Malolos Congress

It was approved by the Malolos Congress on November 29, 1898, draft returned by President Aguinaldo on December 1,
1898 for amendments, which the Congress refused; approved by President Aguinaldo on December 23, 1898; formally
adopted by the Malolos Congress on January 20, 1899, promulgated by President Emilio Aguinaldo on January 21, 1899.
It is known as the La Constitucin poltica de Malolos and was written in Spanish. 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 was the first republican constitution in Asia. The document declares that the people have exclusive
sovereignty. 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 1935 Constitution
The 1935 Constitution of the Philippines was written in 1934, 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 U.S. 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 original 1935 Constitution provides, inter alia, for a unicameral Legislature and a single six-year term for the
President. 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 Commission on Elections. The Constitution limited the President to 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.
The 1943 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
was drafted by a committee appointed by the Philippine Executive Commission, the body establishedby the Japanese to
administer the Philippines in lieu of theCommonwealth of thePhilippineswhich had established agovernment-in-exile. In
mid-1942, Japanese
Premier Hideki Tojohad promised the Filipinos "the honor of independence" whichmeant that the commission would be
supplanted by a formal republic.ThePhilippine Independence Committeetasked with drafting a new constitution
wascomposed, in large part, of members of the pre-war National Assembly and of individuals with experience as
delegates to the convention that had drafted the 1935Constitution. Their draft for the republic to be established under
the JapaneseOccupation, 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 byan assembly of appointed, provincial representatives of theKALIBAPI, theorganization established by
the Japanese to supplant all previous political parties.Upon ratification by the Kalibapi assembly, the Second Republic
was formallyproclaimed (1943-1945).Jos P. Laurelwas appointed as President by theNationalAssemblyand inaugurated
into office in October of 1943. Laurel was highlyregarded by the Japanese for having openly criticized the U.S. for the
way they ranthe Philippines and because he had a degree fromTokyo International University.The 1943 Constitution
remained in force in Japanese-controlled areas of thePhilippines, but was never recognized as legitimate or binding by
the governmentsof theUnited Statesor of theCommonwealth of the Philippinesand guerrillaorganizations loyal to them.
In late 1944, President Laurel declared that a state of war existed with the United States and the British Empire and
proclaimed martiallaw, essentially ruling by decree. His government in turn went into exile inDecember, 1944, first
toTaiwanand thenJapan. After the announcement of Japan'ssurrender, Laurel formally proclaimed the Second Republic
as dissolved.Until the 1960s, the Second Republic, and its officers, were not viewed as legitimateor as having any
standing, with the exception of theSupreme Courtwhosedecisions, limited to reviews of criminal and commercial cases
as part of a policy of discretion byChief Justice Jose Yulocontinued to be part of the official records (thiswas made easier
by the Commonwealth never constituting a Supreme Court, andthe formal vacancy in the chief justice position for the
Commonwealth with theexecution of Jose Abad Santosby the Japanese). It was only during the Macapagaladministration
that a partial, political rehabilitation of the Japanese-era republic tookplace, with the recognition of Laurel as a former
president and the addition of hiscabinet and other officials to the roster of past government officials. However, the
1943 charter was not taught in schools and the laws of the 1943-44 NationalAssembly never recognized as valid or
relevant

1973
The1973 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, promulgated after Marcos'declaration of martial law, provides
for a parliamentary form of government.Legislative power was vested in a National Assembly whose members were
electedfor six-year terms. The President was elected as the symbolic head of state from theMembers of the National
Assembly for a six-year term and could be re-elected to anunlimited 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 amember of a
political party or hold any other office. Executive power was exercisedby the Prime Minister who was also elected from
the Members of the NationalAssembly. ThePrime Minister was the head of government and Commander-in-Chief of the
armed forces. This constitution was subsequently amended three times.On 22 September 1976, President Marcos issued
Presidential Decree No. 1033proposing amendments to the Constitution, which was later on ratified and includedin the
1973 Constitution. The amendments provide, among other things, for thereplacement of the National Assembly by
theBatasang Pambansa. It also statesthat the incumbent President of the Philippines shall be the Prime Minister, and
shallcontinue 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. In
reality, theseamendments had little effect at the time due to the ongoing Marcos dictatorship;
however, Marcos did, at least in name, dissolve martial law at about this time andconduct (highly questionable)
elections, which he unsurprisingly "won". PresidentialProclamation No. 3, popularly known as the 1986Provisional
Freedom Constitution,was the most far reaching set of amendments to the 1973 constitution that it wasalmost a
constitution in its own right. However, it is really a large set of amendmentswhich superseded and abolished certain
provisions from the constitution. It grantedthe President certain powers to remove officials from office, reorganize
thegovernment and hold a new constitutional convention to draft a new constitution.Following the EDSA People Power
Revolution that removed PresidentFerdinand E.Marcosfrom office, the new President,Corazon C. Aquinoissued
Proclamation No.3 and the adoption of a provisional constitution that would prepare for the nextconstitution which
became the 1987 constitution