LESSON 7

EXECUTIVE
 Explain the roles and
powers of the
OBJECTIVES
Philippine president;
Analyze how
contemporary
. Philippine presidents
exercised their
powers; and
Critique the
Philippine presidents’
exercise of power
 • presidential form of government
• center of power, the head of
PRESIDENT
both government and state
• is not constrained by both the
. judicial and legislative branch in
the performance of his duties as
the country’s executive
• executive power “the power to
enforce and administer the laws”
 1. A natural-born Filipino citizen;
QUALIFICATIONS
2. A registered voter;
3. Able to read and write;

. 4. At least forty (40) years of age

on the day of the election; and
5. A resident of the Philippines
for at least ten years
immediately preceding such
election.
NATURAL-BORN

Natural-born Filipino citizens

are citizens of the Philippines
from birth without having to
perform any act to acquire or
perfect their Philippine
citizenship.
 1. A natural-born Filipino citizen;
QUALIFICATIONS
2. A registered voter;
3. Able to read and write;

. 4. At least forty (40) years of age

on the day of the election; and
5. A resident of the Philippines
for at least ten years
immediately preceding such
election.
 • cannot run for re-election unless
that person who served as
president only held office for four
PRESIDENT
years or less
• in case of death, permanent
. disability, removal from office, or
resignation by the president, the
following line of succession is
observed until the position of
president is filled up: vice-president,
senate president, and speaker of
the House of Representatives.
POWERS OF THE
PRESIDENT
POWERS OF THE
o Power of appointment
PRESIDENT

o Administrative power
10
o Military power
 POWER OF
APPOINTMENT
Article VII: Section 16
APPOINTMENT The president can appoint the
heads of executive departments,
POWER OF

ambassadors, other public

ministers and consuls, officers of
. the armed forces from the rank
of colonel or naval captain, and
other officers whose
appointments are vested in
him/her by the Constitution.
ADMINISTRATIVE
POWER
Article VII: Section 17
ADMINISTRATIVE
• The president shall have
control of all the executive
POWER

14
departments, bureaus,
and offices. He shall
ensure that the laws are
faithfully executed.
MILITARY POWER
Article VII: Section 18
 • commander-in-chief of all the Armed Forces
MILITARY POWER in the Philippines
• along with this power is the power to
suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus and to place the country or any part
of the Philippines under martial law in cases
16 of invasion or rebellion or when public
safety requires it. The president is given 48
hours from the proclamation of martial law
to submit a report regarding such
proclamation to the Congress who will then
decide if the proclamation should be
revoked or suspended.
HABEAS CORPUS
HABEAS CORPUS
Habeas corpus is a legal remedy
protecting the citizens from unlawful
arrest and detention. This can be
suspended during times of invasion or
18
rebellion per Article 3, Section 5 of the
1987 Constitution but only for the
purpose of preventive imprisonment
pending investigation and/or trial.
 If abused, those with authority can arrest
HABEAS CORPUS anyone whether they truly deem the
person as a danger to the populace or not.
Detention can also be indefinite and the
data on the number of arrests or detention
may not be accurately reported. Without
19
the court to check the implementation of
arrest and detention, the authorities are
given more autonomy in their treatment of
the prisoners which can lead to acts of
torture in order to obtain narratives to
justify the arrest or detention.
MARTIAL LAW
MARTIAL LAW
Martial Law is a tool used by the
state to defend itself especially in
21
times of a disaster, invasion, or a
rebellion. The executive is granted
special and emergency powers if
Martial Law is declared.
MARTIAL LAW
• Emilio Aguinaldo- June 18, 1898
• President Jose Laurel- September
22
21, 1944
• President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. –
September 21, 1972 (almost 9
years)
 • Ferdinand Marcos' declaration of Martial
MARTIAL LAW law through proclamation 1081 on
September 21, 1972 is perhaps the most
famous declaration since this lasted for
almost 9 years. The communist
insurgency led by the New People's Army
23 was said to have been the justification for
the declaration and the ambush of then
Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile as the
tipping point. Enrile later on, in an
interview in 1986 and his autobiography
in 2012, would state that the ambush was
faked.
 • Marcos, however, was able to
MARTIAL LAW consolidate both judicial and
legislative powers under the executive
enabling him to enact the 1973
constitution that essentially allowed
24
Marcos to run for another term since
he is no longer qualified to run under
the 1935 constitution. Marcos was
able to weaponize the 1935
constitution because it had no
safeguards such as the specific time
or extent of Martial Law.
 • When Marcos was ousted in 1986,
safeguards were included in the
MARTIAL LAW
1987 Constitution so that Martial
Law would not be abused again.
Some of these safeguards are:
25
state of Martial Law must not
exceed 30 days, the Supreme
Court may review the declaration,
and it will not suppress the
constitution, the legislature, and
the judiciary.
 • Emilio Aguinaldo- June 18, 1898
• President Jose Laurel- September 21,
MARTIAL LAW
1944
• President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. –
26 September 21, 1972 (almost 9 years)
• President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo-
Maguindanao, 2009 (Maguindanao
Massacre)
• President Rodrigo Duterte- Mindanao
2017 (Marawi Siege)
 • Checks and balances in the government
is designed to avoid the excessive use
of power of one branch of government.
CHECKS AND
All three branches are co-equal and
BALANCES
independent to avoid one branch
dominating or influencing the functions
of another branch of government. The
27 legislative branch may check if there is
an excessive abuse of power or betrayal
of public trust from the Executive
through the power of impeachment. The
judiciary on the other hand may review
and establish the constitutionality of the
laws passed by the legislature and
signed by the president.
OTHER POWER OF THE • The president has also the
power to grant pardons and
amnesty. Pardon is the
PRESIDENT
power to release a
wrongdoer from
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punishment after
conviction. Amnesty is a
pardon extended to a group
of persons and abolish the
offense before or after
conviction.
OTHER POWER OF THE
• Other powers of the president include: the
power to contract or guarantee foreign
loans on behalf of the Republic subject to
prior concurrence of the Monetary Board
PRESIDENT
and subject to limitations as may be
provided by law; the power to sign a
treaty or international agreement
provided that the validity and effectiveness
29
of such treaty will be ratified first by at
least two-thirds of all the members of the
Senate; and the power of the budget
under Section 22, Article VII, where the
president submits to the Congress a
budget of expenditures and sources of
financing, including receipts from existing
and proposed revenue measure.