Differentiate revision from amendment of the constitution.

Amendment: an alteration of one or a few specific provisions of the Constitution. Its main
purpose is to improve specific provisions of the Constitution. The changes brought about
by amendments will not affect the other provisions of the Constitution.
Revision: An examination of the entire Constitution to determine how and to what extent it
should be altered. A revision implies substantive change, affecting the Constitution as a
whole.

When does an action deemed to be a suit against the state?

1) The State cannot be sued without its consent.
2) When considered a suit against the State
a). The Republic is sued by name;
b). Suits against an un-incorporated government agency;
c). Suit is against a government official, but is such that ultimate liability shall devolve on
the government

Distinguish nation and state.

A state issues money and has a bureaucracy that provides services to its citizens. It also
has recognition from other states. One of the key differences between a state and a nation is
that a state has the right to enter into agreements with other states.
Nations have a population that shares the same language, traditions and religion. This is
not necessarily true of states. States often have diverse populations consisting of various
groups, or nations.

Functions of PET appealable to the SC?

Pursuant to the Constitution, "the Judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and
in such inferior courts as may be established by law.
the Presidential Electoral Tribunal is a court inferior to the Supreme Court
the decisions thereof are appealable to the Supreme Court
PET appears to be a quasi-judicial tribunal whose decision is appealable to the Supreme
Court, which is composed of the same members composing the tribunal

Is the senate as an institution a continuing body?

The present Senate under the 1987 Constitution is no longer a continuing legislative body.
The present Senate has twenty-four members, twelve of whom are elected every three
years for a term of six years each. Thus, the term of twelve Senators expires every three
years, leaving less than a majority of Senators to continue into the next Congress. The 1987
Constitution, like the 1935 Constitution, requires a majority of Senators to constitute a
quorum to do business.
When maybe a state be sued?
The State cannot be sued without its consent.
Consent may be express or implied. Express consent may be embodied in a general law or a
special law. Consent is implied when the state enters into a contract or it itself commences
litigation. However, not all contracts entered into by the government will operate as an
implied consent; distinction must be made between its sovereign and proprietary acts.
Stated differently, a State may be deemed to have tacitly given its consent to be sued only
when it enters into business contracts.

Is the right to return to one's country is a constitutional right?

Essentially, the right to return to one’s country, a totally distinct right under international
law, independent from, though related to the right to travel. Thus, even the Universal
declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
treat the right to freedom of movement and abode within the territory of the state, the right
to leave a country and the right to enter one’s country as separate and distinct rights.
THE RIGHT TO RETURN TO ONE’S COUNTRY IS NOT AMONG THE RIGHTS SPECIFICALLY
GUARANTEED BY THE BILL OF RIGHTS, WHICH TREATS ONLY OF THE LIBERTY OF
ABODE AND THE RIGHT TO TRAVEL, BUT IT IS OUR WELL-CONSIDERED VIEW THAT THE
RIGHT TO RETURN MAY BE CONSIDERED AS A GENERALLY ACCEPTED PRINCIPLE OF
INTERNATIONAL LAW, UNDER OUR CONSTITUTION, IS PART OF THE LAW OF THE LAND.

Is the declaration of martial law subject to judicial review?

The Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any citizen, the
sufficiency of the factual basis of the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the
privilege of the writ or the extension thereof, and must promulgate its decision thereon
within thirty days from its filing.

What grounds may the president may call the AFP?

Whenever it becomes necessary, the President may call the armed forces to prevent or
suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion." The implication is that the President is
given full discretion and wide latitude in the exercise of the power to call as compared to
the two other powers.
When the president may suspend writ of habeas corpus?
In case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it, the President may
suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus for a period not exceeding sixty days, or
place the Philippines or any part of the country under martial law. The suspension of the
privilege of the writ shall apply only to persons judicially charged for rebellion or offenses
inherent in, or directly connected with, invasion. During the suspension of the privilege of
the writ of habeas corpus, any person thus arrested or detained shall be judicially charged
within three days, otherwise he shall be released.

May the salaries of the judges and justices be subject to taxation?

The salaries of Justices and Judges are properly subject to a general income tax law
applicable to all income earners and that the payment of such income tax by Justices and
Judges
All citizens should bear their aliquot part of the cost of maintaining the government and
should share the burden of general income taxation equitably.

What happens if there is a change of sovereignty?

It depends on the manner of the change. If there is belligerent change of sovereignty, laws
of political nature are suspended until the belligerent power has been removed by the
power which has original exercise of sovereignty. If the change is not caused by
belligerency, political laws are abrogated. All other laws, i.e. civil laws, continue to operate
despite change of sovereignty.

Distinguish pardon from amnesty.

Pardon is granted by the Chief Executive and as such it is a private act which must be
pleaded and proved by the person pardoned, because the courts take no notice thereof;
while amnesty by Proclamation of the Chief Executive with the concurrence of Congress, is
a public act of which the courts should take judicial notice. Pardon is granted to one after
conviction; while amnesty is granted to classes of persons or communities who may be guilty
of political offenses, generally before or after the institution of the criminal prosecution and
sometimes after conviction. Pardon looks forward and relieves the offender from the
consequences of an offense of which he has been convicted, that is, it abolishes or forgives
the punishment, and for that reason it does ‘not work the restoration of the rights to hold
public office, or the right of suffrage, unless such rights be expressly restored by the terms
of the pardon,’ and it ‘in no case exempts the culprit from the payment of the civil
indemnity imposed upon him by the sentence’ (Article 36, Revised Penal Code). While
amnesty looks backward and abolishes and puts into oblivion the offense itself, it so
overlooks and obliterates the offense with which he is charged that the person released by
amnesty stands before the law precisely as though he had committed no offense.