What is constitution?

- refers to "that body of rules and principles in accordance with which the powers of
sovereignty are regularly exercised." As thus defined, it covers both written and
unwritten constitutions.

- may be defined as that written instrument by which the fundamental powers of the
government are estab- lished, limited, and defined and by which these powers are
distributed among the several departments or branches for their safe and useful exercise
for the benefit of the people.

Kinds of constitution?

As to their origin and history:

- Conventional or enacted. One which is enacted by a constituent assembly or granted by

a monarch to his subjects like the Constitution of Japan in 1889.

- Cumulative or evolved. - Like the English Consti- tution, one which is a product of growth
or a long period of development originating in customs, traditions, judicial decisions, etc.,
rather than from a deliberate and formal enactment.

As to their form:

- Written. One which has been given definite writ- ten form at a particular time, usually by
a specially consti- tuted authority called a "constitutional convention.

- Unwritten. One which is entirely the product of political evolution, consisting largely of a
mass of customs, usages and judicial decisions together with a smaller body of statutory
enactments of a fundamental character, usu- ally bearing different dates.

As to manner of amending them:

- Rigid or inelastic. One regarded as a document of special sanctity which cannot be

amended or altered except by some special machinery more cumbrous than the ordinary
legislative process.

- Flexible or elastic. One which possesses no high- er legal authority than ordinary laws
and which may be altered in the same way as other laws.

History of the constitution:

1. Framing and ratification. - Briefly stated, the steps which led to the drafting and
adoption of the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines are as follows.
1. Approval on March 24, 1934 by President Frank- lin D. Roosevelt of the Tydings-
McDuffie Law, otherwise known as the Philippine Independence Act, enacted by the
United States Congress, authorizing the Philippine Legis- lature to call a constitutional
convention to draft a consti- tution for the Philippines.

● Approval on May 5, 1934 by the Philippine Legisla- ture of a bill calling a constitutional
convention as provided for in the Independence Law on the following day and was
completed on 1935.

● Approval on March 23, 1935 by President Roosevelt of the Constitution as submitted to

him, together with a certification that the said constitution conformed with the provisions
of the Independence Law.

● Ratification on May 14, 1935 of the Constitution the Filipino electorate by a vote of
1,213,046, with 44,963 against.

2. Limitations and conditions. While the Tydings. McDuffie Law empowered the Filipinos
to frame their own constitution, it contained, however, provisions limiting such authority.
Aside from other specific limitations and conditions laid down therein, it enjoined that the
constitution to be drafted should be republican in form, should include a bill of rights, and
should contain certain provisions intended to define the relations between the
Philippines and the United States during the commonwealth period and after the
establishment of the Philippine Republic.

3. Sources. The 1935 Constitution of the Philippines did not contain original ideas of
government. While the dominating influence was the Constitution of the United States,
other sources were also consulted by the framers, particularly the 1898 Malolos
Constitution and the three (3) organic laws that were enforced in the Philippines before
the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Law, namely: the Instruction of President William
McKinley to the Second Philippine Commission on April 7, 1900; the Philippine Bill of
July 1, 1902; and the Jones Law of August 26, 1916 which, of the three (3) mentioned,
was the nearest approach to a written constitution.

4. Scope. The Constitution as approved by the 1935 Constitutional Convention was

intended both for the Commonwealth and the Republic. Thus, Article XVII (which later
became Article XVIII after the Constitution was amended) declares: "The government
established by this Constitution shall be known as the commonwealth of the Philippines
upon the final and complete withdrawal of the United States and the Proclamation of the
Philippine Independence. The commonwealth of the Philippines shall henceforth be
known as the republic of the Philippines.

5. Amendments. The 1935 Constitution had been amended three (3) times. Among the
amendments are:
 ● That establishing a bicameral legislature.

● That allowing the re-eligibility of the President and the Vice-President for a
second four (4)-year term of office.

● That creating a separate Commission on Elections.

● The so-called Parity Amendment which gave to American citizens equal right
with the Filipinos in the exploitation of our natural resources and the operation of
public utilities.

6. Women suffrage. - Concerning women suffrage, this issue was settled in a plebiscite
held on April 30, 1937, when 447,725 women reportedly voted yes and 44,307 women
voted no. In compliance with the 1935 Constitution (Art. V, Sec. 1 thereof.), the National
Assembly passed a law which extended right of suffrage to women, making Filipino
women the first Asian women to exercise the rights of suffrage. The 1935 Constitutional
Convention limited "the right of suffrage to male citizens because there was [then] no
popular demand for the right of suffrage by Filipino women themselves" and the granting
to women, it was claimed, would only disrupt family unity as the women actually
engaged in politics.

The 1973 Constitution.

1. Framing. The experience of more than three (3) decades as a sovereign nation had
revealed flaws and inadequacies in the 1935 Constitution.

● Taking into account the "felt necessities of the times," particularly the new and
grave problems arising from an ever increasing population, urgently pressing for
solution, Congress in joint session on March 16, 1967, passed Resolution of Both
Houses No. 2 (as amended by resolution no. 4 passed on June 17, 1969)
authorizing the holding of a constitutional convention in 1971.

● On August 24, 1970, Republic Act No. 6132 authorizing was approved setting
November 10, 1970 as election day for 320 delegates to the constitutional
convention. The convention started it's work of writing the constitution in June 1,
1971. The 1935 Constitution with reference to the Malolos constitution was made
the basis for the drafting of amendments to the new constitution. The proposed
constitution was signed on November 30, 1972.

2. Approval by Citizens Assemblies. Earlier on September 21, 1972 the President of the
Philippines issued Proclamation no. 1081 placing the entire country under martial law.
 ● To broaden the base of citizens' participation in the democratic process, and to afford
ample opportunities for the citizenry to express their views on important matters of local
or national concern," Presidential Decree No. 86 wal issued on December 31, 1972
creating a Citizens Assembly in each barrio in municipalities and in each district in
chartered cities throughout the country. Subsequently, Presidential Decree No. 86-A was
issued on January 5, 1973 defining the role of barangays (formerly Citizens Assemblies).

● Under the same decree, the barangays were to con duct a referendum on national
issues between January 10 and 15, 1973. Pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 86-A, the
following questions were submitted before the Citizens Assemblies or Barangays.

a. Do you approve of the New Constitution?

b. Do you still want a plebiscite to be called to ratify the new Constitution?

3. Ratification by Presidential proclamation. According to Proclamation No. 1102

issued on January 17, 1973 14,976,561 members of all the Barangays (Citizens
Assemblies) voted for the adoption of the proposed Constitution, as against 743, 869
who voted for its rejection. On the question as to whether or not the people would still
like a plebiscite to be called to ratify the new constitution. 14,298,814 answered that
there was no need for a plebiscite.

4. Amendments. The 1973 Constitution had been amended on four (4) occasions.
Among the important amendments are:

● That making the then incumbent President, the regular President and regular Prime
Minister.

● That granting concurrent law-making powers to the President which the latter exercised
even after the lift- ing of martial law in 1981.

● That establishing a modified parliamentary form of government.

● That permitting natural-born citizens who have lost their citizenship to be transferees of
private land, for use by them as residence.

● That allowing the "grant" of lands of the public domain to qualified citizens.

● That providing for urban land reform and social housing program.

The 1987 Constitution

1. Framing and ratification. The 1987 constitution was drafted by a Constitutional

Commission created under Article V of Proclamation No. 3 issued on March 25, 1983
 which promulgated the Provisional Constitution or Freedom Constitution following the
installation of a revoltionary government "through a direct exercise of the power of the
Filipino people."

● Pursuant to Proclamation No. 3, the President promulgated The Law Governing the
constitutional commission on April 23, 1986 to organized the Constitutional commission
to provide for the details of its operation and establish its procedure for the ratification or
rejection of the proposed new constitution.

Under the Proclamation, the Constitutional Com mission "shall be composed of not more
than fifty (30) national, regional, and sectoral representatives whe shall be appointed by
the President." As constituted the Commission was composed only of forty-eight (48)
members forty-two (42) men and six (6) women, with preponderance of lawyers -
because of the withdrawal d an opposition appointee and non-acceptance by the Iglesia
ni Kristo of the President's offer to submit a nominee.

● The Constitutional Commission, which marked the fourth exercise in the writing of a
basic charter in Philip pine history since the Malolos Constitution at the turn of the
century, convened on June 2, 1986 at the Batasand Pambansa Building in Diliman,
Quezon City. With the Malolos Constitution of 1898, the 1935 constitution and the 1973
Constitution as "working drafts," the Commission in addition to committee discussions,
public hearings and plenary sessions, conducted public consultations in different parts of
the country.

● The proposed new Constitution was approved by the Constitutional Commission on the
night of Sunday, October 12, 1986, culminating 133 days of work, by a vote of 44-2. A
Commissioner signed subsequently by affixing his thumbmark at his sickbed on October
14, 1986 so that he actually voted in favor of the draft. Another Commissioners had
resigned earlier. The two (2) Commissioners who dissented also signed "to express their
dissent and to symbolize their four (4) months of participation in drawing up the new
constitution.

● The Constitutional Commission held its final ses- sion in the morning of October 15,
1986 to sign the 109-page draft consisting of a preamble, 18 Articles, 321 Sections and
about 2,000 words after which, on the same day, it presented to the President the
original copies in English and Filipino. It was ratified by the people in the plebiscite held
on February 2, 1987. It superseded the Provisional Constitution which had abrogated the
1973 Charter.

2. Merits and demerits of an appointive framing body. Admittedly, there were some
merits or advantages in delegat- ing the drawing up of the new charter to an appointed
Consti- tutional Commission rather than to an elected Constitutional Convention.
 ● For one, the Constitutional Commission was not expensive and time-consuming, as was
our experience with the 1971 Constitutional Convention and it was thus prac- tical
because the country could not then afford the cost of electing delegates because of lack
of funds, and time was of the essence in view of the instability inherent in a revolutionary
government and the need to accelerate the restora. tion to full constitutional democracy.

● However, the strongest and most fundamental argument propounded against this
method is an appointive body is susceptible to the charge of lack of independence and
suspicion of pressure and even manipulation by the appointing power. The writing of a
Constitution as the aspirations highest expression of the people's "ideals and to serve
the country for generations to come is a political exercise of transcendental importance
in a republican democracy and, therefore, only those directly elected and em- powered
by the people must be entrusted with the task to discharge this grave and solemn
responsibility.

3. Need to cure defect in the Constitution. To have a truly democratic and constitutional
government, it is absolutely truly deny that the Constitution be initially drafted by duly
elected members of a representative constituent assembly or constitutional convention
and later on approved by the people in a plebiscite. Some see the need to straighten out
the present Constitution which was drafted by non-elective commissioners and ratified
under the authority of a revolutionary government.

Basic principles underlying the new Constitution.

The 1987 Constitution is founded upon certain fundamental principles of government which
have become part and parcel of our cherished democratic heritage as a people. A knowledge