REPORT
ON PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION
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What is a constitution?
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or
established precedents according to which a state or other organization is
governed.
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Why is it important?
It is the framework
and basis of all other laws.
It outlines the rights
of the citizens.
It protects us
from unlawful persecutions even from our own government.
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What is the Philippine Constitution?
The Constitution of the Philippines
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Also called Saligang Batás ng Pilipinas,
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popularly known as the 1987 Constitution,
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is the constitution or supreme law of the
Republic of the Philippines
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adopted on October 15, 1986 and
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ratified on February 2, 1987
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under President Corazón C. Aquino
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Philippine constitutional law experts recognize three
other previous constitutions as having effectively governed the country
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the 1935
Commonwealth Constitution,
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the 1973
Constitution, and the 1986 Freedom Constitution
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What is the timeline of the Philippine
Constitution?
1.
The
1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato
The Katipunan's revolution led to the Tejeros Convention
where, at San Francisco de Malabón, Cavite, on March 22, 1897, the first
presidential and vice presidential elections in Philippine history were
held—although only Katipuneros (viz., members of the Katipunan) were able to
take part, and not the general populace.
A later meeting of the revolutionary government
established there, held on November 1, 1897 at Biak-na-Bato in the town of San
Miguel de Mayumo in Bulacán, established the Republic of Biak-na-Bato. The
republic had a constitution drafted by Isabelo Artacho and Félix Ferrer and
based on the first Cuban ConstitutionIt is known as the "Constitución
Provisional de la República de Filipinas", and was originally written in
and promulgated in the Spanish and Tagalog languages.
2.
The
1899 Malolos Constitution
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The Malolos Constitution was the first republican
constitution in Asia.
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It declared that sovereignty resides exclusively
in the people, stated basic civil rights, separated the church and state,
and called for the creation of an Assembly of Representatives to act as
the legislative body.
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It also called for a parliamentary republic
as the form of government.
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The president was elected for a term of four
years by a majority of the Assembly.
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It was titled "Constitución política",
and was written in Spanish following the declaration of independence from Spain,
proclaimed on January 20, 1899, and was enacted and ratified by the Malolos
Congress, a Congress held in Malolos, Bulacan.
3.
Acts
of the United States Congress
The Philippines was a United States Territory from
December 10, 1898 to March 24, 1934 and therefore under the jurisdiction of the
Federal Government of the United States.
Two acts of the United States Congress passed during this
period can be considered Philippine constitutions in that those acts defined
the fundamental political principles and established the structure, procedures,
powers and duties of the Philippine government.
4.
Philippine
Organic Act of 1902
The Philippine Organic Act of 1902, sometimes known as
the "Philippine Bill of 1902", was the first organic law for the
Philippine Islands enacted by the United States Congress. It provided for the
creation of a popularly elected Philippine Assembly, and specified that
legislative power would be vested in a bicameral legislature composed of the
Philippine Commission (upper house) and the Philippine Assembly (lower house).
Its key provisions included a bill of rights for the Filipinos and the
appointment of two non-voting Filipino Resident Commissioner of the Philippines
to represent the Philippines in the United States House of Representatives.
5.
Philippine
Autonomy Act of 1916
The Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916, sometimes known as
"Jones Law", modified the structure of the Philippine government by
removing the Philippine Commission as the legislative upper house and replacing
it with a Senate elected by Filipino voters, creating the Philippines' first
fully elected national legislature. This act also explicitly stated that it was
and had always been the purpose of the people of the United States to end their
sovereignty over the Philippine Islands and to recognise Philippine
independence as soon as a stable government can be established therein.
6.
Tydings–McDuffie
Act (1934)
Though not a constitution itself, the Tydings–McDuffie
Act of 1934 provided authority and defined mechanisms for the establishment of
a formal constitution via a constitutional convention.The 1935
Constitution[edit]
7.
Constitution
of the Philippines (1935)
The 1935 Constitution was written in 1934, approved and
adopted by the Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935–1946) and later used by
the Third Republic (1946–1972). It was written with an eye to meeting the
approval of the United States Government as well, so as to ensure that the U.S.
would live up to its promise to grant the Philippines independence and not have
a premise to hold onto its possession on the grounds that it was too
politically immature and hence unready for full, real independence.
The Preamble reads:
“ "The
Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence, in order to establish
a government that shall embody their ideals, conserve and develop the patrimony
of the nation, promote the general welfare, and secure to themselves and their
posterity the blessings of independence under a regime of justice, liberty, and
democracy, do ordain and promulgate this constitution." ”
The original 1935 Constitution provided for unicameral
National Assembly and the President was elected to a six-year term without
re-election. It was amended in 1940 to have a bicameral Congress composed of a
Senate and House of Representatives, as well the creation of an independent
electoral commission. The Constitution now granted the President a four-year
term with a maximum of two consecutive terms in office.
A Constitutional Convention was held in 1971 to rewrite
the 1935 Constitution. The convention was stained with manifest bribery and
corruption. Possibly the most controversial issue was removing the presidential
term limit so that Ferdinand E. Marcos could seek election for a third term,
which many felt was the true reason for which the convention was called. In any
case, the 1935 Constitution was suspended in 1972 with Marcos' proclamation of
martial law, the rampant corruption of the constitutional process providing him
with one of his major premises for doing so.
8.
The
1943 Constitution
José P. Laurel, President of the Second Philippine Republic,
addresses the National Assembly at what is now the Old Legislative Building to
approve the 1943 Constitution.
The 1943 Constitution was drafted by a committee
appointed by the Philippine Executive Commission, the body established by the
Japanese to administer the Philippines in lieu of the Commonwealth of the
Philippines which had established a government-in-exile. In mid-1942 Japanese
Premier Hideki Tōjō had promised the Filipinos "the honor of
independence" which meant that the commission would be supplanted by a
formal republic.
The Preparatory Committee for Philippine Independence
tasked with drafting a new constitution was composed in large part, of members
of the prewar National Assembly and of individuals with experience as delegates
to the convention that had drafted the 1935 Constitution. Their draft for the
republic to be established under the Japanese Occupation, however, would be
limited in duration, provide for indirect, instead of direct, legislative
elections, and an even stronger executive branch.
Upon approval of the draft by the Committee, the new
charter was ratified in 1943 by an assembly of appointed, provincial
representatives of the Kalibapi, the organization established by the Japanese
to supplant all previous political parties. Upon ratification by the Kalibapi
assembly, the Second Republic was formally proclaimed (1943–1945). José P. Laurel
was appointed as President by the National Assembly and inaugurated into office
in October 1943. Laurel was highly regarded by the Japanese for having openly
criticised the US for the way they ran the Philippines, and because he had a
degree from Tokyo International University.
The 1943 Constitution remained in force in
Japanese-controlled areas of the Philippines, but was never recognized as
legitimate or binding by the governments of the United States or of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines and guerrilla organizations loyal to them. In
late 1944, President Laurel declared a state of war existed with the United
States and the British Empire and proclaimed martial law, essentially ruling by
decree. His government in turn went into exile in December 1944, first to
Taiwan and then Japan. After the announcement of Japan's surrender, Laurel
formally dissolved the Second Republic.
The Preamble reads:
“ "The
Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence and desiring to lead a
free national existence, do hereby proclaim their independence, and in order to
establish a government that shall promote the general welfare, conserve and
develop the patrimony of the Nation, and contribute to the creation of a world
order based on peace, liberty, and moral justice, do ordain this
Constitution." ”
The 1943 Constitution provided strong executive powers.
The Legislature consisted of a unicameral National Assembly and only those
considered to be anti-US could stand for election, although in practice most
legislators were appointed rather than elected.
Until the 1960s, the Second Republic and its officers,
were not viewed as a legitimate Philippine government or as having any
standing, with the exception of the Supreme Court, whose decisions, limited to
reviews of criminal and commercial cases as part of a policy of discretion by
Chief Justice José Yulo continued to be part of the official records. This was
made easier by the Commonwealth government-in-exile never constituting a
Supreme Court, and the formal vacancy in the position of Chief Justice for the
Commonwealth with the execution of José Abad Santos by the Japanese). It was
only during the Macapagal administration that a partial political
rehabilitation of the Japanese-era republic took place, with the official recognition
of Laurel as a former president and the addition of his cabinet and other
officials to the roster of past government officials. However, the 1943
Constitution was not taught in schools, and the laws of the 1943-44 National
Assembly never recognized as valid or relevant.
9.
The
1973 Constitution
The 1973 Constitution,
promulgated after Marcos' declaration of
martial law, but having been in the planning process for years before this,
was supposed to introduce a parliamentary-style
government. Legislative power was vested in a unicameral National Assembly
whose members were elected for six-year terms. The President was ideally
elected as the symbolic and purely ceremonial head of state chosen from amongst
the Members of the National Assembly for a six-year term and could be
re-elected to an unlimited number of terms. Upon election, the President ceased
to be a Member of the National Assembly. During his term, the President was not
allowed to be a member of a political party or hold any other office.
Executive power was meant to be exercised by the Prime
Minister who was also elected from amongst the sitting Assemblymen. The Prime Minister was to be the head
of government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. This constitution was
subsequently amended four times (arguably five, depending on how one considers
Proclamation № 3 of 1986, see below).
From 16–17 October 1976, a majority of barangay voters
(also called "Citizen Assemblies") approved that martial law should
be continued and ratified the amendments to the Constitution proposed by
President Marcos.
10. The 1986 Freedom Constitution
Immediately following the 1986 People Power Revolution
that ousted Marcos, President Corazon C.
Aquino issued Proclamation № 3 as a provisional constitution. It adopted
certain provisions from the 1973 Constitution while abolishing others. It
granted the President broad powers to reorganise government and remove
officials, as well as mandating the President to appoint a commission to draft
a new, more formal Constitution. This document, described above, supplanted the
"Freedom Constitution" upon its ratification in 1987.
Background of the 1987 Constitution.
On March 25, 1986, following the People Power Revolution
which ousted Ferdinand E. Marcos as President, and following on her own
inauguration, Corazon C. Aquino issued Proclamation 3, declaring a national
policy to implement the reforms mandated by the people, protecting their basic
rights, adopting a provisional constitution, and providing for an orderly
transition to a government under a new constitution. On April 23, President
Aquino issued Proclamation № 9, creating a Constitutional Commission (popularly
known as the "ConCom") to frame a new charter to supersede the
Marcos-era 1973 Constitution. Aquino appointed 50 members to the Commission;
the members were drawn from varied backgrounds, including several former
congressmen, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberto Concepción, Roman
Catholic bishop Teodoro Bacani, and film director Lino Brocka. Aquino also
deliberately appointed five members, including former Labour Minister Blas
Ople, who had been allied with Marcos until the latter's ouster. After the
Commission had convened, it elected Cecilia Muñoz-Palma as its president.
Muñoz-Palma had emerged as a leading figure in the anti-Marcos opposition
movement following her retirement as the first female Associate Justice of the
Supreme Court. The Commission finished the draft charter within four months
after convening. Several issues were heatedly debated during the sessions,
including on the form of government to adopt, the abolition of the death
penalty, the continued retention of the Clark and Subic American military
bases, and the integration of economic policies into the Constitution. Brocka
would walk out of the Commission before its completion, and two other delegates
would dissent from the final draft. The ConCom completed their task on October
12, 1986 and presented the draft constitution to President Aquino on October
15, 1986.
11. Constitution of the Philippines (1987)
The Constitution is divided into a Preamble and 18 parts
called Articles.
Preamble
The Preamble introduces the Constitution, identifies the
author and the purposes of the fundamental law and aids the authorities in the
interpretation of the Constitution since it lays down the visions of the
government. The Preamble reads:
We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of
Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a
Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common
good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our
posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and
a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and
promulgate this Constitution.
a) Article
I – National Territory
b) Article
I specifies that the Philippines is an archipelago and that the Philippines
territory consists of the islands and waters embraced therein, all other
territories which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, and the
terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains including the territorial sea, the
seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves and other submarine areas. It also
specifies that the waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the
archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions form part of the
internal waters of the Philippines.
c) Article
II – Declaration of Principles and State Policies
d) Article
II sets down basic social and political creed of the country, particularly the
implementation of the constitution and sets fort the objectives of the
government. Some of its provisions are
e) Philippines
is a Democratic and Republican State (Section 1)
f) Renunciation
of War (Section 2)
g) Supremacy
of Civilian Authority (Section 3)
h) Prime
duty of the government (Section 4)
i)
Defense of the State and Services to be rendered
by the Citizens (Section 4)
j)
Separation of church and state (Section 6)
k) Independent
Philippine Foreign Policy (Section 7)
l)
Freedom from Nuclear Weapon (Section 8)
m) Just
and Dynamic Social order and Social Justice (Section 9 and 10)
n) Family
as the Basic Autonomous Unit (Section 12)
o) Role
of the Youth and Women in Nation-Building (Section 13 and 14)
p) The
affirmation of labor "as a primary social economic force" (Section
14)
q) Autonomy
of local governments (Section 25)
r) Prohibition
of Political dynasty and adoption of measures against graft and corruption
(Section 26 and 27)
s) Article
III – Bill of Rights
t) Article
III, known as the Bill of Rights, enumerates the specific protections against
State power. Many of these guarantees are similar to those provided in the
United States Constitution, including the:
u) The
right to due process and equal protection (Section 1)
v) The
right against searches and seizures without a warrant (See Fourth Amendment to
the United States Constitution) (Section 2)
The right to privacy (Section 3)
The right to free speech and expression, free press,
freedom of assembly and the right to petition (Section 4)
The free exercise of religion (Section 5)
The right of abode and right to travel (Secton 6)
The right to information on matters of public concern
(Section 7)
The right to form associations (Section 8)
Protection against impairment of contractual obligations
(Section 10)
The right to free access to courts (Section 11)
The right to be informed of his right to remain silent
and to have competent and independent counsel (Section 12)
The right to bail & against excessive bail (Section
13)
The rights of the accused (Section 14)
The right to habeas corpus. (Section 15)
The right to speedy disposition of cases (Section 16)
The right against self-incrimination (Section 17)
The right to political beliefs and aspirations. (Section
18)
The prohibition against cruel, degrading or inhuman
punishment (Section 19)
Protection against imprisonment for debts (Section 20)
The right against double jeopardy (Section 21)
Prohibition of ex post facto laws and bills of attainder.
(Section 22)
The scope and limitations to these rights have largely
been determined by Philippine Supreme Court decisions.
Article IV – Citizenship
Article IV enumerates the citizenship of Fiipinos. There
are two kinds of citizens: Natural-born citizens who are citizens from birth
and have the right to vote and right to run for public office and Naturalized
citizens, who are immigrants who acquire, voluntarily or by operation of law,
the citizenship of the Philippines
Article V – Suffrage
Article V specifies the qualification and right to vote
by citizen. It also enumerates the system and secrecy of the ballot and
absentee voting, and procedure to the disabled and the illiterates to vote.
Article VI – The Legislative Department
Article VI enumerates the composition, qualification, and
term of office and function of the Congress of the Philippines composed of the
Senate of the Philippines and the House of Representatives of the Philippines.
It also specifies the organization, procedure, election and leadership of
officials and process of making law. Some of the power of Congress include the
power of investigation or inquiry in aid of legislation (Section 21); the power
to declare the existence of a State of war (Section 26); fiscal power (Section
25); the inherent power or police power (Section 1); power of taxation (Section
28); and the power of eminent domain (Section 9)
Article VII – Executive Department
The Philippines is a presidential system of government.
The executive power is vested to the President, assisted by Vice president and
heads of executive departments. The Article VII explains the qualification,
term of office, election, power and functions of Philippine President and the
officials within the executive branch. It also specifies the presidential line
of succession.
Article VIII – Judicial Department
The power of interpretation and application of the law
was entrusted to the Judicial branch. The Supreme Court of the Philippines is
the highest court and has a jurisdiction over the lower courts that are part of
the judicial branch. Article VIII enumerates the qualification, tenure, power
and functions of courts within the Judicial Branch, including the organization
of Judicial and Bar Council.
Article IX – Constitutional Commission
Article IX enumerates the qualification, tenure, power
and functions and composition of three Constitutional Commissions: Civil
Service Commission of the Philippines, Commission on Election or COMELEC, and
the Commission on Audit of the Philippines.
Article X – Local Government
The Constitution establishes limited political autonomy
to the local government units of Philippine provinces, Philippine cities,
Philippine municipalities, and barangays. Local governments are generally
considered as falling under the executive branch, yet local legislation
requires enactment by duly elected local legislative bodies. The Constitution
mandated that the Congress would enact a Local Government Code.
Article XI – Accountability of Public Officers
Article XI explains that the positions entrusted by the
people to the government officials are public in nature. Government positions
should be taken care of at all times. It specifies the processes and grounds
for impeachment of the public officials. It also creates and describe the Office
of the Ombudsman of the Philippines.
Article XII – National Economy and Patrimony
Article XIII – Social Justice and Human Rights
Article XIV – Education, Science and Technology, Arts,
Culture and Sports
Article XV – The Family
Article XVI – General Provisions
Article XVII – Amendments or Revisions
Article XVIII – Transitory Provisions
The Constitution also contains several other provisions
enumerating various state policies including, i.e., the affirmation of labor
"as a primary social economic force" (Section 14, Article II); the
equal protection of "the life of the mother and the life of the unborn
from conception" (Section 12, Article II); the "Filipino family as
the foundation of the nation" (Article XV, Section 1); the recognition of
Filipino as "the national language of the Philippines" (Section 6,
Article XVI), and even a requirement that "all educational institutions
shall undertake regular sports activities throughout the country in cooperation
with athletic clubs and other sectors." (Section 19.1, Article XIV)
Whether these provisions may, by themselves, be the source of enforceable
rights without accompanying legislation has been the subject of considerable
debate in the legal sphere and within the Supreme Court. The Court, for
example, has ruled that a provision requiring that the State "guarantee
equal access to opportunities to public service" could not be enforced
without accompanying legislation, and thus could not bar the disallowance of
so-called "nuisance candidates" in presidential elections.But in
another case, the Court held that a provision requiring that the State
"protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful
ecology" did not require implementing legislation to become the source of
operative rights.
