Article VII, Philippine Constitution

Qualification of President and Vice-President1. Natural-born citizen of thePhilippines2. Registered voter3. Able to read and write4. At least forty (40) years of age onthe day of the election5. Resident of the Philippines for atleast ten (10) years immediatelypreceding such election

Election (Art. VII, Sec. 4)

Direct Voting a. Regular – second Monday of May every six years b. Special- in cases of i. Death, permanent disability, removal from office or resignation of both the President and the Vice President ii. Vacancies occur more than eighteen months before the next regular presidential election; iii. Law passed by Congress calling for a special election to elect a President and a Vice President to be held not earlier than 45 days nor later than 60 days from the time of such call. (Art. VII, Sec.10)

Election by Congress

in case of a tie, the President and Vice-President shall be chosen by a vote of a majority of all the members of Congress in session assembled. (Art. VII, Sec. 4[5])

Term of Office (Art. VII, Sec. 4)

TERM OF OFFICEPeriod, duration or length of time during which

an officer may claim to hold the office as of right, and fixes the interval after which the several incumbents shall succeed one another

Fixed by lawTENURE OF OFFICEPeriod during which the incumbent actually holds

the officeNot fixed; maybe shorter for reasons within or

beyond the power of the incumbent

Term of President and Vice-President is six (6) years to

commence at noon on the 30th day of June following the day of the election and shall end at noon of the same date six (6) years thereafter. (Art. VII, Sec. 4[1])

POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

EXECUTIVE POWER – power to enforce and administer laws.

Different Powers of the President1. Appointment Power (Art. VII, Sec.16)2. Removal Power (implied from thepower to appoint)3. Control Power (Art. VII, Sec. 17)4. Take-Care Clause (Art. VII, Sec. 17,2nd sentence)5. Military Power (Art. VII, Sec. 18)6. Pardoning Power (Art. VII, Sec. 19)

7. Borrowing Power (Art. VII, Sec. 20)8. Diplomatic Power (Art. VII, Sec. 21)9. Budgetary Power (Art. VII, Sec. 22)10. Informing Power (Art. VII, Sec. 23)11. Residual Powers

Other Powersa. Call Congress to a special session(Art. VI, Sec.

15)b. Approve or veto bills (Art. VI,Sec. 27)c. Deport aliens (Qua Chee Gan v. The Deportation

Board, G.R. No. L-10280, September 30, 1963)d. Consent to deputization of government personnel

by COMELEC [Art. IX-C, Sec. 2[4])e. Discipline such deputies (Art.IX-C, Sec. 2[8])f. General supervision over local government units

and autonomous regional governments (Art. X)g. Emergency and tariff powers(Art. VI, Sec. 23[2])

Appointment Powers(Art VII, Sec 16)

definition- Appointment is the selection, by the authority vested with the power, of an individual who is to exercise the functions of a given office.

Appointment vs. DesignationAPPOINTMENT-Selection of individual who

will exercise function of a given officeDESIGNATION- Imposition of new or

additional duties on officer already in the government service

i. With the consent of the Commission onAppointmentsi.1.Heads of executive departmentsi.2.Ambassadors and other publicministers and consulsi.3.Officers of the AFP from the rank ofcolonel or naval captaini.4.Other ministers whose appointmentsare vested in him by the Constitution

Officials whose Appointments are Vested in the President

ii. Prior recommendation or nomination by the

Judicial and Bar Councilii.1. Members of the Supreme Court andall lower courts (Art. VIII, Sec. 9)ii.2. Ombudsman and his 5 deputies

iii. Requiring nominations by multi-sectoralgroupsiii.1. Regional consultative commission(Art. X, Sec. 18)iii.2 Party-list representatives, beforethe Party-List Law (Art. XVIII, Sec.7)

iv. Appointment of Vice-President as memberof the Cabinet

v. Appointment solely by the Presidentv.1.Those vested by the Constitution onthe President alone;v.2. Those whose appointments are nototherwise provided for by law;v.3. Those whom he may be authorizedby law to appoint;v.4. Those other officers lower in rankwho appointment is vested by law in thePresident alone.

d. Kinds of Presidential Appointeesi. Regular – made during the sessions ofCongressii. Ad Interim – made during a recess of theCongress

Regular- made during legislative sessionMade only after the nomination is confirmed

by Commission on AppointmentsOnce confirmed, appointment continues until

the end of the term of appointee

Ad Interim – made during recessMade before such confirmation by the

Commission on AppointmentsCeases to be valid if disapproved by the CA

or upon next adjournment of Congress.

Kinds of Appointment in the Career Servicei. Permanent – extended to persons

possessing the requisite eligibility and protected by the constitutional provision on security of tenure

ii. Temporary – given to person without such eligibility, revocable at will and without the necessity of just cause or valid investigation.

Appointing Procedure for Officials Needing Confirmation by the Commission on Appointments

i. Nomination by the President;ii. Confirmation by the Commission on

Appointmentsiii. Issuance of commissioniv. Acceptance by appointee (either express

or implied)

Limitations on the Appointing Power of the President

i. Appointments made by an acting President shall remain effective unless revoked within 90 days from assumption of office by elected President (Art. VII, Sec.14)

ii. President or acting-President shall not make appointments except temporary ones to executive positions 2 months immediately before next Presidential elections and up tothe end of his term. Only when continued vacancy will prejudice public service or endanger public safety (Art.VII, Sec. 15)

iii. The spouse and relatives by consanguinity or affinity within the 4th civil degree of the President shall not, during his tenure be appointed as:

members of the Constitutional Commissions member of the Office of the Ombudsman Secretaries Undersecretaries Chairman or

heads of bureaus or offices, including GOCC and their subsidiaries. (Art. VII, Sec.13[2])

iv. The President shall have the power to make appointments during the recess of the Congress, whether voluntary or compulsory, but such appointments shall be effective only until disapproval by the CA or until the next adjournment of the Congress. (Art. VII, Sec. 16[2])

REMOVAL POWER -a. source- implied from the power to appoint.b. Extent of the President’s Removal Poweri. As to Officers Exercising PurelyExecutive Functions – President may remove

them with or without cause; Congress may not restrict such power

ii. As to Officers Exercising Quasi-Legislative or Quasi-Judicial

Functions – they may be removed only on grounds provided by law

iii. As to Impeachable Officers and of Lower Courts – removal power is not available

iv. As to Civil Service Officers – President may remove them only for causes provided by law

CONTROL POWER (Art. VII, Sec. 17)a. Control vs. Supervision (Mondano v.

Silvosa, 97 Phil. 143)CONTROL-Power of an officer to alter,

modify, annul or set aside what a subordinate officer had done in the performance of his duties and to substitute the judgment of the former for that of the latter

SUPERVISION-Overseeing or power or authority of an officer to see that subordinate officers perform their duties.

Doctrine of Qualified Political Agency(Alter Ego Principle) – acts of the Secretaries of Executive departments when performed and promulgated in the regular course of business or unless disapproved or reprobated by the Chief Executive, are presumptively the acts of the Chief Executive. (Villena v. Secretary of the Interior, 67 Phil 451)

THE “TAKE-CARE” CLAUSEa. Scope- Function of the President to see that

the laws are faithfully executed is more of a duty than a power, to be discharged by him personally and through subordinates under his control or supervision (Art. X, Secs. 4 and 16)

Faithful Execution Clause - until and unless a law is declared unconstitutional, President has a duty to execute it regardless of his doubts as to its validity

THE MILITARY POWER

a. Scopei. Command of the Armed Forcesii. Suspension of the Privilege of Writ of

Habeas Corpusiii. Declaration of Martial Law

Limitations:Safeguards on the Exercise of the President’s

Power to Proclaim Martial Law:i. There must be actual invasion or rebellionii. The duration of the proclamation shall not

exceed sixty daysiii. Within 48 hours, the Presidents shall report

his action to Congress. If Congress is not in session, it must convene within 24 hours

iv. Congress may by majority vote of all its members voting jointly revoke the proclamation, and the President cannot set aside the revocation

v. By the same vote and in the same manner, upon initiative of the President, congress may extend the proclamation if the invasion or rebellion continues and public safety requires the extension

vi. The Supreme Court may review the factual sufficiency of the proclamation, and the Supreme Court must decide the case within thirty days from the time it was filed

vii. Martial law does not automatically suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or the operation of the Constitution. It does not supplant the functioning of the civil courts and of congress. Military courts have no jurisdiction over civilians where civil courts are able to function

How Proclamation of Martial Law or Suspension of Privilege of Writ of Habeas Corpus is lifted

i. By the President himselfii. Revocation by Congressiii.Nullification by the Supreme Courtiv.Operation of law after 60 days

State of Rebellion The President has full discretionary powers to

declare a state ofrebellion. The Court may only look into the

sufficiency of the factual basis of the exercise of this power.

(Lacson v. Perez, 357 SCRA 756) When the President calls the armed forces to

prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion, he necessarily exercises a discretionary power solely vested in his wisdom. This is clear from the

intent of the framers and from the text of the Constitution itself. The Court, thus, cannot be called upon to overrule the President’s wisdom or substitute its own. However, this does not prevent an examination of whether such power was exercised within permissible constitutional limits or whether it was exercised in a manner constituting grave abuse of discretion. (IBP v. Zamora, G.R. No. 141284, August 15, 2000)

Warrantless Arrests During State of Rebellion In quelling or suppressing the rebellion, the

authorities may only resort to warrantless arrests of persons suspected of rebellion, as provided under Section 5, Rule 113 of the Rules of Court, if the circumstances so warrant. (Lacson v. Perez, 357 SCRA 756)

PARDONING POWER

Pardon is an act of grace which exempts individual on whom it is bestowed from punishment which the law inflicts for a crime he has committed. Power is discretionary, may not be controlled by the legislature or reversed by the court, unless there is a constitutional violation.

Kinds of Pardon-Plenary or partial and Absolute or conditional

Commutation – reduction or mitigation of the penalty

Reprieve – postponement of sentence or stay of execution.

Parole – release from imprisonment, but without full restoration of liberty, as parolee is in the custody of the law although not in confinement.

Amnesty – act of grace, concurred in by the Legislature, usually extended to groups of persons who committed political offenses, which puts into oblivion the offense itself.

Probation – action of giving a convicted offender freedom during good behavior under the supervision of a probation officer

Difference:PARDON-Granted at any time after final judgment of

conviction, granted by the President; Exoneration; grantee is released from custody; Granted for any crime; Sentence and effects, including accessory penalties, are abolished upon grant

PAROLE-Only after service of the minimum sentence By the Board of Pardons and Parole; Still remains in legal custody; Crime may not be against security of the State; Restoration to civil rights takes place only after final discharge

Pardon vs. AmnestyPardon-for Common crimes, given to

Individuals; after conviction(final judgment); Prospective: relieves offender of the consequences; Private act which must be pleaded and proved; Concurrence of Congress is not required.

Amnesty- usually for Political crimes; given to Group, class or community; Even before trial; Retroacts: obliterates the offense; Public act of which the courts take judicial notice and concurrence of Congress required.

Limitations on the Pardoning Power of the Presidenti. Pardon cannot be granted in cases of impeachment

or legislative contemptii. In cases of pardon of election offenses, the

recommendation of COMELEC is necessaryiii. Pardon can be granted only after conviction by

final judgmentiv. In cases of conditional pardon, there must be

acceptance on the part of the granteev. Pardon does not extinguish civil liabilityvi. Pardon does not extinguish civil contemptvii. Pardon does not restore the right to a public office

unless the ground is innocence

viii.Partial pardon does not extinguish the penalties which are not subject of the pardon

ix. In case of amnesty, concurrence of a majority of all members of Congress is necessary

BORROWING POWER (Art. VII, Sec. 20) President may contract or guarantee foreign

loans on behalf of the Republic with the concurrence of the Monetary Board, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law. Monetary Board shall submit to Congress report on loans within 30 days from end of every quarter.

DIPLOMATIC POWER (Art. VII, Sec. 21) No treaty or international agreement shall

be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least 2/3 of all members of Senate.

BUDGETARY POWER (Art. VII, Sec. 22) Within 30 days from opening of every

regular session, President shall submit to Congress a budget of expenditures and sources of financing, including receipts from existing and proposed revenue measures.

INFORMING POWER (Art. VII, Sec. 23) President shall address Congress at the

opening of its regular session (State of the Nation Address). President may also appear before it at any other time.

RESIDUAL POWER Whatever is not judicial, whatever is not

legislative, is residual power exercised by the President (Marcos v. Manglapus, 178 SCRA 760)

PRESIDENTIAL VETO (Art. VI, Sec. 27)a. Different Forms of Vetoi. Message Veto - when the President

disapproves a bill, he shall return it to the House where the bill originated together with his VETO MESSAGE, which explains his objects to the bill, which message shall be entered in the Journal within 30 days after receipt.

Pocket Veto - non-approval of a legislative act by the President, with the result that it fails to become a law. No pocket veto in the Philippines.

Legislative Veto - a legislative veto provides that a law takes effect by the legislature’s inaction. A legislative veto is unconstitutional because the Constitution provides the procedure on how a law must be passed, thus requiring an affirmative act for a bill to become a law.

As a general rule, if the President disapproves a bill enacted by Congress, he should veto the entire bill. He is not allowed to separate items of a bill.

Exception: Item-veto in the case of appropriation, revenue, and tariff bills is allowed. (Art. VI, Sec. 27[2]).

EMERGENCY POWERS (Art. VI,Sec. 23[2])a. Conditions for the Exercise of the President of

Emergency Powersi. There must be a war or other national emergencyii. There must be a law authorizing President to

exercise emergency powersiii. Exercise must be for a limited periodiv. Must be subject to restrictions that Congress may

providev. Exercise must be necessary and proper to carry out a

declared national policy “Other national emergency” may include rebellion, economic crisis, pestilence or epidemic, typhoon, flood, or other similar catastrophe of nationwide proportions or effect.