Outline of 3 Inherent Powers of the State

Fundamental POWERS OF THE STATE

1. Police Power – power of the state to regulate liberty and property for the promotion of the general welfare.
2. Power of Eminent Domain – enables the State to forcibly acquire private property, upon payment of just
compensation, for some intended public use.
3. Power of Taxation – the State is able to demand from the members of the society their proportionate share or
contribution in the maintenance of the government.

Similarities Differences
They are inherent in the State and The police power regulates both liberty and property. The power of eminent
may be exercised by it without domain and the power of taxation affect only property rights.
need of express constitutional
grant.
They are not only necessary but The police power and the power of taxation may be exercised only by the
indispensable. The State cannot government. The power of eminent domain may be exercised by some private
continue or be effective unless it is entities.
able to exercise them.

They are methods by which the The property taken in the exercise of the police power is destroyed because it
State interferes with private rights. is noxious or intended for a noxious purpose. The property taken under the
power of eminent domain and the power of taxation is intended for a public
use or purpose and is therefore wholesome.
They all presuppose an equivalent The compensation of the person subjected to the police power is the intangible
compensation for the private rights altruistic feeling that he has contributed to the general welfare. The
interfered with. compensation involved in the other powers is more concrete, to wit, a full and
They are exercised primarily by the fair equivalent of the property expropriated or protection and public
legislature. improvements for the taxes paid.

* Limitation: These prerogatives may not be exercised arbitrarily, to the prejudice of the Bill of Rights. The presumption in
libertarian societies is in favor of private rights and against attempts on the part of the State to interfere with them.
“Constitutional provisions for the security of persons and property should be liberally construed.” (Boyd vs US).

Hence, the exercise of these fundamental powers is subject at all times to the limitations and requirements of the
Constitution and may in proper cases be annulled by the courts of justice.

Concert and Origin of the Bill of Rights

Life – pursuit of happiness

Liberty – freedom if broader
Property – right to own and disown

Main Classification
Natural Right – inherent rights (example: human rights)
Constitutional Right – to guarantee rights arbitrary
intrusion by the government
Statutory Right – to enable the provisions of the constitution
Classification According to Purpose
Civil Rights
Political Rights
Social Rights – associated with other rights
Economic Rights – to survive & Cultural Rights – customs
Characteristics of Police Power
1. Most pervasive, the least limitable, and the most demanding of the three powers. – it may be exercised as long as
the activity or the property sought to be regulated has some relevance to the public welfare.
2. May not be bargained away through the medium of a contract deals or even a treaty. – the impairment clause must
yield to the police power whenever the contract deals with a subject affecting the public welfare.
3. Dynamic, not static, and must move with the moving society it is supposed to regulate. – once exercised, it is not
deemed exhausted and may be exercised again and again, as often as it is necessary for the protection or the
promotion of the public welfare. Conditions change, circumstances vary; and to every such alteration the police power
must conform.
4. May sometimes use the taxing power as an implement for the attainment of a legitimate police objective.

TEST OF POLICE POWER Exercise of the Police Power

A. The test to determine the validity of a police measure are as The police power is lodged primarily in the national
follows: legislature. By virtue of valid delegation of legislative
1. The interests of the public generally, as distinguished power, it may also be exercised by the President and
from those of a particular class, require the exercise administrative boards as well as the lawmaking bodies on
of police power; and all municipal levels, including the barangay.
2. The means employed are reasonably necessary for
the accomplishment of the purpose and not unduly Municipal government exercise this power under the
oppressive upon individuals. general welfare clause, pursuant to which they are
(1) Lawful (2) Lawful authorized to “enact such ordinances and issue such
Subject Means regulations as may be necessary to carry out and discharge the
The subject of the The lawful responsibilities conferred upon it by law, and such shall be
measure is within the objective must be
necessary and proper to provide for the health, safety, comfort and
scope of the police pursued through a
convenience, maintain peace and order, improve public morals,
power, that is, that the lawful method;
promote the prosperity and general welfare of the municipality
activity or property that is, both the
and the inhabitants thereof, and insure the protection of property
sought to be regulated end and the means
affects the public must be therein.” (Sections 91, 149, 177, 208, Local Government Code)
welfare. If it does, the legitimate.
enjoyment of private Lacking such The exercise of police power lies in the discretion of the
rights may be concurrence, the legislative department. No mandamus is available to
subordinated to the police measure coerce the exercise of police power. The only remedy
interests of the greater shall be struck against legislative inaction is a resort to the bar of public
number, on the time- down as an opinion, a refusal of the electorate to return to the
honored principle that arbitrary intrusion legislature members who, in their view, have been remiss
the welfare of the into private rights. in the discharge of their duties.
people is the supreme
law.
B. Tests of Police Power
1. Reasonable Connection Test (for life, liberty and
property)
2. Clear and Present Danger Test (apply if suppression
of life and liberty). Is there a clear and present danger
of a substantive evil the state should protect?
Clear – Degree of danger; Present – Proximity of
Danger
3. Dangerous Tendency Doctrine (applied during the
time of martial law)
 Power of Expropriation
- “Highest and most exact idea of property remaining in the government”
- The government, by the use of its coercive authority may, upon payment of just compensation,
forcibly acquire the needed property in order to devote it to the intended public use.
Article III, Section IX – Private property shall not be taken for public use without payment of just
compensation (limitation not a grant)

Exercise of Eminent Domain

- Lodged primarily in Legislature, but its exercise may validly be delegated to other governmental
entities – private corporations (like quasi-public corporations).
The following may exercise the power of eminent domain:
1. The Congress;
2. The President of the Philippines;
3. The various local legislative bodies;
4. Certain public corporations, like the Land Authority and the National Housing Authority;
5. Quasi-public corporations like the Philippine National Railways, The Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. and the Meralco.

Private Property :
Anything that can come under the dominion of a man is subject to expropriation. Real or personal;
tangible or intangible.

Exception: Money and choses of action. Personal right not reduced into posses but recoverable by a suit at law.

Taking
- Imports a physical dispossession by the owner. May include;
1. Trespass without actual eviction of the owner;
2. Material impairment of the value of property;
3. Prevention of the ordinary uses for which the property was intended.

Requisites of taking in Eminent Domain:

1. The expropriator must enter a private property;
2. The entry must be for more than a momentary period;
3. The entry must be under warrant or color of legal authority;
4. The property must be devoted to public use or otherwise informally appropriated or injuriously
affected;
5. The utilization of the property for public use must be in such a way as to oust the owner and
deprive him of beneficial enjoyment of the property.

*The expropriator can enter only the subject property after expropriation proceedings commence and
deposit required by law is duly made.
Cases of Eminent Domain

TAXATION

- “Taxes are the enforced proportional contributions from persons and property, levied by the State by virtue of
its sovereignty, for the support of government and for all public needs”

- Obligation to pay taxes is not based on contract. It is a duty imposed upon the individual as a member
in the body politic and his enjoyment of benefits available from such membership. Thus, non-payment
may result to criminal prosecution and punishment.

Scope
- Power to tax is so pervasive that it reaches even the citizen abroad.
- It may also include the power to destroy if one is noxious or intended for noxious purpose.

Exercise of Taxation
- Inherent in the State (re LGUs – Article X, Section 5)
- What to tax, whom or what to tax , for what subject, to the discretion of the court.

Due Process and Taxation

- Taxation is subject to the requirements of due process. Taxes will not be allowed if they are
confiscatory, except where they are intended precisely for the destruction as instrumentation of the
police power.
- Taxpayer is entitled to be notified of the assessment proceedings and to be heard on the correct
valuation to be given on the property.
Equal Protection and Taxation
- “The rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable.”
- Uniformity in taxation means that persons or things belonging to the same class shall be taxed at the
same rate.
- Equality in Taxation means that tax shall be “strictly proportional to the relative value of the
property”
- Equitable Taxation connotes that taxes should be apportioned among the people according to their
capacity to pay.

Double Taxation
- ”Power to tax twice is as ample as to tax once.”
- When additional taxes are laid on the same subject by the same taxing jurisdiction during the same
taxable period for the same purpose.

Public Purpose
- Tax proceeds shall be devoted to public use. However, it could also be used for private
purposes/persons. An example would be pensions paid to veterans, unemployment relief, and support
for the handicapped, to name a few.

Tax Exemptions
- Either constitutional or statutory.
Article VI, Section 28(3)
- Exemptions are granted to religious and charitable institutions because they give considerable
assistance to the State in the improvement of the morality of the people and the care of the indigent and
the handicapped. These are ministrant functions.

Cases of the Power of Taxation