History of Philippine Constitution

NAVA, Maria Carlina J.

Human Rights

Atty. Michael Jan Ostrea

 The Constitution of the Philippines or the Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas is the constitution
or supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines. It was adopted on October 15, 1986 and
ratified on February 2, 1987. Before the present Constitution or the 1987 Constitution, there were
other previous constitutions as having effectively governed the country. During the revolution
against the Spain, The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato, promulgated by the Philippine
Revolutionary Government on November 1, 1897, was the provisionary Constitution of the
Philippine Republic. The Republic of Biak-na-Bato was the first republic ever declared in the
Philippines by revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo and his fellow revolutionaries. One of its
successes includes the establishment of the Philippines' first ever constitution. The Constitution
of the Republic of Biak-na-Bato was drafted by Felix Ferrer and Isabelo Artacho, who copied the
Cuban Constitution of Jimaguayu nearly word-for-word. It is known as the Constitucion
Provisional de la Republica de Filipinas, and was originally written in and promulgated in the
Spanish and Tagalog languages. It provided for the creation of a Supreme Council, which was
created on November 2, 1897. The preamble of the constitution included the statement “The
separation of the Philippines from the Spanish monarchy and their formation into an independent
state with its own government called the Philippine Republic has been the end sought by the
Revolution in the existing war, begun on the 24th of August, 1896; and , therefore, in its name
and by the power delegated by the Filipino people, interpreting faithfully their desires and
ambitions, we the representatives of the Revolution, in a meeting at Biac-na-bato, November 1,
1897, unanimously adopted the following articles for the constitution of the State.” Following
the declaration of independence from Spain by the Revolutionary Government, a congress was
held in Malolos, Bulacan in 1899 to draw up a constitution. It is called the 1899 Malolos
Constitution or the La Constitucion política de Malolos and was written in Spanish. It was the
first republican constitution in Asia. The Malolos Constitution was ratified on November 29,
1898, signed into law on December 23, and approved on January 20, 1899. The document
declared that sovereignty resides exclusively in the people. It states basic civil rights, the
separation of church and state, and calls for the creation of an Assembly of Representatives
which would act as the legislative body. It also calls for a Presidential form of government with
the president elected for a term of four years by a majority of the Assembly. The Malolos
Constitution established Spanish as the official language of the Philippines. The Preamble reads:
"We, the Representatives of the Filipino people, lawfully convened, in order to establish justice,
provide for common defense, promote the general welfare, and insure the benefits of liberty,
imploring the aid of the Sovereign Legislator of the Universe for the attainment of these ends,
have voted, decreed, and sanctioned the following."

From December 10, 1898 to March 24, 1934, the Philippines was a United States
Territory 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 since those acts defined the fundamental political principles and established the
structure, procedures, powers and duties of the Philippine government.

The Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1934, though not a constitution itself, provided authority
and defined mechanisms for the establishment of a formal constitution via a constitutional
convention, that is, The 1935 Constitution. The 1935 Constitution of the Philippines was written
in1934, approved and adopted by the Commonwealth of the Philippines (1935-1946) and later
used by the Third Republic of the Philippines (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 United States
would live up to its promise to grant the Philippines independence and not have a premise to
hold on to its "possession" on the grounds that it was too politically immature and hence unready
for full, real independence. The 1935 Constitution of the Philippines served as the fundamental
law of the land from 1935 to 1972. It establishes the Commonwealth of the Philippines and
provides that upon withdrawal of American sovereignty in the country and the declaration of
Philippine independence, said commonwealth shall be known as the Republic of the Philippines.
The Constitution enumerates the composition, powers and duties of the three branches of
government (the Executive, Legislative and Judicial), creates the General Auditing Office and
lays down the framework in the establishment of the civil service in the country. The
Constitution vests the President with the veto power on legislative bills and emergency powers in
times of war and other national emergencies. In addition, the Constitution adopts the Regalian
Doctrine or the Principle of State ownership for all its natural wealth and provides for the proper
utilization of such wealth by its citizens. 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.
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."

Jose P. Laurel, President of the Second Philippine Republic, addresses the National
Assembly 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 Tojo had promised the Filipinos
"the honor of independence" which meant that the commission would be supplanted by a formal
republic. The 1943 Constitution provided strong executive powers. The Legislature consisted of
a unicameral National Assembly and only those considered as anti-US could stand for election,
although in practice most legislators were appointed rather than elected. It 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. 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."

On August 24, 1970, Congress enacted R. A. No. 6132, otherwise known as the
Constitutional Convention Act, for the purpose of convening a Constitutional Convention. While
in the process of drafting a new Constitution, President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law
on September 21, 1972. The draft constitution was submitted to the Citizen's Assemblies from
January 10 to 17, 1973 for ratification. On January 17, 1973, President Marcos issued
Proclamation No. 1102, announcing the ratification of the Constitution of the Philippines. It is
composed of a preamble and 17 articles; provides for the shift from presidential to parliamentary
system of government; legislative power was vested in a National Assembly whose members
were elected for six-year terms; the President was elected as the symbolic head of state from 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 exercised by the Prime Minister who was also elected from the
Members of the National Assembly; the Prime Minister was the head of government and
Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. This constitution was subsequently amended three
times. On September 22, 1976, President Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 1033 proposing
amendments to the Constitution, which was later on ratified and included in the 1973
Constitution. The amendments provide, among other things, for the replacement of the National
Assembly by the Batasang Pambansa. It also states that the incumbent President of the
Philippines shall be the Prime Minister, and shall continue to exercise legislative powers until
Martial Law has been lifted. Amendments were done again in 1981 which re-established a
parliamentary form of government with a president elected by direct vote of the people. Marcos
dissolved martial law at about this time and conduct elections, which he unsurprisingly won.

Immediately following the 1986 People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos, President
Corazon C. Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3 as a provisional constitution. It adopted certain
provisions from the 1973 Constitution while abolishing others. It granted the President broad
powers to reorganize government and remove officials, as well as mandating the President to
appoint a commission to draft a new, more formal Constitution. This document supplanted the
"Freedom Constitution" upon its ratification in 1987. The 1986 Provisional Freedom
Constitution was the most far reaching set of amendments to the 1973 constitution that it was
almost a constitution in its own right. However, it is really a large set of amendments which
superseded and abolished certain provisions from the constitution. President Aquino later issued
Proclamation No. 9, creating a Constitutional Commission (ConCom) to frame a new charter to
supersede the Marcos-era 1973 Constitution. The ConCom completed their task on October 12,
1986 and presented the draft constitution to President Aquino on October 15, 1986. On February
2, 1987, the new constitution was proclaimed ratified and took effect – the 1987 Constitution.
The Constitution is divided into a Preamble and 18 Articles. 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.” The 1987 Constitution establishes the
Philippines as a democratic and republican State, where sovereignty resides in the people and all
government authority emanates from them.
Sources:
Gavilan, J. (February, 2016). FAST FACTS: 1987 Philippine Constitution. Retrieved from
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/121019-fast-facts-1987-philippine-constitution

History of Philippine Constitutions. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.scribd.com/doc/19011969/History-of-Philippine-Constitutions

The Biak-na-Bato Republic of 1897. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://msc.edu.ph/centennial/biak.html