1

Chapter I
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Q.

What is political law?

ANS.

Political law is that branch of public law which deals with

the organization and operations of the governmental organs
of the State and denes the relations of the State with the
inhabitants of its territory. (Macariola vs. Asuncion, 114
SCRA 77; People vs. Perfecto, 43 Phil. 887).

Q.

What is constitutional law?

ANS.

It is the study of the maintenance of the proper balance

between authority as represented by the three (3) inherent
powers of the State and liberty as guaranteed by the Bill of
Rights.

Q.

What is a Constitution?

ANS.

A Constitution is the fundamental organic law of a State

which contains the principles on which government is
founded, and regulates the division and exercise of sovereign
powers. (16 C.J.S. Note 1, p. 20). It is that body of rules and
maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty
are habitually exercised. (Political Law, Neptali A. Gonzales,
1966 Edition, p. 61, citing Cooley, Constitutional Limitations,
8th Ed., p. 4).

Q.

Are there any distinctions between a Constitution

and a statute?

ANS.

Yes. A Constitution is a legislation direct from the people;

a statute is a legislation from the peoples representatives.
A Constitution states general principles; a statute provides
the details of the subject of which it treats. A Constitution
is intended not merely to meet existing conditions; a statute
1

POLITICAL LAW REVIEWER

is intended primarily to meet existing conditions only. A

Constitution is the fundamental law of the State to which all
other laws and statutes must conform. (Neptali A. Gonzales,
Political Law, citing Malcolm, p. 61).
Q.

Is the Constitution a conferment of powers or a limitation of the same?

ANS.

It is both a conferment of powers and a limitation of the

same. The Constitution allocates powers to the three (3) departments of the government. It also provides for limitations
on the exercise of such powers, like the provisions of the Bill
of Rights.

Q.

What are the essential parts of a written Constitution?

ANS.

They are:
(1)

Constitution of liberty which provides for the civil and

political rights of citizens and the limitations on the
powers of government to secure those rights;

(2)

Constitution of government which provides for the organization of government, and enumerates the powers
of the same; and

(3)

Constitution of sovereignty which provides the manner

of changing the fundamental law as making amendments thereto.

Q.

What is meant by the statement, the Constitution is a

social contract?

ANS.

The Constitution as a social contract means that it is where

the people have surrendered their sovereign powers to the
State for the common good. Hence, as held in Marcos vs.
Manglapus, et al., G.R. No. 88211, September 15, 1989, lest
the ofcers of the government exercising the powers delegated
by the people forget and the servants of the people become
rulers, the Constitution reminds everyone that sovereignty
resides in the people and all government authority emanates
from them. (Sec. 1, Art. II, 1987 Constitution).

TITLE I GENERAL PROVISIONS

Chapter II
THE STATE
Q.

What is a State?

ANS.

It is a community of persons, more or less numerous,

permanently occupying a denite portion of territory,
independent of external control, and possessing a government
to which a great body of inhabitants render habitual
obedience. (Collector of Internal Revenue vs. Campos Rueda,
42 SCRA 23).

Q.

What are the elements of a State?

ANS.

The elements of a State are: people; territory; sovereignty;

and government.

Q.

How is a State distinguished from nation? From government?

ANS.

State is a legal or juristic concept; nation is an ethnic or

racial concept.
Government is merely an external manifestation of the State
through which the will of the State is exercised.

Q.

What comprises the national territory of the Philippines?

ANS.

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago,

with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all
other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty
or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, uvial and
aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the
subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The
waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the
archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions,
3

DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to my late parents, Andres Albano and
Guillerma Soriano and to my wife, Lilian and children Jonjon, Myla
and Vinci (who are now all lawyers and co-authors of this book).

Judge Ed Vincent S. Albano

To my wife Sheila and to my precious boy Sean Vincent, this

work is lovingly dedicated.

Atty. Ed Vincent A. Albano Jr.

I dedicate this work to my husband Carlo whos ever tolerable

of me, and to our little angel Carl Vincent.

Atty. Myla Khristabelle A. Pua

To my family and friends who have helped me pray to hurdle

the Bar Examinations, I offer my humble contribution to this book.

Atty. Ed Vincent A. Albano III

iii

iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors owe the completion of this work to the people who
unselfishly extended their much needed help in putting this book
together. We wish to thank them here, however unembellished it
may be.
Linda Joya for providing advance sheets of Supreme Court
decisions cited in this book.
Nova Marie M. Estabillo, my assistant in the College of Law,
for industriously proofreading the manuscript of this book.
Crystal G. Perez, my secretary in the law office, for tirelessly
encoding the manuscript of this book.
Anton A. Arciaga, our clerk in the College of Law, for diligently
running errands during the revision of this book.

The Authors

vi

PREFACE
This book was prepared with the intention of making the subject
easier for the students to understand the same. It is the authors
belief that the reviewee must easily understand the complicated
aspects of the law; hence, the simplicity of this work.
This book contains important provisions of the law and doctrinal decisions up to 2007, designed to prepare the reviewee for the
Bar Examinations.
The author wishes to convey his heartfelt thanks to all his
friends for encouraging him to write the book.

ED VINCENT S. ALBANO

vii

viii

CONTENTS
CHAPTER I General Principles ...........................................
CHAPTER II The State ........................................................
CHAPTER III Immunity of the State from Suit .................
CHAPTER IV Declaration of Principles and State Policies

1
3
15
58

Principles .........................................................................
State Policies ...................................................................

58
70

CHAPTER V The Bill of Rights ...........................................

84

Due Process and Equal Protection .................................

Equal Protection Clause .................................................
Searches and Seizures.....................................................
Privacy of Communications ............................................
Freedom of Expression ....................................................
Right to Form Associations .............................................
Freedom of Religion.........................................................
Liberty of Abode ..............................................................
Habeas Corpus.................................................................
Right to Information .......................................................
Non-Impairment Clause .................................................
Rights While Under Investigation..................................
Right to Bail.....................................................................
Rights of the Accused ......................................................
Speedy, Impartial and Public Trial ................................
Right to Confrontation ....................................................
Compulsory Process ........................................................
Trial In Absentia..............................................................
Presumption of Innocence ...............................................
Right to Counsel ..............................................................
Right Against Self-Incrimination ...................................
Involuntary Servitude .....................................................
Excessive, Cruel or Unusual Punishment .....................
Double Jeopardy ..............................................................
Bill of Attainder ...............................................................

84
120
137
197
202
250
254
276
280
282
286
295
324
341
346
351
354
354
356
361
362
366
367
373
394

CHAPTER VI Citizenship ....................................................

401

ix

CHAPTER VII Separation of Powers ..................................

CHAPTER VIII Delegation of Powers .................................
CHAPTER IX Legislative Department ................................
CHAPTER X The Executive Department ............................
CHAPTER XI Judicial Department .....................................
CHAPTER XII Constitutional Commissions .......................

438
446
462
554
638
683

The Civil Service Commission ........................................

The Commission on Elections .........................................

685
697

CHAPTER XIII Accountability of Public Officers ...............

701

The Sandiganbayan.........................................................
The Ombudsman .............................................................

711
711

CHAPTER XIV National Economy and Patrimony ............

CHAPTER XV Social Justice and Human Rights ...............
CHAPTER XVI Labor ...........................................................
CHAPTER XVII Education, Science, Technology
Arts, Culture and Sports.................................................
CHAPTER XVIII The Family...............................................
CHAPTER XIX Amendatory Provisions ..............................
CHAPTER XX Power of Eminent Domain ..........................
CHAPTER XXI Police Power................................................
CHAPTER XXII Taxation ....................................................

715
732
738

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW .......................................................

867

CHAPTER I General Principles ...........................................

CHAPTER II Powers and Functions of Administrative
Agencies .........................................................................
CHAPTER III Judicial Review of Administrative
Actions .........................................................................

867

LOCAL GOVERNMENTS .......................................................

889

CHAPTER I General Principles ...........................................

CHAPTER II General Powers and Attributes
of Local Government Units .............................................
CHAPTER III Municipal Liability .......................................
CHAPTER IV Qualifications and Election of Elective
Local Officials ..................................................................
CHAPTER V Vacancies and Successions ............................
CHAPTER VI Local Legislations .........................................
CHAPTER VII Disciplinary Actions ....................................
CHAPTER VIII Recall ..........................................................
CHAPTER IX Human Resources and Development ...........

889

743
753
755
775
821
852

869
879

903
921
926
938
954
960
970
977

ELECTION LAWS ...................................................................

982

CHAPTER I General Principles ...........................................

CHAPTER II The Commission on Elections .......................
CHAPTER III Time of Election ............................................
CHAPTER IV Political Parties.............................................
CHAPTER V Candidacies and Eligibility of Candidates....
CHAPTER VI Contributions and Prohibited Practices ......
CHAPTER VII List of Voters ...............................................
CHAPTER VIII Election Precincts, Polling Places
and Board of Election Inspectors ....................................
CHAPTER IX Official Ballots, Election Returns
and Casting of Votes .......................................................
CHAPTER X Counting of Votes ...........................................

982
985
1000
1006
1008
1022
1032

PUBLIC OFFICERS ................................................................

1081

CHAPTER I General Principles ...........................................

CHAPTER II Liabilities of Public Officers ..........................
CHAPTER III Rights and Privileges ...................................

1081
1090
1100

xi

1039
1043
1045