Evolution of

the
Philippine
Constitution
 Constitution
– Defined as a set of fundamental principles or
established precedents according to which a
state or other organization is governed, thus,
the word itself mean to be a part of a whole,
the coming together of distinct entities into one
group, with the same principles and ideals.
1897: CONSTITUTION OF
BIAK-NA-BATO

Was a provisionary Constitution of the

Philippine Republic during the Philippine
Revolution and was promulgated by the
Philippine Revolutionary Government on
November 1, 1897. The constitution was
borrowed from Cuba and was written by
Isabello Artacho and Felix Ferrer in Spanish
and later on translated into Tagalog.
Organs of the Government
4 department:
1. Interior
Head 2. Foreign affairs
1. Supreme Council 3. Treasury
(President)
4. war

2. Consejo Supremo de 1. The authority to make decision and

Gracia Y Justicia affirm or disapproved sentence by other
( Supreme Council of courts
Grace and justice 2. Dictates rules for administrative justice

3. Asemblea
Representantes 1. To create new constitution
(Assembly of 2. To new elect new council or
Representatives) representative of people
The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato
was never fully implemented,
since a truce, the Pact of Biak-
na-Bato was signed between
the Spanish and the Philippine
Revolutionary Army.
Primary Source: Preamble of the
Biak-na-Bato Constitution

What is Preamble? It is an
introductory statement that sets
forth the purpose and guiding
principles of a document, serving
as a foundation for the legal and
political framework it establishes.
Primary Source: Preamble of the
Biak-na-Bato Constitution
The separation of the Philippines from Spanish monarchy
and their formation in to an Independent State with its
own government called the Philippine Republic has been
the end sought by the revolution in the existing war, Begun
on the 24th of August 1896; and therefore, its name and
by the power delegated by the Filipino people, interpreting
faithfully their desires and ambitions, we the
representatives of the revolution, in a meeting at the Biak-
na-Bato, November 1,1897, unanimously adopted the
following articles for the constitutions of the state.
1899: Malolos Constitution
– Upon the defeat of the Spanish to the Americans in
the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, the United
States Navy transported Aguinaldo back to the
Philippines.
– The newly reformed Philippine revolutionary forces
reverted to the control of Aguinaldo, and the
Philippine declaration of Independence was issued
on June 12 1898, together with several decrees that
form the First Philippine Republic.
1899: Malolos Constitution
The Malolos Congress was elected, with selected a
commission to draw up a draft constitution on September
17 1898 which was composed of wealthy and educated
men Including a Apolinario Mabini, Felipe Calderon, and
Pedro Paterno.
The document they came up with approved by the
congress on November 29, 1898 and promulgated by
President Emilio Aguinaldo on January 21, 1899, was titled
the "Political Constitution of 1899" and written in Spanish.
1899: Malolos Constitution
The constitution has 39 articles divided into
14 titles,with 8 articles of transitory
provisions and final additional article.
The document was patterned after the
Spanish constitution of 1812, with influences
from the charters of Belgium Mexico Brazil,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Guatemala, and
the French Constitution of 1793.
1899: Malolos Constitution

According to Felipe Calderon main

author of the constitution, these
countries were studied because
they shared similar social, political,
ethnological, and governance
conditions with the Philippines.
1899: Malolos Constitution
Prior Constitutional projects in the Philippines also
influenced the Malolos Constitution namely:
✓Kartilya and the Sangunian-Hukuman - The charter of laws
and morals of the katipunan written by Emilio Jacinto in
1896.
✓Biak-na-Bato Constitution in 1897 - planned by Isabello
Artacho.
✓Mabini's Constitutional Program of the Philippine Republic
of 1898.
✓Provisional Constitution of Mariano Ponce in 1898 - that
followed the Spanish constitutions.
Preamble

We, the Representatives of the Filipino

people, lawfully covened, in order to
establish justice, provide for common
defense, promote the general welfare, and
insure the benefits of liberty, imploring the
aid of the Sovereign Legislator of the
Universe for the attainment of these ends,
have voted, decreed, and sanctioned the
following Political constitution
1899 Constitution: (Malolos Constitution)

– Title IV- natural rights and popular sovereignty of Filipinos

– Title III, Article V- declares that the State recognizes the freedom
and equality of all beliefs, as well as the separation of the
Church and State
– Title II, Article IV- The form of government (the three distinct
powers)
– Legislative
– Executive
– Judicial
1899 Constitution: (Malolos Constitution)

– LEGISLATIVE
– Unicameral body (Assembly of Representative)
– Members were elected in four years
– Secretaries of the government were given seat in the assembly
– Bills were introduced by member of legislative or by the president
– They are given rights to select their own officers
– Right of impeaching the president, cabinet members, chief justice of
supreme court and solicitor-general
1899 Constitution: (Malolos Constitution)

– Executive
– Vested in the president
– Elected by constituent assembly (assembly of the
representative)
– Four years term without re-election
– No vice president
– In case of vacancy, a president was to be selected by the
constituent assembly.
1899 Constitution: (Malolos Constitution)

The 1899 Malolos Constitution was never

enforced due to the ongoing war. The
Philippinew was effectively a territory of the
United Sates upon signing the TREATY OF PARIS
between Spain and the United States,
transferring sovereignty of the Philippines on 10
December 1898.
1935 Constitution: (Commonwealth
Constitution)

• Philippine was subject to United States Of

America
• It was placed from Military to Civil government
• Two Act of the United States Congress were
passed that may be considered to have
qualities of constitutionality.
1935 Constitution:
(CommonwealthConstitution)

1. Philippine Organic Act of 1902

a. The first organic law for the Philippines Island
b. It provide the creation of the a popularly
elected Philippine Assembly.
c. Legislative power would be vested in
bicameral legislature (upper house & lower
house)
1935 Constitution:
(CommonwealthConstitution)

d. Key provisions
 Bill of rights
Appointment of two non-voting Filipino
Resident Commissioner of the Philippines
( Representative to US congress)
1935 Constitution:
(Commonwealth Constitution)

2. Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916 (Jones Law)

a. Removal of Philippine Commission (replacing by
Senate)
b. It was an act that declare the the purpose of the
United States or end their sovereignty over the
Philippines
c. It recognize Philippine independence as soon as a
stable government can be established.
1935 Constitution:
(Commonwealth Constitution)

3. Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act of 1932

a. It is the promise of granting Filipinos
independence
b. Led by Sergio Osmena and Manuel Roxas (Filipino
Independence Mission)
c. Rejected by Senate President Manuel L. Quezon
1935 Constitution:
(CommonwealthConstitution)

4. Tydings-Mcduffie Act of 1934

a. Also known as the Philippine Independence Act
b. It provide authority and defined mechanisms for the
establishment of a formal constitution by a constitutional
convention.
c. First meeting was held on July 30, 1924
d. Claro M. Recto was unanimously elected as a president
Preamble

The Filipino people, imploring the aid of

Divine Providence, in order to establish a
government that shall embody their ideals,
conserve and develop the patrimony of the
nation, promote the general welfare, and
secure to themselves and their posterity the
blessings of independence under a regime
of justice, liberty, and democracy, do ordain
and promulgate this Constitution.
1935 Constitution: (Commonwealth
Constitution)

 The constitution created the Commonwealth of the

Philippines from 1935-1946
It is a transitional administration to prepare the
country towards its full achievement of
independence.
It was originally provided for a unicameral National
Assembly
1935 Constitution: (Commonwealth
Constitution)

President and Vice President- 6-year term without

re-lection
Amended in 1940
 Bicameral Congress (Senate and House of
representative)
 President and Vice President- 4 years with one re-
election
 Right to vote for women
1935 Constitution: (Commonwealth
Constitution)
Influences of the Constitution
American
Malolos Constitution
German
Spanish
Mexican Constitution
South American countries
Unwritten English Constitution
1935 Constitution: (Commonwealth
Constitution)

February 8, 1935- The draft of the

constitution was approved by the
constitutional convention
March 25, 1935- Ratified by the U.S President
Franklin B. Roosevelt
September 1935- Manuel L. Quezon was
elected as President of the Commonwealth
1935 Constitution: (Commonwealth
Constitution)

The commonwealth was briefly

interrupted by the evens of the World
War II, with the Japanese occupying the
Philippines. Afterwards, upon liberation,
the Philippines was declared an
independent Republic on July 4, 1946.