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Brief Constitutional History

The Malolos Constitution of 1899 was the first republican constitution in Asia, establishing a parliamentary government with separation of powers and a bill of rights after Philippine independence from Spain. The 1898 Treaty of Paris transferred control of the Philippines from Spain to the United States. A series of Organic Acts from 1900 to 1935 established civil governance through a commission and legislative bodies, transferring more powers to local authorities over time, until the 1935 Constitution created the Philippine Commonwealth in preparation for independence.

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80 views2 pages

Brief Constitutional History

The Malolos Constitution of 1899 was the first republican constitution in Asia, establishing a parliamentary government with separation of powers and a bill of rights after Philippine independence from Spain. The 1898 Treaty of Paris transferred control of the Philippines from Spain to the United States. A series of Organic Acts from 1900 to 1935 established civil governance through a commission and legislative bodies, transferring more powers to local authorities over time, until the 1935 Constitution created the Philippine Commonwealth in preparation for independence.

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Brief Constitutional History

1. Malolos Constitution
o The Philippine Revolution of 1896
o June 12, 1898 – Proclamation of Philippine independence
o September 15, 1898 – Revolutionary Congress convened at Barasoain Church,
Malolos, Bulacan. Three drafts were submitted, namely, the drafts of Pedro
Paterno, Apolinario Mabini and Felipe Calderon.
o November 29, 1898 – the Congress approved the Calderon proposal
o January 21, 1899 – Aguinaldo promulgated the Constitution along with the
establishment of the Philippine Republic
o This was the first republican constitution in Asia, framed by a revolutionary
convention which included 40 lawyers, 16 physicians, 5 pharmacists, 2 engineers
and 1 priest. The Constitution recognized that sovereign power was vested in the
people, provided for a parliamentary government, acknowledged separation of
powers, and contained a bill of rights.
2. The American Regime and the Organic Acts
o The Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898
- The treaty of peace entered into between the US and Spain upon the cessation
of the Spanish- American War.
- It provided, among others, for the cession of the Philippine Islands by Spain to
the US.
o US President McKinley’s Instructions of April 7, 1900
- to transform the military into a civil government as rapidly as conditions would
permit.
- On September 1, 1900, the authority to exercise that part of the military power
of the US President which is legislative in character was transferred from the
military government to the Philippine Commission [first, the Schurman
Commission, then, the Taft Commission].
o The Spooner Amendment to the Army Appropriation Bill of March 2, 1901
- provided that all military, civil and judicial powers necessary to govern the
Philippine Islands shall be exercised in such manner for the establishment of a
civil government and for maintaining and protecting the inhabitants in the free
enjoyment of their liberty, property and religion.
- On July 1, 1901, the Office of the Civil Governor was created, and the executive
authority previously exercised by the military governor was transferred to the
Civil Governor
o The Philippine Bill of July 1, 1902
- continued the existing civil government, with the commitment from the US
Congress to convene and organize in the Philippines a legislative body of their
own representatives.
- On October 16,1907, the Philippine Assembly was convened to sit as the Lower
House in a bicameral legislature, with the Philippine Commission as the Upper
House.
o The Jones Law [Philippine Autonomy Act] of August 29, 1916
- It superseded the Spooner Amendment and the Philippine Bill of 1902.
- It was the principal organic act of the Philippines until November 15,1935,
when the Philippine Commonwealth was inaugurated (under the 1935
Constitution)
- Executive power was vested in the Governor General, legislative power in a
bicameral legislature composed of the Senate and House of Representatives,
and judicial power in the Supreme Court, the Courts of First Instance and
inferior courts.
o The Tydings-McDuffie Act [Philippine Independence Act] of March 24, 1934
- authorized the drafting of a Constitution for the Philippines, the establishment
of a Commonwealth Government and, after ten years, independence.
3.

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