SOc 217 Week 13

The Philippine Constitution
(1935,1973 and 1897 Constitution)
Philippine Taxation
CONSTITUTION
• “The body of those written or
IS DEFINED AS: unwritten fundamental laws
which regulate the most
important rights of the higher
magistrates and the most
important essential privileges
of the subjects."
To state how your association is to be
structured
WHY DO WE
NEED To detail the safeguards needed to
ensure that it operates fairly on behalf
CONSITUTIO of the whole community
N?
As a basic requirement to apply for
funding
Brief- because if a constitution is too detailed, it
would lose the advantage of a fundamental law.
Requisites of a Broad- because a statement of the powers and

good written functions of government and of the relations
between the governing body and the governed,
constitution: requires that it be as comprehensive as possible.
Definite- because otherwise the application of its

provisions to concrete situations may prove
unduly difficult if not possible.
CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF
THE PHILIPPINES
The 1935 Constitution
• (1) Framing and ratification. -Briefly stated, the steps which led to the drafting and
adoption of the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines are as follows:
• (a) Approval on March 24, 1934 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the Tydings-
McDuffie Law, otherwise known as the Philippine Inde pendence Act, enacted by the
United States Congress, authorizing the Philippine Legislature to call a constitutional
convention to draft a constitution for the Philippines:
• (b) Approval on May 5, 1934 by the Philippine Legislature of a bill calling a
constitutional convention as provided for in the Independence Law;
• (c) Approval on February 8, 1935 by the convention by a vote of 177 to 1 of the
Constitution the signing began on the following day and was completed on February
19, 1935);
• (d) Approval on March 23, 1935 by Pres. Roosevelt of the Constitution as submitted
to him, together with a certification that the said Constitution conformed with the
provisions of the Independence Law;
• (e) Ratification on May 14, 1935 of the Constitution by the Filipino electorate by a
vote of 1,213,046, with 44,963 against.
• (2) Limitations and conditions.
• While the Tydings-McDuffie Law empowered the Filipinos to frame their own
constitution, it contained, however provisions limiting such authority, Aside from
other specific limitations and conditions laid down therein, it enjoined that the
constitution to be drafted should be republican in form, should include a bill of
rights, and should contain certain provisions intended to define the relations
between the Philippines and the United States during the commonwealth period and
after the establishment of the Philippine Republic. The 1938 Constitution ceased to
operate during the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1944. It automatically became
effective upon the reestablishment of the Commonwealth Government on February
27, 1945 (supra.) and the inauguration of the Republic of the Philippines on July 4,
1946
• (3) Sources
• The 1935 Constitution of the Philippines did not contain original ideas of
government. While the dominating influence was the Constitution of the
United States, other sources were also consulted by the framers,
particularly the Malolos Constitution and the three organic laws that
were enforced in the Philippines before the passage of the Tydings-
MeDute Law, namely: the Instruction of Pres. William McKinley to the
Second Philippine Commission on April 7, 1900; the Philippine Bill of July
1, 1902, and the Jones Law of August 26, 1916 which, of the three men
tioned, was the nearest approach to a written constitution
• (4) Scope
• The Constitution as approved by the 1935 Constitutional Convention was
intended both for the Commonwealth and the Republic Thus, Article XVII
(which later became Article XVIII after the Constitution was amended)
declares "The government established by this Constitution shall be
known as the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Upon the final and
complete withdrawal of the sovereignty of the United States and the
proclamation of Philippine Independence, the Commonwealth of the
Philippines shall henceforth be known as the Republic of the Philippines.
• (5) Amendments -
• The 1935 Constitution had been amended three times. Among the amendments
are that establishing a bicameral legislature; that allowing the religibility of the
President and the Vice-President for a second four year term of office; that
creating a separate Commission on Elections, and the so-called Parity Amendment
which gave to American citizens equal right with the Filipinos in the exploitation of
our natural resources and the operation of public utilities
• Concerning women suffrage, this issue was settled in a plebiscite held on April 30,
1937, when 447.725 women reportedly voted yes and 44,307 women voted no In
compliance with the 1935 Constitution (Art V. See 1 thereof), the National
Assembly passed a law which extended right of suffrage to women
• (1) Framing - The experience of more than three decades as a sover eign nation lund
revealed flaws and inadequacies in the 1935 Constitution.
• (a) Taking into account the "felt necessities of the times, particularly the new and
grave problems arising from an ever increasing population, urgently pressing for
solution, Congress in joint session on March 16, 1967, passed Resolution of Both
Houses No. 2 (as amended by Resolution No. 4, passed on June 17, 1969),
authorizing the holding of a constitutional convention in 1971.
• (b) On August 24, 1970, Republic Act No. 6132 was approved setting November 10,
1970, as election day for 320 delegates to the Consti tutional Convention.
• The convention started its work of rewriting the Constitution on June 1, 1971. The 1935
Constitution, with reference to the Malolos Constitution, was made the basis for the
drafting of amend. ments to the new Constitution. The proposed Constitution was
signed on November 30, 1972.
• (2) Approval by Citizens Assemblies. -- Earlier on September 21, 1972, the President of the
Philippines issued Proclamation No. 1081 placing the entire country under martial law.
• (a) "To broaden the base of citizens' participation in the democratic process, and to afford
ample opportunities for the citizenry to express their views on important matters of local or
national concern," Presi dential Decree No. 86 was issued on December 31, 1972 creating a
Citizens Assembly in each barrio in municipalities and in each district in chartered cities
throughout the country. Subsequently, Presidential Decree No. 86-A was issued on January 5,
1973 defining the role of barangays (formerly Citizens' Assemblies).
• (b) Under the same decree, the barangays were to conduct a refer endum on national
issues between January 10 and 15, 1973. Pursuant to Presidental Decree No. 86-A, the
following questions were submitted before the Citizens' Assemblies or Barangays:
• 1) "Do you approve of the New Constitution?", and
• 2) "Do you still want a plebiscite to be called to ratify the new Constitution?"
• (2) Ratification by Presidential proclamation
• According to Proclamation No. 1102 issued on January 17, 1973, 14,976,561
members of all the Barangays (Citizens' Assemblies) voted for the adoption of the
proposed Constitution, as against 743,869 who voted for its rejection. On the ques
tion as to whether or not the people would still like a plebiscite to be called to ratify
the new Constitution, 14,298,814 answered that there was no need for a plebiscite.
• On the basis of the above results purportedly showing that more than 95% of the
members of the Barangays Citizens Assemblies) were in favor of the new
Constitution and upon the allegedly "strong recommendation" of the Katipunan ng
mga Barangay, the President of the Philippines, through Proclamation No. 1102 on
January 17, 1973, certified and proclaimed that the Constitution proposed by the
1971 Constitutional Convention had been ratified by the Filipino people and had
thereby come into effect
• (3) Amendments
• The 1973 Constitution had been amended on four oceaniona. Among the
important amendments are that making the then incumbent President, the
regular President and regular Prime Minister, that granting concurrent law
making powers to the President which the latter exercised even after the
lifting of martial law in 1981; that establish ing a modified parliamentary
form of government, that permitting natural born citizens who have lost
their citizenship to be transferees of private land, for use by them as
residences that allowing the "grant" of lands of the public domain to
qualified citizens, and that providing for urban land reform and social
housing program.
• (1) Framing and ratification.

• The 1987 Constitution was drafted by a Constitutional Commission created
under Article V of Proclamation No 3 issued on March 25, 1986 which
promulgated the Provisional Constitution or "Freedom Constitution"
following the installation of a revolutionary government through a direct
exercine of the power of the Filipino people."w/ Pursuant to Proclamation
No 3, the President promulgated on April 23, 1986 Proclamation No. 9, the
"Law Governing the Constitu tional Commission of 1986," "to organize the
Constitutional Commis sion, to provide for the details of ita operation and
establish the proce dure for the ratification or rejection of the proposed
new Constitution"
• (a) Under the Proclamation, the Constitutional Communion "whall be composed of not
more than niny (50) national, regional, and sectoral representatives who whall be
appointed by the Prenident." As consti tuted, the Commission was composed only of
forty-eight (48) members forty two (42) men and wix (6) women, with a
preponderance of lawyers - because of the withdrawal of an opposition appointee and
non acceptance by the Iglesia ni Kristo of the President's offer to Submit a nominee.
• (b) The Constitutional Commission, which marked the fourth exer cise in the writing of
a basic charter in Philippine history since the Malolos Constitution at the turn of the
century, convened on June 2 1986 at the Batasang Pambansa Building in Diliman,
Quezon City With the Malolos Constitution of 1898, the 1935 Constitution, and the
1973 Constitution as working drafts," the Commission in addition to committee
discussions, public hearings, and plenary sessions, conducted public consultations in
different parts of the country.
• (c) The proposed new Constitution was approved by the Constitutional Commission on
the night of Sunday, October 12, 1986, culminating 133 days of work, by a vote of 44-2.
A Commissioner signed subsequently by affixing his thumbmark at his sickbed on
October 14, 1986 so that he actually voted in favor of the draft. Another Commissioner
had resigned earlier. The two Commissioners who dissented also signed to express their
dissent and to symbolize their four (4) months of participation in drawing up the new
Constitution."
• (d) The Constitutional Commission held its final session in the morning of October 15,
1986 to sign the 109-page draft consisting of a preamble, 18 Articles, 321 Sections and
about 2,000 words – after which, on the same day, it presented to the President the
original copies in English and Filipino. It was ratified the people in the plebiscite held on
February 2, 1987" It superseded the Provisional Constitution which had abrogated the
1973 Charter.
• (2) Merits and demerits of an appointive framing body -- Admittedly,

there were some merits or advantages in delegating the drawing up of
the new charter to an appointed Constitutional Commission rather than
to an elected Constitutional Convention. For one, the Constitutional
Commis sion was not expensive and time-consuming, as was our
experience with the 1971 Constitutional Convention and it was thus
practical because the country could not then afford the cost of electing
delegates because of lack of funds, and time was of the essence in view
of the instability inherent in a revolutionary government and the need
to accelerate the restoration to full constitutional democracy,
• However, the strongest and most fundamental argument propounded

against this method is that an appointive body is susceptible to the
charge of lack of independence and the suspicion of pressure and
even manipule tion by the appointing power. The writing of a
Constitution as the highest expression of the people's "ideals and
aspirations" to serve the country for generations to come is a political
exercise of transcendental importance in a republican democracy and,
therefore, only those directly elected and empowered by the people
must be entrusted with the task to discharge this grave and solemn
responsibility.
• (2) Need to cure defect in the Constitution.
• To have a truly demo cratic and constitutional government, it is absolutely
necessary that the Constitution be initially drafted by duly elected
members of a representa tive constituent assembly or convention and
later on approved by the people in a plebiscite. Some see the need to
straighten out the present Constitution which was drafted by non-elective
commissioners and ratified under the authority of a revolutionary
government. The theory is posited that having it amended by elected
delegates and having constitutional amendments ratified under the
democratic government, we will have now cured any defect in its
formulation and ratification.

SOc 217 Week 13

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SOc 217 Week 13

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The Philippine Constitution

(1935,1973 and 1897 Constitution)

Requisites of a Broad- because a statement of the powers and

Definite- because otherwise the application of its

• (1) Framing and ratification.

• (2) Merits and demerits of an appointive framing body -- Admittedly,

• However, the strongest and most fundamental argument propounded

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