Philippines Constitutions PDF

**WHOLE INFO** **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.,...

**WHOLE INFO** **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 Constitution. It is known as the \"Constitución Provisional de la República de Filipinas\", and was originally written in and promulgated in the Spanish and Tagalog languages. 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. The organs of the government under the Constitution were: 1. 2. 3. 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. **The Malolos Constitution of 1899** On January 21, 1899, Aguinaldo promulgated what is now known as the Malolos Constitution. The Malolos constitution is the first important Filipino document ever produced by the people\'s representatives. It is anchored in democratic traditions that ultimately had their roots in American soil. It created a Filipino state whose government was \"popular, representative and responsible\" with three distinct branches \-- the executive, the legislative and the judicial. The constitution specifically provided for safeguards against abuses, and enumerated the national and individual rights not only of the Filipinos and of the aliens. The legislative powers were exercised by the Assembly of Representatives composed of delegates elected according to law. To make the function of Congress continuous, the document provided for a Permanent Commission which would sit as a law-making body when Congress was not in session. The assembly elected the President of the Republic. The Cabinet, composed of the Secretaries of the different Departments of the government, was responsible not to the President, but to the Assembly. The administration of justice was vested in the Supreme Court and in inferior courts to be established according to law. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was to be elected by the Assembly with the concurrence of the President and the Cabinet. The constitution as a whole is a monument to the capacity of the Filipinos to chart their own course along democratic lines. In a period of storm and stress, it symbolized the ideals of a people who had emerged from the Dark Ages into the Light of Reason. History of the Filipino People. Teodoro A. Agoncillo The 1899 Malolos Constitution was never enforced due to the on-going war. The Philippines was effectively a territory of the United States of America upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris between Spain and the United States, transferring sovereignty of the Philippines on December 10, 1898 and from 1898 to 1901, the Philippines would be under a military government until a civil government would be put into place. **THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINE COMMONWEALTH**\ Quennie Ann J. Palafox/National Historical Commission of the Philippines The Constitution, whether written or unwritten is recognized as the supreme law of the land as it serves as the basis for the legitimacy of any governmental acts necessary for its existence.  It is a codified law that determines the powers and duties of a government and it embodies certain rights of the people. Right after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in Washington D.C in 1898 that ceded the Philippines to the US paying the amount of \$20, 000, 000 to Spain in the process, and the eruption of Filipino-American War in 1899, our country was placed under a military government until 1901 with the passing of the Spooner Amendment, putting an end to the military rule in the Philippines and replacing it with a civil government with William H. Taft as the first civil governor.  The ratification of the Philippine Bill of 1902, which called for the creation of a lower legislative branch composed of elected Filipino legislators, and the Jones Law in August 1916 gave the Filipinos the opportunity to govern themselves better.  The First Philippine Assembly, which convened on October 16, 1907, was composed of educated Filipinos from illustrious clans such as Sergio Osmeña and Manuel L. Quezon, who revived the issue of immediate independence for the Filipinos and this was expressed by sending political missions to the US Congress. Controversy divided the Philippine legislature with the debate on the acceptance or rejection of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Bill brought home by Osmeña-Roxas mission from the US Congress in 1931, which provided for a 10-year transition period before the granting of Philippine independence. The passage of the independence bill resulted in the splitting of the Democrata Party and Nacionalista Party into two factions; the Pros and Antis. Majority in the legislature led by Quezon and Recto rejected the said bill, thereby composing the Antis, while the Pros became the Minority under Osmena, Roxas and others. On October 17, 1933, Quezon and others triumphed in this battle as the Philippine legislature rejected the bill. Quezon eventually brought in from the United States the Tydings-McDuffie Act (Public Law 73-127) authored by Sen. Millard Tydings and Rep. John McDuffie, a slightly amended version of the Hare-Hawes-Cutting bill signed by President Franklin Roosevelt on March 24, 1934. The bill set July 4 after the tenth year of the commonwealth as date of Philippine independence. This was accepted by the Philippine Legislature on May 1, 1934. The organization of constitutional Convention that would draw up the fundamental law of the land based on the American model was one of the salient provisions of the Tydings-McDuffie Act. Delegates to the convention were subsequently elected in 1934. In the first meeting held on July 30 at the session of the House of Representatives, Claro M. Recto was unanimously elected as its President. Salient features of the 1935 Constitution include the following: a bicameral legislature composed of a senate and House of Representatives. The President is to be elected to a four-year term together with the Vice-President without re-election; rights of suffrage by male citizens of the Philippines who are twenty-one years of age or over and are able to read and write; extension of the right of suffrage to women within two years after the adoption of the constitution. The draft of the constitution was approved by the convention on February 8, 1935 and ratified by Pres. Roosevelt in Washington D.C on March 25, 1935. Elections were held in September 1935, Manuel L. Quezon was elected as the president of the Commonwealth. The 1935 Constitution provided the legal basis of the Commonwealth Government which was considered a transition government before the granting of the Philippine independence with American-inspired constitution; the Philippine government would eventually pattern its government system after American government. It has been said that the 1935 Constitution was the best-written Philippine charter ever. **The 1943 Philippine Constitution** Understanding the Second Philippine Republic The Second Philippine Republic was established during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines. At the outset of the occupation, the Japanese government established a military administration over the Philippines, as well as the Philippine Executive Commission, composed of several pre-war Filipino political leaders. The KALIBAPI (Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas) was also organized, designed to be the sole and exclusive political organization in the Philippines. On June 16, 1943, Premier Hideki Tojo promised independence to the Philippines. The KALIBAPI would then form the Preparatory Committee on Philippine Independence (PCPI), which was tasked with drafting a new Constitution. The new Constitution was approved by the Preparatory Committee on Philippine Independence on September 4, 1943 and ratified by the KALIBAPI on September 7, 1943. The KALIBAPI then proceeded to elect part of the new National Assembly, which also included appointed members; in turn, the National Assembly elected its Speaker and then elected Jose P. Laurel as President. On October 14, 1943, in ceremonies in front of the Legislative Building in Manila, the new Republic was inaugurated, and Jose P. Laurel, the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, assumed office as President. On September 21, 1944, President Laurel proclaimed martial law in the Philippines (it came into effect on September 22). On September 23, 1944, Laurel proclaimed that the Philippines was "in a state of war" with the Allied Powers---but this was never ratified by the National Assembly. In large part, Japanese dissapointment with Laurel led to the Republic under Laurel being superseded by the Makapili, organized in December, 1944 to more militantly oppose the returning American forces and Filipino guerrillas. The Japanese brought the Laurel government to Baguio in December, 1944, and a small remnant of that government was taken to Tokyo in March, 1945. Laurel formally dissolved the Second Republic on August 17, 1945, two days after Japan surrendered to the Allies. When the Commonwealth government was restored on Philippine soil on October 23, 1944, Field Marshal Douglas MacArthur as military commander had issued a proclamation nullifying all acts of the Philippine Executive Commission and the Second Republic. The Supreme Court of the Philippines reiterated this nullification in a decision (G.R. No. L-5) on September 17, 1945 (and subsequent decisions), but pointed out President Osmeña recognized the validity of some judicial acts of a non-political nature. The Supreme Court categorized the Philippine Executive Commission and the Second Republic as a de facto (actual, whether by right or not) government, in contrast to the de jure (meaning rightful, or legitimate) status of the Commonwealth government. While this means no laws or regulations from the Second Republic are legally recognized, President Laurel has been included in the roster of Philippine presidents since the 1960s. Many officials who served in the Philippine Executive Commission, the Second Republic and its various agencies were charged with treason but received an amnesty from President Manuel Roxas on January 28, 1948. **The making of the 1973 Constitution** When Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in the Philippines, he used his constitutionally legal powers to concentrate all state authority in himself. However, this would not be the last time Marcos would use technicalities in his mandate as head of state to obtain even greater power. In mere months following September 1972, Marcos had already set in motion an elaborate plan that would eliminate his checks and balances from both the other branches of government and the Filipino people at large. In everything he did, Ferdinand Marcos took great pains to ensure that his actions would align with the dictates of the law. When necessary measures fell outside the scope of existing laws, he changed the laws to suit his needs before proceeding. For implementing such a strategy his rapid ascent to what seemed at the time like absolute power, Marcos has been labeled a constitutional dictator. Absolute Power In any democracy, checks and balances are vital. The basic idea is that no single individual has all the power, so that he is unable to abuse it. Power is ideally distributed among various bodies so that they may dispense their duties efficiently, and balance each other's exercise of authority. The Philippine government is generally divided into three branches: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. Following the same principle of checks and balances, the President (executive) must thus approve laws passed by Senate and Congress (legislative), while the Supreme Court (judicial) may judge the constitutionality of the President's actions. Toward strengthening his dictatorial powers, Marcos made sure to disrupt this democratic setup. While he already had control of the executive branch as the President, he proceeded to take over all other functions that the government had mandate over. In effect, Marcos gave himself total control over the nation. In General Order No. 1, signed September 22, 1972, Marcos declared: Now, therefore, I, Ferdinand E. Marcos, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, do hereby proclaim that I shall govern the nation and direct the operation of the entire Government, including all its agencies and instrumentalities, in my capacity and shall exercise all the powers and prerogatives appurtenant and incident to my position as such Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines. By taking control over the entire government, Marcos put himself in a position of absolute power over the laws of the land, with no legitimate body in existence to hold him in check. He personally appointed every provincial governor, city mayor, and municipal mayor throughout the nation. Throughout his term, he issued 1941 presidential decrees, 1331 letters of instruction, and 896 executive orders. His word was law. A New Constitution As it became clear that Marcos could indeed exercise absolute power over the Philippine government, one more thing had to be secured: the indefinite extension of this power. In the 1935 Constitution, in effect at the time of Marcos's first and second terms of office, limited the Presidency to a total of 2 four-year terms. Marcos's solution? He promulgated a change of Constitution, which included the replacement of Congress with the single-chamber Batasang Pambansa (National Assembly). The new proposed government would have a Batasang Pambansa composed of popularly elected legislators, a symbolic head of state in the President, and a Prime Minister who would be head of government, elected by the assembly. One crucial provision was that the Prime Minister would retain his powers unless the assembly made it known that they had lost their confidence in him or the President nominated a successor. Moreover, transitory provisions in the 1973 Constitution assigned Marcos a term extension as President. Even before the declaration of Martial Law, a Constitutional Convention had already been put in place since 1971 to review and propose amendments to the existing constitution. On November 29, 1972, the Convention approved their proposed Constitution, and the following day it was submitted by the President for ratification by the Filipino people. This move was questioned by some legislators. How could a Constitution be ratified by the Filipino people in a state with neither Congress nor free speech? Nonetheless, the President ordered the organization of Citizen Assemblies, wherein citizens would be asked whether they approved of the New Society, whether they liked the reforms instituted under Martial Law, whether Congress should be opened again, and when the Constitution should be ratified. In Proclamation No. 1102, Marcos announced that 95% of citizens at the Citizen Assemblies approved of the new Constitution. This announcement was also questioned, in a landmark case known as Javellana vs. Executive Secretary, wherein Josue Javellana questioned the power the President to call for Citizen Assemblies, and the power of the assemblies themselves to ratify the Constitution. Others alleged that the Citizen Assemblies themselves had been conducted unscrupulously, with force and deception. However, the case was dismissed by the Supreme Court, therefore allowing the 1973 Constitution to take full effect. Marcos had thus succeeded in fulfilling his plans to obtain power. After transitory provisions lived out their course, Marcos was named the Prime Minister. He had indeed extended his stay in power. The 1973 Constitution allowed him to hold this position indefinitely, and he did so until 1981, at which point he appointed his finance minister Cesar Virata to the post. Marcos did not consider Virata a threat to his rule. **SUMMARY** - Constitution It refers to the "body of rules and principles in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty is regularly exercised. - The Biak-na-Bato Republic was established in 1897. - Isabelo Artacho and Felix Ferrer is the one who crafted the 1897 Biaknabato. - Malolos Constitution is known as the 1899 Constitution. - Jones Law of 1916 it is an independence act during the American Regime that allows Filipinos to govern themselves better and enables the creation of First Philippine Assembly. - Tydings-McDuffie Law of 1934 it is the Philippine independence act that served as the basis for crafting the 1935 Constitution. **The Nature of Constitution** the charter creating the government the supreme or fundamental law of the land as it speaks for the entire people from whom it derives its claim to obedience it is binding on all individual citizens and all organs of government a law to which all other laws must conform in accordance with which all private rights must be determined and all public authority administered. the test of the legality of all governmental action, whether proceeding from the highest official or lowest functionary **Purpose of Constitution** - prescribe the permanent framework of the system of government - to assign to the different departments or branches, their respective powers and duties - to establish certain basic principles on which the government is founded - it is primarily designed to preserve and protect the rights ofindividuals against the arbitrary actions of those in authority **Function of Constitution** **1897 Biak na bato Constitution** - The Tejeros Convention in 1897 marked the first presidential and vice-presidential elections in Philippine history, but only members of the Katipunan were allowed to participate. - The Republic of Biak-na-Bato was established on November 1, 1897, with a constitution drafted by Isabelo Artacho and Félix Ferrer, based on the first Cuban Constitution. - The \"Constitución Provisional de la República de Filipinas\" was written in Spanish and Tagalog and served as the provisional Constitution of the Philippine Republic during the Philippine Revolution. **1899 Malolos Constitution** - The Malolos constitution is the first important Filipino document produced by the people\'s representatives. - It is rooted in democratic traditions with origins in American soil. - The Congress elected its officers: Pedro A. Paterno as President, Benito Legarda as Vice-President, Gregorio Araneta as First Secretary, and Pablo Ocampo as Second Secretary. - The Congress ratified the independence proclaimed at Kawit on June 12, 1898, on September 29. - Aguinaldo arrived at Barasoain amidst the acclamation of the people and music. - A committee, led by Felipe G. Calderon, was formed to draft the constitution. - Calderon, drawing inspiration from various countries\' constitutions, presented the draft of the constitution on Oct 8. - Philippine Bill of 1901 It aims to put an end to military government and paved the way for the establishment of Civil Government. - Jones Law of 1916 allowed the Filipinos to govern themselves better and enables the creation of the First Philippine Assembly (the lower house of the legislature composed of educated Filipinos). - Hare-Hawes Cutting Bill of 1933 provided for a ten-year transition period before the granting of Philippine independence. - On October 17, 1933, the Philippine legislature rejected the Hare-Hawes-Cutting bill. - President Quezon brought in the slightly amended Tydings-McDuffie Act from the United States, which set July 4 after the tenth year of the commonwealth as the date of Philippine independence. - The Philippine Legislature accepted the bill on May 1, 1934. - Pres. Franklin Roosevelt signed the Proclamation of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines - The 1935 Constitution was approved by the people in the plebiscite in May 14, 1935. **1943 Republic of the Philippines Constitution** - The 1943 Constitution was of the Japanese-sponsored Second Republic of the Philippines (1943-1945). - It was only recognized in Japanese-controlled areas, not by the US or Philippine Commonwealth governments in-exile. - The Preparatory Commission for Philippine Independence (PCPI) was tasked with drafting the new constitution under the Kalibapi. - The Japanese closely monitored the drafting process and instructed the PCPI to align the constitution with the principles of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. - The draft constitution was unanimously approved by the PCPI members and submitted for ratification in a popular convention of the Kalibapi in Manila. - On 24 August 1970, Congress enacted RA 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 21 September 1972 - When he declared martial law in 1972, Marcos claimed that he had done so in response to the communist threat\" posed by the newly founded Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), and the sectarian \"rebellion\" of the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM). - The 1973 Constitution was manipulated by the Marcos regime to maintain power. - Marcos declared martial law and issued Presidential Decree No. 86, canceling the plebiscite and implementing barangays' citizens' assemblies to ratify the new constitution. - The ratification and plebiscite cases were challenged before the Supreme Court, citing violations of the Constitution and lack of freedom for the people to properly consider the proposed constitution. - The 1973 Constitution was exploited by the Marcos regime to consolidate power, using martial law and manipulation of the ratification process. - The Supreme Court was petitioned due to violations of the Constitution and lack of freedom for the people to make an informed decision. - The 1976 amendments were ratified in the referendum-plebiscite held in October 1976, and were proclaimed in full force and effect also that month. - The most controversial among the 1976 amendments was Amendment no. 6. - While 1973 Constitution vested legislative power in the National Assembly or the Batasang Pambansa, this amendment granted the concurrent legislative authority with the parliament. - By virtue of Amendment No. 6, Marcos virtually became a one-man ruler. It granted him legislative power even after the formal lifting of Martial law on January 17, 1981. What made it worse was that the Batasang Pambansa was effectively a rubber-stamp legislature, always approving whatever the President proposed. - The 1976 amendments were an Interim Batasang Pambansa (IBP) substituting for the Interim National Assembly. - The President would also become the Prime Minister and he would continue to exercise legislative powers until such time as martial law was lifted. - The Sixth Amendment authorized the President to legislate on his own on an \"emergency\" basis: - Whenever in the judgement of the President there exists a grave emergency or a threat or imminence thereof, or whenever the Interim Batasang Pambansa or the regular National Assembly fails or is unable to act adequately on any matter for any reason that in his judgment requires immediate action, he may, in order to meet the exigency, issue the necessary decrees, orders or letters of instructions, which shall form part of the law of the land.