The Uses and Senses of the Word

“PEOPLE” in the 1987 Constitution

Reporters:
Leonardo, Julian
Rulona, Jaycebel
Tonido, Sheila May E.
The word “people” is used in 31 provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

Part/Section Provision Use/Sense

Preamble We, the sovereign Filipino Electorate

people, imploring the aid of
Almighty God, in order to The Preamble attributes the
build a just and humane authorship of the Constitution
society and establish a to the sovereign Filipino
Government that shall people.
embody our ideals and
aspirations, promote the
common good, conserve and
develop our patrimony, and
secure to ourselves and our
posterity the blessings of
independence and
democracy under the rule of
law and a regime of truth,
justice, freedom, love,
equality, and peace, do
ordain and promulgate this
Constitution.

Article II, Section 1 The Philippines is a Electorate

democratic and republican
State. Sovereignty resides in People here refers to the
segment of political society
the people and all
wherein legal sovereignty lies
government authority or that segment which can
emanates from them. establish or alter the
fundamental law.

Article II, Section 3 Civilian authority is, at all Residents

times, supreme over the
military. The Armed Forces of
the Philippines is the
protector of the people and
the State. Its goal is to secure
the sovereignty of the State
and the integrity of the
national territory.
The provision sprung from
the desire to express the
disapproval of abuses
committed by the military
against the civilians during
the period of authoritarian
rule. The civilian authority
here refers not to the
supremacy of the civilian
officers who are in power but
of the supremacy of the

Article II, Section 4 The prime duty of the
Government is to serve and
protect the people. The
Government may call upon
the people to defend the
State and, in the fulfillment
thereof, all citizens may be
required, under conditions
provided by law, to render
personal military or civil
service.
Article II, Section 5 The maintenance of peace
and order, the protection of
life, liberty, and property, and
the promotion of the general
welfare are essential for the
enjoyment by all the people
of the blessings
democracy.
Article II, Section 9 The State shall promote a
just and dynamic social order
that will ensure the prosperity
and independence of the
nation and free the people
from poverty through policies
that provide adequate social
services, promote full
sovereign people.
First, Residents/Citizens
Pursuant to the case of
Saguisag v. Ochoa, the duty
to protect the State and its
people must be carried out
earnestly and effectively
throughout the whole territory
of the Philippines in
accordance with the
constitutional provision on
national territory. Hence, this
should include not only
Filipino citizens, but also
foreign inhabitants of the
State.
Second, Citizens
EO 264 promulgated on July
25, 1987 provides for the
Citizen Armed Force which is
composed of all reservists,
and officers and enlisted men
on inactive status. Reservists
comprise all able-bodied
citizens with appropriate
ranks.
Residents
The provision recognizes a
hierarchy of rights: life, liberty
and then property. Moreover,
those who are supposed to
of enforce the law are not
justified in disregarding the
rights of the individual in the
name of order. (People v.
Quiambao y Parco)
Residents
The prime concern of the
State is to promote and
establish a socio-political and
economic system that
ensures the nation’s
independence and
 employment, a rising guarantees basic human
standard of living, and an rights of every individual
improved quality of life for all. particularly in employment
and standard of living.

Article II, Section 15 The State shall protect and Residents

promote the right to health of
the people and instill health
consciousness among them.
Health is a fundamental
human right indispensable for
the exercise of other human
rights. Every human being is
entitled to the enjoyment of
the highest attainable
standard of health conducive
to living a life in dignity.

Article II, Section 16 The State shall protect and
advance the right of the
people to a balanced and
healthful ecology in accord
with the rhythm and harmony
of nature.
Citizens including the
generations yet unborn
In Oposa vs. Factoran, the
Court declares the provision
as self-executing and the
right granted herein carries
with it the correlative duty to
refrain from impairing the
environment. The court also
recognizes the legal standing
of the minors and their right
to a sound environment
constitutes an obligation to
ensure the protection of such
right for the future generation.

Article III, Section 2 The right of the people to be Residents

secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects The inviolability of the home
against unreasonable is one of the most
searches and seizures of fundamental of all the
whatever nature and for any individual rights declared and
purpose shall be inviolable…. recognized in the political
codes of civilized nations. No
one can enter into the home
of another without the
consent of its owners or
occupants.

Article III, Section 4 No law shall be passed Residents/Citizens

abridging the freedom of
speech, of expression, or of This provision pertains to the
the press, or the right of the right of people to peaceably
 people peaceably to assemble in order to petition
assemble and petition the the government. The same
government for redress of right is a
grievances.
Article III, Section 7 The right of the people to
information on matters of
public concern shall be
recognized. Access to official
records, and to documents,
and papers pertaining to
official acts, transactions, or
decisions, as well as to
government research data
used as basis for policy
development, shall be
afforded the citizen, subject
to such limitations as may be
provided by law.
Article III, Section 8 The right of the people,
including those employed in
the public and private
sectors, to form unions,
associations, or societies for
purposes not contrary to law
shall not be abridged.
Article VI, Section 1 The legislative power shall be
vested in the Congress of the
Philippines which shall
consist of a Senate and a
House of Representatives,
except to the extent reserved
to the people by the
provision on initiative and
referendum.
Citizens
The original draft of this
provision presented to the
1971 Constitutional
Convention simply said that
access to official records and
the right to information "shall
be afforded the citizens as
may be provided by law."
Residents
The instinct to organize is a
very basic human drive. The
provisions also recognized
the right as belonging to
those employed regardless of
their employer. Even aliens
are permitted to join or assist
in labor organizations subject
to the requirements of the
Labor Code.
Electorate
In accordance with Article 6,
Section 1 through Section 32,
the people have, in addition
to their constituent power,
reserved for themselves
ordinary legislative power in
the form of initiative and
referendum. The purpose of
this is to institutionalize
people power by providing for
an instrument which can be
used should the legislature
show itself indifferent to the
 needs of the people.

Article VI, Section 32 The Congress shall, as early Electorate

as possible, provide for a
system of initiative and Pursuant to Republic Act No.
referendum, and the 6735, specifically, Section 4
exceptions therefrom, thereof, it was stated therein
whereby the people can that “The power of initiative
directly propose and enact and referendum may be
laws or approve or reject any exercised by all registered
act or law or part thereof voters of the country,
passed by the Congress or autonomous regions,
local legislative body after the provinces, cities, and
registration of a petition municipalities and
therefor signed by at least ten barangays.”
per centum of the total
number of registered voters,
of which every legislative
district must be represented
by at least three per centum
of the registered voters
thereof.

Article VII, Section 4 The President and the Vice- Electorate

President shall be elected by
direct vote of the people for a
term of six years which shall
begin at noon on the thirtieth
day of June next following the
day of the election and shall
end at noon of the same date
six years thereafter....
In construing the aforestated
provision on its face, the
“direct vote of the people”
referred herein would pertain
to those who are capacitated
to vote, whose right to
suffrage is enunciated under
Article 5 of the Constitution.

Article IX-C, Section 6 A free and open party system Electorate

shall be allowed to evolve
according to the free choice In Ang Bagong Bayani-OFW
of the people, subject to the Labor Party v. COMELEC
provisions of this Article. (359 SCRA 698), neither
textual nor historical
consideration yields support
for the view that the party-list
system is designed
exclusively for certain
sectors. Further,
Commissioner Ople stated
that “it is understood that the
parties will enter in the roll of
the COMELEC the names of

Article X, Section 20 Within its territorial jurisdiction
and subject to the provisions
of this Constitution and
national laws, the organic act
of autonomous regions shall
provide for legislative powers
over: … (9) Such other
matters as may be authorized
by law for the promotion of
the general welfare of the
people of the region.
Article XI, Section 1 Public office is a public trust.
Public officers and
employees must at all times
be accountable to the
people, serve them with
utmost responsibility,
integrity, loyalty, and
efficiency, act with patriotism
and justice, and lead modest
lives.
Article XI, Section 12 The Ombudsman and his
Deputies, as protectors of the
people, shall act promptly on
complaints filed in any form
or manner against public
officials or employees of the
Government, or any
subdivision, agency or
instrumentality thereof,
representatives of mass
organizations affiliated with
them.”
Residents of ARMM
Pursuant to Republic Act No.
6734, Section 4, the purpose
of the said law is to establish
the Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao, to provide
its basic structure of
government within the
framework of the Constitution
and national sovereignty and
the territorial integrity of the
Republic of the Philippines,
and to ensure the peace and
equality before the law of all
people in the Autonomous
Region.
Residents/Citizens
As explained in the case of
Cornejo v. Gabriel, the basic
idea of government in the
Philippines is that of a
representative government,
the officers being mere
agents and not rulers of the
people, one where no one
man or set of men has a
proprietary or contractual
right to an office, but where
every officer accepts office
pursuant to the provisions of
law and holds the office as a
trust of the people whom he
represents.
Residents
Republic Act No. 6770,
Section 13, states that the
Ombudsman and his
Deputies, as protectors of the
people, shall act promptly on
complaints filed in any form
or manner against officers or
 including government-owned employees of the
or controlled corporations, Government, or of any
and shall, in appropriate subdivision, agency or
cases, notify the instrumentality thereof,
complainants of the action including GOCCs, and
taken and the result thereof. enforce their administrative,
civil and criminal liability in
every case where the
evidence warrants in order to
promote efficient service by
the Government to the
people.

Article XII, Section 1 The goals of the national Residents/Citizens

economy are a more
equitable distribution of The reference to the national
opportunities, income, and product being for the benefit
wealth; a sustained increase of the Filipino people
in the amount of goods and guarantees that the national
services produced by the development efforts shall
nation for the benefit of the prioritize the needs of the
people; and an expanding local population rather than
productivity as the key to its foreign consumers.
raising the quality of life for
all, especially the
underprivileged.

Article XIII, Section 1 The Congress shall give Residents/Citizens

highest priority to the
enactment of measures that This can be correlated to
protect and enhance the right Article 2, Section 10 of the
of all the people to human Constitution, where it was
dignity, reduce social, stated therein that social
economic, and political justice in the Constitution is
inequalities, and remove principally the embodiment of
cultural inequities by the principle that those who
equitably diffusing wealth and have less in life should have
political power for the more in law. It commands a
common good. legal bias in favor of those
who are underprivileged.

Article XIII, Section 11 The State shall adopt an Citizens

integrated and
comprehensive approach to Pursuant to the Universal
health development which Health Care Act, all Filipino
shall endeavor to make citizens are automatically
essential goods, health and included in the National
other social services Health Insurance Program,
available to all the people at and every Filipino shall be
affordable cost. granted immediate eligibility
 and access to preventive,
promotive, curative,
rehabilitative, and palliative
care of medical, dental,
mental, and emergency
health services, deliver as
population-based or
individual-based health
services. Further,
comprehensiveness includes
health promotion, disease
prevention, education, and
planning, all of which are a
recognition of the people’s
right to health.

Article XIII, Section 15 The State shall respect the Citizens

role of independent people’s
organizations to enable the As explained by Bernas, this
people to pursue and protect, provision pertains to
within the democratic independent people’s
framework, their legitimate organizations which are not
and collective interests and controlled by manipulative
aspirations through peaceful forces in or out of
and lawful means. People’s government. But, if one must
organizations are bona fide speak of rights, in the case of
associations of citizens with organizations which are not
demonstrated capacity to juridical persons, the right
promote the public interest protected is that of individual
and with identifiable members, because only
leadership, membership, and persons can be subject of
structure. rights.

Article XIII, Section 16 The right of the people and Citizens

their organizations to
effective and reasonable
participation at all levels of
social, political, and economic
decision-making shall not be
abridged. The State shall, by
law, facilitate the
establishment of adequate
consultation mechanisms.
In a similar vein to the
abovementioned provision,
article 16 also serves to
strongly urge the people to
act jointly, and to
associations to act with
independence and not to
allow themselves to be
instrumentalized by the State.

Article XIV, Section 2 The State shall: (1) Establish, Citizens

maintain, and support a
complete, adequate, and Pursuant to CHILDREN OF
integrated system of THEMIS Lawyers and the
education relevant to the Academe (904 SCRA 603),
 needs of the people and the kind of education
society;… envisioned in the Constitution
is quality education, a
complete, adequate, and
integrated system of
education relevant to the
needs of the people and
society, and the State must
ensure that all citizens can
access this envisioned
system of education.

Article XIV, Section 13 The State shall protect and Citizens

secure the exclusive rights of
scientists, inventors, artists,
and other gifted citizens to
their intellectual property and
creations, particularly when
beneficial to the people, for
such period as may be
provided by law.
According to the Overview of
Intellectual Property
Protection of the Philippines
(592 SCRA 822), the
provision at bar is deemed
important because it directly
spells out the policy towards
intellectual property
development and protection.
Here, the State recognizes
intellectual property as an
essential ingredient to
national development and
progress considering that the
world today is technology-
driven. However, the focus
herein only pertains to
science and technology.

Article XVI, Section 1 The flag of the Philippines Citizens

shall be red, white, and blue,
with a sun and three stars, as
consecrated and honored by
the people and recognized
by law.
The 1987 Constitution has
left untouched the flag that
has been consecrated and
honored by the Filipino
people since it was designed.
The eight rays represent the
eight provinces that were the
first to rise against Spain. The
three stars represent Luzon,
Visayas, and Mindanao.

Article XVI, Section 2 The Congress may, by law, First, Citizens

adopt a new name for the
country, a national anthem, or The national anthem or
a national seal, which shall all national seal should be the
 be truly reflective and
symbolic of the ideals,
history, and traditions of the
people. Such law shall take
effect only upon its ratification
by the people in a national
referendum.
Article XVI, Section 5 (1) All members of the armed
forces shall take an oath or
affirmation to uphold and
defend this Constitution. (2)
The State shall strengthen
the patriotic spirit and
nationalist consciousness of
the military, and respect for
people’s rights in the
performance of their duty…
Article XVII, Section 2 Amendments to this
Constitution may likewise be
directly proposed by the
people through initiative
upon a petition of at least
twelve per centum of the total
number of registered voters,
of which every legislative
district must be represented
by at least three per centum
of the registered voters
therein.
Article XVII, Section 25 After the expiration in 1991 of
the Agreement between the
Republic of the Philippines
and the United States of
America concerning Military
Bases, foreign military bases,
troops, or facilities shall not
be allowed in the Philippines
except under a treaty duly
reflection of the ideals,
history, and traditions of all
Filipino citizens, and not
merely those who are entitled
to vote.
Second, Electorate
The Constitution has given to
Congress the authority to
change the name of the
country, its national anthem
and seal, but the change only
takes effect when ratified by
the people in a national
referendum.
Residents
It is to be expected from the
members of the Armed
Forced to be imbued not only
with a patriotic and
nationalistic spirit but also
with deep respect for the
rights of the people.
Electorate
Section 4 of RA No. 6735 or
The Initiative and
Referendum Act states that
the power of initiative and
referendum may be exercised
by all registered voters of the
country, autonomous regions,
provinces, cities,
municipalities and barangays.
Electorate
The provision itself provides
that any treaty pertaining to
the establishment of foreign
military bases must be ratified
by majority of the registered
voters in a national
referendum held for that
concurred in by the Senate purpose.
and, when the Congress so
requires, ratified by a majority
of the votes cast by the
people in a national
referendum held for that
purpose, and recognized as a
treaty by the other contracting
State.