POLICIES ON AGRARIAN REFORM

Agrarian reform
→ is essentially the rectification of the whole system of agriculture.
 Important aspect of the Philippines because nearly half of the population is employed in the agricultural sector,
and most citizens live in rural areas.
 Centered on the relationship between production and distribution of land among farmers.

Rectification
 it is the act of correcting something or making something right.

LANDOWNERSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES UNDER SPAIN

System of Pueblo Agriculture

 a system wherein native rural communities were organized into pueblo and each Christianized native family
is given a four (4) to five (5) hectares of land to cultivate.
 families were not allowed to own land; King of Spain owned the land.
 the Filipinos paid their colonial tributes in the form of agricultural products

Law of the Indies

Spanish crown awarded tracts of land to:
1. Religious orders
2. Repartamientos (distribution) for Spanish military as reward for their service. (Repartimiento System)
3. Spanish encomenderos - conquerors that were given lands to manage where Filipinos worked and paid
their tributes to them.

Encomienda System
an abusive and unfair system
 Filipino farmers were made to sell their products at a low price or surrender their products to the
encomenderos, who resold this at a profit
 "compras y vandalas" became a norm for filipinos
 "Compras y vandalas" refers to stealing goods from stores and vandalizing property, typically during civil
unrest.
 Also, Filipinos were required to render services to their encomenderos that were unrelated to farming.

Hacienda System
 developed in the beginning of the 19th century
 The economy was tied to the world market as the Philippines became an exporter of raw materials and importer
of goods.
 Agricultural exports were demanded
 In 1860, Spain enacted a law ordering landholders to register their landholdings and only those who knew
benefitted from this.
 Lands were claimed and registered in other people’s names, and many peasant families who were assigned to
the land in the earlier days of colonization were driven out or forced to come under the power of these people
who claimed rights to the land because they held a title.
 Before the colonization, Filipinos had communal ownership of land.
 This system became source of hatred and discontent for Filipinos.
 Religious Orders (Biggest Landowners in the Philippines) – main source of abuse and exploitation as they
increased the rent paid by the Filipinos.
 Filipinos fought the Philippine Revolution in a confluence of motivations, but the greatest desire for freedom
would be the necessity of owning land.
  Upon the end of the Philippine revolution, the revolutionary government would declare all large landed estates,
especially the confiscated friar lands as government property.

LANDOWNERSHIP IN THE PHILIPPINES UNDER THE AMERICANS

The entrance of Americans would signal a new era of colonialism and imperialism. They are aware that that the
main cause of social unrest in the Philippines was landlessness. They attempted to put an end to the deplorable
conditions of the tenant farmers by passing several land policies to increase the small landholders and distribute
ownership to a bigger number of Filipinos.

Philippine Bill of 1902

 Provided regulations on the disposal of public lands.
 Private individuals may own 16 hectares of land
 Corporate landholders may have 1,024 hectares.
 Americans were also given rights to own agricultural lands in the country.

Act No. 496 or the Land Registration Act

 Torrens system to address the absence of earlier records of issued land titles and conduct accurate land surveys.

Homestead program
 1903
 Allowing a tenant to enter into an agricultural business by acquiring a farm of at least 16 hectares.
 Limited to areas in Northern Luzon and Mindanao

Landownership worsened
 There is no limit to the size of landholdings people can possess.
 The accessibility of possession was limited to those who can afford to buy, register, and acquire fixed property
titles
 Not all friar lands acquired by the Americans were given to landless peasant farmers.
 Some lands were sold or leased to American and Filipino business interest.
 This Land reform program was also implemented without support mechanisms.

The system introduced by the Americans enabled more lands to be placed under tenancy and led to widespread peasant
uprisings, such as the Colorum and Sakdal Uprising in Luzon.

The Sakdal Uprising (Sakdalista)

 is a peasant rebellion in Central Luzon that lasted for two days, May 2-3, 1935.
 it was easily crushed by government but this historical event tells of the social inequality brought about by issues
in land ownership and tenancy in the country.

“Sakdal” – to accuse
 Title of the newspaper helmed by Benigno Ramos.
 He rallied support from manila and nearby provinces thru publication which led to the establishment of
Partido Sakdalista in 1933.
 Demanded reforms from the government such as abolition of taxes and equal or common ownership of land
among others.

Commonwealth government (Quezon's Administration)

  Situation further worsened as peasant uprisings increased and landlord-tenant relationship became more and
more disparate.
 President Quezon laid down a social justice program focused on the purchase of haciendas, which were to be
divided and sold to tenants

National Rice and Corn Corporation (NARICC)

 Assign public defenders to assist peasants in court battles for their rights to the land.

The commonwealth failed due to budget allocation for the settlement program and widespread peasant uprisings and
the World War 2 put a halt to all interventions to solve these problems as the Japanese occupied the country.

POST-WAR INTERVENTIONS TOWARD AGRARIAN REFORM

Under the Roxas Administration
 Rehabilitation and rebuilding after the war was focused on providing solutions to the problems of the past.
 The administration of President Roxas passed Republic Act No. 34 to establish a 70-30 sharing arrangement
between tenant and landlord, respectively, and reduced the interest landowner's loans to tenants at six percent
or less.

70-30 SHARING ARRANGEMENTS (ACCORDING TO MORALES,n.d.)

• The 70% of harvest will go to the person who shouldered the expenses for planting, harvesting and for the work
animals.
• Also reduced the interest of landowner's loans to tenants at six percent or less
 The government also attempted to redistribute Hacienda lands, falling prey to the woes of similar attempts since
no support was given to small farmers who were sold lands.

Under the term of President Elpidio Quirino

 The Land Settlement Development Corporation (LASEDECO) was established to accelerate and expand the
resettlement program for peasants.

Under the administration of President Ramon Magsaysay

 Magsaysay saw the importance of pursuing genuine land reform program and convinced Congress, majority of
which are landed elites, to pass legislation to improve land reform situation.

Republic Act No. 1199 or Agricultural Tenancy Act

 was passed to govern the relationship between landholders and tenant farmers, protecting the tenurial rights of
tenants and enforced tenancy practices.

Court of Agricultural Relations

 was created in 1955 to improve tenancy security, fix land rentals of tenanted farmers and resolve land disputes
filed by the landowners and peasant organizations.

Agricultural Tenancy Commission

 was also established to administer problems created by tenancy.

Agricultural Credit and Cooperative Financing Administration (ACCFA)

 Created mainly to provide warehouse facilities and assist farmers in marketing their products.

- The administration spearheaded the establishment of the Agricultural and Industrial Bank to provide easier terms in
applying for homestead and other farmlands.

National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA)

  accelerated the government's resettlement program and distribution of agricultural lands to landless tenants
and farmers.
 it also aimed to convince members of the Huks, a movement of rebels in Central Luzon, to resettle in areas
where they can restart lives as peaceful citizens.

- Despite a more vigorous effort toward agrarian reform, the situation for the farmers remained dire, since the
government lacked funds and provided inadequate support services for the programs.
- The landed elite did not fully cooperate and criticized the programs.

During the administration of Diosdado Macapagal

 A major stride in land reform arrived through the Agricultural Land Reform Code (Republic Act No. 3844).

Primary Source: Declaration of Policy under RA No. 3844 or Agricultural Land Reform Code
 Source: Section 2 of RA 3844
lt is the policy of the state:
1. To establish owner-cultivatorship and the economic family-size farm as the basis of Philippine agriculture and, as
consequence, divert landlord capital in agriculture to industrial development.
2. To achieve a dignified existence for the small farmers free from pernicious institutional restraints and practices.
3. To create a truly viable social and economic structure in agriculture conducive to greater productivity and higher
farm incomes.
4. To apply all labor laws equally and without discrimination to both industrial and agricultural wage earners;
5. To provide a more vigorous and systematic land resettlement program and public land distribution; and
6. To make the small farmers more independent, self-reliant and responsible citizens, and a source of genuine
strength in our democratic society.

RA No. 3844 or Agricultural Land Reform Code

 This Code abolished share tenancy in the Philippines and prescribed a program to convert tenant-farmers to
lessees and later on owner-cultivators.
 lt also aimed to free tenants and emphasize owner-cultivatorship and farmer independence, equity, productivity
improvement, and public land distribution.

- Congress did not make any effort to come up with a separate bill to fund its implementation, despite being one of the
most comprehensive pieces of land reform legislation ever passed in the Philippines, and even though it proved
beneficial in the provinces where it was pilot tested.

Agrarian Reform Efforts under Marcos

• In 1972, President Marcos declared Martial Law, eliminating the landlord-dominated Congress and expanding
executive power for a fundamental restructuring of the government, addressing rural structural issues.

• During the Marcos regime, the Code of Agrarian Reform of the Philippines, also known as Presidential Decree No.
27, became the core of agrarian reform in the Philippines.
Primary Source: Presidential Decree No. 27, 21 October 1972
• This shall apply to tenant farmers of private agricultural lands primarily devoted to rice and corn under a system of
sharecrop or lease-tenancy, whether classified as landed estate or not;
• The tenant farmer, whether in land classified as landed estate or not, shall be deemed owner of a portion constituting
a family-size farm of five (5) hectares if not irrigated and three (3) hectares if irrigated;
• In all cases, the landowner may retain an area of not more than seven (7) hectares if such landowner is cultivating
such area or will now cultivate it;
For the purpose of determining the cost of the land to be transferred to the tenant-farmer pursuant to this Decree, the
value of the land shall be equivalent to two and one-half (2 1/2) times the average harvest of three normal crop years
immediately preceding the promulgation of this Decree;

The total cost of the land, including interest at the rate of six (6) per centum per annum, shall be paid by the tenant in
fifteen (15) years of fifteen (15) equal annual amortizations;

The defaulting tenant-farmer must pay the amortization due to the farmers’ cooperative, which has recourse rights. The
government guarantees these with government-owned shares. Land title isn't issued until full-fledged member of a
recognized cooperative.

Title to land acquired pursuant to this Decree or the Land Reform Program of the Government shall not be transferable
except by hereditary succession or to the Government in accordance with the provisions of this Decree, the Code of
Agrarian Reforms and other existing laws and regulations;

The Department of Agrarian Reform through its Secretary is hereby empowered to promulgate rules and regulations for
the implementation of this Decree.

"Operation Land Transfer" on lands occupied by tenants of more than seven hectares on rice and corn lands
commenced, and through legal compulsion and an improved delivery of support services to small farmers, agrarian
reform seemed to be finally achievable. Under the rice self-sufficiency program.

'Masagana '99," farmers were able to borrow from banks and purchase three-hectare plots of lands and agricultural
inputs. However, the landlord class still found ways to circumvent the law. Because only rice lands were the focus of
agrarian reform, some landlords only needed to change crops to be exempted from the program, such as coconut and
sugar lands. Lands worked by wage labor were also exempt from the program, so the landed elite only had to evict their
tenants and hired workers instead.

Landlessness increased, which made it all the more difficult for the program to succeed because landless peasants were
excluded from the program. Many other methods were employed by the elite to find a way to maintain their power and
dominance, which were worsened by the corruption of Marcos and his cronies who were also involved in the
agricultural sector.

POST 1986 AGRARIAN REFORM

a. Corazon Aquino became president, and she envisioned that the agrarian reform to be the centerpiece
of her administration’s legislation.
b. Hacienda Luisita - 6,453 hectares of land owned by the Aquino Clan.
c. Republic Act no. 6657 - or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL) which introduce the
program Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program or CARP. It is a program that limits landowners to
retain not more than 5 hectares.
d. Only 22.5% of land was distributed in 6 years in the administration on Corazon Aquino.
e. It is very low because of the elites that won’t fund the program.
f. Hacienda Luisita was turned into a corporation and distributed stocks to the farmers.
g. Under President Ramos, the distribution of land was speeded in order to meet the 10-year time
frame.
h. By 1996, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) distributed only 58.25% of the total area target to
be covered by the program.
i. To address the lacking funding and the dwindling time for the implementation of CARP, Ramos signed
Republic Act No. 8532 in 1998 to amend CARL and extend the program to another ten years.
 CARPER and the Future of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines
a. In 2009, President Arroyo signed Republic Act No. 9700 or the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program Extension with Reforms (CARPER), the amendatory law that extended the deadline to five
more years.
b. From 2009 to 2014, CARPER has distributed a total of 1 million hectares of land to 900,000 farmer
beneficiaries. After 27 years of land reform and two Aquino administrations, 500,000 hectares of lands
remain undistributed.
c. The DAR and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are the government
agencies mandated to fulfill CARP and CARPER, but even the combined effort and resources of the two
agencies have proved incapable of fully achieving the goal of agrarian reform in the Philippines.
d. The same problems have plagued its implementation: the powerful landed elite and the ineffectual
bureaucracy of the Philippine government.
e. Until these two challenges are surmounted, genuine agrarian reform in the Philippines remains but a
dream to Filipino farmers who have been fighting for their right to landownership for centuries.
 Evolution of the Philippine Constitution

CONSTITUTION is defined as a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a

state or other organization is governed.
- The word itself means to be a part of a whole, the coming together of distinct entities into one
group, with the same principles and ideals.
 Foundation of the system of the Government of a country because it establishes the powers of the
Government as well as the branches, responsibilities, and the rights of the People.
 "Supreme Law of Land" which means that it is the highest law in the country.

Importance of the Constitution

1. Maintain Law and Order
2. Impose Rules and Regulations
3. Protects Individual Freedom and Rights
4. Limits the Power of the Government

The current Constitution has been in effect since 1987. There were only three (3) other constitutions
that have effectively governed the country: the 1935 commonwealth constitution, the 1973 constitution, and
the 1986 freedom constitution.

Earlier constitutions attempted by Filipinos:

1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato
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 on 1 November,
1897. The constitution, borrowed from Cuba, was written by Isabelo Artacho and Félix Ferrer in Spanish, and
later on, translated into Tagalog.
The Organs of the Government under the Constitution were:
1. The Supreme Council - In modern day, we call it the executive branch. This organ of government is
responsible for executing and enforcing laws. Vested with the power of republic.
- Headed by the President &
- Four (4) Dept. Secretaries:
✓ Interior - these are the affairs within the county
✓ Foreign Affairs - outside the country like dealing with other countries
✓ Treasury- handling of money matters
✓ War- for defense and security
2. The Consejo Supremo de Gracia Y Justicia (Supreme Council of Grace and Justice) - Judiciary branch which
includes the Supreme Court of the Philippines and lower courts. The Supreme Court is Responsible for
interpreting laws and ensuring justice is served. They make sure that laws are followed and that everyone is
treated fairly under the law. Given the authority to make decisions and affirm or disprove the sentences
rendered by other courts and to dictate rules for the administration of justice.
3. The Asamblea de Representatives (Assembly of Representatives)
- This corresponds to the legislative branch, which in the Philippines is the bicameral Congress consisting of
the Senate and the House of Representatives. They are called the lawmakers. They create laws through debate,
writing, and voting on bills that affect the nation. To be convened after the revolution to create a new
constitution and to elect a new council of government and representatives of the people.
The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato was a plan for a new government in the Philippines during a revolt
against Spanish rule. But before it could be used, rebel leaders made a deal with the Spanish to stop fighting.
They agreed to leave the country in exchange for money and amnesty. So, the constitution never got a chance
to be put into action because the leaders left, and the fighting stopped temporarily.

1899: MALOLOS CONSTITUTION

 After the signing of the truce, the Filipino revolutionary leaders accepted a payment from Spain and
went to exile in Hong Kong.
 Upon the defeat of the Spanish to the Americans in the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898, the
United States Navy transported Aguinaldo back to the Philippines.
 The newly reformed Philippine revolutionary forces reverted to the control of Aguinaldo, and the
Philippine Declaration of Independence was issued on 12 June 1898, together with several decrees
that formed the First Philippine Republic.
 The Malolos Congress was elected, which selected a commission to draw up a draft constitution on 17
September 1898, which was composed of wealthy and educated men.
 The document they came up with, approved by the Congress on 29 November 1898, and promulgated
by Aguinaldo on 21 January 1899, was titled The Political Constitution of 1899 and written in Spanish.
 The constitution has 39 articles divided into 14 titles, with eight articles of transitory provisions, and
a final additional article.
 The document was patterned after the Spanish Constitution of 1812, with influences from the charters
of Belgium, Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, and the French Constitution of 1793.
 According to Felipe Calderon, main author of the constitution, these countries were studied because
they shared Similar social, political, ethnological, and governance conditions with the Philippines.
 Prior constitutional projects in the Philippines also influenced the Malolos Constitution:
1. Kartilya and the Sanggunian Hukuman,
2. The charter of laws and morals of the Katipunan written by Emilio Jacinto in 1896;
3. The Biak-na-Bato Constitution of 1897 planned by Isabelo Artacho;
4. Mabini's Constitutional Program of the Philippine Republic of1898;
5. The provisional constitution of Mariano Ponce in 1898 that followed the Spanish constitutions;
and the autonomy projects of Paterno in 1898
 Title III, Article V also declares that the State recognizes the freedom and equality of all beliefs, as
well as the separation of Church and State.
  Title II, Article 4 form of government is to be popular, representative, alternative, and responsible,
and shall exercise three distinct powers-legislative, executive, and judicial.

1. Assembly of Representatives
 Legislative power was vested in this unicameral body
 4 years term
 Additional power vested:
1. The right to select its own officers
2. Right of censure and interpellation
3. The right of impeaching the president, cabinet members, the chief justice of the
Supreme Court, and the solicitor-general.
 Because of the additional power vested (judicial), these members became also the
judicial body.
2. President
 Executive power
 elected by a constituent assembly of the Assembly of Representatives and special
representatives.
 4 years without re-election.
 There was no vice president, and in case of a vacancy, a president was to be selected by
the constituent assembly.

The 1899 Malolos Constitution was never enforced due to the ongoing war. The Philippines was effectively a
territory of the United States upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris between Spain and the United States,
transferring sovereignty of the Philippines on 10 December 1898.

1935: The Commonwealth Constitution

 From 1898 to 1901, the Philippines would be placed under a military government until a civil
government would be put into place.
 Two acts of the United States Congress:
1. Philippine Organic Act of 1902
 First organic law for the Philippine Islands that provided for the creation of a popularly
elected Philippine Assembly.
 Legislative power would be vested in a bicameral legislature composed of the Philippine
Commission as the upper house and the Philippine Assembly as lower house.
 Key provisions of the act included a bill of rights for Filipinos and the appointment of two
non-voting Filipino President Commissioners of the Philippines as representative to the
United States House of Representatives.

2. Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916

 "Jones Law," which modified the structure of the Philippine government
  Philippine Commission was replaced by a Senate that served as the upper house and its
members elected by the Filipino voters, the first truly elected national legislature.
 It was also this Act that explicitly declared the purpose of the United States to end their
sovereignty over the Philippines and recognize Philippine independence as soon as a
stable government can be established.
 In 1932, with the efforts of the Filipino independence mission led by Sergio Osmeña and
Manuel Roxas, the United States Congress passed the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act with the
promise of granting Filipinos independence. The bill was opposed by then Senate President
Manuel L. Quezon and consequently, rejected by the Philippine Senate By 1934the Tydings-
 McDuffie Act, also known as the Philippine Independence Act, was passed by the United
States Congress that provided authority and defined mechanisms for the establishment of a
formal constitution by a constitutional convention. The members of the convention were
elected and held their first meeting on 30 July 1934, with Claro M. Kecto unanimously
elected as president

The constitution was drafted to meet the approval of the United States government, and to ensure that the
United States would live up to its promise to grant independence to the Philippines.
 The constitution created the Commonwealth of the Philippines an administrative body that governed
the Philippines from 1935 to1946.
 It is a transitional administration to prepare the country toward its full achievement of independence.
 It originally provided for a unicameral National Assembly with a president and vice president elected
to a six-year term without re-election.
 It was amended in 1940 to have a bicameral Congress composed of a Senate and a House of
Representatives, as well as the creation of an independent electoral commission, and limited the term
or office of the president and vice president to four years, with one re-election.
 The draft of the constitution was approved by the constitutional convention on 8 February 1935, and
ratified by then U.S. President Franklin B. Roosevelt on 25 March 1985.
 Elections were held in September 1935 and Manuel L. Quezon was elected President of the
Commonwealth. The Commonwealth was briefly interrupted by the events of the World War II, with
the Japanese occupying the Philippines. Afterward, upon liberation, the Philippines was declared an
independent republic on 4 July 1946.

1973: Constitutional Authoritarian

 In 1965, Ferdinand E. Marcos was elected president
 In 1967 Philippine Congress passed a resolution calling for a constitutional convention to change the
1985 Constitution.
 Marcos won the re-election 1969, in a bid boosted by campaign overspending and use of government
funds.
 Elections of the delegates to the constitutional convention were held on 20 November 1970, and the
convention began formally on 1 June 1971, with former President Carlos P. Garcia being elected as
convention president. Unfortunately, he died, and was succeeded by another former president,
Diosdado Macapagal.
  Before the convention finished its work, Martial Law was declared. Marcos cited a growing communist
insurgency as reason for the Martial Law, which was provided for in the 1935 Constitution.
 On 29 November 1972, the convention approved its proposed constitution. The constitution was
supposed to introduce a parliamentary-style government, where legislative power was vested in a
unicameral National Assembly, with members being elected to a six-year term. The president was to
be elected as the symbolic and ceremonial head of state chosen from the members of the National
Assembly.
 The president would serve a six-year term and could be re-elected to an unlimited number of terms.
Executive power was relegated to the Prime Minister, who was also the head of government and
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces who was also to be elected from the National Assembly.
 In 1980, the retirement age of members of the judiciary was extended to 70 years.
 In 1981, the parliamentary system was formally modified where executive power was restored to the
president, who was, once again, to be directly elected; an Executive Committee was to be created,
composed of the Prime Minister and 14 others, that served as the president's Cabinet; and some
electoral reforms were instituted.
 In 1984, the Executive Committee was abolished and the position of the vice president was restored.
After all the amendments introduced, the 1973 Constitution was merely a way for the President to keep
executive powers, abolish Senate, and by any means, never acted as a parliamentary system, instead
functioned as an authoritarian presidential system, with all the real power concentrated in the hands of the
president, with the backing of the constitution. The situation in the 1980s had been very turbulent. As Marcos
amassed power, discontent has also been burgeoning.
 In August 1983, Benigno Aquino Jr., was assassinated while under military escort immediately after his
return from exile in the United States.
 There was widespread suspicion that the orders to assassinate Aquino came from the top levels of the
government and the military. This event caused the coming together of the non-violent opposition
against the Marcos authoritarian regime.
 Marcos was then forced to hold "snap' elections a year early, and said elections were marred by
widespread fraud Marcos declared himself winner despite international condemnation and nationwide
protests.
 A small group of military rebels attempted to stage a coup, but failed; however, this triggered what
came to be known as the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986, as people from all walks of life
spilled onto the streets.
 Under pressure from the United States of America, who used to support Marcos and his Martial Law,
the Marcos family fled into exile His opponent in the snap elections, Benigno Aquino Jr.’s widow,
Corazon Aquino, was installed as president on 25 February 1986.

1987: Constitution After Martial Law

 President Corazon Aquino's government had three options regarding the constitution:
1. Revert to the 1935 Constitution
2. Retain the 1973 Constitution and be granted the power to make reforms
 3. Start a new and break from the "vestiges of a disgraced dictatorship."
 They decided to make a new constitution that, according to the president herself, should be "truly
reflective of the aspirations and ideals of the Filipino people.
1986: Freedom Constitution
 Transitional constitution proclaimed by President Aquino to last for a year while a Constitutional
Commission drafted a permanent constitution.
 March 1986
 Maintained many provisions of the old one, including in rewritten form the presidential right to rule by
decree.
 A constitutional convention was created, composed of 48 members appointed by President Aquino
from varied backgrounds and representations. The convention drew up a permanent constitution,
largely restoring the setup abolished by Marcos in 1972, but with new ways to keep the president in
check, a reaction to the experience of Marcos's rule.
The new constitution (1987 constitution) was officially adopted on 2 February 1987. The Constitution
begins with a preamble and eighteen self-contained articles. It established the Philippines as a "Democratic
Republican State" where "sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from
them.
 It allocates governmental powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the
government.
 The Executive branch is headed by the president and his head points. The president is the head of
the state and the chief executive, but his power is limited by significant checks from the two other
co-equal branches of government, especially during times of emergency. This is put in place to
safeguard the country from the experience of martial law despotism during the presidency of
Marcos. In cases of national emergency, the president may still declare martial law, but not longer
than a period of sixty days.
 The president and the vice president are elected at large by a direct vote, serving a single six-year
term
 The legislative power resides in a Congress divided into two Houses:
a. Senate
 24 senators
 two consecutive six-year terms
b. House of Representatives
 District representatives representing a particular geographic area and makes
up around 80% of the total number representatives. There are 234 legislative
districts in the Philippines that elect their representatives to serve three-year
terms.
 Aside from the exclusive power of legislation, Congress may also declare war, through a two-thirds
vote in both upper and lower houses, the power of legislation, however, is also subject to an
executive check, as the president retains the power to veto or stop a bill from becoming a law.
Congress may only override this power with a two-thirds vote in both houses.
 Judiciary is vested in the Philippine Court system:
a. Supreme Court
  15-member court appointed by the president without the need to be
confirmed by Congress.
 limited to a list of nominees provided by a constitutionally specified Judicial
and Bar Council.
 The Supreme Court Justices may hear, on appeal, any cases dealing with the
constitutionality of any law, treaty, or decree of the government, cases
where questions of jurisdiction or judicial error are concerned, or cases
where the penalty is sufficiently grave. It may also exercise original
jurisdiction over cases involving government or international officials.
 The Supreme court is also in charge of overseeing the functioning and
administration of the lower courts and their personnel.
 The Constitution also established three independent Constitutional
Commissions:
1. Civil Service Commission central agency in charge of government
personnel
2. Commission on Elections, mandated to enforce and administer all
election laws and regulation
3. Commission on Audit, which examines all funds, transactions, and
property accounts of the government and its agencies.
b. Lower court
To further promote the 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 Ombudsman can charge public officials before the Sandiganbayan, a special
court created for this purpose.

Changing the Constitution

 "Cha-Cha," "Con-Ass," and "Con-Con'"
 Article XVII of the 1987 Constitution provides for three ways by which the Constitution can be changed:
o Congress (House of Representatives and the Senate) may convene as a Constituent Assembly
(or Con-Ass) to propose amendments to the Constitution.
o Constitutional Convention (or Con-Con), where Congress, upon a vote of two-thirds of all its
members, calls for a constitutional convention. They may also submit to the electorate the
question of calling a convention through a majority vote of all its members. Delegates will
propose amendments or revisions to the constitution, not Congress.
o "People's Initiative" (or P), amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by the people
upon a petition of at least 12% of the total number of registered voters. All legislative districts
must be represented by at least 12% of the registered votes therein. No amendment is allowed
more than once every five years since a successful PL.

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. This is another safeguard to promote moral and ethical conduct in the government.
Attempts to Amend or Change the 1987 Constitution
1. The first attempt was in 1995, when then Secretary of National Security Council Jose Almonte drafted a
constitution, but it was exposed to the media and it never prospered.
2. The second effort happened in 1997, when a group called PIRMA hoped to gather signatures from
voters to change the constitution through people's initiative. Many were against this, including then
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who brought the issue to court and won-with the supreme Court
judging that a people's initiative cannot push through without an enabling law.

Federalism
 supported by President Duterte in the 2016 presidential elections
 As a form of government, a central governing authority and constituent political units constitutionally
share sovereignty.
 Applied to the Philippines, the country will be broken into autonomous regions.
 Each region will be further divided into local government units.
 The regions will have the primary responsibility of industry development, public safety and
instruction, education, healthcare, transportation, and many more.
 Each region will also take charge of their own finances, plans for development, and laws exclusive to
their area.
 The national government, on the other hand, will only handle matters of national interest such as
foreign policy and defense, among others. In this system, it is possible for the central government and
the regions to share certain powers.
Benefits of Federalism
1. Each region may custom fit solutions to problems brought about by their distinct
geographic, cultural, social, and economic contexts.
2. Regions also have more power over their finances, since they handle majority of their
income and only contributes to a small portion to the national government. They can
choose to directly fund their own development projects without asking for the national
government's go signal.
3. A federal system could also promote specialization, since the national government could
focus on nationwide concerns while regional governments can take care of administrative
issues.
4. A federal form of government could also solve a lot of decade-old problems of the country.
It may be a solution to the conflict in Mindanao, since a separate Bangsamoro region could
be established for Muslim Mindanao.
5. It could address the inequality in wealth distribution and lessen the dependence to Metro
Manila, since regions can proceed with what they have to do without needing to consider
the situation in the capital.
Cons of Federalism
1. While it creates competition among regions, it could also be a challenge to achieving unity in the
country.
2. There might be regions which are not ready to govern themselves, or have lesser resources, which
could mire them deeper in poverty and make development uneven in the country.
3. There could be issues regarding overlaps in jurisdiction, since ambiguities may arise where national
ends and regional begins, or vice versa. As a proposed solution to the conflict in Mindanao, we must
also remember that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has already been created,
and the conflict still continues.
4. Federalism may not be enough for those who clamor separation. Any effort to shift the system of
government also entails costs, and it would not be cheap. It would cost billions to dismantle the
current system and would take a long time before the system normalizes and irons out its kinks.