MidTerm Pointers

I. Introduction
- Political Law (define)
Political law is that branch of public law which deals with the organization and
operations of the governmental organs of the state and defines the relations of the
state with the inhabitants of its territory.
- Corporation (Public & Private)
A municipal corporation is a body politic and corporate constituted by the
incorporation of the inhabitants for the purpose of local government.
Public corporations has dual aspects, thus;
1. public, as it is an agent of the state for the government of the territory
and inhabitants within the municipal limits
2. private, when it acts like a private corporation, performing functions which
are not government in character
in their governmental aspect, public corporations exercise by delegation a
part of the sovereignty of the state
in their private aspect, public corporations stand for the community in the
administration of local affairs which are wholly beyond the sphere of public
purposes for which it government powers are conferred.
- Municipal Corporation (Elements)
Q: WHAT IS A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION?
A: it is a body politic and corporate constituted by the incorporation of inhabitants
for the purpose of local government.
The following are the elements of a public corporation
1. legal creation refers to the law creating it
2. corporate name it is the name by which the public corporation is known
3. inhabitants this refers to the people residing in it or comprising it; and
4. territory this refers to the area wherein which the inhabitants are residing
including the land, water, space and air space.
Q: what are the municipal corporations in the Philippines?
A: the municipal corporations or territorial subdivision of the Philippines are the
provinces, cities, municipalities, barangays and the ARMM and in the Cordillera as
well as the special Metropolitan political subdivisions.
Sec. 1 of the 1987 constitution provides that:
Sec. 1. The territorial and political subdivisions of the republic of the
Philippines are the provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays. There shall be
Autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras as hereinafter
provided.
What do you understand by autonomy?
A:

autonomy is either decentralization of administration or decentralization of

power.
there is decentralization of administration when the government delegates its
administrative power to political subdivisions in order to broaden the base of
government and in the process, make local government responsive and accountable
and ensure their fullest development as self-reliant communities and make them
effective partners in the pursuit of national development and social progress
(limbona v. mangalin)
decentralization of power involves abdication of political power in favor of local
government units declared to be autonomous. in that case the autonomous
government is free to chart its destiny. and said autonomous government is
accountable not to the central government but to its constituency. (limbona v.
mangalin).
- LGC (Dual Personality)
- Local Goverment Types:
1. De Jure - those created or recognized by operation of law
2. By Prescription exercised their powers from time immemorial with
a charter, which is presumed to have been lost or destroyed.
3. De Facto (Essential Requisites:memorize)
where people have organized themselves, under color of law, into
ordinary municipal bodies, and have gone on year after year, raising taxes, making
improvements, and exercising their usual franchises, with their rights dependent quite as
much on acquiescence as on the regularity of their origin.

4 Essential requisites of de facto MunCorp

1. Valid law authorizing incorporation
2. An attempt in good faith to organize under it
3. Colourable compliance with law
4. Assumption of corporate powers

(c) Municipal corporation by estoppels

SUGGESTED ANSWER: MUNICIPAL CORPORATION BY ESTOPPELS- A municipal
corporation by estoppels is a corporation which is so defectively formed as not to be
a de facto corporation but is considered a corporation in relation to someone who
dealt with it and acquiesced in its exercise of its corporate functions or entered into
a contract with it. (Martin, Public Corporations, 1985 ed.,p.20)
- LGC at Present (Signed into law - Oct. 10, 1991)
LGC of 1991 (RA7160)

Oct 10, 1991-signed

Oct 19, 1991-publication
Jan 1, 1992- took effect

II. Constitutional Provisions (familiarize)

III. LGC of 1991
Sec. 3- Operative Principles of Decentralization (familiarize)
Sec. 5- Rules of Interpretation (Memorize)
Sec. 6 how may a local government be created, divided etc.
Ans.: under the LGC, a local government may be created, divided, merged, or
abolished or its boundaries be substantially altered either by a LAW enacted by the
congress, in case of provinces, cities, municipalities, or any of its political
subdivision or ordinance enacted by the sanggunian panlalawigan, or panglungsod
in case of barangays, subject to such limitations and requirements as prescribed by
law.
Sec. 7- Creation and Convertion (familiarize)

Sec. 8,9,10 - Division and Merger, Abolition, Plebiscite Requirement (familiarize)

Q: WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS FOR THE DIVISION OR MERGER OF LOCAL
GOVERNMENT UNITS?
A: Under sec. 8 of the LGC, the following are conditions for the division or merger of
local government units, they are
1. they shall comply with the same requirements like income, population,
and land area (sect. 7, LGC)
2. the division shall not reduce the income, population and land area of local
government unit or units concerned to not less than the minimum
requirements of the code; and
3. the income classification of the original local government unit or units
shall not fall below its current income classification prior to such division
Q: HOW AND WHEN MAY A LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT BE ABOLISHED?
A:
A local government unit may be abolished when its income, population, or land area
has been irreversibly reduced to less than the minimum standards prescribed for its
creation, as certified by the national agencies mentioned in sec. 7 of the LGC to
congress or to the sanggunian concerned, as the case may be
The law or ordinance abolishing a local government unit shall specify the province,
city, municipality, or barangay with which the local
Q: BEFORE A LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNIT MAY BE CREATED, DIVIDED,
MERGED, ABOLISHED OR ITS BOUNDARIES SUBSTANTIALLY ALTERED, WHAT
PROCESS IS REQUIRED?

A: NO creation, division, merger, abolition or substantial alteration of boundaries of

local government units shall take effect unless approved by a majority of the votes
cast in a plebiscite called for the purpose in the political unit or units directly
affected. Said plebiscite shall be conducted by the commission on elections within
120 days from the date of effectivity of the law or ordinance effecting such action,
unless said law or ordinance fixes another date. (sec. 10, LGC)
Q: when shall a corporate existence of a new local government unit commence?
A: when a local government is created, its corporate existence shall commence
upon election and qualification of tis chief executive and a majority of the members
of its sanggunian, unless some other time is fixed therefor by the law or ordinance
creating it. (sec. 14, LGC)

Sec. 16- Gen. Welfare Clause (Police Power) "Master the Ruling in the provided
cases"
- Ortigas v. Feati Bank & Trust Co.
- MMDA v. Bel Air
Q: WHAT POWERS MAY LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS EXERCISE?
A: every local government unit shall exercise the powers expressly granted, those
necessarily implied, as well as the powers necessary, appropriate, or incidental for
its efficient and effective governance and those which are essential to the
promotion of general welfare.
Sec. 19- Eminent Domain (Requisite: memorize)
- Municipality of Paranaque v. V.M Realty (Distinguished ordinance between
resolution: memorize)
Q: may a local government unit may, through its chief executive, exercise the power
of eminent domain?
A:
Yes, a local government unit may, through its chief executive exercise the power of
eminent domain, under the following conditions:
1. that the taking must be intended for public use or purpose, or welfare for the
benefit of the poor and the landless;
2. there must be just compensation
3. the exercise must be pursuant to an ordinance
4. there must be a valid and definite offer previously made to the owner of the
property and such offer must not have been accepted. (sec. 19 LGC)
Sec. 20- Reclassification of Lands (familiarize)
Sec. 21- Closure and Opening of Roads
- Macasiano v. Diokno (Properties of Public dominion devoted to public use
and made
available to the public in general are outside the commerce of men...)
Sec. 22- Corporate Powers (memorize)
Q: state the powers which a local government unit may exercise

A: every local government unit, as a corporation, shall have the following powers:
1. to have continuous succession in its corporate name;
2. to sue and be sued
3. to have and use a corporate seal
4. to acquire and convey real or personal property
5. to enter into contracts, and
6. to exercise such powers as are granted to corporations, subject to the
limitations provided in this code.
Sec. 24- Liability for damages
- Torio v. Fontanilla (master the ruling)
Sec. 25- National Supervision over local gov't units (familiarize)
- Mondanio v. Silvasa (master)
Sec. 28- Power of Local Chief Executives over the units of PNP
- Andaya v. RTC (Mayor has no power of appionment, and has only limited
power of
selecting from among the list of ligibles: master)
Sec. 39- Qualification of Elective Officials (memorize)
Sec. 40- Disqualification (memorize)
- Marquez v. Comelec and Rodriguez v. Comelec ("fugitive from justice"Master)
Sec. 42, 43- date of election, term of office (master the rules of vacancies and
sucession)
Sec. 44- Permanent Vacancies (important)
- victoria v. comelec (basis: proportion of votes obtained by each candidate to
the
total number of registered voters in each district)
Sec. 48- Local Legislative Powers (familiarize)
Local legislative power shall be exercised by the sangguniang panlalawigan for the
province, sangguniang panlungsod for the city, sangguniang bayan for the
municipality and the sangguniang barangay for the barangay.
Sec. 53- Quorom (important)
Sec. 53, 54- Approval of Ordinances and Veto power (master)
Sec. 60- Grounds for disciplinary action (memorize)
- Aguinaldo v. santos (the aguinaldo doctrine does not anymore apply in the
present:
please read "Morales v. CA, GR. No. 217126-27, Nov. 10, 2015" Binay
case)
Sec. 63 - Preventive suspension (Master)
Sec. 67- Administrative Appeals (Master)
Make your own notes...