1.

2. Prime duty of government

SEC. 4. The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect tile people. The Government may call
upon the people to defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under
conditions provided by law, to render personal military or civil service.

Prime duty of the Government.

Section 4 enunciates the first and foremost duty of the Government-- to serve and protect the "people.
In our contemporary setting, when the country is beset by formidable social and economic problem all
demanding priority attention, particularly the problems of mass poverty and massive employment, the
above principle is most proper and timely. It is consistent with the most basic democratic tenet that the
government exists for the people and not the people for the government. The State fulfills this prime
duty by pursuing and implementing the State Policies mandated by the Constitution in Sections 7 to 28.

In both the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions, "the defense of the State is the prime duty of the Government
x x x." This concept is considered anachronistic. It was taken f1·om the Constitution of the Spanish
Republic.

3. The separation of Church and State

4.

National purposes and aims in adopting the Constitution.

As set forth in the Preamble, they are:

(1) To build a just and humane society; and

(2) To establish a Government that shall:

(a) embody our ideals and aspirations;

(b) promote the common good;

(c ) conserve and develop our patrimony; and

(d) secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule
of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace.

5.

SEC. 12. The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a
basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the
unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth
for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of the Government.

6.

SEC. 14. The State recognizes the role of women in nation building, and shall ensure the fundamental
equality before the law of women and men.

7.

SEC. 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It shall protect thE' rights of workers
aud promote their welfare. Labor as a primary social economic force. This topic is discussed under
Article Xlll 1 Social Justice and Human Rights), Section 3.

8.

The archipelagic concept or principle of territoriality. The use of the word "archipelago" in Article I is
intended to project the idea that the Philippines is an archipelago (a state composed of a number of
islands) and bolster the archipelagic concept (or archipelago doctrine) which the Philippines, together
with Indonesia and other archipelago states, had espoused in international conferences on the Law of
the Sea. By this concept is meant that an archipelago shall be regarded as a single unit, so that the
waters around, between ·8."nd connecting the islands of the archipelago, irrespective of their breadth
and dimensions. form part of the internal waters of the state, subject to its exclusive sovereignty.

9.

SEC. 21. The State recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nation-building.
10.

SEC. 27. The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service And take positive and
effective measures against graft and corruption.
11.

Article 3 SECTION 1. No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law,
nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.

Meaning of life

Life as protected by due process of law, means something more than mere animal existence. The
prohibition against its deprivation without due process extends to all the limbs and faculties by which
life is enjoyed.

Meaning of liberty.

Liberty, as protected by due process of law, denotes not merely freedom from physical restraint (e.g.,
imprisonment). It also embraces the right of man to use his faculties with which he has been endowed
by his Creator subject only to the limitation that he does not violate the law or the rights of others.

Liberty is not license or unlimited freedom to. act according to one's will. Thus, one may enjoy the
liberty of speech, but he could not use it to urge the overthrow of the government, or to defame
another.

Meaning of property.

Property, as protected by due process of law, may refer to the thing itself or to the right over a thing.
The constitutional provision, however. has reference more to the rights over the thing. It includes the
right to own, use, transmit and even to destroy, subject to the right of the State and of other persons

12.

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15.
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17.
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19.
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21.

22.
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24.
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26.
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31.
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