Appointing Power.

May be defined as the section, by the authority vested with the power, of an individual who is to
exercise the functions of a given office. It has likewise been defined as the “act of designation by the
appointing officer, body or board, to whom that power has been delegated, of the individual who is to
exercise the functions of a given office.”

An appointment may be made verbally but is usually done in writing through what is called the
commission. The commission is the written evidence of an appointment.

The Removal Power.

From the express power of appointment, the President derives the implied power of removal.
However, it is not correct to say that all officials appointed by him are also removable by him since the
Constitution pre-scribes certain methods for the separation from the public service of some such officers.

The Control Power.

“The President shall have control of all the executive departments, bureaus and offices. He shall
ensure that the laws be faithfully executed.”

The “Take-Care” Clause.

The power to take care that the laws be faithfully executed makes the President a dominant figure
in the administration of the government. The energy or indifference with which he discharges this power
will determine the measure of his success as Law Enforcer.

The Military Power.

The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and
whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless
violence, invasion or rebellion.

Command of the Armed Forces.

The “power of the sword” makes the President the most important figure in the country in times of war
or other similar emergency. In theory, he plans all campaigns, establishes all sieges and blockades, directs
all marches and fights all battles.

Limitations on the Military Powers.

The Borrowing Power.

Sec. 20. The President may contract or guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines
with the prior concurrence of the Monetary Board, and subject to such limitations as may be provided by
law. The Monetary Board shall, within thirty days from the end of every quarter of the calendar year,
submit to the Congress a complete report of its decisions on applications for loans to be contracted or
guaranteed by the Government or government-owned and controlled corporations which would have the
effect of increasing the foreign debt, and containing other matters as may be provided by law.
 I. Qualifications of Supreme Court.

“Sec. 9. The Members of the Supreme Court and judges of lower courts shall be appointed by the President
from a list of at least three nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar Council for every vacancy. Such
appointments need no confirmation.

The reason for requiring at least three nominees for every vacancy is to give the President enough leeway
in the exercise of his discretion when he makes his appointment. If the nominee were limited to only one,
the appointment would in effect be made by the Judicial and Bar Council with the President performing
only the mechanical act of formalizing the commission.

“Sec. 7. (1) No person shall be appointed Member of the Supreme Court or any lower collegiate court
unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines. A Member of the Supreme Court must be at least
forty years of age, and must have been for fifteen year or more a judge of a lower court or engaged in the
practice of law in the Philippines.”

II. Effects of unconstitutionality of a law.

Effects of a Declaration of Unconstitutionality.

Orthodox view. Under this rule, as announced in Norton v. Shelby County an unconstitutional act is not a
law. It confers no rights. It imposes no duties. It affords no protection. It creates no office. It is in legal
contemplation, inoperative, as if it had not been passed.

Modern view is less stringent. Under this view, the court in passing upon the question of constitutionality
does not annul or repeal the statute if it finds it in conflict with the Constitution. It simply refuses to
recognize it and determines the rights of the parties just as if such statute had no existence.

Partial Unconstitutionality.

The courts hesitate to declare a law totally unconstitutional and, as long as it is possible, will salvage the
valid portions thereof in order to give effect to the legislative will.

III. Amnesty.

Amnesty.

Section 19. Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the
President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, after
conviction by final judgment.

“He shall also have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the
Members of the Congress.”

As previously observed, the pardoning power may not be limited by the legislature nor may the
President’s discretion in its exercise be reviewed by the judiciary.
 IV. Pardon.

The Pardoning Power.

Section 19. Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the
President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, after
conviction by final judgment.

“He shall also have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the
Members of the Congress.”

Absolute Pardon. Extended without any strings attached.

Conditional Pardon. Is one under which the convict is required to comply with certain requirements.

Plenary Pardon. Extinguishes all the penalties imposed upon the offender, including accessory disabilities,
whereas a partial pardon does not.

Effects of Pardon.

The legal effect of a pardon is to restore not only the offender’s liberty but also his civil and political rights.

V. Judicial inquiry.

Requisites of a Judicial Inquiry.

These requisites are the following:

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.
5. The Congress by a majority vote of all its members voting jointly, revoke his action.
6. The revocation may not be set aside by the President.
7. By the same vote and in the same manner, the Congress may, upon initiative of the President,
extend his suspension or proclamation for a period to be determined by the Congress if the
invasion or rebellion shall continue and the public

VI. Declaration of Martial Law.

Martial Law.

1. Martial Law when it becomes necessary to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or
rebellion only.
2. The grounds for the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and the
proclamation of martial law are now limited only
 VII. Suspension of the Privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus.

Habeas Corpus.

The writ of Habeas Corpus “is a writ directed to the person detaining another, commanding him
to produce the body of the prisoner at a designated time and place, with the day and cause of his caption
and detention, to do to submit to, and receive whatever the court or judge awarding the writ shall
consider in his behalf. It is a high prerogative common law writ of ancient origin the great object of which
is the liberation of those who may be in prison without sufficient cause”.

The President is entrusted the power to suspend the privilege of the writ of Habeas Corpus
especially in cases of invasion or rebellion, whenever the public safety requires it. Section 15 of Article III
of 1987 Constitution. It should be stressed that what I permitted to be suspended by the President is not
the writ itself but its privilege.

The Supreme Court decidedly has the power to annul the suspension of the privilege of the writ
of habeas corpus if the same is not based on either of the two grounds stated in the Constitution, to wit,
“invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it”.

The Montenegro Case affirmed the doctrine in Barcelona v. Baker and held that the determination
by the President of the Philippines of the existence of any of the grounds prescribed by the Constitution
for the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus should be conclusive upon the courts. The
justification was that the President, with all the intelligence sources available to him as commander-in-
chief, was in a better position than the Supreme Court to ascertain the real state of peace and order in
the country.

Under Article III, Section 133, “the right to bail shall not be impaired even if the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus is suspended”.

The constitutional validity of the President’s proclamation of martial law or suspension of the writ
of habeas corpus is first a political question in the hands of Congress before it becomes a justiciable one
in the hands of the Court.

VIII. Limitations on the Power of the President to declare Martial Law.

IX. Judicial Independence.

Independence of the Judiciary.

To maintain the independence of the judiciary, the following safeguards have been embodied in the
Constitution:
 a. The Supreme Court is a constitutional body. It cannot be abolished nor may its membership or
the manner of its meetings be changed by mere legislation.
b. The members of the Supreme Court may not be removed except by impeachment.
c. The Supreme Court may not be deprived of its minimum original and appellate jurisdiction as
prescribed in Article VIII, Section 5, of the Constitution.
d. The appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court may not be increased by law without its advice
and concurrence.
e. Appointees to the judiciary are now nominated by the Judicial and Bar Council and no longer
subject to confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.
f. The Supreme Court now has administrative supervision over all lower courts and their
personnel.
g. The Supreme Court has exclusive power to discipline judges of lower courts.
h. The members of the Supreme Court and all lower courts have security of tenure, which cannot
be undermined by a law reorganizing the judiciary.
i. They shall not be designated to any agency performing quasi-judicial or administrative functions.
j. The salaries of judges may not be reduced during their continuance in office.
k. The judiciary shall enjoy fiscal autonomy.
l. The Supreme Court alone may initiate rules of court.
m. Only the Supreme Court may order the temporary detail of judges.
n. The Supreme Court can appoint all officials and employees of the judiciary.

Judicial Power.

The vesture and definition of the judicial power are effected by the following rewriting in Article VIII of
the original provision appearing in both the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions:

“Section 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be
established by law”