CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 2 PRELIMS REVIEWER CONSTITUTIONAL LAW Study of the maintenance of the proper balance between authority as represented

d by the 3 inherent powers of the state, and liberty as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights

Fundamental powers of the state: 1. Police power 2. Power of eminent domain 3. Power of taxation Among the safeguard in the Bill of Rights are: 1. Right to due process and equal protection 2. Prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures 3. Freedom of expression 4. The impairment clause 5. Gurantees against injustice to the accused The Powers and Rights have a: Common objective: Co-existence Ultimate goal: a well-ordered society based on the inviolability of rights which, although they may not be curtailed arbitrarily, may nevertheless be regulated for the common good CONSTITUTION Body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised PURPOSE OF THE CONSTITUTION: 1. To prescribe the framework of a system of govt 2. To assign to the several departments their respective powers and duties 3. To establish certain first fixed principles on which govt is founded SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION Constitution is the basic and paramount law to which all other laws must conform and to which all persons, including the highest officials of the land, must defer. Constitution must ever reign supreme CLASSIFICATION
Phil. Constitution Written Precepts are embodied in one document or set of documents Conventional/Enacted An enacted constitution; formally struck off at a definite time and place Rigid Can be amended only by formal process (Not) Unwritten Consists of rules which have not been integrated into a single, concrete form but are scattered in different sources Cumulative/Evolved A result of political evolution; not inaugurated Flexible Can be changed by ordinary legislation

ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF A GOOD WRITTEN CONSTITUTION: 1. Broad Supposed to embody the past, to reflect the present, and anticipate the future Must be comprehensive enough to provide for every contingency 2. Brief Must confine itself to basic principles to be implemented with legislative details more adjustable to change and easier to amend 3. Definite Must be clear, lest ambiguity result in confusion and divisiveness among people ESSENTIAL PARTS OF A WRITTEN CONSTITUTION 1. Constitution of LIBERTY Civil and political rights of citizens, imposes limitations on the powers of the govt Articles 2 to 5, 12 2. Constitution of GOVERNMENT Outlines organization of govt, enumerates its powers, lays down certain rules on administration, fefines the electorate Articles 6 to 11 3. Constitution of SOVEREIGNTY Mode or procedure to effect changes in fundamental law Article 17 PERMANENCE OF THE CONSTITUTION Advantage: Has capacity to resist capricious or whimsical change dictated not by legitimate needs by only by passing fancies, temporary passions, or occasional infatuations of the people Disadvantage: unable to adjust to the need for change justified by new conditions and circumstances INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION In case of doubt, the constitution should be considered self-executing rather than non-selfexecuting, mandatory rather than directory, and prospective rather than retrospective AMENDMENT Isolated or piecemeal change in the constn REVISION Rewriting of the whole constitution

Procedure: 1. Proposal a. Direct legislative action / by Congress - of all members of Congress b. Constitutional Convention - 2/3 of all members of Congress c. Initiative and referendum - 12% of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district

must be represented by at least 3% of its registered voters 2. Ratification Must be ratified within reasonable time THREE THEORIES ON THE RELATIVE POSITION OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 1. Theory of Conventional Sovereignty: Constitutional Convention is supreme over the other departments of the govt 2. Constitutional Convention is inferior to the other departments of the govt 3. Constitutional Convention is independent and co-equal with the other departments of the govt JUDICIAL REVIEW OF AMENDMENTS Judiciary may declare invalid a proposal adopted by less than of the members of Congress, or a call for a Constitutional Convention by less than 2/3 of Congress, or a ratification made by less than a majority of the votes cast, or a plebiscite irregularly held THE CONSTITUTION AND THE COURTS Although holding neither purse nor sword, the JUDICIARY occupies a vital and indispensable part in our system of govt, for it is the ULTIMATE GUARDIAN of the Constitution Judiciary is expected to rectify the wrong and affirm its sacred and solemn duty to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the land REQUISITES OF JUDICIAL INQUIRY: 1. There must be an actual case or controversy 2. The question of constitutionality must be raised by the proper party 3. The constitutional question must be raised at the earliest possible opportunity 4. The decision of the constitutional question must be necessary to the determination of the case itself ACTUAL CASE OR CONTROVERSY Involves a conflict of legal rights (which are legally demandable and enforceable), an assertion of opposite legal claims susceptible of judicial adjudication A justiciable controversy must be definite and concrete, touching the legal relations of parties having adverse legal interests PROPER PARTY One who has sustained or is in immediate danger of sustaining an injury as a result of the act complained of Until and unless such actual or potential injury is established, the complainant cannot have the legal personality to raise the constitutional question EARLIEST OPPORTUNITY Constitutional questions must be raised at the earliest possible opportunity, such that if not

raised in the pleadings, it cannot be considered at the trial, and if not considered in the trial, it cannot be considered on appeal Exceptions: i. In criminal cases, the constitutional question can be raised any time in the discretion of the court ii. In civil cases, the constitutional question can be raised at any stage if it is necessary to the determination of the case itself iii. In every case, except where there is estoppels, the constitutional question can be raised at any stage if it involves the jurisdiction of the court

NECESSITY OF DECIDING CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION By the doctrine of separation of powers, it enjoins upon each department a proper respect for the acts of the other departments The theory is that as the joint act of the legislative and executive authorities, a law is supposed to have been carefully studied and determined to be constitutional before it was finally enacted EFFECTS OF DECLARATION OF UNCONSTITUTIONALITY 1. Orthodox view An unconstitutional act is not a law, it confers no right, it imposes no duties, it affords no protection, it creates no office, it is as if it had not been passed 2. Modern view The court does not annul or repeal the statute, it simply refuses to recognize it and determines the right of the parties just as if such statute had no existence The court finds the statute void, and the Constitution shall govern PARTIAL UNCONSTITUTIONALITY In deference to the separation of powers, courts hesitate to declare the law totally unconstitutional and will salvage the valid portion. Declaration of partial unconstitutionality will be valid if: 1. legislature is willing to retain the valid portions even if the rest of the statute is declared illegal 2. the valid portions can stand independently as a separate statute SEPERABILITY CLAUSE in statutes If for any reason any section or provision of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act shall not be affected by such declaration

FUNDAMENTAL POWERS OF THE STATE: 4. POLICE POWER 5. POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN 6. POWER OF TAXATION

POLICE POWER POLICE POWER Power of promoting the public welfare by restraining and regulating the use of liberty and property

SIMILARITIES: (1) Inherent in the state (2) Indispensable (3) Methods by which the State interfere with private rights (4) Have equivalent compensation for the private rights interfered with (5) Exercised primarily by the legislature CHARACTERISTICS: (1) Considered the most pervasive, the least limitable, and the most demanding of the three powers Justification: Salus populi est suprema lex (2) Dynamic, not static, and must move with the moving society it is supposed to regulate. (3) May use taxing power as an implement for the attainment of a legitimate police objective EXERCISE OF POLICE POWER Police power is lodged primarily in the national legislature By virtue of valid delegation of legislative power, it may also be exercised by the President and administrative boards, as well as the lawmaking bodies on all municipal levels, including the barangay. Municipal govts exercise this power by enacting ordinances and issuing regulations to provide for the health, safety, comfort and convenience maintain peace and order improve public morals promote the prosperity and general welfare insure protection of property TESTS OF POLICE POWER: (1) Lawful Subject The subject of the measure is within the scope of the police power, that is, the activity sought to be regulated affects the public welfare. Based on the time-honored principle that the welfare of the people is the supreme law The interests of the public require the exercise of police power (2) Lawful Means The means employed are reasonably necessary for the accomplishment of the purpose and not unduly oppressive upon individuals The lawful objective must be pursued through a lawful method; that is, both the end and the means must be legitimate The means employed for the accomplishment of the police objective must pass the test of reasonableness and conform to the safeguards embodied in the Bill of Rights for the protection of private rights.

DIFFERENCES:
POLICE Regulates Exercised by Property taken is Liberty and property Govt Destroyed Intangible; for it contributed to the general welfare EMINENT DOMAIN TAXATION

Property rights Govt and private entities Govt

Intended for public use Concrete; a full and fair equivalent of the property expropriated, or protection and public improvement for the taxes paid

Compensation involved is

LIMITATIONS: (1) Must not prejudice the Bill of Rights (2) In libertarian society, presumption is in favor of private rights and against the attempts of the State to interfere with them (3) Exercise of powers is subject at all times to the limitations and requirements of the Constitution, and may in proper cases be annulled by the courts of justice

POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN POWER OF EMINENT DOMAIN By its power of eminent domain, the govt, upon payment of just compensation, forcibly acquire the needed property in order to devote it to the intended public use Article 3, Section 9: private property shall be not be taken for public use without just compensation. This provision is not a grant but indeed a limitation of the power as its negative and restrictive language clearly suggests This limiting function is in keeping with the philosophy of the Bill of Rights against the arbitrary exercise of govtl powers to the detriment of individual rights. Given this function, the provision should therefore be strictly interpreted against the expropriator and liberally in favor of the property owner

WHO MAY EXERCISE THE POWER OF EXPROPRIATION: (1) Congress (2) President of the Phils. (3) Various local legislative bodies (4) Certain public corporations (eg NHA) (5) Quasi-public corporations (eg PNR, PLDT)

REQUISITES OF TAKING IN EMINENT DOMAIN: (1) expropriator must enter a private property (2) entry must be for more than a momentary period (3) entry must be under warrant or color of legal authority (4) property must be devoted to public use or otherwise informally appropriated or injuriously affected (5) utilization of the property for public use must be in such a way as to oust the owner and deprive him of beneficial enjoyment of the property PUBLIC USE means any use directly available to the general public as a matter of right where the expropriated property is converted into a plaza/park/airfield/highway, it thereby becomes res communes making it subject to the direct enjoyment by any and all members of the public indiscriminately it does not matter whether the direct use of the expropriated property by the public be for free or for a fee. The important thing is that any member of the general public can demand the right to use the converted property for his direct and personal convenience JUST COMPENSATION A full and fair equivalent of the property taken from the private owner by the expropriator Intended to indemnify the owner fully for the loss he has sustained as a result of the expropriation The measure of this compensation is not the takers gain, but the owners loss The word just is used to intensify the meaning of compensation to convey the idea that the equivalent to be rendered for the property taken shall be real, substantial, full and ample Compensation to be just must be fair to the owner and the expropriator. Payment in excess of the full and fair equivalent of the loss sustained by the owner, being prejudicial to the public, will not satisfy the requirement of just compensation To ascertain just compensation, the court should determine first the actual or basic value of the property. Where the entire property is not expropriated, there should be added to the basic value the owners CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES after deducting therefrom the CONSEQUENTIAL BENEFITS arising from the expropriation. If the consequential benefits exceed the consequential damages, these items should be disregarded altogether as the basic value of the property should be paid in every case Among the factors to be considered in arriving at the fair market value of the property are the cost of acquisition, the current value of like properties, its actual or potential uses, and in the particular case of lands, their size, shape or location and the tax declaration thereon

PRIVATE PROPERTY Includes real and personal, tangible and intangible properties TAKING Trespass without actual eviction of the owner, material impairment of the value of the property or prevention of the ordinary uses for which the property was intended Owner is entitled to compensation, although he remains in possession of his property Not every taking is compensable; eg, a building on the verge of collapse may be ordered demolished in the interest of public safety, and the owner will not be entitled to payment for the loss he has sustained even if he has been completely deprived of his property A valid exercise of police power is aimed at improving the general welfare, and whatever damages are sustained by the property owners are regarded as merely incidental to a proper exertion of such power. The losses sustained are in the nature of damnum absque injuria. As long as the prejudice suffered by the individual property owner is shared in common with the rest of the community He is paid with just compensation, If he suffers more than his aliquot part of the damages, that is, a special injury over and above that sustained by the rest of the community, he will be entitled to payment of the corresponding compensation

The owner is entitled to payment of interest from the time of the taking until just compensation is actually paid to him. Interests must be claimed, however, or are deemed waived. Taxes paid by him from the time of the taking until the transfer of title, during which he did not enjoy any beneficial use of the property, are reimbursable by the expropriator Without prompt payment, compensation cannot be considered just It should be stressed that title to the property shall not be transferred until after actual payment of j.c. is made to the owner

POWER OF TAXATION TAXES are the enforced proportional contribution from persons and property, levied by the State by virtue of its sovereignty, for the support of the government and for all public needs TAXATION method by which these contributions are exacted an equitable sharing among the people of the expenses to be incurred for their common protection and benefit IMPORTANCE derives from the unavoidable obligation of the government to protect the people and extend them benefits in the form of public projects and services. In exchange for these, the people are subjected the reciprocal duty of sharing the expenses to be incurred therefor through the payment of them by taxes

CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES Consist of injuries directly caused on the residue of the private property taken by reason of the expropriation o Example: the expropriator takes only a part of the parcel of land, leaving the remainder with an odd shape or area as to be virtually unusable CONSEQUENTIAL BENEFITS Must be direct and particular, and not merely shared with the rest of the properties in the area, as where there is a general appreciation of land values because of the public use to which condemned properties are devoted o Example: whereby the remainder is as a result of expropriation placed in a better location, such as fronting a street where it used to be an interior lot, the owner will enjoy consequential benefit which should be deducted from consequential damages

OBLIGATION TO PAY TAXES NOT BASED ON CONTRACT It is a duty imposed upon the individual by the mere fact of his membership in the body politic and his enjoyment of the benefits available from such membership Non-payment of taxes may be the subject of CRIMINAL PROSECUTION and punishment. o The accused cannot invoke the prohibition against imprisonment for debt as TAXES ARE NOT CONSIDERED DEBTS TAXES To raise revenues LICENSES Imposed for regulatory purposes only

SCOPE So pervasive is this power that it reaches citizens abroad and his income earned from sources outside his State Subject to taxing power: o All income of citizens and aliens o All immovable and tangible personal properties

The power to tax includes the power to destroy If used validly as an implement of the police power in discouraging and in effect ultimately prohibiting certain things or enterprises inimical to public welfare o Example: Cigarettes, liquor, and massage parlors may be subjected to onerous taxes Modern view: Where the power to tax is used solely for the purpose of raising revenues, it cannot be allowed to confiscate or destroy

EXERCISE The power of taxation is inherent in the State Primarily vested in the national legislature, by valid delegation, it may be exercised by local legislative bodies Article X, Section 5 of the 1987 Constitution: Each local govt unit shall have the power to create its own sources of revenues and to levy taxes, fees, and charges, subject to such guidelines and limitations as the Congress may provide, consistent with the basic policy of local autonomy. DUE PROCESS AND TAXATION Taxation is subject to the requirements of due process Taxes will not be allowed if they are confiscatory, except where they are intended precisely for destruction as an instrument of police power Oppressive and unconstitutional: o Claiming 80% of a persons income o Property tax retroacting to 50 years back o tax on knowledge imposed on periodicals that exceed a maximum number of copies per issue AD VALOREM TAX Where the tax to be collected is to be based on the value of the taxable property, the taxpayer is entitled to be notified of the assessment proceedings and to be heard therein on the correct valuation to be given the property. Otherwise, the ad valorem tax may be increased to the prejudice of the owner in the ex parte appraisal to be made by the govt authorities

DOUBLE TAXATION when additional taxes are laid on the same subject by the same taxing jurisdiction during the same taxing period and for the same purpose o Example: if a persons properties are each taxed separately and thereafter all of them are again taxed, this time collectively, by the same taxing jurisdiction for the same purpose and during the same taxing period, the second imposition would constitute double taxation allowed by the Constitution and Supreme Court not allowed if it results in violation of the equal protection clause o Example: if certain properties are subjected to an additional tax whereas others similarly situated are not similarly taxed, the owners of the first properties would have a right to complain PUBLIC PURPOSE To sustain a tax, it is necessary to show that the proceeds are devoted to a public purpose Includes even indirect public advantage or benefit The mere fact that the tax will be directly enjoyed by a private individual does not make it invalid so long as some link to the public welfare is established o Example: pension paid to war veteran, support for the handicapped, care for the aged, scholarships for the poor but deserving students TAX EXEMPTIONS Either constitutional or statutory Granted to religious and charitable institutions because they give considerable assistance to the State in the improvement of the morality of the people and the care of the indigent and handicapped, and because of the principle of separation of Church and State and the necessity to give full rein to the freedom of religious profession and worship STATUTORY EXEMPTIONS Granted in the discretion of the legislature Constitution provides that: no law granting tax exemption shall be passed without the concurrence of a majority of all the Members of the Congress

EQUAL PROTECTION AND TAXATION Taxation is subject to the general requirements of the EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE Provided in the Constitution: the rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable UNIFORMITY IN TAXATION persons or things belonging to the same class shall be taxed at the same rate

EQUALITY IN TAXATION tax shall be strictly proportional to the relative value of the property

EQUITABLE TAXATION taxes should be apportioned among the people according to their capacity to pay