ARTICLE 7. EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The Executive BranchCharged with the execution and administration of a country’s laws

In general, the executive branch sets the direction of national policy

EXECUTIVE POWER

• It is the power to enforce and administer the laws (Cooley, Constitutional Limitation, 8th ed., p. 183)

• The executive power is vested in the President of the Philippines (Art. VII, Sec. 1)

Qualifications

• Natural Born Citizen• A Registered Voter• Able to Read and Write• At least 40 years of age on the day of

election• Resident of the Philippines for at least ten

years immediately preceding the election.

Term of Office• The President and Vice-

President shall be elected by the people for six (6) years. (Art. VII, Sec 4(1)

• Shall not be eligible for any re-election

• No Person who has succeded as President xxx for more than 4 years shall be qualified xxx (Art. VII, Sec 4)

Election1.)Regular – Second Monday of May, every six years2.)Special-a.) Death, Disability, Removal from office or Resignationb.) Vacancies occur more than eighteen months before next electionc.) A law passed by congress

“I, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill

my duties as President of the Philippines, preserve and defend its

Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation.

So help me God.”

PresidentShall receive an annual salary of three

hundred thousand pesos (Php 300,000).

Vice – President Two hundred forty thousand pesos.

Salaries

Vice-President

• Qualifications are same with the President.

• Eligible for the position of member of the Cabinet(no need for CA confirmation)

• Allowed to serve for two successive terms.

SEAL OF THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

Presidential Succession(Sec 7-8)

2 sets of rule:a.) Occuring before the termb.) Occuring mid-term

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

RULES ON SUCCESSIONVacancy at the beginning of the term:

• Death or permanent disability of the President-elect• VP-elect shall become President

• President-elect fails to qualify• VP-elect shall ACT as president until the President-elect

shall have qualified.• President shall not have been chosen:

• VP-Elect shall ACT as president until a President shall have been chosen & qualified.

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

No President and VP chosen or qualified, or both have died or become permanently disabled:• SENATE PRESIDENT in an acting capacity

• In case of inability• SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE in an acting capacity

• Until a president or a VP shall have been chosen and qualified.

IN THE EVENT OF INABILITY OF BOTH, who shall ACT as President?

• CONGRESS SHALL BY LAW PROVIDE FOR THE MANNER IN WHICH ONE WHO IS TO ACT AS PRESIDENT SHALL BE SELECTED UNTIL A PRESIDENT OR A VP SHALL HAVE QUALIFIED.

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

VACANCY DURING THE TERM• Death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation

of the PresidentVP SHALL become President

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

Death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation of President AND Vice president:

• Senate President – acting capacity• IN CASE OF INABILITY

• Speaker of the House – acting capacityUntil a President or VP shall be elected and qualified.

• Congress, by law, shall provide for the manner which one is to act as President in the event of inability of the officials mentioned above.

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

TEMPORARY DISABILITY• When the President TRANSMITS to the SP and the SH

• Written Declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary: such powers and duties shall be discharged by the VP as ACTING President.

• Majority of ALL the Members of the CABINET TRANSMIT to the SP and SH:

• Written Declaration that the P is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office

• VP IMMEDIATELY assumes the powers and duties of the Office as ACTING PRESIDENT

• President transmits Written Declaration that NO inability exists, • Reassume the powers of the office of the President

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

Should a majority of the CABINET MEMBERS transmit within 5 days to the SP and SHWritten declaration that the P is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, CONGRESS SHALL DECIDE THE ISSUE.Congress shall convene, if not in session, within 48 hours. Within 10 days from receipt of last written declaration or, if not in session, within 12 days after it is required to assemble, Congress determines by a vote of 2/3 vote of both Houses voting Separately, that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the VP shall act as President, otherwise, the President shall continue exercising the powers and duties of his office.

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

Constitutional Duty of Congress in case of vacancy in the offices of the President and the VP:

• At 10AM of the 3rd day after the vacancy occurs, Congress shall convene w/o the need of a call, and within 7 days, enact a law calling for a special election to elect a President and VP to be held not earlier than 45 nor later than 60 daysfrom the time of such call.

NO SPECIAL ELECTION SHALL BE CALLED IF THE VACANCY OCCURS WITHIN 18 MONTHS BEFORE THE DATE OF THE NEXT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

Removal of the President: Impeachment. Sec. 2&3, Art. XI

Prohibitions and Inhibitions

1. No increase in salaries during the term.2. Shall not receive emoluments 3. Shall not hold any other office.4. Shall not, directly or indirectly, practice any other

profession, business, or be financially interested in any other contract with franchises of the government.

5. Avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office6. May not appoint spouse or relatives by consanguinity

or affinity within 4th civil degree(ART. VII, SECTIONS 6, 13)

POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT

1.) Executive Power2.) Power of Appointment3.) Power of Removal4.) Power of Control5.) Military Powers6.) Pardoning Power

7.) Borrowing Power8.) Diplomatic Power9.) Budgetary Power10.)Informing Power11.)Residual Power• Other Powers

1. Executive Power

• President shall have the control of all executive departments, bureaus, and offices. He shall ensure that laws are faithfull executed (Art. VII, Sec.17)

• Until and unless a law is declared unconstitutional, the President has a duty to execute it regardless of his doubts as to its validity(Faithful Execution Clause) (Cruz, Phil. Political Law)

2. Power of Appointment

• Selection by the authority vested with the power, of an individual who is to exercise the functions of a given office.

• Kinds of Presidential Appointment(Sec.15)• Appointment made by an Acting President• Midnight Appointment• Regular Presidential Appointment• Ad-Interim Appointment

• APPOINTMENT – the act of designation by the executive officer, board, or body to whom the power has been delegated, of the individual who is to exercise the functions of a given office.

2. Power of Appointment

Sec. 14.

Appointments extended by an Acting President shall remain effective, unless revoked by the elected President within ninety days from his assumption or reassumption of office.

Acting President:• Exercises the powers & functions of the Office of the President• NOT the incumbent President• has not become a President to serve the unexpired portion of the term

2. Power of Appointment

1. Executive Secretary2. Secretary of Agrarian Reform3. Secretary of Agriculture4. Secretary of Budget and Management5. Secretary of Education6. Secretary of Energy7. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources8. Secretary of Finance9. Secretary of Foreign Affairs10. Secretary of Health11. Secretary of Justice12. Secretary of Labor and Employment13. Secretary of National Defense14. Secretary of Public Works and Highways15. Secretary of Science and Technology

16. Secretary of Social Welfare and Development17. Secretary of the Interior and Local Government18. Secretary of Trade and Industry19. Secretary of Transportation and Communications20. Secretary of Tourism21. Commission on Higher Education21. Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority

Not all Cabinet members, however, are subject to confirmation of the Commission on Appointments. According to the Commission of Appointments website, the following need confirmation in order to assume their posts:

Sec. 15.

Two months immediately before the next presidential elections and up to the end of his term, a President or Acting President shall not make appointments, except temporary appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein will prejudice public service or endanger public safety.

2. Power of Appointment

Sec. 16.The President shall nominate and with the consent of the

Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consul, or officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain and other officers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution. He shall also appoint all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of other officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of department, agencies, commissions, or boards.

The President shall have the power to make the appointments during the recess of the Congress whether voluntary or compulsory, but such appointments shall be effective only until disapproval by the Commission on Appointments or until the next adjournment of the Congress.

2. Power of Appointment

Kinds of presidential appointments(required to be submitted to the Commission on Appointments)

• 1. Regular appointments• 2. Ad interim appointments

1. Regular appointments

Nomination by the President

Consent by the Commission on Appointments

Appointment by the President

2. Ad interim appointments

• Voluntary- before the adjournment

• Compulsory- when Congress adjourns

Kinds of appointment in the career services:

• Permanent

• Temporary or acting

Steps in the appointing process:

APPOINTMENT

ACCEPTANCE

Kinds of Acceptance:• Express- when done verbally or in writing; and• Implied- when, without formal acceptance, the appointee

enters upon the exercise of the duties and functions of an office.

DESIGNATION- simply the mere imposition of new or additional duties upon an officer already in the government service (or any other competent person) to temporarily perform the functions of an office in the executive branch when the officer regularly appointed to the office is unable to perform his duties or there exists a vacancy

3. Power of Removal

• General Rule: This power is implied from the power to appoint(Cruz)• Exception – Those appointed by him

where the Constitution prescribes certain methods for separation from public service.

3. Power of Control

• Control – The power of an officer to alter, modify, nuillify, or set aside what a subordinate officer had done in the performance of his duties and to substitute the judgement of the former for that of the latter.

• Supervision – Overseeing or the power or authority of an officer to see that subordinate officers perform their duties. If the latter fail or neglect to fulfill them, then the former may take such action or steps as prescribed by law to make them perform these duties.

Doctrine of Qualified Political Agency or Alter Ego Principle

The multifarious executive and administrative functions of the Chief

Executive are performed by and through the executive departments. The acts of

the Secretaries of Executive departments xxx in the regular course of business or

unless dispproved xxx are presumptively the acts of the Chief Executive.

4. Military Powers

1.) Commander-in-Chief clause• To call out the Armed Forces to prevent or

suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion(whenever it becomes neccessary);

• Vested directly by the Constitution • Authority to declare a state of rebellion• Military Tribunals are simply instrumentalities of

the executive power provided by the legislature for the Commander-in-Chief to aid him in enforcing discipline in the armed forces.

4. Military Powers2.) Suspension of writ of Habeas Corpus

– A writ directed to the person detaining another, commanding him to produce the body of the prisoner at a designated time and place xxx the object of which is the liberation of those who may be in prison without sufficient cause.

– Ground for suspension: invasion, rebellion, when public safety requires it

Effects of suspension of Writ:• does not affect the right to bail• Applies only to persons facing charges of rebellion• The arrested must be charged within 3 days; if not they

must be released• Does not supersede civilian authority.

3.) Martial LAW– Grounds for declaration: Invasion and Rebellion

• The following cannot be done:– Suspend the operation of the Constitution– Supplant the function of the civil courts and legislative

assemblies– Violate Open Court Doctrine(civilians cannot be tried

by military courts if the civil courts are open and functioning)

– Automatically suspend the writ of Habeas Corpus

4. Military Powers

Constitutional Limitations of Martial LaWAnd the suspension of privilege of Habeas Corpus:• Not more than 60 days, unless extended by

congress• President to report to congress within 48 hours• Authority of the congress to revoke or extend• Authority of the Supreme Court to inquire of the

factual basis for such action

Ways to lift proclamation or suspension:I. By the President himselfII. Revocation by CongressIII. Nullification by the Supreme CourtIV. By operation of law after 60 days

4. Military Powers

Military power of the President

• 1. Powers to meet emergency situations– A. to call out the armed forces to prevent or

suppress lawless violence– B. to suspend the privilege of the writ of Habeas

Corpus– C. to declare martial law

• Commander- in- Chief of the Armed Forces

Powers of President as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces

o Not a member of the Armed Forceso Not subject to court martial or military

disciplineo Has control of the military organization

and personnel o Has the power to callout the armed

forces to prevent suppress lawless violence

However, even in a state of martial law military courts and agencies have no jurisdiction over civilians where civil courts are able to function.

In event of war, the President, normally, would delegate the actual command of the armed forces to his military experts. But the ultimate command belongs to him

Power to suspend privilege of writ of habeas corpus

• There must be invasion or rebellion

• The public safety must require the suspension

Meaning of martial law

• 1. It includes all laws that have reference to and are administered by the military forces of the state.– A. the military law proper– B. the rules governing the conduct of military forces in

times of war and in places under military occupation.

2. It is the law which has application when the military arm does not supersede civil authority but is called upon to aid it in the execution of its vital functions.

Restriction on the exercise of the two powers

• 1. there must be invasion or rebellion and public safety requires the proclamation or suspension

• 2. the duration should not exceed 60 days unless extended by congress upon the initiative of the President

• 3. the President must submit a report in person or in writing to Congress within 48 hours from the proclamation or suspension

• 4. the proclamation or suspension may be revoked by majority vote of all members of Congress voting jointly which revocation shall not be set aside by the President.

• 5. the Supreme Court may inquire into the sufficiency or factual basis of the proclamation or suspension.

• 6. the effects of a state of martial law are clearly spelled out, to define the extent of the martial power.

Effects of a state of martial law

• 1. Operation of the Constitution• 2. Functions of civil courts and legislative

assemblies• 3. Jurisdiction of military courts and agencies• 4. Privilege of the writ of habeas corpus

5. Pardoning Power

The pardoning power extends to all offenses, including criminal contempt (disrespect to or disobedience to a court which amounts to a crime). It does not give the President the power to exempt, except from punishment, anyone from the law.

Pardon- Act of grace which exempts individual from punishment which the

law inflicts.

5. Pardoning Power(Sec.19)As to effect:a.)Plenary or b.)PartialAs to presence of condition:a.)Conditional Pardon or b.)Absolute Pardon

5. Pardoning Power(Sec.19)Amnesty – A general pardon to rebels for their treason or political offence; it so overlooks and obliterates the offnse with which he is charged.Person released by amnest stands before the law precisely as though he had committed no offense.

• Reprieve- postponement of the execution of a death sentence to a certain date.

• Commutation- reduction of the sentence imposed to a lesser punishment, as from death to life imprisonment. It may be granted without the acceptance and even against the will of the convict.

• Pardon- act of grace proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws which exempts the individual on whom it is bestowed, from the punishment law inflicts for a crime he has committed.

Other forms of Executive Clemency:5. Pardoning Power(Sec.19)

Other forms of Executive Clemency:

• Parole – release from imprisonment, but without full restoration of liberty(in custody of law although not in confinement

• Remission of fines and forfeiture – Prevents the collection of fines and confiscation of forfeited property; cannot affect rights of third party and money already in the treasury.

5. Pardoning Power(Sec.19)

Kinds of pardon

• Absolute

• Conditional

Limitations upon pardoning power

• 1. It may not be exercised for offenses in impeachment cases

• 2. It may be exercised only after conviction by final judgement

• 3. It may not be exercised over civil contempt• 4. In case of violation of election law or rules and

regulations, no pardon, parole, or suspension of sentence may be granted without the recommendation of the Commission on Elections.

Effects of Pardon

• 1. It removes penalties and disabilities and restores him to his full civil and political rights.

• 2. It does not discharge the civil liability of the convict to the individual he has wronged as the President has no power to pardon a private wrong.

• 3 It does not restore offices, property, or rights vested in others in consequence of the conviction.

• Remission- prevents the collection of fines or the confiscation of forfeited property.

• Amnesty- an act of the sovereign power granting oblivion or a general pardon for a past offense usually granted in favor of certain classes of persons who have committed crimes of a political character, such as treason, sedition, or rebellion.

Pardon and amnesty distinguished• 1. Pardon is grated by the President alone after conviction, while

amnesty with the concurrence of Congress before or after conviction

• 2. Pardon is an act of forgiveness, while amnesty is the act of forgetfulness.

• 3. Pardon is grated for infractions of the peace of the State, while amnesty, for crimes against the sovereignty of the State.

• 4. Pardon is a private act of the President which must be pleaded and proved by the person who claims to have been pardoned, while amnesty by proclamation of the President with the concurrence of Congress is a public act of which the courts will take judicial notice.

6. Borrowing Power(Sec. 20)• The 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.

• The Monetary board shall submit to the Congress report on loans within 30 days from the end of every quarter.

Authority to contract and guarantee foreign loans

• 1. Exclusive executive function• 2. Concurrence of Monetary Board required• 3. Checks by Congress

7. Diplomatic Power(sec.21)

• No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by atleast 2/3 of all the Members of the Senate

• The power to ratify is vested in the President, subject to the concurrence of the Senate.

Other foreign affairs powers:a.) power to make treatiesb.) the power to appoint ambassadors, public ministers, and consulsc.) power to receive ambassadors and other public ministersd.) Deportation Power

• Treaty- compact made two or more states, including international organizations of states, intended to create binding rights and obligations upon the parties thereto.

Steps in treaty- making

Negotiation

• Approval or ratification

8. Budgetary Power

• Within 30 days from the opening of every regular session, President shall submit to Congress a budget or expenditures and sources of financing, including receipts from existing and proposed revenue measure.

• Congress may not increase the appropriation recommended by the President for the operation of the Government as specified in the budget.

9. Informing Power

• The President shall address Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time.

• The information may be needed for the basis of legislation(Cruz)

• The President usally discharges the informing power through what is known as the State of the Nation Address

Other Powers

a.) Call to Congress to a special sessionb.) Approve or veto billsc.) Deport Aliensd.) Consent to deputization of government personnel by COMELEC and discipline theme.) Exercise emergency(war, law, limited, necessary) and Tariff powersf.) Power to classify or reclassify lands