MODULE 5

Lesson 1. Interpretation

Historical Interpretation

an explanation or establishment of the meaning or significance of something that

happened in the past.
interpretation of the past vary to people who reads the primary source, when it was
read and how it was read.
Students of history must be well equipped in recognizing different types of interpretation
and why they differ from each other and how to sift them to historical evaluations.
Interpretation of historical events change over time

Case study: Site of the First Mass

Pigafetta tells us that it was held on Easter Sunday, the 31" of March 1521, on an island
called "Mazaua."
Interpretation of first mass was made both by Spanish and Filipino scholars

There are two conflicting claims as to its identity “Mazaua”

one school of thought points to the little island south of Leyte (Ceylon) which in the
maps is called Limasawa;
other school rejects that claim and points instead to the beach called Masao at the
mouth of the Agusan River in northern Mindanao, near what was then the village now
the city of Butuan.

Butuan (April 8, 1521)

Butuan has long been believed as the site of the first Mass.
has been the case for three centuries
culminating in the erection of a monument in 1872 near Agusan River, which
commemorates the expedition's arrival and celebration of Mass on 8 April 1521

Limasawa (March 31, 1521) by Albo and Pigafetta

Francisco Albo

a pilot of one of Magellan's ship, Trinidad.

He was one of the 18 survivors who returned with Sebastian Elcano on the ship
Victoria
But Albo did not mention the first Mass
Albo's account of the location of Mazaua fits the location of the island of
Limasawa, at the southern tip of Leyte, 9°54'N

Pigafetta

was a member of Magellan’s expedition and an eyewitness of the first mass

 mention of the planting of the cross upon a mountain-top from which could be
seen three islands to the west and southwest, which also fits the southern
end of Limasawa

Case Study: Cavity Mutiny

Cavite Mutiny broke out during the tenure of Rafael de Izquierdo who had dramatically,
said upon his arrival, "I shall govern with a cross on one hand a sword in the other."
it is against the Spaniards
200 Filipino soldiers, joined in by some workers in the arsenal of the artillery corps led by
Sgt. La Madrid, guard at Fort San Felipe, , mutinied in the night of January 1872
The year was of two historic events: the Cavite Mutiny and the martyrdom of the three
priests, Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora, later on called as GOMBURZA.
Cavity mutiny was very important milestones in Philippine history
Cavite Mutiny, a major factor in the awakening of nationalism among the Filipinos of that
time.

Jose Montero y Vidal

Spanish historian
his document centered on how the event was an attempt in overthrowing the Spanish
government in the Philippines
his account of the mutiny was criticized as woefully biased

Governor General Rafael Izquierdo

Implicated the native clergy, who where then active in the movements towards
secularization of the parishes

These two accounts collaborated each other.

January 20, 1872, the district of Sampaloc celebrated the feast of the Virgin of Loreto, and
came with it were some fireworks display.
The Caviteños allegedly mistook this as the signal to commence with the attack. The
200-men contingent led by Sergeant Lamadrid attacked Spanish offices at sight and
seized the arsenal.
Izquierdo, upon learning of the attack, ordered the reinforcement of the Spanish forces in
Cavite to quell the revolt.
The "revolution" was easily crushed, when the Manileños who were expected to aid the
Caviteños did not arrive
February 17, 1872, GOMBURZA were executed to serve as a threat to Filipinos never to
attempt to fight the Spaniards again

Dr. Trinidad Hermenigildo Pardo de Tavera, a Filipino scholar and researcher, who wrote a
Filipino version of the bloody incident in Cavite and the account of Edmund Plauchut
counter the account of Izquerdo and Montero.
 MODULE 6
Lesson 1. Multiperspectivity

Multiperspectivity

refers to different interpretation of the past.

can be defined as a way of looking at historical events, personalities, developments,
culture, and societies in different perspective.
Historians may misinterpret, omit or imposed a certain ideology in looking to historical
evidence.

Retraction of Rizal

has been greatest controversy which is most talked about and most debated about
Rizal
Candelaria stated that Jose Rizal is identified as a hero of a revolution for his writings.
The great volume of Rizal's lifework was committed to this end, particularly the
more influential ones, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo. His essays vilify not
the Catholic religion, but the friars, the main agents of injustice in the Philippine
society.
Such document purportedly exists, allegedly signed by Rizal a few hours before his
execution. This document, referred to "The Retraction," declares Rizal's belief in the
Catholic faith, and retract everything he has written against the Church.

I declare myself a catholic and in this Religion in which I was born and educated I wish to live and die. I
retract with all my heart whatever in my words, writings, publications and conduct has been contrary to my
character as son of the Catholic Church. I believe and I confess whatever she teaches and I submit to
whatever she demands. I abominate Masonry, as the enemy which is of the Church, and as a Society
prohibited by the Church. The Diocesan Prelate may, as the Superior Ecclesiastical Authority, make public this
spontaneous manifestation of mine in order to repair the scandal which my acts may have caused and so
that God and people may pardon me.

Manila 29 of December of 1896

Jose Rizal

There are four iterations of the texts of this retraction:

1. the first was published in La Voz Española and Diario de Manila on the day of the
execution, 30 December 1896.
2. The second text appeared in Barcelona, Spain, on the magazine La Juventud, a few
months after the execution, 14 February 1897, from an anonymous writer who was later
on revealed to be Fr. Vicente Balaguer.
3. However, the original text was only found in the archdiocesan arch ives on 18 May 1936,
after almost four decades of disappearance.
The Balaguer Testimonies

Doubts on the retraction document abound, especially because only one eyewitness
account of the writing of the document exist that of the Jesuit friar Fr. Vicente Balaguer.
According to his testimony, Rizal woke up several times, confessed four times, attended a
mass, received communion, and prayed the rosary, all of which seem out of character. But
since it is the only testimony of allegedly a "primary" account that Rizal ever wrote a
retraction document, it has been used to argue the authenticity of the document.

The Testimony of Cuerpo de Vigilancia

Another eyewitness account surfaced in 2016, through the research of Professor Rene R.
Escalante. In his research, documents of the Cuerpo de Vigilancia, included a report on the
last hours of Rizal, written by Federico Moreno. The report details the statement of the
Cuerpo de Vigilancia to Moreno. Eyewitness Account of the Last Hours of Rizal.

At 7:50 yesterday morning, Jose Rizal entered death row accompanied by his counsel, SeriorTaviel de
Andrade and the Jesuit priest Villaclara
At approximately 9, the Assistant of the Plaza, Señor Maure, asked Rizal if he wanted anything.
He replied that at the moment he only wanted a prayer book, which was brought to him shortly
by Father March.
Rizal spoke for a long while with the Jesuit fathers, March and Villaclara, regarding religious matters, It
appears that these two presented him with a prepared retraction on his life and deeds that he refused
to sign. They argued about the matter until 12:30 when Rizal ate some poached egg and a little chicken.
Afterwards he asked to leave to write and wrote for a long time by himself
At 3 in the afternoon, Father March entered the chapel and Rizal handed him what he had written.
Immediately the chief of the firing squad, Señor del Fresno and the Assistant of the Plaza, Señor Maure,
were informed. They entered death row and together with Rizal signed the document that the accused
had written.
At 5 this morning of the 30th, the lover of Rizal arrived at the prison...dressed in mourning. Only the
former entered the chapel, followed by a military chaplain whose name I cannot ascertain. Donning his
formal clothes and aided by a soldier of the artillery, the nuptials of Rizal and the woman who had been
his lover were performed at the point of death (in articulo mortis). After embracing him she left.
Hooded with tears

Where did the Cry of Rebellion happen?

Bonifacio summon all leaders of the society to a general assembly held on August 24. They
meet at Balintawak (Quezon city) to discuss the steps.

That the same nights of August 19, Bonifacio. accompanied his brother Procorpio, Emilio
Jacinto, Teodoro Plata, and Aguedo del Rosario, slipped through the cordon of Spanish
sentries and reached Balintawak before midnight.

August 20. Pio Valenzuela followed them

August 21. Bonifacio changed the Katipunan code because the Spanish authorities had
already deciphered or understand it.

Afternoon of August 21. the rebels, numbering about 500, left Balintawak for Kangkong,
where Apolonio Samson, a Katipunero, gave them food and shelter

Afternoon of August 22. they proceeded to Pugadlawin

The following day. (August 23)

in the yard of Juan A. Ramos, the son of Melchora Aquino who was later called the
Mother of the Katipunan".
Bonifacio asked his men if they are prepared to fight to the bitter end. Despite the
objection of his brother-in-law, Teodoro Plata, all assembled agreed to fight to the
last. "That being the case, Bonifacio said, "bring out your cédulas and tear them to
pieces to symbolize our determination to take up arms!” The men obediently tore
up their cédulas, shouting: "Long live the Philippines!” This event marked the so-
called "Cry of Balintawak," which actually happened in Pugadlawin.

Filipino historian Teodoro Agoncillo emphasizes the event when Bonifacio tore the cedula or
tax receipt before the Katipuneros who also did the same.

Some writers identified the first military event with the Spaniards as the moment of the Cry,
for which, Emilio Aguinaldo commissioned a "Himno de Balintawak to inspire the renewed
struggle after the Pact of the Biak na Bato failed.

A monument to the Heroes of 1896 was erected in what is now the intersection of Epifanio
de los Santos (EDSA) Avenue and Andres Bonifacio Drive North Diversion road, and from then
on until 1962, the Cry of Balintawak was celebrated every 26th of August. The site of the
monument was chosen for an unknown reason.

Different Dates and Places of the Cry

L. Olegario Dinx,

A guardia civil
identify the Cry to have happened in Balintawak on 25 August 1896.

Teodoro Kalaw

Filipino historian
marks the place to be in Kangkong, Balintawak, on the last week of August 1896.

Santiago Alvarez

Katipunero and son of Mariano Alvarez, leader of the Magdiwang faction in Cavite,
 puts the Cry in Bahay Toro in Quezon City on 24 August 1896.

Pio Valenzuela

known Katipunero and privy to many events concerning the Katipunan

stated that the Cry happened in Pugad Lawin on 23 August 1896.

Gregorio Zaide

Historian
identified the Cry to have happened in Balintawak on 26 August 1896,

Teodoro Agoncillo

puts it at Pugad Lawin on 23 August 1896, according to statements by Pio Valenzuela.

Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion, and Ramon Villegas

Research by historians
claimed that the event took place in Tandang Sora's born in Gulod, Barangay Banlat,
Quezon City, on 21 August 1896.

Accounts of the Cry

Guillermo Masangkay

August 26th, a big meeting was held in Balintawak, at the House of Apolonio Samson,
then the cabeza of that barrio of Caloocan.
Among those who attended were Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Aguedo del Rosario, Tomas
Remigio, Briccio Pantas. Teodoro Pinto, Pio Valenzuela, Enrique Pacheco, and Francisco
Carreon. They were all leaders of the Katipunan and composed the board of directors of
the organization. Delegates from Bulacan, Cabanatuan, Cavite, and Morong were also
present.
9 o'clock in the morning of August 26, the meeting was opened with Andres Bonifacio
presiding and Emilio Jacinto acting as secretary.
The purpose was to discuss when the uprising was to take place.
Teodoro Plata, Briccio Pantas, and Pio Valenzuela were all opposed to starting the
revolution too early
Andres Bonifacio, sensing that he would lose in the discussion then, left the session hall
and talked to the people, who were waiting outside for the result of the meeting.
Andres told the people who were waiting outside that the leaders were arguing against
starting the revolution early and appealed to them in a fiery speech in which he said:
"You remember the fate of our country men who were shot in Bagumbayan. Should we
return now to the towns, the Spaniards will only shoot us. Our organization has been
discovered and we are all marked men. If we don't start the uprising the Spaniards will
get us anyway. What then, do you say? "Revolt!" the people shouted as one”.
 Bonifacio then asked the people to give a pledge that they were to revolt. He told them
that the sign of slavery of the Filipinos were (sic) the cedula tax charged each citizen. "If it
is true that you are ready to revolt... I want to see you destroy your cedulas. It will be a
sign that all of us have declared our severance from the Spaniards."

Pio Valenzuela

The first place of refuge of Andres Bonifacio, Emilio Jacinto, Procopio Bonifacio, Teodoro
Plata. Agredo del Rosario, and myself (Pio Valenzuela) was Balintawak, the first five
arriving there on August 19, and I (Pio Valenzuela), on August 20, 1896.
500 members of the Katipunan met on August 22, 1896 in the house and yard of
Apolonio Samson at Kangkong
Briccio Pantas, Alejandro Santiago, Ramon Bernardo, Apolonio Samson, and others were
also attend.
views were only exchanged, and no resolution was debated or adopted.
It was at Pugad Lawin, the house, store house, and yard of Juan Ramos, son of Melchor
Aquino, where over 1,000 members of the Katipunan met and carried out considerable
debate and discussion on August 23, 1896.
The discussion was on whether or not the revolution against the Spanish
government should be started on August 29, 1896.
many of those present tore their cedula certificates and shouted "Long live the
Philippines! Long live the Philippines"

Four places and time of the occurrence of the cry.

places: Balintawak, Kangkong, Pugad Lawin, and Bahay Toro

time: 23, 24, 25, or 26 August 1896

Valenzuela's account

Cry happened in Balintawak on Wednesday, 26 August 1996

Much later, he wrote in his Memoirs of the Revolution that it happened at Pugad Lawin
on 23 August 1896.

Guerrero, Encarnacion, and Villegas

all these places are in Balintawak, then part of Caloocan, now, in Quezon City
as for dates, Bonifacio and his troops may have been moving from one place to another
to avoid being located by the Spanish government, which could explain why there are
several accounts of the Cry.
 MODULE 7
The Constitution of the Philippines, the supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines, has
been in effect since 1987. There are only three other constitutions that have effectively
governed the country

the 1935 Commonwealth Constitution

the 1973 Constitution
the 1986 Freedom Constitution
and later adapted and became the 1987 Constitution.

However, there were earlier constitutions attempted by Filipinos in the struggle to break free
from the colonial rule.

the 1897 Constitution or the Biak na-Bato Constitution

the 1899 Constitution or the Malolos Constitution.

Lesson 1. Evolution of the Constitution

1897 Constitution of the Biak-na-Bato

The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato was the provisionary Constitution of the Philippine
Republic during the Philippine Revolution and was promulgated by the Philippine
Revolutionary Government on 1 November 1897.
The constitution, borrowed from Cuba
written by Isabelo Artacho and Felix Ferrer in Spanish

The organs of the Government under the Constitution are

1. the Supreme Council, which is vested with the power of the Republic, headed by the
president and four department secretaries the interior, foreign affairs, treasury, and war,
2. the ConsejoSuprenio de Gracia Y Justicia (Supreme Council of Grace and Justice), which
is given the authority to make decisions and affirm or disprove the sentences rendered
by other courts, and to dictate rules for the administration of justice and
3. the Asamblea de Representantes (Assembly of Representatives), which was to be
convened after the revolution to create a new Constitution and to elect a new Council of
Government and Representatives of the people.

The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato was never fully implemented, since a truce, the Pact of
Biak-na-Bato, was signed between the Spanish and the Philippine Revolutionary Army.

Source: Preamble of the Biak-na-Bato Constitution.

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, interpretingfaithfully their desires and ambitions, we the representatives of the Revolution,
in a meeting at Biak-na-bato, November 1, 1897 unanimously adopted the following articles for the
constitution of the State.

1899 Malolos Constitution

Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo
Filipino revolutionary leaders accepted a payment from Spain and went to exile in Hong
Kong.
Upon the defeat the Spanish to the Americans in the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898
the United States Navy transported Aguinaldo back to the Philippines.
The Malolos Congress was elected, which selected a commission to draw up a draft
constitution on 17 September 1898, which was composed of wealthy and educated men.
The document they came up with, approved by the Congress on 23 November 1998 and
promulgated by Aguinaldo on 21 January 1899, titled "The Political Constitution of 1899"
and was written in Spanish.
constitution has thirty-nine articles divided into fourteen titles, with eight articles of
transitory provisions, and a final additional article
The document was patterned after the Spanish Constitution of 1812 with influences
from the charters of Belgium, Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Guatemala and
the French Constitution of 1793
According to Felipe Calderon, main author of the constitution, these were studied
because these countries shared similar social, political, ethnological, and governance
conditions with the Philippines.
Philippines also influenced the Malolos Constitution, namely:
the Kartilya and the Sanggunian Hukuman, the charter of laws and morals of the
Katipunan written by Emilio Jacinto in 1896; the Biak-na-Bato Constitution of 1897
planned Isabelo Artacho: Mabini's Constitutional Program of the Philippine Republic of
1898, the provisional constitution of Mariano Ponce in 1898 that followed the Spanish
constitutions, and the autonomy projects of Paterno in 1898.

Source: Preamble of the Political Constitution of 1899.

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 political constitution.

The 27 articles of Title IV - the natural rights and popular sovereignty of Filipinos
 Title III, Article V - freedom and equality of all beliefs, as well as the separation of Church
and State.
Title II, Article 4 - legislative, executive, and judicial.
Legislative power was vested in a unicameral body called the Assembly of
Representatives
members of which are elected for terms of four years
Secretaries of the government were given seats in the assembly
Some powers not legislative in nature were also given to the body, such as
the right to select its own officers, right of censure and interpellation, and
the right of impeaching the president, cabinet members, the chief justice of
the Supreme Court, and the solicitor. general.
A permanent commission of seven, elected by the assembly, and granted
specific powers by the constitution, was to sit during the intervals between
sessions of the assembly.
Executive power was vested in the president, and elected by a constituent
assembly of the Assembly of Representatives and special representatives
The president will serve a term of four years without re-election.
There was no vice president, and in case of a vacancy, a president was to
be selected by the constituent assembly

The 1899 Malolos Constitution was never enforced due to the ongoing war. The Philippines
was effectively a territory of the United States upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris
between Spain and the United States, transferring sovereignty of the Philippines on 10
December 1898.

1935 Commonwealth Constitution

Pres. Manuel Quezon
after the Treaty of Paris, the Philippines was subject to the power of the United States of
America, effectively the new colonizers of the country. From 1898 to 1901, the Philippines
will be placed under a military government, until a civil government will be put into place.

Two acts of the United States Congress

1. Philippine Organic Act of 1902,

the first organic law for the Philippine Islands
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 as the upper house, and the Philippine
Assembly as lower house
Key provisions of the Act included a bill of rights for Filipinos and the appointment
of two non-voting Filipino Resident Commissioner of the Philippines as
representative to the United States House of Representatives.
2. Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916,
commonly referred to as "Jones Law,"
 which modified the structure of the Philippine government through the removal of
the Philippine Commission, replacing it with a Senate that served as the upper
house and its members elected by the Filipino voters, the first truly elected
national legislature.
declared the purpose of the United States to end their sovereignty over the
Philippines and recognized Philippines independence

In 1932, with the efforts of the Filipino independence mission led by Sergio Osmeña and
Manuel Roxas, the United States Congress passed the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act with the
premise of granting Filipinos independence.

The bill was opposed by then Senate President Manuel L. Quezon and consequently, rejected
by the Philippine Senate.

By 1934, another law, the Tydings-McDuffie Act. also known as the Philippine Independence
Act, was passed by the United States Congress that provided authority and defined
mechanisms for the establishment of a formal constitution by a constitutional convention.

The members of the convention were elected and held their first meeting on 30 July 1934,
with Claro M. Recto unanimously elected as president. The constitution was crafted to meet
the approval of the United States government, and to ensure that the US would live up to its
promise to granting dependence to the Philippines.

Source: Preamble of the 1935 Commonwealth

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.

Commonwealth Constitution governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946

a transitional administration to prepare the country toward its full achievement of
independence
president and vice president elected to a six-year term without re-election.
amended in 1940 to have a bicameral Congress composed of a Senate and a House of
Representatives, as well as the creation of an independent electoral commission, and
limited the term of office of the president and vice president to four years, with one re-
election.
Rights to suffrage was originally afforded to male citizens of the Philippines who are
twenty-one years of age or over and are able to read and write; this was later on
extended to women within two years after the adoption of the constitution.
 While the dominant influence in the constitution was American, it also bears traces of
the Malolos Constitution, the German, Spanish, Mexican constitutions, constitutions of
several South American countries, and the unwritten English Constitution.
the constitution approved by the constitutional convention on 8 February 1935 and
ratified by then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 25 March 1935.
Elections were held in September 1935 and Manuel L. Quezon was elected President of
the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth was briefly interrupted by the events of the World War II, with the
Japanese occupying the Philippines.
Afterward, upon liberation, the Philippines was declared an independent republic on 4
July 1946.
December 8, 1941, Japanese entered the Philippines

1973 Constitutional Authoritarianism

President Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand E. Marcos with the Congress passed a resolution calling for a constitutional
convention to change the 1935 Constitution.
Elections of the delegates to the constitutional convention were held on November 20,
1970, and the convention began formally on 1 June 1971, with former President Carlos P.
Garcia being elected as convention president. Unfortunately, he died, and was
succeeded by another former president, Diosdado Macapagal.

Before the convention finished its work, martial law was declared on September 21, 1972
With Marcos as dictator, he dictated some provision of the constitution. He manipulated
the document to be able to hold on to power for as long as he can.
On November 29, 1972, the convention approved its proposed constitution.
The constitution was supposed to introduce a parliamentary-style government, where
legislative power was vested in a unicameral National Assembly, with members being
elected to a term of six years.
The president would serve a six-year term and could be re-elected to an unlimited
number of terms, Executive power is relegated to the Prime Minister, who is also the
head of government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces who was also to be
elected from the National Assembly

President Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 73 setting the date of the plebiscite to
ratify or reject the proposed constitution on 30 November 1973.
This plebiscite (Direct vote) was postponed later on, since Marcos feared that the public
might vote to reject the constitution.
Instead of a plebiscite, Citizen Assemblies were held, from 10-15 January 1973, where the
citizens, coming together and voting by hand, decided on whether to ratify the
constitution, to continue martial law.
 January 17, 1973, the president announced that the proposed constitution has been
ratified (approved)

In 1976, Citizen Assemblies, once again, decided to allow the continuation of martial law,
In 1980, the retirement age of members of the judiciary was extended to 70 years.
In 1981, the parliamentary system was formally modified to a French-style, semi
presidential system where executive power was restored to the president, who was,
once again, to he directly elected; an Executive Committee was to be created,
composed of the Prime Minister and fourteen others, that served as the president's
Cabinet; and some electoral reforms were instituted.
In 1984, the Executive Committee was abolished, and the position of the vice president
was restored.

August 21, 1983, Benigno Aquino Jr., opposition leader and regarded as the most credible
alternative to President Marcos, was assassinated while under military escort
immediately after his return from exile in the United States.
Marcos was then forced to hold "snap" elections a year early, and said elections were
marred by widespread fraud.
A small group of military rebels attempted to stage a coup, but failed; however, this
triggered what came to be known as the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1896
Under pressure from the United States of America, who used to support Marcos and his
martial law, the Marcos family fled into exile.
His opponent in the snap elections, Benigno Aquino Jr.'s widow, Corazon Aquino, was
installed as president on 25 February 1986.

1987 Constitution
Pres. Corazon Aquino
She had three options regarding the constitution
1. revert to the 1935 Constitution
2. retain the 1973 Constitution and be granted the power to make reforms
3. or start a new and break from the "vestiges of a disgraced dictatorship."
They decided to make a new constitution
In March 1986, President Aquino proclaimed a transitional constitution to last for a year
while a Constitutional Commission drafted a permanent constitution.
This transitional constitution, called the Freedom Constitution
In 1986, a constitutional convention was created, composed of 48 members appointed
by President Aquino
The convention drew up a permanent constitution, largely restoring the set-up abolished
by Marcos in 1972,
The new constitution was officially adopted on 25 February 1987.
The Constitution begins with a preamble, and 18 self-contained articles
 It established the Philippines as a "democratic republican State"
It allocates governmental powers among the executive legislative, and judicial branches
of the government.

Executive Branch

The Executive branch is headed by the president and his cabinet, whom he appoints.
The president is the head of the state and the chief executive
In cases of national emergency, the president may still declare martial law, but not
longer than a period of 60 days.
The president and the vice president are elected at large by a direct vote, serving a single
six-year term.

Legislative Brach

The legislative power resides in a Congress divided into two Houses: the Senate and the
House of Representatives.

Senate

The 24 senators are elected at large by popular vote and can serve no more
than 2 consecutive 6 year terms.

House of Representatives

The House is composed of district representatives representing a particular

geographic area and make up around 80% of the total number of
representatives.
There are 234 legislative districts in the Philippines that elect their
representatives to serve 3-year terms.
The 1987 Constitution created a party-list system to provide spaces for the
participation of under-represented community sectors or groups.
Party-list representatives may fill up not more than 20% of the seats in the
House.
Congress may also declare war, through a two-thirds vote in both upper and lower
houses.

Judicial Branches

The Philippine Court system is vested with the power of the judiciary and is composed
of a Supreme Court and lower courts as created by law.

Supreme Court
 15-member court appointed by the president without the need to be confirmed
by Congress.
Supreme Court Justices may hear, on appeal, any cases dealing with the
constitutionality of any law, treaty, or decree of the government, cases where
questions of jurisdiction or judicial error are concerned, or cases where the
penalty is sufficiently grave.
Supreme Court also is charged with overseeing the functioning and
administration of the lower courts and their personnel.

Constitution also established three independent Constitutional Commissions, namely:

1. Civil Service Commission - a central agency in charge of government
personnel.
2. Commission on Elections - mandated to enforce and administer all election
laws and regulations
3. Commission on Audit - which examines all funds, transactions, and property
accounts of the government and its agencies.
Office of the Ombudsman was created to investigate complaints that pertain to public
corruption, unlawful behavior of public officials, and other public misconduct.
Only the House of Representatives can initiate the impeachment of the president,
members of the Supreme Court, and other constitutionally protected public officials
such as the Ombudsman

Attempts to Amend or change the 1987 Constitution

The 1987 Constitution provides for three ways by which the Constitution can be
amended
1. Constituent Assembly,
2. People's Initiative,
3. Constitutional Convention

MODULE 8
Agrarian Reform

is the redistribution of lands to farmers and bb who are landless, irrespective of tenurial
arrangements.
is centered on the relationship between production and the distribution of land among
farmers.
also focused on the political and economic class character of the relations of production
and distribution in farming
Landownership in the Philippines under Spain

Spaniards brought with them a system of pueblo agriculture, where rural communities,
often dispersed and scattered in nature, were organized into a pueblo and given land to
cultivate
Families were not allowed to own their land, the King of Spain owned the land
Filipinos were assigned to these lands to cultivate them, and they pay their colonial
tributes to the Spanish authorities in the form of agricultural products.
through the Law of the Indies, the Spanish crown awarded tracts of land to;
1. Religious orders
2. Spanish military as repartamientos or reward for their service
3. Spanish encomenderos, those mandated to manage the encomienda or the
lands given to them

Encomienda System

unfair and abusive system, as "compras y vandalas"

became the norm for the Filipino farmers working the land they were made to sell their
products at a very low price, or surrender their products to the encomenderos, who resell
this at a profit
Filipinos in the encomienda were also required to render services to their encomenderos
that are unrelated to farming.

Hacienda System

developed in the beginning of the 19th century

Spanish government implemented policies that would fast track the entry of the colony
into the capitalist world
Philippines became an exporter of raw materials and importer of goods.
Agricultural exports were demanded and the hacienda system was developed as a new
form of ownership
In 1960s, Spain enacted a law ordering landholders to registertheir landholdings, and only
those who knew benefitted from this
Lands were claimed and registered in other people's names, and many peasant families
who were "assigned to the land in the earlier days of colonization were driven out, or
forced to come under the power of these people who claimed rights to the land
because they held a title
This is the primary reason why revolts in the Philippines were oftentimes agrarian in
nature.
Before the colonization, Filipinos had communal ownership of land

Landownership in the Philippines under the Americans

 Americans were aware that the main cause of social unrest is landlessness, and they
attempted to put an end to the deplorable conditions of the tenant farmers by passing
several land policies to increase the small landholders and distribute ownership to a
bigger number of Filipino tenants and farmers

Philippine Bill of 1902

provided regulations on the disposal of public lands

private individual may own 16 hectares of land while corporate landholders may have
1,024hectares
Americans were also given rights to own agricultural lands in the country.

Philippine Commission also enacted Act No. 496 or the Land Registration Act

introduced the Torrens system to address the absence of earlier records of issued land
titles and conduct accurate land surveys

Homestead Programs 1909

allowing a tenant to enter into an agricultural business by acquiring a farm of at least 16

hectares.
however, was limited to areas in Northern Luzon and Mindanao, where colonial
penetration has been difficult for Americans, a problem they inherited from the
Spaniards

Landownership did not improve during the American period; in fact, it even worsened,
because there is no limit to the size of landholdings people can possess, and the
accessibility of possession was limited to those who can afford to buy, register, and acquire
fixed property titles.

Not all friar lands acquired by the Americans were given to landless peasant farmers
Some lands were sold or leased to American and Filipino business interest
The system introduced by the Americans enabled more lands to be placed under
tenancy,
and led to widespread peasant uprisings such as the Colorum and Sakdal Uprising in
Luzon

Commonwealth government, the situation further worsened, as peasant uprisings

increased and landlord-tenant relationship became more and more disparate
President Quezon laid down a social justice program focused on the purchase of
haciendas, which were to be divided and sold to tenants
His administration also created the National Rice and Corn Corporation (NARICC) to
assign public defenders to assist peasants in court battles for their rights to the land
also the creation of Court of Industrial Relations to exercise jurisdiction over
disagreements arising from landowner-tenant relationship
 The Homestead Program also continued, through the National Land Settlement
Administration (NLSA)
Efforts toward agrarian reform by the Commonwealth, failed because of many
problems such as budget allocation for the settlement program and widespread
peasant uprisings. World War II put a halt to all interventions to solve these problems,
as the Japanese occupied the country.

Post-War Interventions toward Agrarian Reform

President Roxas

passed Republic Act No. 34 to establish a 70–30 sharing arrangement between tenant
and landlord, respectively, and reduced the interest of landowners' loans to tenants at
six percent or less
also attempted to redistribute hacienda lands, falling prey to the woes of similar
attempts since no support was given to small farmers who were sold lands.

President Quirino

the Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO) was established to

accelerate and expand the resettlement program for peasants.

President Ramon Magsaysay

LASEDECO was became the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration

(NARRA)
Magsaysay saw the importance of pursuing genuine land reform program and
convinced Congress
pass legislation to improve the land reform situation
Republic Act No. 1199 or the Agricultural Tenancy Act was passed to govern the
relationship between landholders and tenant farmers, protecting the tenurial rights of
tenants and enforced tenancy practices
Through this law, the Court of Agricultural Relations was created in 1955 to improve
tenancy security, fix land rentals of tenanted farms and resolve land disputes filed by the
landowners and peasant organizations
The Agricultural Tenancy Commission was also established to administer problems
created by tenancy
The Agricultural Credit Cooperative Financing Administration (ACCPA) was also created
mainly to provide warehouse facilities and assist farmers in marketing their products
NARRA accelerated the government's resettlement program and distribution of
agricultural lands to landless tenants and farmers
also Rimed to convince members of the Huks, a movement of rebels in Central Luzon, to
resettle in areas where they can restart lives as peaceful citizens
The landed elite did not fully cooperate and criticized the programs.

President Macapagal
 A major stride in land reform was during the term of President Macapagal through the
Agricultural Land Reform Code (Republic Act No. 3844).
This Code abolished share tenancy in the Philippines and prescribed program to convert
tenant-farmers to lessees and later on owner-cultivators
also aimed to free tenants from tenancy and emphasize owner-cultivatorship and
farmer independence, equity, productivity improvement, and public land distribution

Agrarian Reform (Marcos Regime)

President Marcos declared martial law in 1972

enabling him essentially wipe out the landlord-dominated Congress
Through technocrats," he was able to expand executive power to start a "fundamental
restructuring" of government, including its efforts in solving the deep structural problems
of the countryside.
Presidential Decree No. 27, or the Code of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines, became the
core of agrarian reform during Marcos regime.
Operation Land Transfer. lands occupied by tenants of more than seven hectares on
rice and corn lands commenced, and through legal compulsion and an improved
delivery of support services to small farmers, agrarian reform seemed to be finally
achievable
Under the rice self-sufficiency program "Masagana '99, formers were able to borrow from
banks and purchase three hectare plots of lands and agricultural inputs
Because only rice lands were the focus of agrarian reform, some landlords only needed
to change crops to be exempted from the program, such as coconut and sugar lands
Lands worked by wage labor were also exempt from the program, so the landed elite
only had to evict their tenants and hired workers instead
which was worsened by the corruption of Marcos and his cronies who were involved in
the agricultural sector.

Agrarian Reform (Post 1986)

President Corazon Aquino envisioned agrarian reform to be the centerpiece of her

administration's social legislation, which proved difficult because her background
betrayed her-she comes from a family of a wealthy and landed clan that owns
Hacienda Luisita.
On 22 July 1997, Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation 131 and Executive Order 229,
which outlined her land reform program
In 1988, the Congress passed Republic Act No. 6657, or the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Law (CARL), which introduced the program with the same name
(Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program or CARP).
It enabled the redistribution of agricultural lands to tenant-farmers from landowners,
who were paid in exchange by the government through just compensation, and allowed
them to retain not more than five hectares
CARP was limited because it accomplished very little during the administration of Aquino. It
only accomplished 22.5% of land distribution in six years

Under the term of President Ramos, CARP implementation was speeded in order to
meet the ten-year time frame.
By 1996, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) distributed only 58.25% of the total
area target to be covered by the program. To address the lacking funding and the
dwindling time for the implementation of CARP. Ramos signed Republic Act No. 8532 in
1998 to amend CARL and extend the program another ten years
CARPER and the Future of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines

The new deadline of CARP expired in 2008, leaving 1.2 million farmer beneficiaries and 1.6
million hectares of agricultural land to be distributed to farmers.
In 2009, President Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian
Reform Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER), the amendatory law that extended
the deadline to five more years.
Section 30 of the law also mandates that any case and/or proceeding involving
implementation of the provisions of CARP, as amended, which may remain pending on
30 June 2014 shall be allowed to proceed to its finality and executed even beyond such
date.

From 2009 to 2014, CARPER has distributed a total of 1 million hectares of land to 900,000
farmer beneficiaries.
After 27 years of land reform and two Aquino administrations, 500,000 hectares of lands
remain undistributed.
The DAR and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are the
government agencies mandated to fulfill CARP and CARPER, but even the combined
effort and resources of the two agencies have proved incapable of fully achieving the
goal of agrarian reform in the Philippines.