Lesson 3: THE EVOLUTION OF THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

A Constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents

according to which a state or other organization is governed. It symbolizes the country’s
freedom and independence. The Philippine Constitution has evolved since 1897: the
1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato, the 1899 Malolos Constitution, Acts of the United
States Congress (Philippine Organic Act of 1902, Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916, and
Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1934), the 1935 Constitution, the 1943 Constitution, the 1973
Constitution, the 1986 Freedom Constitution, and the 1987 Constitution.
All these documents are found in the Appendices section of this book.
The 1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato. The Tejeros Convention held at San
Francisco de Malabon in Cavite on March 22, 1897 was the result of the Katipunan
revolution. In this convention, the first president and vice president (of the Philippines)
were elected by the members of the Katipunan. The elected president was Emilio
Aguinaldo, and the vice president was Mariano Trias.
It was on November 1, 1897 that the Republic of Biak-na-Bato (República de
Biac-na-Bató) was established during a meeting held at Biak-na-Bato in the town of San
Miguel de Mayumo in Bulacan. This was a De Facto Constitutional Republic. In this
meeting, the constitution written by Isabelo Artacho and Felix Ferrer was promulgated
by the Katipunan, which acted as Constitutional Assembly. The Constitution of Biak-na-
Bato known as the "Constitución Provisional de la República de Filipinas" was short-
lived as it operated only from November 1, 1897 to December 14, 1897.
The Preamble of the 1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato reads, “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, Nov. 1st. 1897, unanimously adopt the following articles for the Constitution of
the State”. (See Appendix A).
The 1899 Malolos Constitution or the Political Constitution of 1899
(Constitución Política de 1899) was the basic law of the First Philippine Republic whose
form of government was unitary semi-presidential constitutional. The Malolos
Constitution was the first republican constitution in Asia (Tucker, 2009) written by
Felipe Calderón y Roca and Felipe Buencamino after the declaration of Philippine
independence from Spain on 12 June 1898. It was signed into law by the Malolos
Congress and promulgated on January 21, 1899. The Malolos Constitution was in
operation from January 23, 1899 to March 23, 1901.
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 The salient features of the 1899 Malolos Constitution include the declaration of
sovereignty of the people, the enumeration of the basic civil rights, the separation of the
Church and State, it provided for the creation of creation of an Assembly of
Representatives to act as the legislative body, and a parliamentary republic as the form
of government.
The Preamble of the 1899 Malolos Constitution reads, “We, the Representatives
of the Filipino people, lawfully convened, in order to establish justice, provide for
common defense, promote the general welfare, and ensure 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:” (See Appendix B).
The Acts of the United States Congress was in operation from December 10, 1898
to March 24, 1934, since the Philippines was a territory of the United States during these
periods because of the Treaty of Paris which transferred the sovereignty from Spain to
the United States. The acts, such as the Philippine Organic Act of 1902, the Philippine
Autonomy Act of 1916, and the Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934, passed by the United
States congress were considered as the Philippine constitutions because they provided
for the fundamental political principles and established the structure, procedures,
powers and duties of the Philippine government.
Philippine Organic Act of 1902, also known as the "Philippine Bill of 1902",
was the first organic law enacted by the US Congress for the Philippines. It provided for
the creation of the Philippine Assembly, and a bicameral legislature composed of a
Philippine Commission (upper house) and the Philippine Assembly (lower house) were
the lawmaking power was vested. Like other constitutions, it also enumerated the bill of
rights for the Filipinos and provided for the appointment of two non-voting Filipino
Resident Commissioners of the Philippines that would represent the Philippines in the
US House of Representatives.
Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916, also known as the "Jones Law", amended
the structure of the Philippine government that was provided for in the Philippine Bill of
1902. It removed the Philippine Commission (upper house) and replaced it with the
Senate whose members were elected by the Filipino voters. Because of this, the
Philippines' first fully elected national legislature came into being. A notable statement
of this act was the explicit expression of the United States to grant the Philippines its
independence as soon as a stable Philippine government would be established.
Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1934. On March 24, 1934 the United States passed the
Tydings-McDuffie Act that allowed the Filipino nation to have a self-government. A ten-
year transition period was granted by this Act so that Filipinos could be prepared for
self-government and full independence. Unlike the other two acts which could be
considered constitution, the Tydings–McDuffie Act of 1934 could not be considered as a
constitution, but still a very important document which provided authority and defined
mechanisms for the establishment of a formal constitution via a constitutional
convention. The eventful day arrived on July 4, 1946, when the United States
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recognized Philippine independence in the Treaty of Manila. The Philippine-American
friendship day is celebrated every 4th of July to commemorate the Philippine
independence from the United States of America.
The 1935 Philippine Constitution. This constitution was written in 1934 with
the goal of meeting the United States’ expectation of political maturity among Philippine
leaders so that a full and real independence could be granted by the US. This
constitution was promulgated by the 1934 Constitutional Convention and was in
operation during the Commonwealth era (1935-1946), until the Third Republic (July 4,
1946 - January 16, 1973). The Third Republic started with the granting of Philippine
independence from US domination on July 4, 1946 to Roxas Administration (1946–48),
Quirino Administration (1948–53), Magsaysay Administration (1953–57), Garcia
Administration (1957–61), and Macapagal Administration (1961–65).
During the Commonwealth period, the form of government was Presidential
system, with the president serving a six-year term without reelection. It also provided
for a unicameral National Assembly. However, in 1940 an amendment was done
establishing a Bicameral Congress of the Philippines composed of a Senate and House of
Representatives, as well the creation of an independent electoral commission. Moreover,
President’s term was changed from six years without reelection to a four-year term with
a maximum of two consecutive terms in office.
In the Third Republic, the 1935 Constitution was still in operation, the form of
government of the Philippines was Unitary Presidential Constitutional Republic. Again,
an amendment was made in 1947, which provided for the provision of the Parity Rights
between the American and the Filipino citizens. The Parity Rights granted the U. S.
citizens and corporations equal rights with Filipino citizens over the Philippine natural
resources.
In 1971, a Constitutional Convention was held to rewrite or revise the 1935
Constitution. However, so much corruption marred the process. In 1972, President
Ferdinand Marcos proclaimed martial law to suppress the increasing civil strife and the
threat of communist takeover of the government. The proclamation of martial law
suspended the 1935 Constitution.
The Preamble of the 1935 Constitution 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."
(See Appendix E).
The 1943 Constitution. The Preparatory Committee for Philippine
Independence (PCPI) promulgated the 1943 Philippine Constitution during the
Japanese occupation of the country. Mostly of the members of the PCPI were delegates
to the convention that drafted the 1935 Constitution. The constitution was ratified by
the popular convention of the KALIBAPI in Manila on September 7, 1943.
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Following its ratification, the Second Republic was then formally proclaimed. The
Second Philippine Republic was a single-party authoritarian republic. José P. Laurel
was appointed as President by the National Assembly and was inaugurated into office in
October 14, 1943, and Benigno Simeon Aquino Sr. was the Speaker of the National
Assembly.
The 1943 Constitution was in operation in Japanese-controlled areas of the
Philippines from October 14, 1943 to August 17, 1945. However, the United States and
the Commonwealth government which was in exile did not recognize the said
constitution. Laurel formally dissolved the Second Philippine Republic following the
surrender of Japan in World War II.
The Preamble of the 1943 Constitution 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 1973 Constitution was promulgated by the 1973 Constitutional
Convention, after Marcos declared martial law. The 1973 Constitution ruled the Fourth
Philippine Republic from January 17, 1973 to February 22, 1986. A unicameral
legislature was established during this period, whose members were elected for a six-
year term of office. The President was elected from among the members of the national
Assembly for a six-year term and eligible for reelections. The elected president will serve
only as purely ceremonial head of state. Executive power was exercised by the Prime
Minister who was also elected from amongst the members of the national assembly. The
Prime Minister was the head of government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed
Forces.
The 1973 Constitution amended on four occasions. (1) In the 1976 amendments,
the Interim National Assembly was replaced by the Interim Batasang Pambansa, the
President would also become the Prime Minister and would exercise legislative powers
until the lifting of the martial law, the President can legislate on his own on an
"emergency" basis. (2) In the 1980 amendment, the retirement age of the members of
the judiciary was extended to 70 years. (3) In the 1981 amendments, the false
parliamentary system was formally modified into a French-style semi-presidential
system were: executive power was restored to the President, direct election of the
President was restored, an Executive Committee composed of the Prime Minister and
not more than 14 members was created to "assist the President in the exercise of his
powers and functions and in the performance of his duties as he may prescribe," and the
Prime Minister was a mere head of the Cabinet. (4) The 1984 amendment abolished the
Executive Committee and restored the position of Vice-President.
The Preamble of the 1973 Constitution reads, “We, the sovereign Filipino people,
imploring the aid of Divine Providence, in order to establish a Government that shall
embody our ideals, promote the general welfare, conserve and develop the patrimony of
our Nation,
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and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of democracy under a regime of
justice, peace, liberty, and equality, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”
The 1986 Freedom Constitution. Right after the 1986 People Power
Revolution that compelled President Marcos to step down from power, President
Corazon Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3 to serve as a provisional constitution. The
proclamation contained some provisions adopted from the 1973 Constitution. Powers
such as government reorganization, removal of officials, appointment of a commission
to draft a new and more formal Constitution, which upon ratification, would supplant
the Freedom Constitution.
The first part of Proclamation No. 3 reads, “Whereas, the new government was
installed through a direct exercise of the power of the Filipino people assisted by units of
the new armed forces of the Philippines; whereas, the heroic action of the people was
done in defiance of the provisions of the 1973 constitution, as amended; Whereas, the
direct mandate of the people as manifested by their extraordinary action demands the
complete reorganization of the government, restoration of democracy, protection of
basic rights, rebuilding of confidence in the entire governmental system, eradication of
graft and corruption, restoration of peace and order, maintenance of the supremacy of
civilian authority over the military, and the transition to a government under a new
constitution in the shortest time possible; Whereas, during the period of transition to a
new constitution it must be guaranteed that the government will respect basic human
rights and fundamental freedoms;
WHEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the
powers vested in me by the sovereign mandate of the people, do hereby promulgate the
following Provisional Constitution:”
The 1987 Philippine Constitution was drafted by a constitutional assembly
that was mandated in Proclamation No. 3. The commission composed fifty members
appointed by President Corazon Aquino from various backgrounds: former members of
the House of Representatives, former justices of the Supreme Court, a Roman Catholic
bishop, and political activists against the Marcos regime. Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, who was
a former Associate Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was elected by the commission as
its president. The final draft of the 1987 Constitution was finished on October 12, 1986
and was presented to President Aquino on October. The constitution was ratified on
February 8, 1987 through a nationwide plebiscite.
 The 1987 Constitution operates since 1987, during the administration of Cory
Aquino (1986-1992), Fidel Ramos (1992-1998), Joseph Estrada (1998-2001), Gloria
Macapagal Arroyo (2001-2010), Benigno Aquino III (2010-2016), and the current
administration of Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016-to the present).
The Preamble of the 1987 Constitution 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,
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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.”