Presidential Vs. Parliamentary Government

Constitutional Law 1

MPS

PRESIDENTIAL vs. PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT The Parliamentary System advocated by some statesmen and scholars differs from the Presidential System in many important aspects: 1. The President of the Philippines as primarily the Head of the State is elected by the members of Parliament, approximately 200 members more or less, and no longer by direct vote of the people. 2. The Head of the government will be the Prime Minister chosen from among the members of Parliament. Generally, the leader of the majority party in Parliament is chosen for this position. 3. The members of the cabinet are chosen from among the members of Parliament. 4. The Prime Minister and the cabinet members have no fixed term or tenure of office. They fall from their respective positions if a majority of Parliament passes a resolution withdrawing confidence from them. 5. If the Premier and the members submit to this resolution withdrawing confidence, the government (Prime Minister and cabinet members) falls and another new government (i.e. Prime Minister and cabinet will have to be informed and voted upon the majority in Parliament). If the government (Prime Minister and cabinet) believes that its policies gave the general approval of the people, said government may appeal to the people to decide the issue. If majority of Parliament that voted down the cabinet is resumed by the people, the appealing cabinet is deemed to have been repudiated by popular vote and must vote, the Parliament majority that withdraw confidence from it is not returned to their seats. UNITARY vs. FEDERAL UNITARY SYSTEM Which revolves around a central authority, is the system used in most presidential and parliament countries today. Refers to as a top-to-bottom government since the power comes from the top and trickles down to the bottom. This central government is in fact in charge of policy making and is the ultimate the law making body in the land. In the Philippines, it delegates these tasks to subsequent provincial and local government units. The main advantage is uniformity among the different local and provincial governments. This is not without skeletons in its closet. Local government units up to the provincial government may also be ill-equipped to tackle local concerns. Since the national government deal with national problems and is responsible for budgeting sectors, it may allocate funds or bigger projects and programs, leaving the local governments to fend for themselves. FEDERAL SYSTEM Is divided into several smaller, self-governed states or regions. These states function almost like independent countries, and may even have their own set of state-specific laws – same-sex marriage May be allowed in some but not in others, for example – but are directly concerned with nationwide issues such as national defense or foreign policy. Those issues are handled by a central government, which acts like a governing body of the smaller, state-governing bodies. The states and the central government follow a set of rules and policies that define their relationship and what can and cannot be done by both. A federation is not without its blemishes. Because each state government has its own style of governance, citizens all over the federation will be experiencing different levels of welfare. The competencies and efficiency of each state government will also not be the same, potentially creating further disunity. A policy exercised across different states may differ in magnitude, like penalties for criminal offenses. Finally, there is always the possibility of disagreement and conflict between state and central governments over authority and power. SOVEREIGNTY Refers to the status of the Philippine nation as an Independent sovereign state. One of the essential features of the state. It is this feature which differentiates the state from other human associations and organizations.

Constitutional Law 1

MPS

LEGAL SOVEREIGNTY vs. POLITICAL SOVEREIGNTY Legal Sovereignty Represents the lawyer's conception of sovereignty. It is associated with the supreme law-making authority in the state. The body which has the power to issue final commands in the form of laws is the legal sovereign in a state. This power may be vested in one person or a body of persons. It may be a king or dictator or parliament. Under absolute monarchies, it was the king who was vested with the power of making laws. Is defined as that person or body of persons that makes law and whose law is final and is recognized by courts and is enforced by the executive. It is the power of the state to issue final commands. This power is vested to those who we gave authority to decide for us. Example is the President or the Congress. Characteristics: 1. A legal sovereign is definite and determinate. It may be a person as in the case of an absolute monarchy or a body of persons as in the case of the British Parliament. 2. Legal sovereignty is definitely organized and re-organized by constitutional law. 3. Legal sovereign alone has the power to declare in legal terms the will of the state. Political Sovereignty The concept of political and popular sovereign is very confusing. In the modern democratic state, a distinction, all the same, has come to stay between legal sovereign and political sovereign. Is the all the influences behind the legal sovereignty. Since we are the ones who gave them the authority to decide, we, the electorate (or the voters) are considered as the political sovereignty. INTERNAL vs. EXTERNAL Internal Sovereignty Is supreme over all citizens, aliens, associations and organizations. Its law is final and binding. All have to obey it. If it is disobeyed! It is followed by physical penalties. Legally, the sovereign is not subject to any restrictions except those provided in the constitution itself. Within its constitutional authority, there is no higher power to restrain the sovereign. It is the power of the State in controlling its domestic or internal affairs without having to rely on external or outside help or without intervention from outside forces like other states & international organizations. The power of the state to decide on its own. External Sovereignty It is free and independent, equal to other sovereigns. A state is master of its destiny and decides about peace and war. It sends and receives diplomatic agents, enters in contracts, treaties and participates in international conferences on an equal footing with other states irrespective of its size, population or power. Is the capacity of the state tolerating itself with other states in pursuing its interests. However, this does not mean that the state we have an agreement with can dictate us on what we need to do. External sovereignty means that we have the capacity to Decide on “how” we need to relate with other states.