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1) What is Public Office according to Mechem in his A Treatise on the Law of Public Offices and Officers? (5pts) A public office is the right, authority, duty created and conferred by law, by which for a given period, either fixed by

law or enduring at the pleasure of the appointing power, an individual is vested with some portion of the sovereign

functions of the government, to be exercised by him for the benefit of the public. (p.1)

2) What is Public Office according to the Philippine Constitution, particularly Article XI, Section 1 thereof? (5pts) Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve

them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest

lives. (p.2)

3) What are the five (5) essential elements of a Public office? (5pts)a) It is created by the Constitution or by law or by some body or agency to which the power to create the office has

been delegated.

b) It must be invested with an authority to exercise some portion of the sovereign power of the State to be exercised forpubic interest.

c) Its powers and functions are defined by the Constitution, or by law, or through legislative authority.d) The duties pertaining thereto are performed independently, without control of superior power other than law,

unless they are those of an inferior or subordinate officer, created or authorized by the legislature and placed by it

under the general control of a superior officer or body.

e) It is continuing and permanent in nature and not occasional and intermittent. (p.9)4) The term qualification to public office may be used in two (2) senses and these are? (5pts)

a) It may refer to the endowment or accomplishment which fits one for office.b) It may refer to the act which a person, before entering upon the performance of his duties, is, by law, required to do,

such as the taking, and often, of subscribing and filing of an official oath, and, in some cases, the giving of an official

bond. (p.20)

5) Can the Congress of the Philippines prescribe qualifications to the holding of a public office? (10pts) Congress is generally empowered to prescribe the qualifications for holding public office, provided it does not

exceed thereby its constitutional powers or impose conditions of eligibility inconsistent with constitutional

provisions. Qualifications for office must have a rational basis. There must be a rational nexus between the

requirements and duties of the position in question. The qualifications prescribed must not be too detailed as to

practically making an appointment which is an executive function and not legislative. (p.21)

6) What is the composition of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and what are their qualifications? (10pts) There shall be a Commission on Elections composed of a Chairman and six Commissioners who shall be natural-

born citizens of the Philippines and, at the time of their appointment, at least thirty-five years of age, holders of a

college degree, and must not have been candidates for any elective position in the immediately preceding elections.

However, a majority threof, including the Chairman, shall be members of the Philippine Bar who have been engaged

in the practice of law for at least ten years. CONSTI Art IX-C Sec 1(1) (p.36)

7) (a) Who are the public officers who may be impeached? (5pts) President Vice-President Members of the Supreme Court Members of the Constitutional Commissions Ombudsman (p.41)

(b) What are the six (6) grounds of impeachment? (5pts)

Conviction of: Culpable Violation of the Constitutution Treason Bribery Graft and Corruption Other High Crimes

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Betrayal of Public Trust (p.41)(c) Define or describe each ground. (10pts)

1. Culpable violation of the Constitution

It is the deliberate and wrongful breach of the Constitution. Violation of the Constitution made unintentionally, in goodfaith, and mere mistakes in the proper construction of the Constitution do not constitute and impeachable offense.

2. Treason

It is committed by any person who, owing allegiance to the Government of the Philippines, not being a foreigner, levieswar against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid or comfort within the Philippines or elsewhere. (Art. 114,Revised Penal Code)

3. Bribery

Bribery as an impeachable offense may either be Direct Bribery or Indirect Bribery.

Direct bribery - It is committed by any public officer who shall agree to perform an act constituting a crime, in connection

with the performance of this official duties, in consideration of any offer, promise, gift or present received by such officer,personally or through the mediation of another.

If the object for which the gift was received or promised was to make the public officer refrain from doing somethingwhich it was his official duty to do. (Art. 210, Revised Penal Code)

Indirect bribery. - It is committed by a public officer when he accept gifts offered to him by reason of his office. (Art. 211,Revised Penal Code)

4. Graft and Corruption

This must be understood in the light of the provisions of the Republic Act No. 3019, Anti-Graft and Corrupt PracticesAct.. Any violation of the prohibited acts provided therein constitutes a ground for impeachment.

5. Other high crimes or Betrayal of Public Trust

The exact meaning of "other high crimes or betrayal of public trust" as an impeachable offense is still undefined. Theframers of the Constitution put impeachment into the hands of the legislative branch and transformed it from a matter oflegal definition to a matter of political judgment. Hence, the definition of an impeachable offense depends on the majorityof the House of Representatives considers it to be a given moment in history.

In impeachment investigation against President Quirino, the special committee of the House of Representatives referred"other high crimes" as to those crimes which, like treason and bribery, are of so serious and enormous a nature as to affectthe very life or orderly workings of the government.

Betrayal of Public Trust, on the other hand, is a new ground for impeachment, which covers "any violation of the oath ofoffice involving loss of popular support even if the violation may not amount to a punishable offense." (De Leon,

Philippine Constitutional Law, 1999, Rex Printing Company, Inc., p.757)

8) Under RA 7160 , what are those seven (7) categories of persons disqualified from running for any elective local position?(10pts)

a) Those sentenced by final judgment for an offense involving moral turpitude or for an offense punishable by one (1)year or more of imprisonment, within two (2) years after serving sentence.

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b) Those removed from office as a result of an administrative case.c) Those convicted by final judgment for violating the oath of allegiance to the Republic.d) Those with dual citizenship.e) Fugitive from justice in criminal or political cases here or abroad. (Not only applicable for those who flee after

conviction to avoid punishment but likewise those who, after being charged, flee to avoid prosecution.)

f) Permanent residents in a foreign country or those who have acquired the right to reside abroad and continue to availthe same right after the effectivity of this code.

g) The insane or feeble-minded. (p.48)9) Article IX-B of the Philippine Constitution, Section 2 (2) provides that Appointments in the civil service shall be made

according to merit and fitness to be determined as far as practicable, and except to positions which are policy-determining, primarily

confidential, or highly technical, by competitive examination.

(a) According to the Constitution, what is the only basis for appointment in the civil service? (5pts) As a general rule, the selection of any appointee to any government position shall be made only according to

merit and fitness to be determined as far as practicable, by competitive examination to perform the duties and

assume the responsibilities of the position, without consideration such as sex, color, social status, religion, or

political affiliation. (p.86)

(b) What is meant by policy-determining, primarily confidential, and highly technical? (10pts) A position is Policy determining where its occupant is vested with the power of formulating policies for the

government or any of its agencies, subdivisions, or instrumentalities, like that of a member of a Cabinet.

A position is Primarily confidential where its occupant enjoys more than the ordinary confidence in his aptitudeof the appointing power but bears primarily such close intimacy which insures freedom of intercourse without

embarrassment or freedom from misgiving of betrayal of personal trust on confidential matters of the State, like

that of a private secretary or a confidential agent. For someone holding a primarily confidential position, more

than ordinary confidence is required.

A position is Highly technical where the occupant is required to possess skills or training in the supreme orsuperior degree, like that of a scientist. (p.88)

10) Distinguish the powers and duties of public officers.(a) Ministerial vs Discretionary (5pts)

Official duty isMinisterial when it is absolute, certain, and imperative involving merely execution of a specificduty arising from fixed and designated facts. Discretionary or judicial duties are such as necessarily require the

exercise of reason in the adaptation of means to an end, and discretion in determining how or whether the act

shall be done or the course pursued. (p.134)(b) Mandatory vs Permissive (5pts) Where the provisions of a statute relating to public officers are intended for the protection of the citizen, and to

prevent a sacrifice of his property, and by a disregard of such provisions his rights might be and generally

injuriously affected, they are Mandatory. Where statutory provisions define the time and mode in which public

officers will discharge their duties, and those which are obviously designed merely to secure order, uniformity,

system, and dispatch in public business, are generally deemed Permissive or directory. (p.135)

(c) Power of Control vs Power of Supervision (5pts) Power of Control implies the power of an officer to manage, direct or govern, including the power to alter or

modify or set aside what a subordinate had done in the performance of his duties and to substitute his

judgment for that of the latter. Power of Supervision is the power of oversight over an inferior body. It does not

include any restraining authority over such body. A supervising officer merely sees to it that the rules are

followed, but he himself does not lay down such rules, nor does he have the discretion to modify or replace

them. If the rules are not observed, he may order the work done or re-done to conform with the prescribed

rules. He cannot prescribe his own manner for the doing of the act. (p.135)