(Asked 34 times in the Bar) A. The President
1. Qualifications, Election, Term and Oath i. Qualifications (Sec. 2, Art VII)
natural-born citizen of the Philippines a registered voter
able to read and write
at least forty years of age on the day of the election
a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election. o residency and domicile mean the same
thing under election law
o The ff must be taken into consideration: 1. bodily presence
2. animus manendi 3. animus revertendi
The candidate must be qualified on the day
of the elections.
ii. Term and Election (Sec. 4, Art VII) Elected by direct vote of the people
Unless otherwise provided by law, the regular election for President and Vice- President shall be held on the second Monday of May.
Canvassing of votes:
o Congress shall promulgate rules for canvassing of the certificates.
o Board of canvassers duly certifies returns of every election for President and VP and transmits them to Congress, directed to the Senate President.
26
C O N S T IT U T IO N A L L A W Io Senate President shall, not later than 30 days after the day of election (2nd Tuesday of June), open all certificates in the presence of the members of Congress in a joint public session. The Congress, upon determination of the authenticity and due execution of the certificates, shall canvass the votes. o The persons having the highest number
of votes shall be proclaimed elected. In case of a tie, one of the candidates shall be chosen by the vote of a majority of all the members of Congress, voting separately.
o The Supreme Court en banc, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of the President, or VP, and may promulgate its rules for the purpose. Regular Election and Term
o The President and Vice-President (who shall be elected with and in the same manner as the President) shall be elected by direct vote of the people for a term of 6 years
o Term shall begin on the noon of June 30 next following the day of election. *The regular election for President and Vice- President shall be held on the 2ndMonday of May. (Art. VII, Sec. 4 pars. 1 & 3).
Special Election and Term
o A special election to elect the President and Vice-President shall be called by Congress, pursuant to Art VII, Section 10, if
1. a vacancy occurs in the offices of President and Vice- President
2. more than 18 months
3. before the date of the next regular presidential election.
o The failure of the SC to issue an injunction on time is a decision in itself in favor of the validity of the law calling for Snap Elections despite the absence of vacancy. [Philippine Bar Association, Inc. v COMELEC, (1985)] o The Constitution is silent as to whether the
persons elected in the special election shall serve only for the unexpired portion of the term.
Whether the new President can run for re- election if he has not served more than 4 years (Art VII, Section 4, par. 1) depends on the construction of the phrase "has succeeded as the President.”
Re-election A. President
o Not eligible for any re-election.
o No person who has "succeeded" as President and has served as such for more than 4 years, shall be qualified for any election to the same office (the Presidency) at any time. (par. 1 Sec. 4, Art VII)
The person who succeeds as President and not just in an acting capacity, could either be
(i) the Vice-President, or
(ii) one who was elected President in a special election.
B. Vice President
o shall not serve for more than 2 successive terms.
o a voluntary renunciation of office for any length of time, shall not be considered an interruption in the continuity of the service for the full terms for which he was elected. (par 2, Sec. 4, Art VII).
applicable beginning 1992, because of the Transitory Provisions. This prohibition is similar to that applicable to Senators.
Canvassing of Election Returns
o Congress acts as Board of Canvassers of every election for President and Vice- President.
Electoral Tribunal for the Election of the President and Vice- President
o The Supreme Court, sitting en banc, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of the President or Vice-President, and may promulgate its rules for that purpose. (par 7, Sec. 4, Art VII.)
while election controversies in the Congress are under the exclusive jurisdiction of their respective Electoral Tribunals, those in the Executive are under the Supreme Court itself.
iii. Oath of Office (Sec 5, Art VII)
Before they enter into office, the President, the Vice-President or the Acting President shall take the following oath or affirmation: "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President (or Vice-President or Acting President) of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate to myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God." (In case of affirmation, last sentence will be omitted.)
2. Privilege and Salary
o The President shall have an official residence. o The salaries of the President and Vice-President
shall be determined by law and shall not be decreased during their tenure.
No increase in said compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the term of the incumbent during which such increase was approved.
Unless the Congress provides otherwise, the President shall receive an annual salary of P
27
C O N S T IT U T IO N A L L A W I300,000 (Sec 17, Art XVIII)
o They shall not receive during their tenure any other emolument from the Government or any other source.
3. Prohibitions (Sec 13, Art VII) o Prohibited acts:
i. Hold any other office or employment during their tenure, unless otherwise provided in the Constitution
ii. Directly or indirectly practice any other profession
iii. Directly or indirectly participate in any business
iv. Be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special privilege granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including GOCCs or their subsidiaries.
v. Appoint President’s spouse and relatives by consanguinity or affinity within the 4th civil degree as Members of the Constitutional Commissions, or the Office of the Ombudsman, or as Secretaries, Undersecretaries, chairmen or heads of bureaus or offices, including GOCCs and their subsidiaries.
o Who are prohibited? 1. President 2. Vice-President,
3. the Members of the Cabinet, and their deputies or assistants
The stricter prohibition applied to the Pres. and his official family under Sec. 13, Art. VII as compared to the prohibition applicable to appointive officials in general under Art. IX, B, Sec. 7, par. 2 are proof of the intent of the 1987 Constitution to treat them as a class by itself and to impose upon said class stricter prohibitions.
However, the prohibition against holding dual or multiple offices or employment under Art. VII, Sec. 13 must not be construed as applying to posts occupied by the Executive officials specified therein w/o additional compensation in an ex- officio capacity as provided by law and as required by the primary functions of said official's office. The reason is that these posts do not comprise "any other office" w/in the contemplation of the constitutional prohibition but are properly an imposition of additional duties and function on said officials. [Civil Liberties Union v Executive Secretary, (1991)]
o Prohibitions against other officials (1.) Sec. 13, Art VI
No Senator or Member of the House of Representatives, during his term, may: o hold any other office or employment in the
Government, or any of its subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities including GOCCs or their subsidiaries
o be appointed to any office which may have been created or the emoluments thereof
increased during the term for which he was elected
(2.) Sec. 2, Art IX-A
No member of the Constitutional Commission during his term, shall:
o hold any other office or employment.
o engage in the practice of any profession or in the active management or control of any business which in any way may be affected by the functions of his office
o be financially interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract with, or in any franchise or privilege granted by the Government, any of its subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities, including government- owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries.
(3.) Sec. 7. Art IX B
No elective official during his tenure shall: o be eligible for appointment or designation in
any capacity to any public office or position. No appointive official shall:
o hold any other office or employment in the Government or any of its subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities, including GOCCs or their subsidiaries.
(4.) Sec. 12, Art VIII
The Members of the Supreme Court and of other courts established by law shall not be designated to any agency performing quasi-judicial or administrative functions.
o Exceptions to rule prohibiting executive officials from holding additional positions: a. President
(1) The President can assume a Cabinet post, (because the departments are mere extensions of his personality, according to the Doctrine of Qualified
Political Agency, so no objection can
be validly raised based on Sec. 13, Art VII
(2) The President is the Chairman of NEDA. (Sec. 9, Art XII)
b. Vice-President
xxx The Vice-President may be appointed as member of the Cabinet. Such appointment requires no confirmation (Sec 3, Art VII) c. Cabinet
(1) The Secretary of Justice shall be an ex- officio member of the Judicial and Bar Council. ( Sec. 8[1], Art VIII)
(2) Unless otherwise allowed by law or by the primary functions of his position, appointive officials shall not hold any other office or employment in the Government or any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including government- owned or controlled
28
C O N S T IT U T IO N A L L A W Icorporations or their subsidiaries. (Art. IX, B, 7, par. 2)
Art. VII, Sec. 13 talks of "unless otherwise provided by the Constitution." In the case of Cabinet members, this refers to Art. IX, B, 7, par. 2.
Thus, the Constitution allows a Cabinet member to hold another office provided either
(1) such is necessitated by the primary functions of his position
a. Secretary of Trade and Industry as Chairman of NDC
b. Secretary of Agrarian Reform as Chairman of the Land Bank
(2) such is allowed by law. 4. Succession
Vacancy in the Presidency Two sets of rules in succession:
1. vacancy took place before the beginning of the term on June 30
2. vacancy during the pendency of the terms that commences on June 30
i. Temporary or permanent vacancy in the Presidency before the term
Causes Effect 1. President has not yet
qualified (e.g. he had an operation and so he could not take his oath of office on June 30) 2. President has not yet
been "chosen" and qualified (e.g. there is a tie and Congress has not yet broken the tie)
VP shall act as President until the President-elect shall have qualified, or shall have been "chosen” and qualified, as the case may be. (pars. 2 & 3, sec 7, Par VII).
President-elect 1. dies, or
2. becomes permanently disabled
VP elect shall become the President. (par. 4, Sec 7, Art VII)
Both President and VP 1. have not been "chosen"
or
2. have not qualified, or 3. die, or
4. become permanently disabled
Senate President, or in case of his inability, the Speaker of the House, shall act as President until a President or a VP shall have been "chosen" and qualified. (par. 5)
In case both Senate President and Speaker of the House are unable to act as President, Congress shall by law, provide for the "manner of selecting" the one who will act as President until a President or VP shall have been either "chosen" or "elected" pursuant to the special election referred to in Art VII, Sec 10, and qualified.
ii. Permanent Vacancy in the Presidency during the term
Causes Effect President's
1. death
2. permanent disability, 3. removal from office
(impeached), or 4. resignation*
VP shall become President for the unexpired portion of the term. (par. 1)
Both the President's and VP's
1. death
2. permanent disability 3. removal from office
(impeached) 4. resignation
Senate President or, in case of his inability, the Speaker of the House, shall become Acting President until the President or VP shall have been "elected" (pursuant to Art. VII, Sec. 10) and qualified. (par. 1.) Acting President 1. dies 2. becomes permanently disabled 3. resigns
Congress shall by law, provide "who" shall be Acting President until the President or VP shall have been "elected" (pursuant to Art. VII, Sec. 10) and qualified. Acting President shall be subject to the same restrictions of powers and disqualifications.(par. 2)
* The president’s resignation must be willful and intentional, and it must be strictly construed. When impeachment proceedings have become moot due to the resignation of the Pres, proper criminal and civil cases may already be filed against him. [Estrada v. Desierto (2001)]
* The totality test was applied to determine whether or not the president has indeed resigned. Many things were considered including the Angara Diary. [Res’n on the Motion for Recon (2001]
Comparisons and distinctions between the two vacancies:
a) The incumbent President never holds-over the Presidency in any case.
b) The vacancy must occur in the offices of both the President and Vice-President in order for the Senate President, or the Speaker, or, in their inability, the one provided to succeed according to the Law of Succession passed by the Congress, to succeed as Acting President until the qualification of the Presi- dent.
c) The Law on Succession must be passed by the Congress in both cases in the event that the President, Vice-President, Senate President and the Speaker are all unable to act as President. But in the case of a vacancy occurring before the term, the law provides only for the "manner of selecting" the Acting President, while in the case of a vacancy occurring during the term, it provides for "the person" who shall act as President. In both cases, the stint of the Acting President is temporary. d) When the vacancy comes before the term, the
Constitution talks of the successor acting as President until a President has been "chosen" and "qualified"; when it comes during, it talks of "elected" and qualified. The reason is that before the term, the vacancy in the Presidency need not be filled up by election, since it may be filled up by a
29
C O N S T IT U T IO N A L L A W Ivote of Congress in case of a tie (Art. VII, Sec. 4, par. 5); but during the term, the only way to fill up the vacancy is by special election.
e) A special election in both cases is held, pursuant to Art. VII, Sec. 10, only when both offices of President and Vice-President are vacant. However, if the vacancy occurs before the term, the grounds are limited to 2 (death and permanent disability or both), while if the vacancy occurs during the term, the grounds are 4 (death, permanent disability, removal, and resignation).
f) The vacancy that occurs before the term of office may be temporary or permanent; the vacancy that occurs during the term of office can only be a permanent one. Thus, a different set of rules applies, to be discussed next following, in case of the temporary inability of the President during the term of office.
Special election in Sec. 10, Art VII.
1. The Congress shall, at ten o'clock in the morning of the third day after the vacancy in the offices of the President and Vice-President occurs, convene in accordance with its rules without need of a call
2. Within seven days enact a law calling for a special election to elect a President and a Vice- President to be held not earlier than forty-five days nor later than sixty days from the time of such call.
The bill calling such special election:
a. is deemed certified under paragraph 2, Section 26, Article VI
(xxx the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency xxx)
b. shall become law upon its approval on third reading by the Congress.
Appropriations for the special election
a. charged against any current appropriations b. exempt from the requirements of paragraph 4, Section 25, Article VI of this Constitution.
(“A special appropriations bill shall specify the purpose for which it is intended, and shall be supported by funds actually available as certified by the National Treasurer, or to be raised by a corresponding revenue proposal therein”)
3. The convening of the Congress cannot be suspended nor the special election postponed. 4. No special election shall be called if the vacancy
occurs within eighteen months before the date of the next presidential election.
iii. Temporary Vacancy in the Presidency During the term
o A vacancy in the Presidency arising from his disability can occur in any of the ff ways:
1. A written declaration by the President 2. Written declaration by the Cabinet
3. Finding by Congress by 2/3 vote that the President is disabled.
o In all these cases, the Vice-President temporarily acts as the President.
Actions Required Effect
Voluntary Declaration of Inability by President
President transmits to Senate President and Speaker of the House his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office
VP to become Acting President until the President transmits to Senate President and Speaker of the House a written declaration that he is no longer unable to discharge his office.
Contested Inability of the President
1. Majority of all Cabinet members transmit to the Senate President and Speaker of the House their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge his office.
VP shall immediately assume the Presidency in an acting capacity
2. President contests by sending his own written declaration to the Senate President and Speaker that no inability exists.
President shall automatically assume his office.
3. Majority of the Cabinet insist on their original stand by transmitting a second written declaration of the President's inability within 5 days from resumption of office of the President.
a. Congress shall convene, if it is not in session, within 48 hours, without need of call, in accordance with its rules, and decide before the 12thday after it is required to assemble. If it is already in session, it must meet immediately, and decide within 10 days after receipt of the second written declaration by the Cabinet b. If the President, by a 2/3 vote of both houses voting separately, is determined to be "unable" to discharge his office, then the VP shall act as President. If less than 2/3 find him unable, the President shall continue exercising the powers and duties of his office.
30
C O N S T IT U T IO N A L L A W Io Serious Illness of the President (Sec 12, Art VII) a. The public shall be informed of the state of
his health.
b. The members of the Cabinet in charge of national security and foreign relations and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, shall not be denied access to the President during such illness.
5. Removal
i. Impeachment, Sec. 2, Art XI. o Who are Subject to Impeachment:
The President the Vice-President
the Members of the Supreme Court
the Members of the Constitutional Commissions
Ombudsman
o Reasons for Impeachment
culpable violation of the Constitution treason
bribery
graft and corruption other high crimes betrayal of public trust.
o All other public officers and employees may be removed from office as provided by law, but not by impeachment.
ii. Impeachment Process Art. XI, Sec. 3. 1. Who may initiate
The House of Representatives shall have the