C. Powers of the President

Non-Delegable Powers of the President

• Commander-in-Chief powers;
• The power to grant pardons and reprieves;
• The authority to receive ambassadors and other public officials; and
• The power to negotiate treaties. (Neri v. Senate, G.R. No.180643, Mar. 25, 2008)

Other Powers

• Borrowing Power: The President may contract or guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the Republic with the prior concurrence of the Monetary Board, subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.
• Deportation Power
• Power to Receive Ambassadors and other public ministers duly accredited to the Philippines
• Informing Power: The President shall address Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any time.
• Call Congress to a special session
• Power to Classify and Reclassify lands

UP NOTES

Official residence

The president shall have an official residence [Section 6, Article VII, 1987 Constitution].

Summary of Presidential Powers

• Executive Power: This is the power to enforce and administer laws.
• Power of Appointment: Congress may create public offices, but appointments to them must be made by the authority designated by the Constitution or law, subject to constitutional limits; Congress cannot circumvent this by setting very narrow qualifications, such that only one person is qualified to hold office [Flores v. Drilon, G.R. No. 104732 (1993)].
• Power of Control: The President may (a) nullify, modify judgments of subordinates [See Section 17, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]; (b) undo or redo actions of subordinates; and (c) lay down rules for the performance of subordinates’ duties.
• Power of Supervision: This refers to the oversight function. The Executive must see to it that rules, which it did not make, are followed.
• Commander-in-Chief Powers [Section 18, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]:
• Call Out Power: Armed forces to suppress lawless violence
• Suspension of the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus: Only (i) in times of rebellion or invasion; and (ii) when required by public safety
• Martial law: Does not suspend the Constitution
• Power of Legislation
• Veto Power
• Power to Declare Emergency: The President only has the power to declare a state of emergency. The exercise of emergency power is vested in Congress, but may be delegated by it to the President.
• Integrative Power: Powers shared with legislative (e.g. appointments requiring confirmation, rulemaking); legislation during times of emergency
• Diplomatic Powers: Includes the power to enter into treaties
• Residual Power: To protect the general welfare of people; founded on duty of President as steward of the people; includes powers unrelated to execution of any provision of law [See Marcos v. Manglapus, G.R. No. 88211 (1989)]
• Other Powers
• Power to Pardon: Reprieve, commute, pardon, remit fines and forfeitures after final judgment [Section 19(1), Article VII, 1987 Constitution]
• Power to Grant Amnesty: With concurrence of majority of all members of Congress
• Borrowing Power: Contract or guarantee foreign loans with concurrence of Monetary Board [Section 20, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]
• Budgetary Power: Submit to Congress, within thirty days from the opening of every regular session, a budget of expenditures and sources of financing, including receipts from existing and proposed revenue measures [Section 22, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]
• Informing Power: Address Congress during opening of session, or at any other time [Section 23, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]

Note: The presidential power of control over the Executive Branch of Government is a self-executing provision of the Constitution and does not require statutory implementation, nor may its exercise be limited, much less withdrawn, by the Legislature [Ocampo v. Enriquez, G.R. No. 225973 (2016)].

Updated: The President must obtain the Monetary Board’s prior concurrence before contracting or guaranteeing foreign loans (Colmenares v. Duterte, G.R. No. 245981, 9 August 2022).

Summary of Presidential Powers

• Executive Power: This is the power to enforce and administer laws.
• Power of Appointment: Congress may create public offices, but appointments to them must be made by the authority designated by the Constitution or law, subject to constitutional limits [Section 16, Article VII, 1987 Constitution; Flores v. Drilon, G.R. No. 104732 (1993)]; Congress cannot circumvent this by setting very narrow qualifications, such that only one person is qualified to hold office [Flores v. Drilon, G.R. No. 104732 (1993)].
• Power of Control: The President may (a) nullify, modify judgments of subordinates [See Section 17, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]; (b) undo or redo actions of subordinates; and (c) lay down rules for the performance of subordinates’ duties.
• Power of Supervision: This refers to the oversight function. The Executive must see to it that rules, which it did not make, are followed.
• Commander-in-Chief Powers [Section 18, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]:
• Call Out Power: Armed forces to suppress lawless violence
• Suspension of the privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus: Only (i) in times of rebellion or invasion; and (ii) when required by public safety
• Martial law: Does not suspend the Constitution
• Power of Legislation
• Veto Power
• Power to Declare Emergency: The President only has the power to declare a state of emergency. The exercise of emergency power is vested in Congress, but may be delegated by it to the President.
• Integrative Power: Powers shared with legislative (e.g. appointments requiring confirmation, rulemaking); legislation during times of emergency
• Diplomatic Powers: Includes the power to enter into treaties
• Residual Power: To protect the general welfare of people; founded on duty of President as steward of the people; includes powers unrelated to execution of any provision of law [See Marcos v. Manglapus, G.R. No. 88211 (1989)]
• Other Powers
• Power to Pardon: Reprieve, commute, pardon, remit fines and forfeitures after final judgment [Section 19(1), Article VII, 1987 Constitution]
• Power to Grant Amnesty: With concurrence of majority of all members of Congress
• Borrowing Power: Contract or guarantee foreign loans with concurrence of Monetary Board [Section 20, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]
• Budgetary Power: Submit to Congress, within thirty days from the opening of every regular session, a budget of expenditures and sources of financing, including receipts from existing and proposed revenue measures [Section 22, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]
• Informing Power: Address Congress during opening of session, or at any other time [Section 23, Article VII, 1987 Constitution]

Note: The presidential power of control over the Executive Branch of Government is a self-executing provision of the Constitution and does not require statutory implementation, nor may its exercise be limited, much less withdrawn, by the Legislature [Ocampo v. Enriquez, G.R. No. 225973 (2016)].

Additional Limitation: Executive Privilege

Executive privilege is the right of the President and high level officials authorized by her to withhold information from Congress, from the courts, and ultimately from the public. Among the types of information which have been judicially recognized as privileged are state secrets regarding military, diplomatic and other national security matters. Certain information in the possession of the executive may validly be claimed as privileged even against Congress, such as Presidential conversations, correspondences, or discussions during closed-door Cabinet meetings [Chavez v. PEA, G.R. No. 133250 (2003)].

Who may invoke: The President must assert the privilege, although an authorized Executive Secretary may invoke it on her behalf. She may also authorize the Executive Secretary to invoke the privilege on her behalf, in which case, the Executive Secretary must state that the Act is “By order of the President,” which means that he personally consulted with the President on such matters of concern [Senate of the Philippines v. Ermita, supra].

The claim of privilege must be specific, e.g., whether the information sought to be withheld involves military or diplomatic secrets, closed-door Cabinet meetings, etc. A claim of privilege, being a claim of exemption from an obligation to disclose information must be clearly asserted. Congress has the right to know why the executive considers the requested information privileged. It does not suffice to merely declare that the President, or an authorized head of office, has determined that it is so. If the President and Congress cannot agree on whether the matter is privileged or not, then the Court must come in to determine the validity of the claim of privilege [Senate of the Philippines v. Ermita, supra].

Elements of Presidential Communications Privilege

In Neri v. Senate Committees [G.R. No. 180643 (2008)], the Court ruled that the claim of executive privilege was properly invoked by Secretary Neri, specifically under what is called “presidential communication privilege.” The elements of presidential communications privilege are:

• The protected communication must relate to a “quintessential and non-delegable presidential power.”
• The communication must be authored or “solicited and received” by a close advisor of the President or by the President himself. The judicial test is that an advisor must be in “operational proximity” with the President.
• The presidential communications privilege remains a qualified privilege that may be overcome by a showing of adequate need, such that information sought “likely contains important evidence” and by the unavailability of the information elsewhere by an appropriate investigating authority.