THE EVOLUTION TIMOTHY ANDRE L.

MEDIAVILLO
OF PHILIPPINE LAW

Pre-Colonial Period

A legal system already existed in the Philippines even in pre-colonial times. The
early Filipinos both had written and unwritten laws. The written laws were
promulgated by the datus. The two known written codes in the pre-Spanish era are
the “Maragtas Code” which is said to have been written 1250 A.D. by Datu
Sumakwel of Panay, and the “Kalintiaw Code” written in 1433 A.D. by Datu
Kalintiaw, also of Panay. The unwritten laws consisted of customs and traditions
which had been passed down from generation to generation. 1

The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato

A charter based on the Cuban Constitution was also drafted by Felix Ferrer and

Isabelo Artacho. It was signed on November 1, 1897. The Biak-na-Bato
Constitution provided for the establishment of a Supreme council that would serve
as the highest governing body of the Republic. It also outlined certain basic human
rights, such as freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and the right to education.
Emilio Aguinaldo and Mariano Trias were elected Supreme Council president and
vice president, respectively. Pedro Paterno, a Spaniard born in the Philippines
volunteered to act as negotiator between Aguinaldo and Gov. Primo de Rivera in
order to end the clashes. Paterno’s effort paid off when on, December 15, 1897, the
Pact he sign the Pact as the representative of the revolutionaries, and de Rivera as
the representative of the Spanish government. The Leaders are: Emilio Aguinaldo-
President, Mariano Trias-Vice President, Antonio Montenegro-Secretary,
Baldomero Aguinaldo-Treasurer, and Emilio Riego de Dios. On December 23,
1897, Generals Celestino Tejero and Ricardo Monet of the Spanish army arrived in
Biak-na-Bato and became hostages of the rebels. A ceasefire was declared by
both camps and an agreement between Aguinaldo and the Spanish forces was
made -that the Spanish government will grant self-rule to the Philippines in 3 years
if Aguinaldo went to exile and surrender his arms. In exchange, Aguinaldo will
receive P800,000 (Mexican Pesos) as remuneration to the revolutionaries and an
amnesty. After receiving a partial payment of P400,000, Aguinaldo left for Hong
Kong on December 27, 1897. Some Filipino generals, however, did not believe in

1
De Leon, Textbook on the Philippine Constitution, 2014 ed., p.15

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the sincerity of the Spaniards. They refused to surrender their arms. Nevertheless,
the Te Deum was still sung on January 23, 1898. 2

The Malolos Constitution

In accordance with the decrees of June 18 and 23, 1898, Aguinaldo convoked the
Revolutionary Congress at Barasoain, Malolos. Peace and order conditions in
some provinces were such that Aguinaldo was compelled to appoint their delegates
to Congress. Consequently, on September 4, he appointed fifty delegates to the
Congress. This number was increased by ten on September 10. The number of
delegates to the Congress fluctuated from time to time. In the morning of
September 15, the basilica at Barasoain was filled with delegates and spectators.
Outside, the Banda Pasig played the National Anthem. When Aguinaldo and his
officers arrived, the delegates, the cream of the Filipino intelligentsia, spread out to
give way to the President. With the President seated, the secretary read the names
of the delegates, after which Aguinaldo was introduced. Cries
of "Viva!" reverberated and Aguinaldo acknowledged the applause of the throng.
Then he stood up and read his message, first in Tagalog, then in Spanish. A round
of applause followed Aguinaldo's speech, which Felipe Buencamino wrote.
Aguinaldo then announced that the ceremonies were over and that Congress was
to convene after electing its officers. In the afternoon, the Congress proceeded to
elect its officers, namely, Pedro A. Paterno, President; Benito Legarda, Vice-
President; Gregorio Araneta, First Secretary; and Pablo Ocampo, Second
Secretary. 

The first significant act of the Congress was the ratification on September 29, of the
independence proclaimed at Kawit on June 12, 1898. Aguinaldo, whose office and
official residence were located at the convent of Malolos Church, arrived at
Barasoain, where Congress was holding its sessions, amidst the "vociferous
acclamations of the people and strains of music." The ceremonies began at
10:30am and Aguinaldo, after congratulating Paterno for having been elected to the
presidency of Congress, partly said in Tagalog:

1
De Leon, Textbook on the Philippine Constitution, 2014 ed., p.15

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* * * now we witness the truth of what the famous President Monroe said to the
effect that the United States was for the Americans; now I say that the Philippines is
for the Filipinos.

***

A committee to draft the constitution was created with Felipe G. Calderon as its
most prominent member. Having set Mabini's Constitutional Program aside, the
committee, under the influence of Calderon, also set aside, but in a subtle manner,
Paterno's constitutional plan, which smelled strongly of the Spanish Constitution of
1869. With the advice of Cayetano Arellano, a brilliant but unreconstructed mestizo,
Calderon drew up his plans for a constitution, deriving inspiration from the
constitutions of Mexico, Belgium, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Brazil and France. In the
session of Oct 8, Calderon presented the draft of this constitution. 3

The Philippine Organic act of 1902

The Philippine Organic Act (c. 1369, 32 Stat. 691) was a basic law for the Insular
Government that was enacted by the United States Congress on July 1, 1902. It is
also known as the Philippine Bill of 1902 and the Cooper Act, after its author Henry
A. Cooper. The approval of the act coincided with the official end of the Philippine–
American War.4

Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916

Jones Act, formally Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916, statute announcing the

intention of the United States government to “withdraw their sovereignty over the
Philippine Islands as soon as a stable government can be established therein.” The
U.S. had acquired the Philippines in 1898 as a result of the Spanish–American
War; and from 1901 legislative power in the islands had been exercised through a
Philippine Commission effectively dominated by Americans. One of the most
significant sections of the Jones Act replaced the Commission with an elective

3
http://msc.edu.ph/centennial/malolos.html
4
https://www.revolvy.com/page/Philippine-Organic-Act-%281902%29
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Senate and, with minimum property qualifications, extended the franchise to all
literate Filipino males. The law also incorporated a bill of rights. 5

Tydings-McDuffie Act of 1934

Tydings-McDuffie Act, also called Philippine Commonwealth and Independence

Act, (1934), the U.S. statute that provided for Philippine independence, to take
effect on July 4, 1946, after a 10-year transitional period of Commonwealth
government. The bill was signed by U.S. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt on March 24,
1934, and was sent to the Philippine Senate for approval. Although that body had
previously rejected the similar Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, it approved the Tydings-
McDuffie Act on May 1.6

The 1935 Constitution

Right after the signing of the Treaty of Paris in Washington D.C in 1898 that ceded
the Philippines to the US paying the amount of $20, 000, 000 to Spain in the
process, and the eruption of Filipino-American War in 1899, our country was placed
under a military government until 1901 with the passing of the Spooner
Amendment, putting an end to the military rule in the Philippines and replacing it
with a civil government with William H. Taft as the first civil governor.  The
ratification of the Philippine Bill of 1902, which called for the creation of a lower
legislative branch composed of elected Filipino legislators, and the Jones Law in
August 1916 gave the Filipinos the opportunity to govern themselves better.  The
First Philippine Assembly, which convened on October 16, 1907, was composed of
educated Filipinos from illustrious clans such as Sergio Osmeña and Manuel L.
Quezon, who revived the issue of immediate independence for the Filipinos and
this was expressed by sending political missions to the US Congress. The draft of
the constitution was approved by the convention on February 8, 1935 and ratified
by Pres. Roosevelt in Washington D.C on March 25, 1935. Elections were held in
September 1935, Manuel L. Quezon was elected as the president of the
Commonwealth. The 1935 Constitution provided the legal basis of the
Commonwealth Government which was considered a transition government before
5
https://www.britannica.com/event/Jones-Act-United-States-1916
6
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tydings-McDuffie-Act
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the granting of the Philippine independence with American-inspired constitution;

the Philippine government would eventually pattern its government system after
American government. It has been said that the 1935 Constitution was the best-
written Philippine charter ever.7

The 1943 Constitution (The Japanese Occupation)

The Second Philippine Republic was established during the Japanese occupation
of the Philippines. At the outset of the occupation, the Japanese government
established a military administration over the Philippines, as well as the Philippine
Executive Commission, composed of several pre-war Filipino political leaders. The
KALIBAPI (Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas) was also organized,
designed to be the sole and exclusive political organization in the Philippines. On
June 16, 1943, Premier Hideki Tojo promised independence to the Philippines. The
KALIBAPI would then form the Preparatory Committee on Philippine Independence
(PCPI), which was tasked with drafting a new Constitution. The new Constitution
was approved by the Preparatory Committee on Philippine Independence on
September 4, 1943 and ratified by the KALIBAPI on September 7, 1943. The
KALIBAPI then proceeded to elect part of the new National Assembly, which also
included appointed members; in turn, the National Assembly elected its Speaker
and then elected Jose P. Laurel as President. On October 14, 1943, in ceremonies
in front of the Legislative Building in Manila, the new Republic was inaugurated, and
Jose P. Laurel, the Chairman of the Preparatory Committee, assumed office as
President. On September 21, 1944, President Laurel proclaimed martial law in the
Philippines (it came into effect on September 22). On September 23, 1944, Laurel
proclaimed that the Philippines was “in a state of war” with the Allied Powers—but
this was never ratified by the National Assembly. In large part, Japanese
dissapointment with Laurel led to the Republic under Laurel being superseded by
the Makapili, organized in December, 1944 to more militantly oppose the returning
American forces and Filipino guerrillas. The Japanese brought the Laurel
government to Baguio in December, 1944, and a small remnant of that government
was taken to Tokyo in March, 1945. Laurel formally dissolved the Second Republic
on August 17, 1945, two days after Japan surrendered to the Allies. 7

7
http://malacanang.gov.ph/5235-70th-anniversary-of-the-second-philippine-republic/
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The 1973 Constitution

While reformists called for the convening of the 1971 Constitutional Convention, the
Marcos forces eventually hijacked it; as a consequence, the 1973 Constitution was
turned into a tool by the Marcos regime to perpetuate itself in power. Having
declared martial law earlier, Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 86 calling for
the cancellation of the plebiscite and instituted barangays’ citizens’ assemblies to
ratify the new constitution by a referendum from 10–15 January 1973. This was
challenged before the Supreme Court in what became known as the ratification and
plebiscite cases. These involved petitions assailing the proposed ratification upon
the grounds, among others, that the presidential decree “has no force and effect as
law because the calling... of such plebiscite, the setting of guidelines for the
conduct of the same, the prescription of the ballots to be used and the question to
be answered by the voters, and the appropriation of public funds for the purpose,
are, by the Constitution, lodged exclusively in Congress...” and “there is no proper
submission to the people there being no freedom of speech, press and assembly,
and there being no sufficient time to inform the people of the contents thereof.” The
1976 amendments were ratified in the referendum-plebiscite held in October 1976,
and were proclaimed in full force and effect also that month. The most controversial
among the 1976 amendments was Amendment no. 6. While 1973 Constitution
vested legislative power in the National Assembly or the Batasang Pambansa, this
amendment granted the concurrent legislative authority with the parliament. 8

The 1986 Freedom Constitution

The Republic period was revived after the bloodless revolution popularly known as
the People Power or the EDSA Revolution. Proclamation No. 3 (1986) adopted the
Provisional Constitution or Freedom Constitution which provided for a new
government. A Constitutional Commission was constituted by virtue of Article V of
the Provisional Constitution and Proclamation No. 9 (1986). It was composed of 48
members was mandated to draft a Constitution. 9

8
http://manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/eagle-eyes-by-tony-la-vina/216640/the-travesty-of-the-1973-
constitution.html
9
M. Santos-Ong, Legal Research and Citations of the Philippines p.17

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The 1987 Philippine Constitution

Aquino began her term by repealing many of the Marcos-era regulations that had
repressed the people for so long. In March, she issued a unilateral proclamation
establishing a provisional constitution. This constitution gave the President broad
powers and great authority, but Aquino promised to use them only to restore
democracy under a new constitution. This new constitution was drafted in 133 days
by an appointed Constitutional Commission of 48 members and ratified by the
people in a plebiscite held on February 2, 1987. It was largely modelled on the
American Constitution which had so greatly influenced the 1935 Constitution, but it
also incorporated Roman, Spanish, and Anglo law. The 1987 Constitution
established a representative democracy with power divided among three separate
and independent branches of government: the Executive, a bicameral Legislature,
and the Judiciary. There were three independent constitutional commissions as
well: the Commission on Audit, the Civil Service Commission, and the Commission
on Elections. Integrated into the Constitution was a full Bill of Rights, which
guaranteed fundamental civil and and political rights, and it provided for free, fair,
and periodic elections. In comparison with the weak document that had given
Marcos a legal fiction behind which to hide, this Constitution seemed ideal to many
Filipinos emerging from 20 years of political repression and oppression. 10

10 http://constitutionnet.org/country/constitutional-history-philippines
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