that body of rules and principles in

accordance with which powers of

sovereignty are regularly exercised
Covers both written and unwritten
constitutions
Constitution of the Philippines written
instrument by which the fundamental
powers of the government are established,
limited and defined and by which these
powers are distributed among several
departments or branches for their safe and
useful exercise for the benefit of the people
 Speaks for the entire people
Binding on all individuals
All other laws must conform
Test of the legality of all governmental
actions
 Prescribe the permanent framework
Assign to the different departments their
powers and duties
Establish basic principles on which the
government is founded.
Primarily designed to preserve and protect
the rights of individuals against the
arbitrary actions of those in authority
Sets limits on the otherwise unlimited
powers of the legislature
 Distributing powers to branches of
government.
Enumerating state policies and
principles.
Specifying individual rights and
freedoms.
 May be defined as that branch of
public law which treats of
constitutions, their nature, formation,
amendment and interpretation.
Includes the Supreme Court decisions
 As to their origin and history
Conventional / Enacted
Cumulative or evolved
As to their form
Written
Unwritten
As to the manner of amending them
Rigid
Flexible
 Clear and definite Difficulty in
Stable and free from amending it
all dangers of
temporary popular
passion
 As to form
Brief
Broad
Definite
As to contents
Constitution of government
Framework of government and its powers and defining
the electorate
Constitution of liberty
Fundamental rights of the people; limitations of
government
Constitution of sovereignty
Mode or procedure for amending or revising the
constitution
 Legislation direct Legislation from
from the people peoples
States the general representatives
framework of the law Provides the details
and government
Intended to meet
Intended to meet existing conditions
existing and future
Conforms to the
Supreme or constitution
fundamental law of
the State
 Orthodox View or Non Conferring
Right Rule
An unconstitutional act is not a law
Inoperative and considered never to have
existed at all.
Modern View or Operative Fact
Doctrine
Simply refuses to recognize the law
Prospective rather than retroactive
 PHILIPPINE Approval by the Philippine
INDEPENDENCE ACT Legislature
(enacted by the US
Congress calling for a
constitutional
convention

Approval by the Convention 177 to 1

Ratification
1,213,046 against
44,963 Approval by Pres. Roosevelt
 Limitations and Conditions
Republican in form
Should include the bill of rights
Should contain certain provisions intended to define
Philippine US relations during the Commonwealth
and the Republic
Sources
Constitution of the US, Malolos Constitution,
McKinley Instruction to the 2nd Philippine
Commission, Philippine Bill, Jones Law
 Scope Commonwealth and the Republic
Amendments: 3 times
Bicameral
Reeligibility of the President and Vice President for
a second four year term of office.
Creating a separate Commission on Elections
Parity Amendment gave the Americans equal right
with the Filipinos in the exploitation of the natural
resources and the operation of public utilities.
Women suffrage was settled in a plebiscite
 Congress in joint
session passed Approval by the Philippine
Resolution of Both Legislature
Houses authorizing
the holding of a
Constitutional
Convention in 1971
Proclamation 1081

Election day for the

delegates to the
Constitutional Constitutional Convention
Convention
 Amendments 4 times
Making the then incumbent President, the regular
President and regular Prime Minister.
Granting concurrent law making powers to the
President
Establishing a modified parliamentary form of
government.
Permitting natural born citizens who have lost their
citizenship to be transferees of private land for use
by them as residence.
Allowing the grant of lands of the public domain
to qualified citizens.
Providing for urban land reform and social housing
program
 Writing

CONSTITUTIONAL
COMMISSION created
under Article V of
Proclamation 3 Approval by the Constitutional
(50 national, Commission
regional and sectoral
representatives
appointed by the
President)
Actual = 48 (42+6)
Ratification
 More than 20M copies was saturated in the
Philippines

As early as June 1986, a lot of people of different

persuasions and from all walks of life analyze
proposals for possible inclusions

Con-Com Commissioners went around the country

for about three weeks to conduct and actively
participate in hundreds of workshops organized by
socio-civic and religious groups
 Opposing views and arguments were taken into
account by participants who voted freely on what
proposals to adopt and recommend

After the consultations, committee hearings was held

Representatives from multi-sectoral groups publicly

expressed their views and opinions on their
respective proposals

Committee reports were fully discussed in plenary

sessions of the 1986 constitutional commission
 After signing the final draft of the new charter, Con-
Com Commissioners had to once again roam around
the country to conduct an education campaign and to
exhort the people to ratify the new constitution

They spoke of the new charter in seminars,

convocation, radio and television programs and
rallies in different parts of the country

Everyday, newspapers, magazine and other

periodicals carried items pro and con on the draft of
constitution
 February 2, 1987
date of the plebiscite for the ratification
Casting of votes in favor of constitution
Will of the people still unknown
76.37% as against 22.65%

Canvassing was done to determine results of the

plebiscite
February 11, 1987
President Aquino proclaimed that the people
overwhelmingly ratified the constitution

Official date of effectivity: February 2, 1987

 Section 27 of Article XVIII on the Transitory
Provisions of the 1987 Constitution

this constitution shall take effect immediately

upon its ratification by a majority of the votes
casted in a plebiscite held for the purpose and
shall supersede all previous Constitutions
 Act of ratification
Act of voting of the people

Canvassing of votes and proclamation of the president are

just confirmation of the peoples ratification of the
constitution expressed on February 2, 1987
 Not expensive and An appointive body
time consuming is susceptible to the
charge of lack of
independence and
the suspicion of
pressure and even
manipulation by the
appointing power.
 Recognition of the aid of Almighty God
Sovereignty of the people
Renunciation of war as an instrument of
national policy
Supremacy of civilian authority over the
military
Separation of church and state
Recognition of the family as a basic social
institution and of the vital role of the youth in
nation building.
 Guarantee of human rights
Government through suffrage
Separation of powers
Independence of the judiciary
High sense of public service morality and
accountability of public officers.
Nationalization of natural resources and certain
private enterprises affected with public interest
Non suability of the state
Rule of the majority
Government of laws and not of men
 Majority vote
Senate President and the Speaker of the House
Grant of amnesty
Grant of tax exemptions
Tie of President and Vice President
Two thirds majority
Suspend or expel a member of either House
Declare the existence of war
Reconsider a bill vetoed by the President
Call a constitutional convention
Concur for a treaty or international agreement
 Three Fourths
Amendment of revision of the Constitution
Decisions of the Supreme Court en banc have
to be concurred to by a majority of the
members who actually took part in the
deliberation.
In many levels of the government, the rule of
majority is adopted.