READING

IN THE
PHILIPPINE
HISTORY

INSTR CHARMANE
LAZO
 EVOLUTION OF THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

• Political History
• The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato
1897
• The Malolos Constitution of 1899
• The 1935 Commonwealth
Constitution & The 1943 Constitution
• The1973 Constitution
• The 1986 Freedom Constitution
• The 1987 Philippine Constitution

Evolution of the Philippine Constitution Evo 2

Political History

Political history is the narrative

and survey of political events,
ideas, movements, organs of
government, voters, parties and
leaders. Political history studies
the organization and operation
of power in large societies.

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Political History

WHY IS IT
IMPORTANT TO
STUDY OUR
POLITICAL
HISTORY?
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Political History

• It is important to study political

history because it traces the
development of self-rule in the
country and situates the freedom we
enjoy today

• Political history provides the tools to

understand and critically assess many
contemporary problems and
changes.

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 CONSTITUTION

The constitution is defined as a set

of fundamental principles or
established precedents according to
which state or organization is
governed. Thus, the word itself,
constitution, means “to be part of a
whole”, the coming together of
district entities into one group, with
the same principles and ideals.

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 CONSTITUTION

• A constitution is the rule book for a

state. Meaning it contains the body of
rules and principles with which the
power of sovereignty is exercised or
implemented.
• It is often called or most known as
the supreme law of the land.
• The constitution define, limit,
distribute the function and power of
government.2

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 CONSTITUTION

HOW CAN WE
SAY THAT A
CONSTITUTION
IS WELL
WRITTEN?
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 CONSTITUTION

• Broad – complete,
comprehensive, all-inclusive
• Brief – concise, direct to the
point
• Definite – clearly stated

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The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato
November 1, 1897 20XX 10
 The Constitution
of Biak-na-Bato
• Promulgated by the Philippine
Revolutionary Government on
November 1, 1897
• Inspired by Cuba and written
by Isabelo Artacho and Felix
Ferrer in Spanish and later on
translated into tagalog.
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 The Constitution
of Biak-na-Bato
• The Biak-na-Bato Constitution
provided for the creation of a
Supreme Council to serve as the
supreme body of the Republic`s
government. He also described
some fundamental human rights,
such as freedom of religion,
freedom of the press and the right
to education.
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 The Constitution
of Biak-na-Bato
• The Republic of the Philippines,
commonly known today as the
Republic of Biak-na-Bato, was the
second revolutionary republican
government led by Emilio Aguinaldo
during the Philippine Revolution,
replacing a government which also
called itself the "Republic of the
Philippines".

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 The Constitution
of Biak-na-Bato
The Constitution was never
fully implemented, since
truce, the Pack of Biak-na-
Bato, was signed between the
Spanish and the Philippine
Revolutionary Army.

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 The organs of the
Government under
the Constitution are:
1. The Consejo Supremo
(Supreme Council)
2. The Consejo Supremo de
Gracia y Justicia (Supreme
Council of Grace and Justice)
3. The Asamblea de
Representantes (Assembly of
Representatives)

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 The Supreme
Council
Vested with the power of the
Republic, headed by the
president and four
department secretaries; the
interior, foreign affairs,
treasury, and war;

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 The Supreme
Council of Grace and
Justice
Given the authority to make
decisions and affirm or
disprove the sentences
rendered by other court, and
to dictate rules for
administration of justice.

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 The Assembly of
Representatives
To be convened after the
revolution to create a new
Constitution and to elect a
new council of Government
and Representatives of
people.

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 Pact of Biak-
naBato
Paterno's efforts led to a peace
agreement called the Pact of Biak-
na-Bato. This consisted of three
documents, the first two being
signed on December 14, 1897,
and the third being signed on
December 15; effectively ending
the Republic of Biak-na-Bato.
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 Pact of Biak-
naBato
Provision:
• That Aguinaldo and his companions would go
into voluntary exile abroad.
• That Governor-General Primo de Rivera would
pay the sum of $800,000 to the rebels in three
installments.
• That Primo de Rivera would pay the additional
sum of $900,00 to the families of the non-
combatant Filipinos who suffered during the
armed conflict.

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 Pact of Biak-na
Bato
After the signing of the truce, the Filipino
revolutionary leaders accepted a payment
from Spain and went to exile in Hongkong.

In accordance with the first part of the pact,

Aguinaldo and twenty-five other top
officials of the revolution were banished to
Hong Kong with $400,000 in their
possession. The rest of the men received
$200,000, but the third installment was
never received.

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The Malolos Constitution
of 1899
November 29, 1899

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 The Malolos
Constitution of 1899
Upon the defeat of the Spanish to the
United States in the Battle of Manila Bay on
1 May 1898, the U.S Navy Transported
Aguinaldo back to the Philippines. The
newly re-formed Philippine revolutionary
forces reverted to the control of Aguinaldo
and the Philippine Declaration of
Independence was issued on 12 June 1898,
together with several decrees that formed
the First Philippine Republic.

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 The Malolos
Constitution of 1899
The Malolos Congress was elected,
which selected an elite dominated
commission to draw up a draft
constitution on 17 September 1898.
The document they came up with,
approved by the Congress on 29
November 1898 and promulgated
by Aguinaldo on 21 January 1899,
was titled “The Political Constitution
of 1899” and was written in Spanish.
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 The Malolos
Constitution of 1899
The document was patterned after the
Spanish Constitution of 1812, with
influences from the charters of Belgium,
Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, and the French Constitution
of 1793 because according to Calderon,
principal author of the constitution, they
shared similar social, political,
ethnological, and governance
conditions with the Philippines.

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 Felipe Gonzáles
Calderón y Roca
(April 4, 1868 – June 6, 1908)

He is also known as Felipe G.

Calderon was a Filipino lawyer,
politician, and intellectual, known
as the "Father of the Malolos
Constitution".

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 Three branches of
government:
1. Legislative
2. Executive
3. Judiciary

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 Legislative
It has a power to elect
the President and the
chief justice of the
supreme court.

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 Executive
He was the head of the
state and was duly
elected by the legislative
body.

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 Judiciary
The judicial power was
vested in the supreme
court and all other lower
courts provided by law.

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1935: The
Commonwealth
Constitution
November 15, 1935

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 The Commonwealth
Constitution
After the Treaty of Paris, the
Philippines was subject to the
power of the United States,
effectively the new colonizers of
the country. From 1898 to 1901,
the Philippines was placed under
a military government until a civil
government replaced it.
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 The Commonwealth
Constitution
On November 15, 1935, the Filipino people
took the penultimate step to independence with
the inauguration of the Commonwealth of the
Philippines. Only two months prior, on
September 16, a million Filipinos had trooped to
the polls to elect their two highest officials—the
President and Vice President. This was the first
time in the history of the nation that a Filipino
would finally sit as Chief Executive and hold
office in Malacañan Palace.

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 The Commonwealth
Constitution
Manuel L. Quezon was elected President of
the commonwealth and Sergio Osmeña as
his Vice President.

The constitution created the

Commonwealth of the Philippines, an
administrative body that governed the
Philippines from 1935-1946. It is a
transitional administration to prepare the
country toward its full achievement of
independence.

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 The Commonwealth
Constitution
The Commonwealth was briefly interrupted
by the events of World War II, with the
Japanese occupying the Philippines. It was
recognized as legitimate and binding only in
Japanese-controlled areas of the Philippines
but was ignored by the United States
government and the Philippine
Commonwealth government in-exile. After
the war, the country reverted to the 1935
constitution and on 4 July 1946 the
Commonwealth Constitution remained in
effect.

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Constitutional
Authoritarianism
January 17, 1973

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 Constitutional
Authoritarianism
In 1965, Ferdinand E. Marcos
was elected president, and in
1967, the Philippine Congress
passed a resolution calling for a
constitutional convention to
amend 1935 Constitution.

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 Constitutional
Authoritarianism
Elections of the delegates to the
constitutional convention were held on
20 November 1970, and the convention
began formally on 1 June 1971, with
former President Carlos P. Garcia being
elected as convention president.
Unfortunately, he died and was
succeeded by another former president
, Diosdado Macapagal.

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 Constitutional
Authoritarianism
A constitutional convention is
one of the three ways to amend
the Constitution of the
Philippines.

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 Constitutional
Authoritarianism
Before the convention finished
its work, martial law was
declared. Marcos cited a
growing communist insurgency
as a reason for martial law, which
was provided for in the 1935
Constitution.

Evolution of the Philippine Constitution 40

 Constitutional
Authoritarianism
On 29 November 1972, the
convention approved its
proposed constitution.
Presidential Decree No. 73 –
plebiscite to ratify or reject the
proposed constitution.

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 Constitutional
Authoritarianism
On 17January 1973, the
constitution has been ratified by
an overwhelming vote.
The constitution was amended
several times.

Evolution of the Philippine Constitution 42

 Constitutional
Authoritarianism
The constitution was supposed
to introduce a parliamentary-
style government, where
legislative power was vested in a
unicameral National Assembly,
with members being elected to a
term of six years.

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 Constitutional
Authoritarianism
The president was to be elected
as the symbolic and ceremonial
head of state chosen from the
members of the National
Assembly.
The president = 6 years term and
can be re-elected to an unlimited
number of terms.
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 Constitutional
Authoritarianism
Executive power is relegated to
the Prime Minister, who is also
the head of government and
Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces. The Prime
Minister was also to be elected
from the National Assembly.

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The Freedom Constitution
March 25, 1986
46
 The Freedom
Constitution
The situation in the 1980’s was
very turbulent.
• Martial Law (September 21,
1972 – January 17, 1981)
• Benigno Aquino Jr. was
assassinated on August 21, 1983.

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 The Freedom
Constitution
• EDSA People Power
Revolution(February 22-25, 1986)
• Marcos family fled to exile
• Corazon Aquino was installed as
president on 25 February 1986
through the snap elections

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 The Freedom
Constitution
President Aquino’s government
had three options regarding the
constitution:
1. Revert to the 1935 Constitution
2. Retain the 1973 Constitution
3. Start a new Constitution

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 The Freedom
Constitution
In March 1986, President
Aquino proclaimed a
transitional constitution to last
for a year while a Constitutional
Commission drafted a
permanent constitution.

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 The Freedom
Constitution
This transitional constitution,
called the Freedom
Constitution, maintained
many provisions of the old
one, including in rewritten
form the presidential right to
rule by decree.
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The 1987 Philippine Constitution
1987 up to present
52
 The Philippine
Constitution
The constitution begins with a
preamble and includes 18 self-
contained articles.
It established the Philippine as a
“democratic republican state”
where “sovereignty resides in the
people, and all government
authority emanates from them.”
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 Three branches of
government:
1. Executive
2. Legislative
3. Judiciary

Evolution of the Philippine Constitution 54

 Executive Branch
Headed by the president and his
cabinet he appointed.
The president is the head of the
state and the chief executive,
but his power is limited by
significant checks from the two
other co-equal branches of the
government, especially during
times of emergency.
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 Legislative Branch
Congress:
• Senate
• House of Representatives

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 Judicial Branch
Judiciary:
• Supreme Court
• Lower Court

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 The Philippine
Constitution
The constitution also
established three
independent Constitutional
Commissions, namely:

1. Civil Service Commission

2. Commission on Elections
3. Commission on Audit
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 The Philippine
Constitution
Ombudsman
Created to investigate
complaints of corruption,
unlawful behavior of public
officials, and other public
misconduct.

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 The Philippine
Constitution
Sandiganbayan
A special court created for
trials and decision on criminal
and civil cases against
government officials and
employees accused of graft
and corruption and similar
other offenses.

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 Attempts to Amend
or Change the 1987
Constitution
1995 – Jose Almonte
1997 – Group called PIRMA
…
Joseph Ejercito Estrada
Gloria Macapagal Aroyo
Benigno Aquino III
Rodrigo Duterte

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 DO YOU
AGREE WITH
CHARTER
CHANGE?
WHY AND
WHY NOT?

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 Reference

Candelaria, J.P. et. al., (2021). A Course Module for

Readings in Philippine History. Manila: REX Bookstore, pp.
218-231

Presentation title 20XX 63

 Thank you

Presentation title 20XX 64