THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE 

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

MEMBERSOF THE

CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSION[CON COM]

WHICH DRAFTED THE1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE PHILIPPINES

Cecilia Munoz PalmaPresident

Ambrosio B. Padilla Vice-President 

Napoleon G. Rama Floor Leader 

Ahmad Domocao AlontoAssistant Floor Leader 

Jose D. Calderon Assistant Floor Leader 

    

Yusuf R. Abubakar Felicitas S. Aquino Adolfo S. Azcuna 

Teodoro C. Bacani Jose F. S. Bengzon, Jr. Ponciano L. Bennagen 

Joaquin G. Bernas Florangel Rosario  Braid 

Crispino M. de Castro Jose C. Colayco 

Roberto R. Concepcion Hilario G. Davide, Jr. 

Vicente B. Foz                        Edmundo G. Garcia 

Jose Luis Martin C. Gascon Serafin V.C. Guingona 

Alberto M. K. Jamir Jose B. Laurel, Jr. Eulogio R. Lerum 

Regalado E. Maambong Christian S. Monsod Teodulo C. Natividad Ma. Teresa F. Nieva 

Jose N. Nolledo Blas F. Ople 

Minda Luz M. Quesada Florenz D. Regalado 

Rustico F. de los Reyes, Jr. Cirilo A. Rigos 

Francisco A. Rodrigo Ricardo J. Romulo 

Decoroso R. Rosales Rene V. Sarmiento 

Jose E. Suarez Lorenzo M. Sumulong 

Jaime S. L. Tadeo Christine O. Tan 

Gregorio J. Tingson Efrain B. TrenasLugum L. Uka 

Wilfrido V. Villacorta Bernardo M. Villegas 

Attested by : 

Flerida Ruth P. Romero Secretary-General

ConstitutionFor the full text, see Constitution or Constitution (Full Text).

While the Philippines was under Spanish rule for more than 300 years, the Spanish

Constitution of 1876 was never extended to the Philippines.[1] Spanish rule ended with the

conclusion of the Treaty of Parisbetween the United States and Spain on 10 December 1898.

On 22 January 1899, the Malolos Constitution of the Philippine Republic under General Emilio

Aguinaldo was adopted. The Malolos Constitution and government was short-lived as the

Americans took over the reigns of government.[2] With the Philippines under the American

regime, President McKinley issued Instructions to the Second Philippine Commission, the body

created to take over the civil government in the Philippines in 1900.[3] The Philippine Bill of

1902 and the Jones Law of 1916 was subsequently enacted by the US Congress. This was

followed by the Philippine Independence Law or Tydings-McDuffie Law of 1934 which

guaranteed independence to the Philippines and authorized the drafting of a Philippine

constitution. The Constitutional Convention then began working on the 1935 Constitution.[4] The 1935 Constitution was superseded by the 1973 Constitution which, in turn, was

superseded by the 1987 Constitution drafted by the 1986 Constitutional Commission.

Brief History of the 1987 Constitution

When the late Pres. Ferdinand E. Marcos was deposed, the next president, Pres. Corazon C.

Aquino, promulgated on 25 February 1986 a Provisional (Freedom) Constitution. Immediately

thereafter, Pres. Aquino created a Constitutional Commission to frame a new constitution, which

was ratified in a plebiscite on 2 February 1987. This is also the effectivity date of the

Constitution of the Philippines.

The 1987 Constitution

The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines is the fundamental law

establishing, defining and governing the Fourth Philippine Republic and its government. Ratified

in 1987, it was preceeded by the 1986 Freedom Constitution and the 1973 Constitution.

Contents

1 Overview

2 History

3 Preamble

4 The Constitution

5 Controversy

6 Proposed Amendments

7 References

8 Related Links

9 External links

10 Citation

[edit] Overview

The 1987 Constitution primarily returns the presidential form of government with a

bicameral Congress from the parliamentary form espoused by the 1973 Constitution, with the

inclusion of several check-and-balance mechanisms among the three branches of government:

judiciary, executive and legislative. These include allowing the president to proclaim martial law

or suspend the writ of habeas corpus, but the suspension may not exceed 60 days and can be

revoked by the a Congress majority. Meanwhile, the judiciary (via theJudicial and Bar Council)

needs to submit a list of nominees for the president to choose from when appointing members

of the Supreme Court as well as the lower courts.

The 1987 Constitution also created the two autonomous regions in the country—

the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Cordillera Administrative

Region(CAR)--as well as several government agencies such as the Commission on Human

Rights, the Judicial and Bar Council, and the Office of the Ombudsman. Filipino was declared

as the national language.

[edit] History

After Marcos' overthrow in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution, there was a need to

replace the 1973 Constitution which was in use during the dictatorship. President Corazon C.

Aquino then issued Proclamation No. 9 on 23 April 1986, ordering the formation of

a Constitutional Commission (ConCom). Chaired by Cecilia Munoz Palma, the ConCom

commenced work on 2 June 1986 at the Batasang Pambansa.

In the meantime, the Aquino administration used the 1986 Freedom Constitution, which was

actually a set of major amendments to the 1973 Constitution.

The new constitution was completed on 12 October 1986. The draft was presented to Aquino

three days later, marking the start of a massive nationwide information campaign. A plebiscite

for its ratification was held on 2 February 1987, with around 17 million voters in favor while only

5 million were against its ratification. The new constitution was then proclaimed as ratified and in

effect on 11 February 1987, with the government and the military pledging their allegiance.

However, the plebiscite date of 2 February 1987 is taken as the official date of ratification due to

the Supreme Court ruling in the De Leon vs. Esguerra (153 SCRA 602) case on the term of

several barangay officials in Brgy. Dolores, Taytay, Rizal. In the ruling, the Supreme Court took

the plebiscite date as the basis for ruling in favor of the petitioners.

[edit] Preamble

“We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and

humane society and establish a Government that shall 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.”

[edit] The Constitution

Preamble

Article I: National Territory

Article II: Declaration of Principles and State Policies

Article III: Bill of Rights

Article IV: Citizenship

Article V: Suffrage

Article VI: Legislative Department

Article VII: Executive Department

Article VIII: Judicial Department

Article IX: Constitutional Commissions

Article X: Local Government

Article XI: Accountability of Public Officers

Article XII: National Economy and Patrimony

Article XIII: Social Justice and Human Rights

Article XIV: Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture, and Sports

Article XV: The Family

Article XVI: General Provisions

Article XVII: Amendments or Revisions

Article XVIII: Transitory Provisions

[edit] Controversy

One criticism aimed at the 1987 Constitution is over the issue of clarity. Columnist Isagani

Cruz says that “it should be re-examined and rewritten to make it, for one thing, less talkative

like a high school valedictory” for the Constitution must be “definite” and its provisions “self-

executing, mandatory and prospective unless otherwise specifically provided.”

However, there have been some conflicting rulings by the Supreme Court on the self-executing

nature of some provisions, such as in the case of Pamatong vs. Comelec (G.R. No. 161872). In

the ruling, the provision which requires the State to “guarantee equal access to opportunities to

public service” cannot be enforced without additional legislation; in this case, the Omnibus

Election Code and COMELEC Resolution No. 6452.

Contrary to this was the Supreme Court ruling on Oposa et al. vs. Fulgencio (G.R. No. 101083),

where a provision requiring the State to “protect and advance the right of the people to a

balanced and healthful ecology” was ruled as not requiring legislation for its implementation.

[edit] Proposed Amendments

Main article: Charter Change

There have been initiatives to amend the 1987 Constitution under every presidential

administration since Aquino.

First termed as Charter Change, or Cha-Cha, the proposed amendments under the Ramos

administration revolved around the shift from a presidential to a parliamentary form of

government. Estrada's CONCORD, meanwhile, proposed revisions to allow foreign ownership

of land. Arroyo's Constitutional Assembly or ConAss, also involved shifting to a parliamentary

style of government.

The Ramos and Estrada initiatives did not push through because of unfavorable public opinion.

Arroyo's ConAss, meanwhile, has talled due to the inaction of the Senate as well as the start of

the campaign period for the 2010 elections.

History of Philippin

e Constituti

ons

Malolos CongressIt is known as

theLa

Constitución

política de Malolosand was written

inSpanish.Foll

owing the

declaration of independence from Spain by

the RevolutionaryGovernment, a congress

was held inMalolos, Bulacan in

1899 to draw up

aconstitution. It was the first

republican constitution in

Asia. The document

declaresthat the people

have exclusiv

e sovereignty. It states basic civil rights, the separationof church and state, and

calls for the

creation of an Assembly of

Representativeswhich

would act as the legislative body. It also

calls for a Presidential

form of government

with the president

elected for a

term of four years by a majority of

theAssembly. The

Malolos Constitution

establishedSpanishas the official language

of the Philippines.Th

e Preamble reads:

“ "Nosotros los

Representantes del Pueblo

Filipino, convocados

legítimamente

paraestablecer la justicia,

proveer a la defensa común,

promover el bien general

y asegurar los beneficios de la

libertad, implorando el

auxilió del Soberano

Legislador del Universo para alcanzar estos fines, hemos

votado,

decretado y sancionado lasiguiente" 

 ” 

(We, the Representatives of the

Filipino people, lawfully

convened, in order

toestablish justice,

provide for common defense,

promote the general welfare,

and insure

the benefits of liberty, imploring the aid of

the Sovereign Legislator of

theUniverse for the

attainment of these

ends, have voted,

decreed,

and sanctioned

thefollowing) 

Commonwealth

and Third Republic

(1935)