SSCI 113 - READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

MRS. ANA ROSE REYES

SUBMITTED BY:
GALLETA, JOHN ROBERT C.
BSAeE - 3
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

CONSTITUTION SPECIAL FEATURES

a. The Philippine Revolution of 1896

b.Proclamation of Philippine
independence, at Kawit, Cavite, on June
12, 1898

c. Revolutionary Congress convened at

Barasoain Church, Malolos, Bulacan, on
September 15, 1898. Three drafts were
submitted namely, the drafts of Pedro
Paterno, Apolinario Mabini and Felipe
Calderon.

d. The Calderon proposal was reported to

the Congress on October 8, 1898, and the
Congress approved the proposed
Constitution on November 29, 1898.

e. President Emilio Aguinaldo approved

the same on December 23, 1898;
Congress ratified it on January 20, 1899.
1.THE MALOLOS
CONSTITUTION f. Aguinaldo promulgated the
(January 21, 1899) Constitution the following day, along with
the establishment of the Philippine
Republic on January 21, 1899,

g. 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.
 a. The Treaty of Paris of December 10,
1898. The treaty of peace entered into
between the US and Spain upon the ces-
sation of the Spanish-American War. It
provided, among others, for the cession of
the Philippine Islands by Spain to the US.

b.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).

c. 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 xxx for the establishment of
a civil government and for maintaining
2. THE AMERICAN REGIME and protecting the inhabitants in the free
AND THE ORGANIC ACTS 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.

d.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.

e. 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). It contained a
preamble, a bill of rights, provisions
defining the organization and powers of
the departments of government,
provisions defining the electorate, and
miscellaneous provisions on finance,
franchises and salaries of important
officials. 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.

f. 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.

a.Pursuant to the authority granted under

the Tydings-McDalue Law, the Philippine
Legislature passed Act No. 4125 May
26,1934) calling for the election of
delegates to the Constitutional
Convention.

b Election of delegates: July 10, 1934,

Constitutional Convention Inaugural:
July 30,1934
3. THE 1935 CONSTITUTION
(May 14, 1935)
e. Draft Constitution approved by the
Constitutional Convention on February 8,
1935, brought to Washington on March
18, 1935, and on March 23, 1935, US
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
certified that the draft constitution
conformed substantially with

the Tydings-McDuffie Law d. The

Constitution was ratified in a plebiscite
held on May 14 2935 The Philippine
Commonwealth established under the
Constitution was inaugurated on
November 15, 1935; fall independence
was attained with the inauguration of the
(Third) Philippine Republic on July 4,
1946.

f. The Constitution was amended in 1939:

Ordinance appended to the Constitution,
in accordance with the
Tydings-Kociallikowski Act of August 7,
1939 [Resolution of Congress: September
15, 1939; Plebiscite: October 24, 1939)

g. It was amended again in 1940: Changed

President's and Vice President's term
from six to four years, but no person shall
serve as President for more than 8 years;
changed the unicameral to a bicameral
legislature; established an independent
Commission on Elections [Resolution:
April 11, 1940; Plebiscite: June 18, 1940)

h. Another amendment was adopted in

1947: Parity Amendment, effective July 4,
1949, granting to Americans, for a period
of twenty-five years, the same privileges
as Pilipinos in the utilization and
exploitation of natural resources in the
Philippines [Resolution: September 18,
1946; Plebiscite: March 11, 19471, See:
Mabanag v. Lopez Vito, 78 Phil.]
 a. With the occupation of Manila, the
Commander in Chief of the Japanese
Forces proclaimed, on January 2, 1942,
the military administration over the
territory occupied by the attny, and
ordered that all the laws now in force in
the Commonwealth, as well as executive
and judicial institutions shall continue to
be effective for the time being as in the
past", and "all public officials shall remain
in their present posts and carry on
faithfully their duties as before".
4. THE JAPANESE
(BELLIGERENT) b.Order No. 1 of the Japanese
OCCUPATION Commander in Chief, on January 23,
(September 2, 1945) 1942, organized the Philippine Executive
Commission. c. Executive Orders Nos. 1
and 4, dated January 30 and February 6,

1942, respectively, continued the

Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, the
Courts of First Instance and Justices of
the Peace Courts, with the same
jurisdiction, in conformity with later
instructions given by the Commander in
Chief of the Japanese Imperial Army in
Order No. 3, dated February 20, 1942

d.October 14, 1943, the (Second)

Philippine Republic was inaugurated,
with Jose P. Laurel as President.

a. Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No.

1, March 16, 1967, increasing the
membership of the House of
Representatives from 120 to 180

b.RBH No. 2, March 16,1967, calling for a

5. THE 1973 CONSTITUTION Constitutional Convention to revise the
(January 17, 1973) 1935 Constitution

c. RBH No. 3, March 16, 1967, allowing

members of Congress to sit as delegates in
the Constitutional Convention without
forfeiting their seats in Congress.
d RBH 1 and RBH 3 were submitted to
the people in a plebiscite RAH and with
local elections in November 1967, but
both were rejected by the people.

e. RBH No 4, June 17, 1969, amending

RBH No. 2, and that specific
apportionment of delegates to the
Convention and other details relating to
the election of delegate be embodied in an
implementing legislation

f. Republic Act No. 6132 Constitutional

Convention Act of 1970.

g. Election of delegates. November 10,

1970. Convention was inaugurated on
June 1, 1971.
"Attempt of the Constitutional
Convention to submit fir ratification one
resolution (reducing the 197g from 21 to
18) in a plebiscite to coincide with the
1971 local elections 188 declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
Tolentino v. Comelec, 41 SCRA 702 The
Court held that when a Constitutional
Convention is called for the purpose of
revising the Constitution, it may not
submit for ratificatios "piecemeal
amendments" because the 1935
Constitution speaks of submission of the
proposed amendments in an election (in
the singular), and also because to allow
the submission would deprive the people
of a proper frame of reference

h. Presidential Proclamation No. 1081, on

September 21, 1972 Declaration of martial
law by President Ferdinand E. Marcos.

i. Constitutional Convention approved the

draft Constitution on November 29, 1972

j. On November 30,1972, President

Marcos issued a decree setting the
plebiscite for the ratification of the new
Constitution on January 15, 1973, on
December 17, 1972, issued an order
suspending the effects of Presidential
Proclamation 1081 in order to allow free
and open debate on the proposed
Constitution.

k. On December 23, 1972, President

Marcos announced the postponement of
the plebiscite, but it was only on January
7, 1973, that General Order No. 20 was
issued, directing that the plebiscite
scheduled on January 15,1973, be
postponed until further notice, and
withdrawing the order of December 17,
1972, suspending the effects of Pres.
Proclamation 1081, which allowed free
and open debate on the proposed
Constitution.

l. On December 31, 1972, Marcos issued

Presidential Decree No. 86. organizing
the Citizens Assemblies to be consulted
on certain public issues, and on January
5, 1973, issued Presidential Decree No.
86-A, calling the Citizens Assemblies to
meet on January 10-15, 1973, to vote on
certain questions, among them: "Do you
approve of the new Constitution?" and
"Do you still want a plebiscite to be called
to ratify the new Constitution?"
You sent
m. On January 17, 1973, President Marcos
issued Presidential Proclamation No.
1102, declaring that the new Constitution
had been ratified by the Citizens
Assemblies, and "has thereby come into
force and effect".

n. The 1973 Constitution was amended in

1976: Package often (10) amendments,
proposed by Marcos on September 2,
1976, without specifying the particular
provisions being changed. This package
contained the infamous Amendment No.
6. The amendments were ratified in a
plebiscite held on October 16, 1976.

o. The Constitution was amended again

on January 30, 1980: Restored original
retirement age of judges to 70 years of age

p. Another amendment was adopted on

April 7, 1981: Restored the presidential
system, while retaining certain features of
the parliamentary system; granted
natural-born Filipinos who had been
naturalized in a foreign country the right
to own a limited area of residential land
in the Philippines

q. Still another amendment was made on

January 27,1984: Provided for new rules
on presidential succession, replaced the
Executive Committee with a revived
Office of the Vice President, and changed
the composition of the Batasan Pambansa

r. Snap presidential election of 1986.

**A petition to prohibit the holding of the
snap election was filed with the SC in
Philippine Bar Association v. Comelec,
140 SCRA 455. But the petition was
dismissed because considerations other
than legal had already set in, the
candidates were in the thick of the
campaign, and the people were already
looking forward to the election.

s. February 22-25,1986: EDSAI People's

Revolution, the court ruled that the Cory
Aquino government was not only a de
facto but a de jure government.
 a. Proclamation No. 1. February 25, 1986,
announcing that she (Corazon Aquino)
and Vice President Laurel were assuming
power

b.Executive Order No. 1 (February 28,

1986).

c. Proclamation No. 3. March 25, 1986,

announced the promulgation of the
Provisional (Freedom) Constitution,
pending the drafting and ratification of a
new Constitution. It adopted certain
provisions of the 1973 Constitution,
contained additional articles on the
executive department, on government
reorganization, and on existing laws. It
also provided for the calling of fa
Constitutional Commission to be
6. THE 1987 CONSTITUTION composed of 30-50 members, to draft a
(February 11, 1987) new Constitution. See: Lawyers League
for a Better Philippines v Aquino, G.R.
No. 73748, May 22, 1986, In Re:
Saturnino Bermudez, 145 SCRA 160.

d. As stated in Proclamation No. 3, the

EDSA revolution was "done in defiance of
the 1973 Constitution". The resulting
government was indisputably a
revolutionary government bound by no
constitution or legal limitations except
treaty obligations that the revolutionary
government, as the de jure government in
the Philippines, assumed under
international law (Republic v.
Sandiganbayan, 407 SCRA 10 (2003).

e. During the interregnum, after the

actual take-over of power by the
revolutionary government (on February
25, 1986) up to March 24, 1986
(immediately before the adoption of the
Provisional Constitution), the directives
and orders of the revolutionary
government were the supreme law
because no constitution limited the extent
and scope of such directives and orders.
With the abrogation of the 1973
Constitution by the successful revolution,
there was no municipal law higher than
the directives and orders of the
revolutionary government. Thus, during
this interregnum, a person could not
invoke an exclusionary right under a Bill
of Rights because there was neither a
Constitution nor a Bill of Rights (Republic
v. Sandiganbayan, 407 SCRA 10

f. The new Constitution consists of 18

articles and is excessively long compared
to the 1935 and 1973 constitutions.

g. The independence of the judiciary has

been strengthened with new provisions
for appointment thereto and an increase
in its authority, which now covers even
political questions formerly beyond its
jurisdiction.

h. The Bill of Rights of the

Commonwealth and Marcos constitutions
has been considerably improved in the
1987 Constitution and even bolstered with
the creation of a Commission of Human
Rights