DOCTRINE OF CONSTITUTIONAL SUPREMACY

Under this doctrine, if a law or contract violates any norm of the Constitution,
that law or contract, whether promulgated by the legislative or by
the executive branch or entered into by private persons for private purposes, is
null and void and without any force and effect. Thus, since the Constitution is
the fundamental, paramount and supreme law of the nation, it is deemed
written in every statute and contract. (Manila Prince Hotel v. GSIS, G.R. No.
122156, Feb. 3, 1997)
Justice Isagani A. Cruz eloquently expound the essence of this great doctrine
in this wise:
“The Constitution is the basic and paramount law to which all other laws
must conform and to which all persons, including the highest officials of the
land, must defer. No act shall be valid, however nobly intentioned, if it conflicts
with the Constitution. The Constitution must ever remain supreme. All must
bow to the mandate of this law. Expediency must not be allowed to sap its
strength nor greed for power debase its rectitude. Right or wrong, the
Constitution must be upheld as long as it has not been changed by the
sovereign people lest its disregard result in the usurpation of the majesty of the
law by the pretenders to illegitimate power.” (Isagani A. Cruz, Philippine
Political Law, Central Lawbook Publishing, Co., Inc. 1991 Ed., p. 11)

BAR QUESTION (2004)

BNN Republic has a defense treaty with EVA Federation. According to the
Republic's Secretary of Defense, the treaty allows temporary basing of friendly
foreign troops in case of training exercises for the war on terrorism. The
Majority Leader of the Senate contends that whether temporary or not, the
basing of foreign troops however friendly is prohibited by the Constitution of
BNN which provides that, "No foreign military bases shall be allowed in BNN
territory." In case there is indeed an irreconcilable conflict between a provision
of the treaty and a provision of the Constitution, in a jurisdiction and legal
system like ours, which should prevail: the provision of the treaty or of the
Constitution? Why? Explain with reasons, briefly.
ANSWER: In case of conflict between a provision of a treaty and a provision of
the Constitution, the provision of the Constitution should prevail. Section 5(2)
(a), Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution authorizes the nullification of a treaty
when it conflicts with the Constitution.
Amending Process

 Constitutional amendment process requires complex steps before the

Constitution can change.

 The constitutional amendment process is one of just two steps. They are
adoption and ratification. However, the work and time that goes into
completing each step mean that few get through.

How amendment is instituted

There are two methods:

An amendment may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both Houses of
Congress, or, if two-thirds of the States request one, by a convention called for
that purpose. The amendment must then be ratified by three-fourths of the
State legislatures, or three-fourths of conventions called in each State for
ratification.
The Constitution provides two ways to propose amendments to the document.
Amendments may be proposed either by the Congress, through a joint
resolution passed by a two-thirds vote, or by a convention called by Congress
in response to applications from two-thirds of the state legislatures.
There are two ways to get a proposal adopted by Congress. The first is to put
the proposal to a vote in the Senate and the House of Representatives. Votes
with a positive two-thirds majority.

How revision is instituted

Revision can be filed in superior court by the aggrieved party of any judgement
passed by the subordinate court where no appeal lies. Revision is discretionary
and supervisory power of the superior court, it does not warrant any statutory
right to the aggrieved party, unlike appeal.
Amendment vs. Revision

Amendment, in government and law, an addition or alteration made to a

constitution, statute, or legislative bill or resolution. Amendments can be made
to existing constitutions and statutes and are also commonly made to bills in
the course of their passage through a legislature. Since amendments to a
national constitution can fundamentally change a country’s political system or
governing institutions, such amendments are usually submitted to an exactly
prescribed procedure.

Revision is the process of examination of an order of a lower court by a higher

court, so as to rectify any improper exercise of Judicial Power. The precise
purpose of Revision is to examine the correctness, legality or propriety of any
proceeding before any inferior court.

Amendment is "the alteration of an existing constitution by the addition or

subtraction of material." Revision is the "replacement of one constitution by
another.

Requisites for valid ratification

The requisites of valid ratification are as follows:

1. The Principal should be in Existence

The agent must expressly contract an agent for a principal who is in existence
and competent to contract. No body as an agent can bind by contract a
principal who does not exist at the  date of the contract. Thus, a company
cannot ratify or adopt a contract, which was entered into by the promoters on
its behalf before its incorporation.
2. The Agent must have Purported to Act for a Principal
A person can ratify only that which is purported to have been done for him and
cannot ratify that which is purported to have been done for somebody else. Act
done by a person on his own account cannot be ratified. Only when an act is
done on behalf of the ratifier, such act can be ratified.
3. The Principal should have Contractual Capacity
The principal should have contractual capacity both at the time of the contract
and at the time of ratification. This is because the principal can ratify an act by
the agent, provided he himself could do the act, which he purports to ratify.
Thus, when the minor was not in a position to give authority at the date when
acts were performed, he cannot subsequently ratify these acts.
4. The Act should be Capable of Ratification:
The act to be ratified must be lawful and not void or illegal or ultra vires in case
of a company. Accordingly, the shareholders of a company cannot ratify an
ultra vires contract made by the directors.
5. Principal should have Full Knowledge of Material Facts
Sec. 198 of the Act states that, "No valid ratification can be made by a person
whose knowledge of the facts of the case is materially defective." So the
principal should have full knowledge of material facts.
6. Ratification Cannot be Partial
A contract cannot be ratified partially. This provision is contained in Sec. 199
of the Act, which states, two parties ratifying any unauthorized act done on his
behalf ratifies the whole of the transaction of which such act formed a part.
7. Ratification should be done within a Reasonable Time
The ratification becomes valid only if it is made within a reasonable time after
the act to be ratified is done.
8. Ratification should not Cause any Damage to a Third Person
A ratification is not valid if it causes some damage to a third person or
terminates any right or interest of a third person.
9. Ratification must be Communicated
There can be no valid ratification of an act unless it is communicated to the
other party. Ratifier cannot keep his thoughts to himself.
10. Ratification Relates back to the Date of the Act of Agent
Ratification relates back to the original dating or making of the act or contract.
It has a retrospective effect. It tantamount to previous authority. It places all
the parties in exactly the same position, as they would have occupied in the
case of a precedent authority.
Different types of Initiative

In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens'

initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number
of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or
hold a public vote in the legislature in what is called indirect initiative, or
under direct initiative, where the proposition is put to a plebiscite
or referendum, in what is called a Popular initiated Referendum or citizen-
initiated referendum.
In an indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the legislature, and then
put to a popular vote only if not enacted by the legislature. If the proposed law
is rejected by the legislature, the government may be forced to put the
proposition to a referendum. The initiative may then take the form of a direct
initiative or an indirect initiative.
In a direct initiative, a measure is put directly to a referendum.

Direct initiative
A direct initiative places an initiative measure directly on the ballot for voters to
pass or reject. The measure is not submitted the legislature first.
Indirect initiative
An indirect initiative is voted on by a legislature after sufficient signatures are
collected from the voting population. In most areas the measure is submitted to
a subsequent popular vote only if amended by the legislature.
Agenda setting initiative
An agenda setting initiative is a measure submitted by petition to a legislature
for consideration. The legislature may choose to approve or reject the proposal
without a public vote.[1] This form or initiative is more common than a legally
binding direct or indirect initiative.

Kinds of Referendum
"Referendum" is the term given to a direct vote of the electorate required by the
legal framework or requested by the Executive or Legislative on an issue of
public policy, in contrast with votes cast at elections, which are made in
relation to parties or individual candidates and generally reflect voters'
preferences over a range of different issues. Referendums may be held in
relation to particular circumstances (e.g., to amend a country's constitution) or
in relation to particular political issues (e.g., whether or not to join an
international organisation) but are in general held in relation to issues of major
political significance. The terms used to define referendums may differ in
different countries.

Mandatory or obligatory referendum

A mandatory or obligatory referendum is a vote of the electorate which is called
automatically under circumstances defined in the constitution or in the
legislation. The consequences of the vote are usually binding. Therefore, if a
proposal passes, the government or appropriate authority is compelled to
implement it. Mandatory referendums may be required in relation to pre-
determined issues. Typically, these are issues of major national significance,
for example, adoption of international treaties, transfer of authority to
international bodies, and taxes and public expenditure commitments. In
addition, in many countries, proposed amendments to the constitution must be
affirmed by a referendum.
Alternatively, mandatory referendums may be required in pre-determined
situations. One example is in Presidential systems, where in the case of
disagreement between the President and the Legislature, a referendum may be
required to resolve the dispute.
Optional or facultative referendum
The second category of referendum is the optional or facultative referendum.
These are votes of the electorate which are called by a formal demand, which
may emanate from the executive, from a number of members of the legislature,
from a number of citizens or from some other defined agent. The consequences
of the vote may or may not be binding. A government can decide to initiate a
referendum on a major political issue. It might do so because public pressure
for a referendum forces it to hold one, or it might choose to hold a referendum
because it is divided on the issue at hand. Optional referendums initiated by
the government have been held frequently in Europe on the issue of European
Union integration (although in some cases, such referendums have been
mandatory because they involve an amendment to a country's constitution).
Although these referendums may not be legally binding, it may be politically
difficult for a government to ignore the outcome.
A further type of optional referendum is the abrogative referendum. An
abrogative referendum is a vote of the electorate which may decide to either
retain or repeal a law or decree that has been agreed and promulgated by the
legislature and already implemented. Usually, citizens force a vote by collecting
a certain number of signatures in support of a vote .