1987: Constitution after Martial Law
During the time of Cory Aquino’s government, they had 3 options for the constitution
1. Revert to the 1935 Constitution
2. Retain the 1973 Constitution and be granted the power to make reforms
3. 3. Start anew and break from the “vestiges of a disgraced dictatorship”
In March 1986, President Aquino proclaimed a transitional constitution to last for a year while a
Constitutional Commission drafted a permanent constitution called Freedom Constitution.
Freedom Constitution maintained the old provisions from the 1973 Authoritarian Constitution that
includes the presidential right to rule by decree.
There was a convention in the year 1986 that is composed of 48 members appointed by President
Aquino. In this convention, they finally decided to make a new permanent constitution that was officially
adopted on February 2, 1987.
The constitution begins with a preamble and 18 self-contained articles.
Preamble:
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, 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.
18 Articles
ARTICLE I National Territory
ARTICLE II Declaration of Principles and State Policies
ARTICLE III Bill of Rights
ARTICLE IV Citizenship
ARTICLE V Suffrage
ARTICLE VI Legislative Department
ARTICLE VII Executive Department
ARTICLE VIII Judicial Department
ARTICLE IX Constitutional Commissions
ARTICLE X Local Government
ARTICLE XI Accountability of Public Officers
ARTICLE XII National Economy and Patrimony
ARTICLE XIII Social Justice and Human Rights
ARTICLE XIV Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and Sports
ARTICLE XV The Family
ARTICLE XVI General Provisions
ARTICLE XVII Amendments or Revisions
ARTICLE XVIII Transitory Provisions
The Constitution allocates governmental powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches
of the government.
1. Executive Branch of the Government
- The President is the head of state and head of the Government. His powers are limited
especially during the time of emergency. This is to put in place to safeguard the country from
the experience of Martial Law disposition during the presidency of Marcos.
2. The Legislative power is divided into 2 houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The senate is composed of 24 senators and the House of Representatives is composed of district
representatives representing a particular geographic area.
3. 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. The Supreme Court is also in charge of
overseeing the functioning and administration of the lower courts and their personnel.
The Constitution established 3 Independent Constitutional Commissions:
- Civil Service Commission
It is a central agency in charge of government personnel
- Commission on Election
It is mandated to enforce and administer all election laws and regulations
- Commission on Audit
It examines all funds, transactions, and property accounts of the government and its agencies
To further promote ethical and lawful conduct of the government, the Office of the Ombudsman was
created to investigate complaints that pertain to public corruption, unlawful behavior of public officials
and other public misconduct.
The 3 Ways in changing the Constitution
1. Congress (House of Representatives and the Senate) propose amendments to the Constitution
2. Constitutional Convention, where delegates propose amendments or revisions to the
Constitution
3. Peoples Initiative is proposed by the people upon a petition of at least 12% of total number of
registered voters.
Amendments on revision to the Constitution shall be valid only when ratified by a majority of the votes
cast in a National Referendum
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. The
Senate will then try the impeachment case.
