PLJ Volume 82 Number 2 -02- Batolome C. Fernandez Jr. - Constitutional Dimensions of Nationaly Patrimony
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In the Ph ilipp ine settin g, any a cad em ic disc uss ions on natio nal patr im on y ha ve to be purs ue d ag ain st a back dr op of co ns titutio nal dim ens ions . Th is m ust be so co nsid er in g th e re fe re nc es in the 1987 Const itu tio n of the Phili pp ines to t he pa trim on y of the na tio n whic h m ay well pr ov ide co ns titu tio nal un de rp inn ing to an y se ri ous en de av or to war ds le gi slat in g on the su bj ect. Thu s, th e Pr ea mbl e of th e constitu tio n pr oc lai m s the av ow ed de sir e and as pir ati on of the sove re ign Filip in o peo ple for a G ove rnm ent that shall inter alia "cons erve and develop our patrim on y. " And in Art ic le XI I o f th e s am e Const it u ti on on "Nati onal Econom y an d Pa trim on y," Se cti on 10 (2 nd pa r.) dec lar es tha t "In the gr an t of rig hts, pr ivi leg es, an d conces sio ns cove rin g the na tio na l econ om y an d pa trim ony, the St ate sh all giv e pr ef er en ce to qu al if ie d F il ip in o s. " Fo r th e pu rp oses of th is pr esenta ti o n, a n ana lytic al par sing of these cited pro visio ns of the Con stitut ion wil l be ess aye d . "P atrim ony ," as und ers tood in its or dina ry sense , sim ply me ans heritag e o r inhe ritan ce. "N ation al patr im ony " thou gh ass um es a spe cial sign ifica tion from th e constitutiona l perspe ctive . Th e ef fort to dis co ver the tru e mea nin g of thi s ter m h as be en re nd er ed lig hte r by the de cis ion of the Su pr eme Co ur t in the ca se ofMa n ila Prince Hotel Corporation v. Government Service Insuran ce Syst e m , e t. al . 2 In tha t de cis io n, th e Hig h Tri bu na l de cl ar ed th at "[ w]h en th e C on st itu tio n spea ks of na tio n al pa tri mon y, it re fe rs not on ly to the na tur al res ou rc es of the Ph ilip pin es, xx x bu t also, the cu ltu ra l he rita ge of the Fi lip ino s . " In th e con si de re d v ie w the n of th e Court , the natio nal patr im on y basically com prises t wo com ponen ts, nam ely, natu ral resour ces and cultural heritage . Su ch con cep tuali zatio n m a y per hap s be exp anded t o inc lud e ever yth ing else tha t thr ou gh tim e ha s be co me identi fie d wi th the Fi lip in o pe op le as re fle cti ng the ir valu es, be lie fs and as pir ations . If vi ew ed in th e lig ht of th e co ns tit ut io na l co mm an d en sh ri ne d in th e Preamble, supra, these com pon ents of the nation al patr im ony sho uld be conservedan d developed. Ev ide ntl y, if they are to be the su bje ct of a gran t of rig hts, pr ivi leg es and 1 A.A., with high honors , Univer~ityof the Philippine~ (1948); LL . B. , cum laude, Univer~ity ofthe Ph ili pp ine ~ (1952); retired Gen era l Co un ~e l (19 86 ) and Senior Commi~~ioner (1992 ), Com mi~~ ionon Aud it; Profe~~o rial Lecturer, Collegeof-Law ,Univ er~ityof the Philippine~. 2 Manila P rince Hotel Co rp. v. Go vern ment Serv ice Jn~ uran ce Sy~ tem , G.R . No . 122 156 , 26 7 SC RA40 8, Feb. 3, 1997.
