CONCEPT OF THE STATE
State v. Nation
|
STATE |
NATION |
|
A community of
persons, more or less numerous, permanently occupying a fixed territory, and possessed
of an independent government organized for political ends to which the great
body of inhabitants render habitual obedience |
The term nation,
strictly speaking, indicates a relation of birth or origin and implies a
common race, usually characterized by community of language and customs |
|
Legal concept |
Only a racial or
ethnic concept |
State v. Government
·
Government
is only an element of the State
·
The
State is the principal, the government it’s agent
·
The
State itself is an abstraction; it is the government that externalizes the
State and articulates its will
Essential Elements of a State
1. People
2. Territory
3. Government
4. Sovereignty
(1)
People
§ Simply refers to the inhabitants of
the State
§ While there is no legal requirement
as to their number, it is generally agreed that they must be numerous enough to
be self-sufficing and to defend themselves and small enough to be easily
administered and sustained.
(2)
Territory
§ The fixed portion of the surface of
the earth inhabited by the people of the State
§ As a practical requirement only, it
must be neither too big as to be difficult to administer and defend nor too
small as to be unable to provide for the needs of the population
§ Components:
o
Territorial
domain (the landmass)
o
Maritime
and fluvial domain (the inland and external waters)
o
§ The second sentence is an affirmation of the archipelago doctrine,
under which we connect the outermost points of our archipelago with straight
baselines and consider all the waters enclosed thereby as internal waters. The
entire archipelago is regarded as one integrated unit instead of being
fragmented into so many thousand islands.
§ The definition in Article I now
covers the following territories:
o
Those
ceded to the US by virtue of the Treaty of Paris of Dec. 10, 1898
o
Those
defined in the treaty concluded between the US and Spain on Nov. 7, 1900, which
were not defined in the Treaty of Paris, specifically the islands of Cagayan,
Sulu and Sibuto
o
Those
defined in the treaty concluded on Jan. 2, 1930, between the US and Great
Britain, specifically the Turtle and Mangsee islands
o
The
island of Batanes which was covered under a general statement in the 1935
Constitution
o
Those
contemplated in the phrase “belonging to the Philippines by historic right or
legal title” in the 1973 Constitution
(1)
Government
§ the agency or instrumentality
through which the will of the State is formulated, expressed and realized
§ Our Constitution requires our
government to be democratic and republican
§ It is said that “the State is an
ideal person, invisible, intangible, immutable and existing only in
contemplation of law; the government is an agent and, within the sphere of its
agency, it is a perfect representative, but outside of that it is a lawless
usurpation.”
§ The mandate of the government from
the State is to promote the welfare of the people. Whatever good is done by the
government is attributed to the State but every harm inflicted on the people is
imputed not to the State but to the government alone.
A.
Functions
§ 2 Kinds of functions of the
government:
o
Constituent
(ex. Keeping of order and providing for the protection of persons and property
from violence and robbery)
o
Ministrant
(ex. Public works, public charity)
§ To the SC, however, the distinction
between constituent and ministrant functions is not relevant in our
jurisdiction.
§ Thus, it is now obligatory on the
State itself to promote social justice, to provide adequate social services to
promote a rising standard of living, to afford protection to labor, to
formulate and implement urban and agrarian reform programs, and to adopt other
measures intended to ensure the dignity, welfare and security of its citizens.
It is also required to establish and maintain a complete, adequate and fully
integrated system of education, to promote scientific research and invention,
and to patronize arts and letters and develop Filipino culture for national
identity. These functions, while traditionally regarded as merely ministrant
and option, have been made compulsory by the Constitution.
§ This notwithstanding, the general
provisions of Article II, except Sec. 15 and 28, and XIII of the Constitution are not self-executing
provisions of the Constitution.
B.
Doctrine of Parens Patriae
§ One of the important tasks of the
government is to act for the State as parens patriae or guardian of the rights
of the people
§ This prerogative of parens patriae
is inherent in the supreme power of every State and has no affinity to those
arbitrary powers which are sometimes exerted by irresponsible monarchs to the
great detriment of the people and the destruction of their liberties
C.
De Jure and De Facto Governments
·
De jure Government
v Has rightful title but no power or
control, either because this has been withdrawn from it or because it has not
yet actually entered into the exercise thereof
·
De facto government
v A government of fact
v Actually exercises power or control
but without legal title
v 3 kinds of de facto government:
[1] The government that
gets possession and control of, or usurps, by force or by the voice of the
majority, the rightful legal government and maintains itself against the will
of the latter
[2] That established as
an independent government by the inhabitants of a country who rise in
insurrection against the parent state
[3] That which is
established and maintained by military forces who invade and occupy a territory
of the enemy in the course of war, and which is denominated as a government of
paramount force
v Characteristics of a de facto government of paramount force:
[1] Its existence is
maintained by active military power within the territories, and against the
rightful authority of an established and lawful government
[3] During its
existence, it must necessarily be obeyed in civil matters by private citizens
who, by acts of obedience rendered in submission to such force, do not become
responsible, as wrongdoers, for those acts, though not warranted by the laws of
the rightful government
·
The
SC unanimously held in Lawyers League for a Better Philippines v. Corazon C.
Aquino that “the people have made the judgment; they have accepted the
government of President Corazon C. Aquino which is in effective control of the
entire country so that it is not merely a de facto government but in fact and
law a de jure government. Moreover, the community of nations has recognized the
legitimacy of the present government.”
D.
Government of the Philippines
·
The
Government of the Philippines is
defined as “the corporate governmental entity through which the functions of
government are exercised throughout the Philippines, including, save as the
contrary appears from the context, the various arms through which political
authority is made effective in the Philippines, whether pertaining to the
autonomous regions, the provincial, city, municipal or barangay subdivisions or
other forms of local government
·
Under
this definition, a government-owned or controlled corporation engaged in
proprietary functions cannot be considered part of the Government for purposes
of exemption from the application of the statute of limitations
·
A
government agency refers to any of
the various units of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines,
including a department, bureau, office, instrumentality or GOCC, or a local
government or a distinct unit therein
E.
Administration
·
Administration – the group of persons in whose
hands the reins of government are for the time being
·
Administration
is transitional whereas the government is permanent
(2)
Sovereignty
·
Sovereignty
is the supreme and uncontrollable power inherent in a State by which that State
is governed
·
Kinds of Sovereignty:
[1] Legal sovereignty –
the authority which has the power to issue final commands
[2] Political
sovereignty – the power behind the legal sovereign, or the sum of the
influences that operate upon it
[3] Internal sovereignty
– refers to the power of the State to control its domestic affairs
[4] External sovereignty
– the power of the State to direct its relations with other States; also known
as independence
·
Sovereignty
is permanent, exclusive, comprehensive, absolute, indivisible, inalienable and
imprescriptible
·
Sovereignty
is not deemed suspended although acts of sovereignty cannot be exercised by the
legitimate authority
·
There
is no change of sovereignty during belligerent occupation, what the belligerent
occupant took over was only the exercise of acts of sovereignty.
·
There
being no change of sovereignty during a belligerent occupation, the political
laws of the occupied territory are merely suspended, subject to revival under
the jus postliminium upon the end of the occupation. But the non-political laws
are deemed continued unless changed by the belligerent occupant since they are
intended to govern the relations of individuals as among themselves and are not
generally affected by changes in regimes or rulers.
·
However,
the rule suspending political laws affects only the civilian inhabitants of the
occupied territory and is not intended to bind the enemies in arms.
·
Furthermore,
the rule does not apply to the law on treason although decidedly political in
character.
·
As
for judicial decisions, the same are valid during occupation and even beyond
except those of political complexion, which are automatically annulled upon
restoration of the legitimate authority.
·
Where
there is a change of sovereignty, the political laws of the former sovereign
are not merely suspended but abrogated. As they regulate the relations between
the ruler and the ruled, these laws fall to the ground ipso facto unless they
are retained or re-enacted by positive act of the new sovereign. Non-political
laws, by contrast, continue in operation, for the reason also that they
regulate private relations only, unless they are changed by the new sovereign
or are contrary to its institutions.
Act of State
·
An
act of State is an act done by the sovereign power of a country, or by its
delegate, within the limits of the power vested in him.
·
An
act of State cannot be questioned or made the subject of legal proceedings in a
court of law
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