as prescribed by the constitution,
that are independent from the three branches of the government.
Civil Service Commission
- Central personnel agency of the government that is responsible for the
policies, plans and programs concerning all civil service employees.
Commission on Election
- Enforces and administers all laws and regulations relative to the
conduct of elections, plebiscites, initiatives, referendums and recalls.
Commission on Audit
- Its function is to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditure
of funds and properties of the government.

DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS

- Requires that the principal institutions of the state- executive,
legislative and judiciary- should be clearly divided in order to safeguard
citizens’ liberty and guard against tyranny.
- Doctrine means a stated principle of the government policy.
- Separation of Powers is a doctrine under the constitutional law (the
body of rules that govern the operation of political communities) which
states that the major branches of the government must be separated.
This is also known as the system of checks and balance.

SYSTEMS OF CHECK AND BALANCE

- The constitution grants the separate branches the power to legislate,
execute and adjudicate, and it provides the documents which means
that each of the branches could resist the over boarding and incursion
(attack) of the other branches.

SOVEREIGNTY
- It is the supreme and absolute power of the state to command and
enforce obedience of its will from people and to have freedom from
external control.

Two Manifestation of sovereignty

1. Internal Sovereignty- means the supreme authority of the state within
its jurisdiction.
2. External Sovereignty- relates to the recognition of the other part of the
state. The state is able to carry out its activities without the sanctions of
the other states. It is also referred to as Independence.

THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF THE STATE

1. Divine Right Theory- It holds that the state is the divine creation of God
and the ruler is ordained by God to govern the people.
 2. Necessity or Force Theory- It maintains that the state must have been
created through force by some great warriors who impose their will
upon the weak.
3. Paternalistic Theory- It attributes the origin of the state to the
enlargement of family which remained under the authority of father or
mother.
4. Social Contract Theory- It asserts that the state must have been formed
by the voluntary compact among the people to form a society and a
government for their common good.

INHERENT POWERS OF THE STATE

Police Power
- For public good and welfare
- Power is vested in the legislature by the constitution to make, ordain
and establish reasonable laws, statutes (a written law passed by
legislative body), and ordinances.
- This power is based on the legal maxim “salus populi est suprema lex”
(the voice of the people is the supreme law).

Power of Eminent Domain

- It affects only our property right.
- The property forcibly taken under this power, upon payment of just
compensation, is needed for conversion to public use or purpose.
- The properties that may be subject to appropriation shall not be limited
to private properties only. Public property may also be taken given
there is a specific grant of authority.
- The courts have the power to inquire the legality of the right of eminent
domain and to determine whether or not there is a genuine necessity of
force.

Power of Taxation
- Exercised through legislature
- To impose burden upon subjects and objects within the jurisdiction, for
the purpose of raising revenues to carry out the legitimate objects of the
government.

POE-LLAMANZARES v COMELEC
Source no.1:
 - Mary Grace Natividad Contreras-Militar (petitioner) was found
abandoned as a newborn baby in Parish Church of Jaro, Iloilo by certain
Edgardo Militar on Sept. 3, 1968.
- When she was 5, she was legally adopted by celebrity couple Ronald
Allan Kelley Poe (FPJ) and Jesusa Sonora Poe (Susan Roces). She was
then named Mary Grace Natividad S. Poe-Llamanzares.
- Poe initially pursued a degree in Developmental Studies in the UP but
she continued her studies in the US in 1988.
- She immigrated to the US in 1991 with her husband, Theodore
Llamanzares.
- She became a naturalized American citizen and obtained a passport in
2001.
- In 2004, the petitioner came back to the Ph to support her father’s
presidential candidacy. However, after few months, her father died.
- In her earnest desire to be with her grieving mother, the petitioner
decided to go back to the PH for good.
- On July 7, 2006, the petitioner took her Oath of Allegiance to the
Republic of the Philippines pursuant to the Citizenship Retention and
Reacquisition Act of 2003. (RA 9225)
- The Bureau of Immigration deemed that she has reacquired her
Philippine Citizenship.
- On Oct. 6, 2010, Pres. Benigno Aquino appointed the petitioner as the
head of the MTRCB. Before assuming her post, the petitioner executed
an “Affidavit of Renunciation of Allegiance to the United States of
America and Renunciation of American Passport” on Oct. 20, 2010.
- On Oct. 2, 2012, the petitioner filed with the COMELEC her CoC for
senator for 2013 elections wherein she answered 6 years and 6 months
to the question “period of residence in the Philippines before May 13,
2013”
- The petitioner obtained the highest number of votes.

FILING OF CoC FOR PRESIDENCY

- On Oct. 15, the petitioner filed her CoC for presidency for the May 2016
elections.
- The petitioner declared that she is a natural-born citizen and her
residence in the Ph up to May 9, 2016 would be 10 years and 11 months
counting from May 24, 2005.
- The petitioner’s filing of CoC triggered a lot of filing of COMELEC cases
against her.
 - They argued that the petitioner is a foundling and claimed that the
international laws does not confer natural born status and Filipino
citizenship on foundlings.
- The petitioner also allegedly fell short of the 10-year residency
requirement of the constitution as her residence can only be counted
from July 7, 2006, when she reacquired the Philippine citizenship under
the Act.
- The COMELEC promulgated a resolution finding the petitioner’s CoC
contained material representations which are false.

- The cases relied on the fact that Poe is a foundling, that as a foundling,
she cannot reacquire the citizenship under the RA 9225 because
reacquisition only applies to natural-born citizens.

THE MAIN ISSUES

1. Whether Grace Poe-Llamanzares is a natural-born filipino citizen since
foundlings are not mentioned in the enumeration of citizens under the
1935 constitution, they then cannot be citizens.
2. Whether or not the petitioner’s repatriation in July 2006 under the
provisions RA no. 9225 did not result in the reacquisition of natural-
born citizenship?

HELD
1. (YES). To deny citizenship to all foundlings and declare them stateless
just because they may be a chance than one among the thousand
foundlings is a child of foreigners is downright discriminatory.
That a person with a typical Filipino feature in a municipality where the
population of the Philippines is overwhelmingly Filipinos such that
there would be a 99% chance that a child born in that municipality is a
Filipino, would indicate that the petitioner’s parents are Filipinos.
a. From 1965 to 1975, the total number of foreigners born in the Ph is
15,986 while the total number of Filipinos born in the Ph is
15,558,278. The ration of non-Filipino children is 1:661. That
indicates that any child born within that decade would be a natural-
born Filipino has a statistical probability of 99.83%.
b. She also has the typical Filipino features: height, flat nose, straight
black hair, almond-shaped eyes and an oval face.
 As a matter of law, foundlings are as a class, natural-born citizens.
While the 1935’s constitution’s enumeration is silent as to
foundlings, there is no restrictive language which would definitely
exclude foundlings either.
2. (NO). In the seminal case of Bengson III v. House of Representatives
Electoral Tribunal, repatriations result in the recovery of the original
citizenship. A naturalized Filipino may gain back his naturalized
citizenship, a natural-born citizen will be restored of his former status
as natural-born Filipino. The COMELEC construed the phrase “from
birth” in the definition of natural citizens implying that “the natural-
born citizens must begin at birth and remain uninterrupted from birth”.
Congress saw it fit to decree that natural-born citizenship may be
reacquired even if it had been lost. It is not for the COMELEC to disagree
with the Congress’ determination.

DISPOSITIVE PROPORTION
1. Dated Dec. 1, 2015 rendered through the COMELEC second division,
entitled Estrella Elamparo, petitioner, vs. Mary Grace Natividad Sonora
Poe-Llamanzares, respondent, stating that:
The CoC for President of the Republic of the Philippines in the May 9,
2016 elections filed by the respondent is hereby granted.
2. Dated Dec. 11, 2015, rendered through the COMELEC First Division, in
the consolidated cases: Francisco S. Tatad vs. Mary Grace Natividad
Sonora Poe-Llamanzares, Antonio P. Contreras vs. Mary Grace Natividad
Sonora Poe-Llamanzares, and Amado D. Valdez vs. Mary Grace
Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares.
Wherefore, the commissions resolved to grant the petitions and cancel
the CoC of Mary Grace Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares for the
elective position of President in connection with the May 9, 2016
elections.
3. Dated Dec. 23, 2015 of the COMELEC En Banc, upholding the Dec. 1,
2015 resolution of the COMELEC 2nd division stating that:
It denies the motion for reconsideration of senator Mary Grace
Natividad Sonora Poe-Llamanzares. The resolution dated Dec. 11, 2015
of the 1st division is affirmed.
4. Dated Dec. 23, 2015, the decision of the COMELEC En Banc, upholding
the Dec. 11, 2015 resolution of the 1st division
 Are hereby annulled and set aside. Petitioner Mary Grace Natividad
Sonora Poe-Llamanzares is declared qualified to be a candidate for
President in the National and Local Elections of May 9, 2016.

Source no.2: [Link]

- Issue: Whether or not Mary Grace Natividad Poe-Llamanzares is a
Filipino citizen and if she is qualified to run for presidency.
- Ruling: Mary Grace Natividad Poe-Llamanzares has found to be a
natural-born citizen and is declared to be qualified to run for
presidency.
- Held: Under the International Law, foundlings are presumed to have
been born as citizens of the place where they are found; the petitioner is
considered as a natural-born citizen of the Philippines.

Accumulated Sources
- On Oct. 15, the petitioner filed her CoC for presidency for the May 2016
elections.
- The petitioner declared that she is a natural-born citizen and her
residence in the Ph up to May 9, 2016 would be 10 years and 11 months
counting from May 24, 2005.
- The petitioner’s filing of CoC triggered a lot of filing of COMELEC cases
against her.
- They argued that the petitioner is a foundling and claimed that the
international laws does not confer natural born status and Filipino
citizenship on foundlings.
- The petitioner also allegedly fell short of the 10-year residency
requirement of the constitution as her residence can only be counted
from July 7, 2006, when she reacquired the Philippine citizenship under
the Act.
- The COMELEC promulgated a resolution finding the petitioner’s CoC
contained material representations which are false.

- The cases relied on the fact that Poe is a foundling, that as a foundling,
she cannot reacquire the citizenship under the RA 9225 because
reacquisition only applies to natural-born citizens.

Bases for Certiorari

 - Estrella Elamparo filed a petition to cancel Poe’s CoC on the grounds
that she is not a natural-born citizen. Raffled to COMELEC 2nd division.
- Francisco Tatad, Contreras and Valdez filed before the COMELEC
seeking to disqualify Poe on the grounds that she lacked requisite
residency and citizenship to run for President. Tatad theorized that
since we only adhere to Jus Sanguinis and foundlings have unknown
parentage, foundlings cannot be considered as natural-born citizens.
Raffled to COMELEC 1st division.
-
- Issue no.1: Whether or not Grace Poe is a natural born citizen
considering she’s a foundling.
- Issue no.2: Whether or not Grace Poe satisfies the 10-year residency
requirement
- COMELEC En Banc denied her candidacy because she is in want of
citizenship and residence requirements and that she committed
misinterpretation in her CoC.
- On CERTIORARI, the Supreme Court reversed the ruling and held a vote
of 9-6 that Poe is qualified to run as President.
- YES, POE-LLAMANZARES is considerably a natural-born citizen and she
satisfied the constitutional requirement that only natural-born Filipinos
can run for presidency.
HELD
Citizenship Issue
1. Basing on the legal suggestion of the Solicitor General who offered
official statistics from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), there is a
high probability that Poe’s biological parents are Filipinos as being
shown in her physical features, aside from the fact that she was found in
Jaro, Iloilo where 99% of the population are Filipinos, consequently
providing the fact that the probability of her parents being Filipinos is at
high 99%.
2. The Supreme Court pronounced foundlings as natural-born citizens as
based on the deliberation of the 1935 Constitutional Convention,
wherein though foundlings are not enumerated, there is no restrictive
language to exclude foundlings from citizenship either. In examining the
intent of the constitution framers, the provisions contradict an intent to
discriminate foundlings on account of their unfortunate status.
3. Foundlings are automatically conferred with natural-born citizenship
status as to the country where they are being found, as covered and
 supported by the UN Convention Law. Under the 1987 constitution,
international laws can become part of the domestic law.
Universal Declaration of Human Right (UDHR), UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and International Convention on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR).
The common thread between UDHR, UNCRC and ICCPR is to obligate the
Philippines to grant nationality from birth and ensure that no child is
stateless. This grant of nationality must be at the time of birth.
Moreover, according to the Hague Convention, the child whose both
parents are unknown shall have the nationality of birth place.
4. More legislations such as RA no. 8043 or the Inter-country Adoption Act
and the RA no. 8552 or the Domestic Adoption Act of 1998 all expressly
refer to Filipino Children and include foundlings as among Filipino
children who may be adopted.

Residency Issue
5. On the issue of residency, Poe satisfied the 10-year residency because
she satisfied the requirements of ANIMUS MANENDI (intent to remain
permanently) coupled with ANIMUS NON REVERTENDI (intent of not
returning to US) in acquiring domicile in the PH. Starting May 24, 2005,
upon returning to the PH, Grace Poe presented overwhelming evidence
of her actual stay and intent to abandon her domicile in US.
In sum, the COMELEC virtually ignored a good number of evidences dates all
of which evince anumis manendi and animus non revertendi.

Hence, her candidacy for Presidency was granted by the SC.

Basic Minimum Qualifications to Run for Presidency

1. He is a natural-born Filipino
2. He is a registered voter
3. He is able to read and write
4. He is at least 40 years of age on the day of the election for President and;
5. He is a resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately
preceding such election.
 NOTES

(PSM 1 WEEK 2 NOTES, DE LEON AND DE LEON)

PRINCIPLES OF SEPARATION OF POWERS

Presidential System
- Separation of Powers is a doctrine under the constitutional law (the
body of rules that govern the operation of political communities) which
states that the major branches of the government must be separated.
This is also known as the system of checks and balance.
- Under the principle of co-equal and coordinate powers, if one
department goes beyond the limits set by the constitution, it’s nullified
and voided.
- The adoption of this principle was motivated by the belief that arbitrary
rule will result if the same person or body were to exercise all the
powers of the government.
- The accumulation of all powers to just one person is a display of
tyrannical and despotic governments.

Principles of Checks and Balances

- The constitution grants the separate branches the power to legislate,
execute and adjudicate, and it provides the documents which means
that each of the branches could resist the over boarding and incursion
(attack) of the other branches.
- Constitutional provisions authorize the checking by one department to
the affairs of the other.
- The systems of checks and balance is also observed along with the
doctrine of separation of powers to make the presidential system
workable.
- To maintain the equality in the government, each branch is given the
powers with to check the others.
a. Checks by the President- The president may veto or disapprove the
bills enacted by the congress and through pardoning power, the
President can set aside the judgments of the courts.
b. Checks by Congress- Congress may override the veto of the
president, reject certain appointments of the president, revoke the
 proclamation of martial law, and amend or revoke the decisions of
the court.
It also has the power to define, prescribe and apportion the
jurisdiction of the various courts, determine the salaries of the
President and Vice President, the members of the supreme court and
judges of the lower court and impeach the President and the
members of the supreme court.
c. Checks by the Judiciary- The judiciary, with the supreme court as the
final arbiter, may declare legislative measures or executive acts as
unconstitutional.

INHERENT POWERS OF THE STATE (P166)

- The totality of governmental power is contained in the three great
powers- power of eminent domain, police power, and power of taxation.

Power of Eminent Domain

- Eminent domain is the right and power of the state to take properties
for public use and purpose upon paying the owner a just compensation
to be ascertained according to the law.
Conditions upon its exercise
1. Existence of public use- public use may be identified with public health,
public benefit or public advantage.
2. Payment of just compensation- Under the Local Government Code, the
amount to be paid to the owner must be determined by the court based
on fair market value. The owner may contest in the court the value
determined by the assessor.
3. Observance of due process of law in the taking- Procedural due process
provides that the owner shall have due notice and hearing in the
expropriation proceedings.
Meaning of Taking
1. Actual physical seizure not essential- refers not only to physical seizure
but also to its destruction or impairment, limiting of actual use.
2. The taking must be direct- The constitution does not require
compensation to the property losses incidental to the exercise of
governmental functions.

Police Power
 - Police power has been referred to as the power of the state to enact
such laws or regulations in relation to persons and property as may
promote public health, public morals, public safety and the general
welfare and convenience of people.
- Based on latin maxim (salus populi est suprema lex) – the voice of the
people is the supreme law.
- (Sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas)- so use your own as not to
injure another’s property.
Illustration of police powers
1. Public Health- Those regulating the medical field and profession.
2. Public Morals- Those punishing prostitution, prohibiting gambling
3. Public Safety- Those requiring a license for the right to drive and such
4. General Welfare and Convenience of People- Those requiring
compulsory registration of lands, regulating prices of commodities and
rents of house.

Power of Taxation
- Taxation is the power of the state to impose charge or burden upon
persons, property or property rights, for the use and support of the
government and to enable it to discharge it appropriate functions.
Theory and Basis of Taxation
- The power of taxation proceeds upon the theory that the existence of
government is necessary that it cannot continue without means to pay
its expenses, it means it has the right to compel its citizens and property
to contribute.
- The basis of taxation is found in the reciprocal duties of protection and
support between the state and its inhabitants.

Taxes
- A compulsory contribution to the state, levied by the government on
workers’ income and business profit, for the use and support of
governmental functions.

BIERSTEKER CHANGING CONCEPT OF SOVEREIGNTY

Implications of the Changing Meanings of Core Concepts for the Analysis
of International Relations
- The changing meaning of the core concepts of sovereignty should make
us be aware of the limitations of generalizations about the state or the
state system.
 - It is important that we give attention to how and when the meanings of
our core concepts are undergoing important changes. We should not
assume uniformity across the long expanses of time.
- Changes in the meaning of core concepts should also redirect our focus
to an analysis of the practices that produce different forms of state,
states of sovereign and conceptions of territoriality.
The Westphalian Ideal of State Sovereignty
- State claiming absolute authority over wide ranges of issues, national
identity is unproblematic, and boundaries are clear and unambiguous-
was far from the actual meaning of sovereignty in the final decades of
the 20th century.
- The criteria employed by states to recognized other states have changes
over time.
- Contrary to the Westphalian Ideal of State Sovereignty, some have
concluded that sovereignty’s central role as an organizing principle is
essentially undiminished.
- It is helpful to begin with a conception of sovereignty as a social
construct. Social construction leads identity with practice and
sovereignty is an inherently social concept.
- Sovereignty entails the external recognition by states of claims of final
authority made by other states.
- The authority claims made by state vary from one issue area to another
and are not fixed over time- the key to understanding the changing
meaning and forms of sovereignty.
- To come to terms with the changing meaning to sovereignty is to focus
on variation in claims of authority themselves.
- Authority is referred to as the formal power. Legitimacy implies that
there is some form of consent or recognition of authority among the
governed.
- Sovereignty is variable in its meaning because the range of issues over
which territory is claimed is not fixed in space and time.
- Authority claims and their recognition by others vary, and this variance
determines the change in the meaning of the sovereignty itself.
- The internal and external dimensions of sovereignty. The internal
dimension refers authority to the territory and recognition of authority
by the people. External dimension refers to the recognition of the other
states. The distinction between internal and external dimensions of
sovereignty can be adapted to this argument about the nature of
sovereignty.
 - The range of authority internally have changed as well as the range of
claims that are externally recognized as legitimate.
- There has been significant dispersal in the location of the authority in
the global system in the recent years.
- The state is no longer the predominant location of authority as it faces
challenges from the other locations.
- In some cases, the state can no longer claim authority and it is no longer
externally recognized as possessing authority.
- A principle in the international law in which states have jurisdiction
over its territory.

Three Types of Challenges to Traditional State Authority Claims

Ceding Claims of Final Authority (Ceding is Give Up)
- The state may cut back the range of claims of final authority they make.
Individual states of the European Union are a good example of reducing
claims of authority.
- Other international institutions have also been ceded some legitimate
authority. Example, UN sanctioned humanitarian interventions in a
growing number of instances.
- There has also been an increase in the extent and apparent acceptability
of conditionality by International Financial Institutions. Example:
International Monetary Fund’s demands form institutional reform
during the Asian financial crisis and its criticism to the military
spending of its members countries.
- Issues that were once inside the realm of state responsibility have been
delegated to outside institutions.

Changing Norms of External Recognition of Authority Claims

- There have been important changes in the external recognition, both by
other states and international institutions.
- States are no longer recognized as the final authority in the issue of
human rights of individual or groups located in their domain.
- There have been also important changes in the norms of recognition for
new states.
- Before, the external recognition of new state was associated with
meeting the requirements of the internal sovereignty (physical control
over territorial space, acceptance by the subject population, etc).
 - Now, recognition of new states also comes with the requirement of
treatment of the rights of the minority groups and even the
management of the economy.
- Some international institutions have withdrawn its recognition to other
states in the grounds that they commit human rights abuses and they
also disregard other aspects of the lives of private individuals.
- The emergence of third-party human rights law has extended the range
of international law like the racial discrimination.

Emergence of Competing Locations of Authority

- Competing claims of authority have started to emerge from non-state
actors in the world system: from individuals, from firms, from NGO’s.
from private organizations and markets.
- Individuals have now the rights to challenge the authority of the state
and the international institutions.
- In the case of European court, individuals have the right to appeal to
supranational institutions with jurisdiction over states.
- Transnational issue networks have increasingly begun to constraint the
actions of the middle powers.
- Traditional state claims over sovereignty are now challenged with the
legitimate authorities in the international system.
- The weight of global public opinion is such that state have to be
increasingly concerned about the reaction of the other states to avoid
being a Pariah state to be able to join the international community.

Globalization
- Globalization of finance and emergence of integrated global financial
markets have increasingly begun to discipline all the states.
- Emerging world financial market is a network integrated through
electronic information system. This network has become a location of
authority in the economic world, with an ability to reward or discipline
countries.

Conclusion
- Each of these broad sets of practices, the ceding of final authority, the
change of internal recognition of final authority and the emergence of
competing locations of final authority- are important changes in the
 meaning of sovereignty. These could lead to a situation in which the
authority claims of state may become shallow.
- The indivisibility of the concept of the state sovereignty may well
remain, but its operational significance becomes increasingly empty.
-