CONSTITUTION

-That body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are
habitually exercise.
The main purpose of which is to prescribe the permanent framework of a system, to assign to
the several departments their respective powers and duties and to establish certain first fixed
principles on which government is founded. (Cruz, 1995)
- A legislation directly from people, usually states general principle. It is intended to meet not
only existing but also future conditions
The purpose of a constitution is to define the organization of the government, to determine the
distribution of governmental powers, establish certain fixed principles governing the operation of the
government, to define the rights of individual citizens and to hold the state together. (Aruego, 1981).
CLASSIFICATIONS OF CONSTITUTION
According to the type According to the
According to
of government for difficulty of the According to origin
form
which they provide amending process
a. Democratic a. Written a. Flexible a.Those which like the English
constitution are the product of
growth through long period of
time.
a. Aristocratic b. Unwritten b. Rigid b. Those which like the Prussian
instrument of 1850 or the
Japanese constitution of 1899,
were granted by a ruling prince or
monarch.
c. Oligarchic c.Those which like the
constitution of the United States
have been created by the
deliberate act of a sovereign
people.
d. Autocratic

WRITTEN and UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION

A. Written Constitution . consist of single document regarded as the fundamental law of the land.
It is a concrete expression of the social compact theory, because it is the sacred covenant
between those in power and the people.
B. Unwritten Constitution. Not embodied in a single handwritten instrument. It is an evolved
constitution which undergoes growth and development in the customs and traditions of the
people and reinforced by written laws, rules and principles. It serves as a system of
constitutional restraints on government and a solid defense of individual liberties and
freedoms. Question: What is the only country today which subscribes to an unwritten
constitution?
CHARACTERISICS of a GOOD WRITTEN CONSTITUTION.
1. It must be broad or comprehensive. The purpose of the constitution is to outline the
organization of government, the functions and powers defined, the relation between the
government and the governed prescribed. To embody all these elements, the constitution must
be a comprehensive document.
2. It must be brief or concise. It should contain only the essentials of government.
3. It must be clear and definite. Its provisions must not leave no room for ambiguity because if
they are vague, they would be susceptible to various interpretations, thus may cause confusion
and leave constitutional problems unresolved.
CONTENTS of a WRITTEN CONSTITUTION.
1. Preamble. An introduction of the constitution, not an actual part of the fundamental law but
useful because it explains why the constitution is enacted and for whom it is made. It
enumerates the general objectives of the constitution.
2. Division and Distribution of the Powers and Functions of Government. It ensures the
supremacy of the rule of law, to safeguard the rights and liberties of the people from people
from abuse and suppression by men clothed with political authority. These provisions are
referred to as the charter of government.
3. Bill of Rights. An essential part of a democratic constitution. It is the enumeration of the rights
of the people to protect them from abuses and oppressions of individual, group of persons,
associations, and the government. These rights are called the charter of liberty.
4. Amendatory Process. Special procedures by which the constitutions are amended. This simply
mean that there is a certain amount of flexibility. The amendatory provisions of the constitution
are referred to as charter of sovereignty.
5.
HISTORY and EVOLUTION of PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION
I. The Malolos Constitution of 1899.
Approved by the Malolos Congress on November 29, 1898, draft returned by President
Aguinaldo on December 1, 1898 for amendments, which the Congress refused; approved by
President Aguinaldo on December 23, 1898;  formally adopted by the Malolos Congress on
January 20, 1899, promulgated by President Emilio Aguinaldo on January 21, 1899.
Took its name from the capital town of the Filipino Revolutionary government located in
Bulacan. The background of this constitution is found in the centuries of Spanish rule over the
Philippines, insurrections, first against the authority of Spain and her “bad government”, and
later against the assumption of sovereignty by the United states, and the gradually increasing
sense of nationality which, nourished in the blood of martyrdom, grew into common and ardent
desire for independence. It was the First Constitution in Asia and was based on the proposed
framework of Felipe Calderon.

II. The 1935 Philippine Constitution

Approved by the 1934 Constitutional Convention on February 8, 1935, certified by the
President of the United States on March 25, 1935, and ratified by plebiscite on May 14, 1935.
 The 1935 Constitution was written, approved and adopted in 1934 by the Commonwealth
of the Philippines (1935–1946) and later used by the Third Republic (1946–1972). It was
written with an eye to meeting the approval of the United States Government as well, so as to
ensure that the U.S. would live up to its promise to grant the Philippines independence
The Commonwealth Constitution was ratified to prepare the country for its independence.
This constitution was dominantly influenced by the Americans, but possess the traces of the
Malolos Constitution, the German, Spanish, and Mexican Constitution, constitutions of
several South American countries, and the unwritten English Constitution.
The draft of the constitution was approved by the convention on February 8, 1935 and was
ratified by President Roosevelt in Washington D.C. on March 25, 1935. Elections were held on
September 16, 1935 and Manuel L. Quezon was elected as the first President of the
Commonwealth of the Philippines.
It originally provided for a unicameral legislature composed of a president and vice
president elected for a six-year term without re-election. It was amended in 1940 to provide for
a bicameral legislature composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The President
is to be elected to a four-year term, together with the Vice-President, with one re-election; the
right of suffrage for male citizens of the Philippines who are twenty-one years of age or over
and are able to read and write were protected; this protection, later on, extended to the right of
suffrage for women two years after the adoption of the constitution.

III. The 1943 Constitution

Approved by the Preparatory Committee on Philippine Independence, September 4, 1943
and ratified by the KALIBAPI Convention, September 7, 1943.
The constitution of the Japanese-sponsored Second Republic of the Philippines. It was
recognized as legitimate and binding only in Japanese-controlled areas of the country but was
ignored by the US government and the Philippine Commonwealth-in-exile. The Japanese
monitored the drafting of the constitution by the Preparatory Commission headed by JP Laurel,
with the instruction that it should conform with the principles of the Greater East Asia Co-
Prosperity Sphere. A Preparatory Commission was created to draft a new constitution .
 In late 1944, President Laurel declared war on the United States and the British
Empire and proclaimed martial law, essentially ruling by decree. His government, in turn, went
into exile in December 1944, first to Taiwan and then Japan. After the announcement of
Japan's surrender, Laurel formally dissolved the Second Republic.

IV. The 1973 Constitution

Draft presented to President Marcos by the 1971 Constitutional Convention on December
1, 1972; deemed ratified by Citizens’ Assemblies held from January 10 to 15, 1973, proclaimed
in force by Proclamation by President Marcos, January 17, 1973.
It provides for a parliamentary system of government to replace the presidential system
under the 1935 Constitution, promulgated after Marcos’s declaration of Martial law. The
legislative power is vested in the National Assembly , in which a member would be elected as
Prime Minister , one who would be the head of the government and the commander-in-chief of
the Philippine Armed Forces .A President is elected from among members and serves as the
symbolic head of state. This constitution was subsequently amended four times
While the 1973 Constitution ideally provided for a true parliamentary system, in practice,
Marcos made use of subterfuge and manipulation in order to keep executive powers for
 himself, rather than devolving these to the Assembly and the cabinet headed by the Prime
Minister. Marcos' purported parliamentary system in practice functioned as
an authoritarian presidential system, with all real power concentrated in the hands of the
President but with the premise that such was now constitutional.

V. The 1986 Freedom Constitution

Immediately following the 1986 People Power Revolution that ousted Marcos,
President Corazon C. Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3 on March 25, 1986, as a provisional
constitution. It adopted certain provisions from the 1973 Constitution while abolishing others. It
granted the President broad powers to reorganize government and remove officials, as well as
mandating the president to appoint a commission to draft a new, more formal Constitution. This
document, described above, supplanted the "Freedom Constitution" upon its ratification in
1987. This is the transitional constitution that lasted a year and came before the permanent
constitution.

VI. The 1987 Constitution.(The Present Constitution of the Philippines)

Approved by the 1986 Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986, the 1987
Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines was presented to President Corazon C. Aquino
on October 15, 1986. It was ratified on February 2, 1987 by a plebiscite. It was proclaimed in
force on February 11, 1987.
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.
System of Government under 1987 Constitution
Branch Hierarchy Appointment Powers Removal
President Elected by a *Nominates the Cabinet *Upon the end of 6-
direct vote and other high officials year term
*Head of Government *Upon resignation
*Ensures faithful execution *Upon impeachment
of the laws by the legislature
*Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forces
*Contracts for foreign
Executive loans
*Declares Martial Law
Cabinet Nominated by *Advises the President *Upon removal by
the President *The alter ego of the the President
and confirmed President in their *Upon resignation
by a respective departments
commission *Issue directives relative
on to their departments
appointments
Senate Elected by a *Election monitoring *Upon the end of 6-
direct vote *Introduces and passes year term
legislation by a majority *Upon resignation
vote
*Conducts inquiries in
pursuit of passing
legislation
*Declares war with joint
two-thirds vote of
Congress

House of Elected by *Election monitoring *Upon the end of 3-

Legislative
Representative districts or a *Introduces and passes year term
s party-list legislation by a majority *Upon resignation
system vote
*Introduces and passes
financial legislation
*Conducts inquiries in
pursuit of passing
legislation
*Declares war with joint
two-thirds vote of
Congress

Judicial Supreme Court Appointed by *Administrative *Upon resignation

the President supervision over other *Upon reaching the
courts age of 70
*Jurisdiction over cases
involving ambassadors
and public officials
*Constitutional review