Lesson 3

1. Define the Philippine Constitution.

The Philippine Constitution is the highest or supreme law in the Republic of the Philippines. This
constitution is a written form of the government's system which contains fundamental laws, principles,
provisions, and rules and regulations that the citizens should acknowledge and follow for us to have and
maintain a peaceful and orderly society. It establishes the basic framework and underlying principles of
government, outlines and guides the duties and responsibilities of the government, and sets out the
limitations of the power of each branch of government, namely, the legislative, executive, and judicial
branches. It also states all of the citizen's fundamental rights against any abuses, particularly from the
government, as well as their accountability for any illegal action they take. Moreover, this constitution
serves as a written principle protecting the sovereignty of the country and its people.

2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a written, conventional and inelastic constitution

Constitutions are classified into three types: written, conventional, and inelastic. These types of
constitutions each have advantages and disadvantages that can help or hinder a state. A written
constitution possesses the attributes of certainty, clarity, and accessibility. All provisions are contained
in a single document, and the laws of the country are determinable. This written constitution provides a
clear statement of how the state should operate with no uncertainty over words and provides clear
protection of individual rights. It prevents the fusion of powers by upholding clarity in the principle of
separation of powers. Meanwhile, its disadvantages are being inflexible and unresponsive to change.
Since it is a written document, the process of amending the irrelevant parts of the constitution may be
difficult because it requires a majority of people to approve it. This may also lead to litigation over the
precise meaning of the terms used, particularly if the language is outdated.

The second is the conventional constitution, which is flexible, but this could be both an advantage and a
disadvantage. Since conventions are flexible, they adapt to changing circumstances. Unlike a written
constitution, it can easily amend or update the irrelevant provisions and change them to something that
the present and future generations will benefit from. However, flexibility is only an advantage for those
in power because it creates difficulties in defining the limitations of power, thereby enabling those in
power to preserve their power. Also, one perspective views that codification weakens the growth of the
Constitution.

And lastly, an inelastic constitution helps to ensure an orderly change of government and promotes
political stability in multi-ethnic states. The difficulties associated with its amendment act as a check
against arbitrary manipulation of the constitution by some unscrupulous leaders. It is indispensable to
the efficient operation of a federal system of government. On the other hand, the method of
amendment is very complicated, and the cumbersome nature of amendment leads to slow economic
growth and development. An inelastic constitution does not encourage change.

3. Discuss the brief history of the Philippine Constitution.

 The Philippines has different constitutions from the time of its independence from the Spanish
invasion, proclaimed on June 12, 1898. The Malolos Constitution is the first Philippine Constitution and
the first republican constitution in Asia. It was drafted and adopted by the first Philippine republic from
1899 to 1901. After this, the Philippine Constitution of 1935, which featured a political system virtually
identical to the American one, became operative. The system called for a president to be elected at
large for a 4-year term (subject to one re-election), a bicameral Congress, and an independent judiciary.
And then the 1943 Philippine Constitution came into being, which became the constitution of the
Japanese-sponsored Second Republic of the Philippines from 1943 to 1945. It was recognized as
legitimate and binding only in Japanese-controlled areas of the Philippines and was ignored by the
United States government and the Philippine Commonwealth government in exile. After many years, we
had the 1973 Philippine Constitution, which was composed of a preamble and 17 articles, providing for
the shift from a presidential to a parliamentary system of government. The Constitution vests legislative
power in the National Assembly. And currently, we have the 1987 Philippine Constitution
that established a representative democracy with power divided among three separate and
independent branches of government: The Executive, a bicameral Legislature, and the Judiciary.

4. Discuss the Regalian Doctrine

The Regalian Doctrine states that all lands in the public domain belong to the state, that the
state is the source of any asserted right to ownership of land, and that the state is charged with the
conservation of such patrimony. It is a legal principle that holds that all-natural wealth, whether
agricultural, forest, timber, or mineral, lands in the public domain and all other natural resources belong
to the state. Thus, even if a private person owns the property where minerals are discovered, his
ownership does not give him the right to extract or utilize said minerals without permission from the
state to which such minerals belong. Since everything must have an owner, if there are no private
claimants or owners, then that particular property is presumed to be owned by the state. Likewise,
when a person dies without any heirs, the state succeeds to the estate of the deceased.

5. Give examples of constitutional provisions on government, sovereignty and liberty

The 1987 Philippine Constitution has three important parts: the constitution of government,
liberty, and sovereignty. About the government, the constitution has its provisions that set up the
governmental structure. For example, Article VI states and discusses the power of the Legislative
Department of the government. Likewise in Article VII about the Executive Department and Article VIII
about the Judiciary Department. Articles IX and X state and impose the duties and responsibilities of
constitutional commissions and local government to their citizens. The Constitution also has provisions
that guarantee individual fundamental liberties against governmental abuse. It has Article III that talks
about the Bill of Rights, Article IV about Citizenship, Article V for Suffrage, and Article XIII for Social
Justice and Human Rights. And lastly, the constitution has provisions which outline the process whereby
the sovereign people may change the constitution. In Article II, Section 1, it states that "The Philippines
is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority
emanates from them." and Article XVII about amendments and revisions to the constitution.