1899 – Long Term Contribution

The First Philippine Republic developed and ratified the Malolos Constitution in 1899, making it
the first republican constitution in Asia. The United States Congress established Organic Acts for the
management of the Government of the Philippine Islands. The first was the Philippine Organic Act of
1902, which established a Filipino-citizen Philippine Assembly. The second was the 1916 Philippine
Autonomy Act, which contained the country's initial declaration of independence.

The first fully elected Philippine legislature was established by the Jones Law. An Act To Clearly
State The Intent Of The People Of The United States As To The Future Political Status Of The People Of
The Philippine Islands And To Provide A More Autonomous Government For Those Islands. a law
declaring that the US government will "remove its jurisdiction over the Philippine Islands as soon as a
reliable administration can be installed there. Due to the fact that it represents independence, this act is
still significant today.

1935 – Long Term Contribution

The establishment of section 1 of this constitution brought a bright future to the present. The
Philippines includes all the territory ceded to the United States by the treaties of Paris, which were
signed between the United States and Spain on the tenth day of December 1898, and Washington,
which were signed between the United States and Spain on the seventh day of November 1900, as well
as the treaties between the United States and Japan, which were signed on the same day.

1973 – Long Term Contribution

With the first section of this constitution, the country established the rights of the territories.
The Philippine archipelago, including all of its islands and waters, as well as all other territories that the
Philippines has historically claimed or that it has legal title to, such as the territorial sea, air space,
subsoil, sea bed, insular shelves, and other submarine areas over which it has sovereignty or jurisdiction,
are included in the national territory. No matter how large or small, the waters surrounding, separating,
and linking the archipelago's islands are included in the Philippines' internal waters.

References:

Constitution Day: GOVPH. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 19, 2022, from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/constitution-
day/

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.). Jones Act. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September
19, 2022, from https://www.britannica.com/event/Jones-Act-United-States-
1916#:~:text=Jones%20Act%2C%20formally%20Philippine%20Autonomy,result%20of
%20the%20Spanish%E2%80%93American
The 1935 constitution: GOVPH. Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. (n.d.).
Retrieved September 19, 2022, from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-
1935-constitution/

1973 constitution of the Republic of the Philippines: Govph. Official Gazette of the Republic of
the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2022, from
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1973-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-
philippines-2/