Published — July 18, 2022
The following post does not create a lawyer-client relationship between Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices (or any of its lawyers) and the reader. It is still best for you to engage the services of your own lawyer to address your legal concerns, if any.
Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
After reading “Executive Powers of the President: Residual Powers”, read also “Executive Powers of the President: Executive Privilege”
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The President shall exercise such other powers and functions vested in him which are provided for under the laws and which are not specifically enumerated, or which are not delegated by him in accordance with law, unless Congress provides otherwise.
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The executive power is more than the sum of specific powers so enumerated.
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The power involved is the President’s residual power to protect the general welfare of the people.
Under the Administrative Code of 1987, it states that the President shall exercise such other powers as are provided for in the Constitution.
What are residual powers?
The law says:
Unless Congress provides otherwise, the President shall exercise such other powers and functions vested in the President which are provided for under the laws and which are not specifically enumerated above, or which are not delegated by the President in accordance with law. (Section 20, Chapter 7, Executive Order No. 292 or the Administrative Code of 1987)
Jurisprudence says:
The power involved is the President’s residual power to protect the general welfare of the people. It is founded on the duty of the President, as steward of the people. To paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt, it is not only the power of the President but also his duty to do anything not forbidden by the Constitution or the laws that the needs of the nation. It is a power borne by the President’s duty to preserve and defend the Constitution. It also may be viewed as a power implicit in the President’s duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed. (Marcos vs. Manglapus, G.R. No. 88211, September 15, 1989)
Moreover, although the 1987 Constitution imposes limitations on the exercise of specific powers of the President, it cannot be said that the scope of the Executive Powe is limited only to what the Constitution provides. The executive power is more than the sum of specific powers so enumerated. (Marcos vs. Manglapus, G.R. No. 88211, September 15, 1989)
What are some examples of the residual powers of the President?
- The President’s power to deport undesirable aliens which may be exercised independently of constitutional or statutory authority because it is an “act of state.” The Supreme Court justified the action of the late President Aquino in banning the return of the Marcoses to the Philippines on the basis of the President’s residual powers.
Jurisprudence says:
What we are
saying in effect is that the request or demand of the Marcoses to be allowed to return to the Philippines cannot be considered in the light solely of the constitutional provisions guaranteeing liberty of abode and the right to travel, subject to certain exceptions, or of case law which clearly never contemplated situations even remotely similar to the present one. It must be treated as a matter that is appropriately addressed to those residual unstated powers of the President which are implicit in and correlative to the paramount duty residing in that office to safeguard and protect general welfare.
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The President has determined that the destabilization caused by the return of the Marcoses would wipe away the gains achieved during the past few years and lead to total economic collapse. Given what is within our individual and common knowledge of the state of the economy, we cannot argue with that determination. (Marcos vs. Manglapus, G.R. No. 88211, September 15, 1989)
- The President has the authority to carry out a reorganization of the Executive Branch under the Constitution and statutes.
The law says:
The President shall have control of all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices. He shall ensure that the laws be faithfully executed. (Section 17, Article VII, 1987 Constitution of the Philippines)
Jurisprudence says:
Presidential Decree No. 1772 which amended Presidential Decree No. 1416 expressly grant the President of the Philippines the continuing authority to reorganize the national government, which includes the power to group, consolidate bureaus and agencies, to abolish offices, to transfer functions, to create and classify functions, services and activities and to standardize salaries and materials. The validity of these two decrees [is] unquestionable. (Malaria Employees and Workers Association of the Philippines, Inc. vs. Honorable Executive Secretary Alberto Romulo, G.R. No. 160093, July 31, 2007)
Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.
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