B. Concepts of State and Government

Meaning of StateA state is a community of persons more

or less numerous, permanently occupying a definite portion of territory, having a government of their own to which the great body of inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying freedom from external control.

The Philippines is a state.

Elements of a state1. People - The mass of

the population living within the state.

“people”

answers the question, “who governs whom?”

no specific number requirement“…the state shall neither be too small

nor yet one that seems great but has no unity.” (Plato)

Elements of a state

2. Territory- demarcated area that rightly belongs to the population

“territory”

answers the question, “where?”terrestrial, fluvial, maritime and aerialshould be permanent and large enough

to be self-sufficing

Elements of a state3. Government

- Refers to the agency to which the will of the state is formulated, expressed, and carried out.

Elements of a state

4. Sovereignty- May be defined as the supreme power

of the state to command and enforce obedience to its will from the people within its jurisdiction and corollarily to have freedom from foreign control.

“sovereignty”

a. Internal – power of the state to rule within its territory

b. External – the freedom of the state to carry out its activities without subjection to or control by other states.

Origin of states

1. Divine right theory

2. Necessity or force theory

3. Paternalistic theory

4. Social contract theory

State distinguished from nation

“The state is a political concept whilea nation is an ethnic concept.”

State distinguished from nation

“ A state is not subject to external control while a nation may or may not be independent of external control.”

State distinguished from nation

“ A single state may consist of one or more nations or people and conversely, a single nation may be made up of several states.”

State distinguished from government

“…they are usually regarded as identical. As ordinarily, the acts of the government

are the acts of the state.”

State distinguished from government

“A state cannot exist without a government, but it is possible to have a

government without a state.”

State distinguished from government

“A government may change, its form may change, but the state, as long as its

essential elements are present, remains the same.”

Forms of Government

“forms” of government refer to the basic rules by which a nation carries out its policies

there is no standard for the classification of governments

actual arrangements differ from theoretical ones

governments: Aristotelian typology

Number of rulers

Ideal Perverted

One

Few

Many

Monarchy

Aristocracy

Democracy

Tyranny

Oligarchy

Mobocracy

As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national government

a. Unitary - control of national and local affairs is exercised by the central or national government

b. Federal –powers of the government are divided between to sets of organs, one of the national and the other for local affairs

As to the relationship of the between the executive and the legislative branches of the government

a. Parliamentary – legislative and executive bodies are fused together

b. Presidential – the executive is constitutionally independent of the legislature

C. The Government of the Philippines in Transition

The pre-Spanish government

(1)Unit of government composed of settlement villages

called barangay

from balangay a Malayan word meaning boat

every barangay was virtually a state

they form confederations for the purpose of protection against common enemies

Balangay

The pre-Spanish government

(2)Datueach barangay was

ruled by a datu

the barangay is monarchy in form, with datu as its monarch

The pre-Spanish government(3) Social Classes in the barangay

the people of the barangay are divided into four classes namely:

o the nobility (maharlika)o the freemen (timawa)o serfs (aliping namamahay)o slaves (aliping sagigilid)

Timawa

Maharlika

Alipin

The pre-Spanish government

(4) Early laws

Maragtas Code – written by Datu

Sumakwel about 1250 AD

Kalantiaw Code – written by Datu

Kalantiaw in 1433 AD

The pre-Spanish government(5) Comparison with other ancient governments

laws of barangay are generally fairthe system of government although

defective was not so badFilipinos even during the early period

have shown high intelligence and moral virtues

Government during the Spanish period

Spain’s title to the Philippineso discovery of the archipelago Magellan

1521o Conquest of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in

1565o By virtue of the Treaty of Paris, the

Philippines was ceded to the United States

Government during the Spanish periodSpanish colonial government

o the Philippines was ruled indirectly by the King of Spain through Mexico from 1565 to 1821

oMexico obtained its independence from Spain, thus, the Philippines was ruled directly from Spain until 1898