Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Bachelor of Public Administration

Major in Public Financial Management
Lopez, Quezon Branch

Name: Rachelle Acot

Course&Year: BPA-PFM1
Subject: Philippine Constitution

What is the importance of the Philippine Constitution to you as

a student?

Philippine Constitution is very important for us because it is the regulations

acknowledged by the people of a state to preserve and maintain peace and order in
the society. Without this, the state will be in chaos. The sovereign power of the state
will deteriorate and the government will not be able to function well. And also
because it protects our rights. It enables us to have justice and live a beautiful life. I
learned about the bill of rights on how to protect the rights of human concerning
about the life, properties, as well as liberty. Therefore, I understood that we have a
freedom of speech we should have to abide what was written in every article that we
had in the bill of rights to avoid any violence's on it. The constitution enables
students to remember and embrace their basic rights as a people and the basis
principles by which our society has been organized. Minimizing the teaching of
Filipino, Panitikan and Constitution thus robs young learners of their soul as citizen
and future leaders. Constitution is the set of rules and maxims that determines the
supreme power of the state. In addition, constitution also sets the limitation of the
government’s power and protects the rights of the people of the state. Philippines
had several constitutions but the most “well-knows” started from the Biak-na-Bato
Republic. The transition of the constitutions are the result of socio-historical
background of the Philippines dated back from the Pre-Hispanic period.

As a student, it is important for me to know and discover about our constitution

because knowing and understanding what constitution we have can help me to
realize that we can all benefit on it and for me the importance of Philippine
Constitution is to give us the rights to know and use our human rights in order for us
not only for the students like me but for all the Filipino citizen to be aware that we
all have rights as a person and using our rights can benefit to our country in a way of
giving opinions and ideas or state an issue in order to resolve it with the help of our
constitution. As a student, especially that I am on the course under public
administration, there are lot of realization that I should value all the learning about
Philippine constitution can makes our country to have a better government and a
better citizen because our constitution helps us to live our life more meaningful and
put value on it, we should always remember that if we are a student or a person who
is serving to our country, we should always think that wherever we have different
priority in our life, we should always be concerned to our country on what is going
on because being informed about our constitution can give us the authority to think
and protect ourselves from the enemies that can hurt us especially the enemies who
makes us feel useless as a Filipino citizen, and this is the right time to have actions in
order for us to protect our country and also ourselves from the people who thinks
that we have not enough knowledge on how to argue on things that can lessen our
dignity as a Filipino citizen.

The importance of Philippine constitution to me as a students is it can build

myself to have an improvement in order for me to be prepare on my future if ever
that I can be a leader or public servant. As a student, I can say that I gained some
knowledge about the Philippine constitution that can help me to use it for my future
so that as a student it can benefit to us to have enough knowledge and skills and
skills about Philippine constitution because it can contribute in our growth has a
student to a responsible Filipino citizen. Philippine constitution made me realize that
even though we are young or we are a students we can be informed about how the
government and other constitution can give us the authority to use and understand
what are the rights that we should always have as a Filipino citizen , the Philippine
constitution is founded on key concepts that contribute to ensure people
sovereignty in government, therefore as a Filipino citizen we should know what are
the think that we should consider in our government and in our constitution.

Philippine constitution is important because it can protects our rights as human

in a way of knowing and acknowledge the laws that can help us to be inform on what
laws should we considered in any issues that we have. Like article 3 Bill of Rights in
this article it tackle all about how to establish the individual’s relationship with the
state and defines the individual’s rights by limiting the state’s permissible powers. It
is one of the Philippines most significant political successes, and this article can helps
us to know our limitations as Filipino citizen and on how can protect ourselves from
the enemies. So that, Philippine constitution plays a vital rote on our country in
order to have equality and peace because our constitution will be the one who can
provides us the right treatment for ourselves and to other Filipino citizen in order for
us to have an improvement in our country.

Here in our country we have our own constitution , Philippine constitution , at

the first place we all know that the constitution is the one who can provides the
basis for governance in our country. Constitution is also involve with a congress that
is divided into two set, the Senate and the house of representatives, in the Senate it
involves all senators while the house of representative includes the congressman.
Constitution is an aggregate of fundamental principles of established precedents. In
the constitution in the Philippines it includes all the laws that we should follow as a
people of our own country because the reason why we have constitution, is to
ensure that all of our needs will be addressed. Constitution is the living document
because it can be amended so that it allows to to changes as time passes by it can be
called as “Supreme Law of the Land” because it lays out the goals that the
constitution and the government constituted under it are supposed to attain.
 Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Bachelor of Public Administration

Major in Public Financial Management
Lopez, Quezon Branch

Name: Rachelle Acot

Course&Year: BPA-PFM1
Subject: Philippine Constitution

Digest the escape of Preamble in the 1987 Philippine

Constitution.
The preamble in the Philippine constitution show to us a Filipino citizen all roles
and responsibilities here in our country or society because as stated in the preamble,
we as part of our society we should know and to be informed about this kind of
constitution because in includes the things that we should be committed in it in
order for us to play a vital role as a Filipino, like we should focusing on loving and
have freedom in our country and of course to have unity in peace in all of us. In
preamble, its says how the government of our country and all of us are connected
and having a relationship and by that relationship we ca be used united as a
powerful and growing country. In the first line of the preamble it include the
imploring the aid of almighty God so that we should always prioritize first God in all
of our action like doing our responsibility as Filipino citizen, we can put God first
because he can help us to guide for the better future of our country. One of the
reason why we should understand Philippine constitution like preamble, because at
the end of the day we can be a better citizen like us so that if we do out duties and
responsibilities as a people of our country we can also achieve the good governance
that we all wanted.

Government is a part of the preamble, and by the government it can contribute

us a citizen in a way of giving information and and facts about the different
constitution that we have today and by the help of government we can be a better
citizens and the government will be the one who can hear our opinions and ideas
and they are the one who can acknowledge and help us on our difficulties and give
us the authority about knowing our rights and have freedom to show and tell all of
our thoughts and ideals. Government is forming a more perfect union, establishing
justice, ensuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense, promoting
the general prosperity and securing the benefits of liberty now and in the future. So
that our government play a vital role to have a better society and good form of
constitution and the government can promote the common good to the Filipino
citizen in order for us to enlightened our life that good governance will also lead us
to success and growth.
 One of the essence of the Preamble is to show to all of the Filipino citizen that
we need to acknowledge this kind of constitution that we have because it can secure
to ourselves and also develop in a way of following all the necessary duties that we
are responsible for. Each of us is part of constitution, we all have different
responsibilities in order to fulfill the needs of our society and if we are all doing our
responsibility as a citizen we ca assure that we can be the better version of our
society . Preamble teach us to value and preserve all of the practices of our own
constitution because constitution can ensure that the states authority is distributed
among various bodies and person, as well as the protection of citizen’s rights. A
country’s constitution established the framework for government, which is critical
for ensuring that everyone’s interests and demands are met.
 Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Bachelor of Public Administration

Major in Public Financial Management
Lopez, Quezon Branch

Name: Rachelle Acot

Course&Year: BPA-PFM1
Subject: Philippine Constitution

Discuss the advantage and disadvantages of written and

unwritten constitution.
The advantage of written constitution is the fact that it can be easily consulted.
This is unlike an unwritten constitution because a written constitution is contained in
one single document. A written constitution makes it very easy for citizens to make
reference to the constitution as the only supreme law of the land that should guide
them but this will not be possible where the constitution is not documented in a
single document. Another advantage and reason why most countries prefer a
written constitution to an unwritten constitution is because, it cannot be easily
tempered with. Written constitution is usually rigid in nature because of its mode of
amendment and it cannot be frivolously tampered with, although it can be amended
when found necessary to meet the changing needs of the country. It is to
understand the content of the constitution. Unlike an unwritten constitution where
the rules are not contained in one document, it is often easier to interpret and
understand the intention of the legislature when the rules are contained in one
document because reading all the sections of the constitution can help in
interpretation of one section. More so, it is simple to ascertain because it is found in
one document and can be read and understood by the people to know their right
and duties. It is easy for citizens to know when their rights have been breached,
when the acts of government or public officials are unconstitutional, so that they can
sue based on the provisions of the constitution. It reduces clash of function of the
arms of government. It reduces the incidence of friction between the various arms
and organs of the government, since their powers and functions are clearly spelt out
and limited by the constitution. In this way, a written constitution may help to
ensure stability and also promote the principle of separation of powers among the
organs of the government.

The fact that a written constitution is difficult to amend is both an advantage

and a disadvantage at the same time. Written constitution are mostly rigid, with
cumbersome amendment procedure, which leads to the problem of how to easily
amend it to make it suit changing needs and time. When there is an urgent need for
the constitution to be amended, it may not be possible where the is a written
constitution. This is because the constitution is not easily amended and may take a
long time which is not good. It may not favour every part of the state, where its
provisions are inadequate, it may not favour some sections of the country, and it
may lead to disaffection and violent out-bust as it provisions cannot be quickly
amended to address the grievances. A written constitution is usually interpreted
strictly. It does not a low for flexibility. Unless it is liberally interpreted by the courts
and also timeously frequently amended in a spirit of give and take like US
constitution, such country may find itself in a strait jacket as its rigid provisions will
not meet present and future needs of the country. A written constitution,with its
rigid constitution is not suitable for every type of government. For instance, a unitary
system of government, which is usually small in size and good for a homogeneous
population needs flexible and easily amenable constitution for quick decision making
of government. A written and rigid constitution is more suitable for a federal, multi-
tier system of government, a diverse population with ministries and advantaged
groups, a so forth in under to allay fear of misrule, marginalization and injustice.

Unwritten constitution is the best type of constitution or not. Some political

scientists are of the view that; since unwritten constitution is flexible and can be
easily amended, it is the best because it will work more efficiently in times of
urgency. On the other hand, some scholars argue against this. For them, an
unwritten constitution allows for dictatorship and eay altering of the provisions of
the constitution. An unwritten constitution is a type of constitution that is not
contained or documented in a single document. Unlike a written constitution, an
unwritten constitution is flexible and easy to amend. Unwritten constitution as a
constitution that is not embodied in single document but based chiefly on custom
and precedent as expressed in statutes and judicial decisions.

The advantages of an unwritten constitution it is flexible and easy to amend, it

does not pose problems of amendment and it can easily be adapted to meet the
changing social, economic and political development of the country. This can also be
a disadvantage of an unwritten constitution too. The reason is because the flexible
nature of the constitution will allow an unnecessary alterations on the constitution.
Another advantage of an unwritten constitution is that is allows for easy and fast
decision making by the government in time of urgency where the constitution needs
to be amended. An unwritten constitution allows easy and quick decisions to meet
exigencies of the government and national life. An unwritten constitution is based on
the way of life of the people. It grows over a long time for the way of the people. It is
to a large extent written on the heart of the people and is based on the principles of
justice, fairness and equality. It’s flexibility makes the law to grow with the social life,
trends, customs and tradition of the people. It is not so when the constitution is
written because the law what the constitution say it is. An unwritten constitution is
also advantageous because it does not give rise to so much litigation. The laws
guiding the state are not contained in single document so not every citizen even
have access to it and so, most people don’t know their rights and obligations.

The disadvantages of an unwritten constitution it is usually unclear and

uncertain. The rules and regulations guiding the state are not contained in one single
document, there is always uncertainty as to what the law actually is. Its unwritten
nature make the ascertainment of its precise provisions and content uneasy and
subject to individual opinion and level of enlightenment. The uncertainty of its
provision does not allow easy reference and may encourage the infringing of the
rights of citizens who are not enlightened enough to know what position of the law
is. This is a disadvantage of unwritten constitution and it is mostly criticized by
scholars. An unwritten constitution is usually unclear, uncertain or unintelligible. The
uncertainty of the provision of an unwritten constitution is one of its major
disadvantages. As you may know, a good constitution is one of its major
unambiguous and certain.These are the major characteristics of a good constitution.
An unwritten constitution is not always clear because the constitution is not
contained in one single document. In other words, to understand the provisions of
the constitution, one may have search for other laws that explains the constitution.
This leaves a larger part of the job of interpreting the law to the discretion of the
judiciary. In this case, the provision of the constitution will become uncertain, and
very difficult for anyone to decode what the purpose of a particular provision is.
Unlike an unwritten constitution, a written constitution contained in a single
document. The provision of this type of constitution usually make reference to other
provisions to ensure that the actual intent of the lawmakers are understood.