Executive Department

Article VII, Philippine Constitution

Qualification of President and Vice-President 1. Natural-born citizen of the Philippines 2. Registered voter 3. Able to read and write 4. At least forty (40) years of age on the day of the election 5. Resident of the Philippines for at least ten (10) years immediately preceding 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 OFFICE Period, 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 law TENURE OF OFFICE Period during which the incumbent actually holds the office Not 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 President 1. Appointment Power (Art. VII, Sec. 16) 2. Removal Power (implied from the power 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 Powers a. 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. Designation APPOINTMENT-Selection of individual who will exercise function of a given office DESIGNATION- Imposition of new or additional duties on officer already in the government service

Appointments are Vested in the President i. With the consent of the Commission on Appointments i.1.Heads of executive departments i.2.Ambassadors and other public ministers and consuls i.3.Officers of the AFP from the rank of colonel or naval captain i.4.Other ministers whose appointments are vested in him by the Constitution

ii. Prior recommendation or nomination by the Judicial and Bar Council ii.1. Members of the Supreme Court and all lower courts (Art. VIII, Sec. 9) ii.2. Ombudsman and his 5 deputies

iii. Requiring nominations by multi-sectoral groups iii.1. Regional consultative commission (Art. X, Sec. 18) iii.2 Party-list representatives, before the Party-List Law (Art. XVIII, Sec.7) iv. Appointment of Vice-President as member of the Cabinet

v. Appointment solely by the President v.1.Those vested by the Constitution on the President alone; v.2. Those whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law; v.3. Those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint; v.4. Those other officers lower in rank who appointment is vested by law in the President alone.

d. Kinds of Presidential Appointees i. Regular – made during the sessions of Congress ii. Ad Interim – made during a recess of the Congress

Regular- made during legislative session Made only after the nomination is confirmed

by Commission on Appointments Once confirmed, appointment continues until the end of the term of appointee

Ad Interim – made during recess Made before such confirmation by the

Commission on Appointments Ceases to be valid if disapproved by the CA or upon next adjournment of Congress.

Kinds of Appointment in the Career Service i. 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 Appointments iii. Issuance of commission iv. 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 Power i. As to Officers Exercising Purely Executive 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” CLAUSE a. 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. Scope i. Command of the Armed Forces ii. Suspension of the Privilege of Writ of

Habeas Corpus iii. 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 rebellion ii. The duration of the proclamation shall not exceed sixty days iii. 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 himself ii. Revocation by Congress iii.Nullification by the Supreme Court iv.Operation of law after 60 days

State of Rebellion  The President has full discretionary powers to

declare a state of rebellion. 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

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,

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. Amnesty Pardon-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 President i. Pardon cannot be granted in cases of impeachment

or legislative contempt ii. In cases of pardon of election offenses, the recommendation of COMELEC is necessary iii. Pardon can be granted only after conviction by final judgment iv. In cases of conditional pardon, there must be acceptance on the part of the grantee v. Pardon does not extinguish civil liability vi. Pardon does not extinguish civil contempt vii. 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 Veto i. 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

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

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

Emergency Powers i. There must be a war or other national emergency ii. There must be a law authorizing President to exercise emergency powers iii. Exercise must be for a limited period iv. Must be subject to restrictions that Congress may provide v. 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.