Background of the 1987 Constitution

In 1986, following the People Power Revolution which ousted Ferdinand E. Marcos as
President, and following on her own inauguration, Corazon C. Aquino issued
Proclamation 3, declaring a national policy to implement the reforms mandated by the
people, protecting their basic rights, adopting a provisional constitution, and providing
for an orderly transition to a government under a new constitution. President Aquino
later issued Proclamation 9, creating a Constitutional Commission (popularly known
as the "ConCom") to frame a new charter to supersede the Marcos-era 1973
Constitution. Aquino appointed 50 members to the Commission; the members were
drawn from varied backgrounds, including several former congressmen,
former Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberto Concepcin, Roman Catholic bishop Teodoro
Bacani, and film director Lino Brocka. Aquino also deliberately appointed five members,
including former Labour Minister Blas Ople, who had been allied with Marcos until the
latter's ouster. After the Commission had convened, it elected Cecilia Muoz-Palma as
its president. Muoz-Palma had emerged as a leading figure in the anti-Marcos
opposition movement following her retirement as the first female Associate Justice of
the Supreme Court. The Commission finished the draft charter within four months after
convening. Several issues were heatedly debated during the sessions, including on the
form of government to adopt, the abolition of the death penalty, the continued retention
of the Clark and Subic American military bases, and the integration of economic policies
into the Constitution. Brocka would walk out of the Commission before its completion,
and two other delegates would dissent from the final draft. The ConCom completed their
task on October 12, 1986 and presented the draft constitution to President Aquino on
October 15, 1986. A for the charter's ratification was held on February 2, 1987 after a
nationwide information campaign. 76.37% (17,059,495 voters), or more than threefourths of all votes cast, favored ratification versus 22.65% (or 5,058,714 voters) who
voted against it. On February 11, 1987, the new Constitution was proclaimed, ratified
and made effective, with Aquino, her government, and the Services swearing allegiance
to it later that day.
The Constitution is divided into a Preamble amd 18 parts called Articles.

Preamble

The Preamble introduces the Constitution, identifies the author and the purposes of the
fundamental law and aids the authorities in the interpretation of the Constitution since it
lays down the visions of the government. The Preamble reads:

Article I National Territory

Article I specifies that the Philippines is an archipelago and that the Philippines territory
consists of the islands and waters embraced therein, all other territories which the
Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, and the terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains
including the territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves and other
submarine areas. It also specifies that the waters around, between, and connecting the
islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions form part of the
internal waters of the Philippines.

Article II Declaration of Principles and State Policies

Article II sets down basic social and political creed of the country, particularly the
implementation of the constitution and sets fort the objectives of the government. Some
of its provisions are

Philippines is a Democratic and Republican State (Section 1)

Renunciation of War (Section 2)

Supremacy of Civilian Authority (Section 3)

Prime duty of the government (Section 4)

Defense of the State and Services to be rendered by the Citizens (Section 4)

Separation of church and state (Section 6)

Independent Philippine Foreign Policy (Section 7)

Freedom from Nuclear Weapon (Section 8)

Just and Dynamic Social order and Social Justice (Section 9 and 10)

Family as the Basic Autonomous Unit (Section 12)

Role of the Youth and Women in Nation-Building (Section 13 and 14)

The affirmation of labor "as a primary social economic force" (Section 14)

Autonomy of local governments (Section 25)

Prohibition of Political dynasty and adoption of measures against graft and

corruption (Section 26 and 27)

Article III Bill of Rights

Article III, known as the Bill of Rights, enumerates the specific protections against
State power. Many of these guarantees are similar to those provided in the United
States Constitution, including the:

The right to due process and equal protection (Section 1)

The right against searches and seizures without an warrant (See Fourth
Amendment to the United States Constitution) (Section 2)

The right to privacy (Section 3)

The right to free speech and expression, free press, freedom of assembly and
the right to petition (Section 4)

The free exercise of religion (Section 5)

The right of abode and right to travel (Secton 6)

The right to information on matters of public concern (Section 7)

The right to form associations (Section 8)

Protection against impairment of contractual obligations (Section 10)

The right to free access to courts (Section 11)

The right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have competent
and independent counsel (Section 12)

The right to bail & against excessive bail (Section 13)

The rights of the accused (Section 14)

The right to habeas corpus. (Section 15)

The right to speedy disposition of cases (Section 16)

The right against self-incrimination (Section 17)

The right to political beliefs and aspirations. (Section 18)

The prohibition against cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment (Section 19)

Protection against imprisonment for debts (Section 20)

The right against double jeopardy (Section 21)

Prohibition of ex post facto laws and bills of attainder. (Section 22)

The scope and limitations to these rights have largely been determined
by Philippine Supreme Court decisions.

Article IV Citizenship

Article IV enumerates the citizenship of Fiipinos. There are two kinds of citizens:
Natural-born citizens who are citizens from birth and have the right to vote and
right to run for public office and Naturalized citizens, who are immigrants who
acquire, voluntarily or by operation of law, the citizenship of the Philippines

Article V Suffrage

Article V specifies the qualification and right to vote by citizen. It also

enumerates the system and secrecy of the ballot and absentee voting, and
procedure to the disabled and the illiterates to vote.

Article VI The Legislative Department

Article VI enumerates the composition, qualification, and term of office and

function of the Congress of the Philippinescomposed of the Senate of the
Philippines and the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It also specifies
the organization, procedure, election and leadership of officials and process of
making law. Some of the power of Congress include the power of investigation or
inquiry in aid of legislation (Section 21); the power to declare the existence of a
State of war (Section 26); fiscal power (Section 25); the inherent power or olice
power (Section 1); power of taxation (Section 28); and the power of eminent
domain (Section 9)

Article VII Executive Department

The Philippines is a presidential system of government. The executive power is

vested to the President, assisted by Vice president and heads of executive
departments. The Article VII explains the qualification, term of office, election,
power and functions of Philippine President and the officials within the executive
branch. It also specifies the presidential line of succession.

Article VIII Judicial Department

The power of interpretation and application of the law was entrusted to the
Judicial branch. The Supreme Court of the Philippines is the highest court and
has a jurisdiction over the lower courts that are part of the judicial branch. Article
VIII enumerates the qualification, tenure, power and functions of courts within
the Judicial Branch, including the organization ofJudicial and Bar Council.

Article IX Constitutional Commission

1.

ARTICLE I National Territory

2.

ARTICLE II Declaration of Principles and State Policies

3.

ARTICLE III Bill of Rights

4.

ARTICLE IV Citizenship

5.

ARTICLE V Suffrage

6.

ARTICLE VI Legislative Department

7.

ARTICLE VII Executive Department

8.

ARTICLE VIII Judicial Department

9.

ARTICLE IX Constitutional Commissions

10. ARTICLE

X Local Government

11. ARTICLE

XI Accountability of Public Officers

12. ARTICLE

XII National Economy and Patrimony

13. ARTICLE

XIII Social Justice and Human Rights

14. ARTICLE

XIV Education, Science and Technology, Arts, Culture and

Sports
15. ARTICLE

XV The Family

16. ARTICLE

XVI General Provisions

17. ARTICLE

XVII Amendments or Revisions

18. ARTICLE

XVIII Transitory Provisions

Article IX enumerates the qualification, tenure, power and functions and

composition of three Constitutional Commissions:Civil Service Commission of the
Philippines, Commission on Election or COMELEC, and the Commission on Audit
of the Philippines.

Article X Local Government

The Constitution establishes limited political autonomy to the local government

units of Philippine provinces, Philippine cities, Philippine municipalities,
and barangays. Local governments are generally considered as falling under the
executive branch, yet local legislation requires enactment by duly elected local
legislative bodies. The Constitution mandated that the Congress would enact
a Local Government Code.

Article XI Accountability of Public Officers

Article XI explains that the positions entrusted by the people to the government
officials are public in nature. Government positions should be taken care of at all
times. It specifies the processes and grounds for impeachment of the public
officials. It also creates and describe the Office of the Ombudsman of the
Philippines.

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

The Constitution also contains several other provisions enumerating various

state policies including, i.e., the affirmation oflabor "as a primary social
economic force" (Section 14, Article II); the equal protection of "the life of the
mother and the life of the unborn from conception" (Section 12, Article II); the
"Filipino family as the foundation of the nation" (Article XV, Section 1); the
recognition of Filipino as "the national language of the Philippines" (Section 6,
Article XVI), and even a requirement that "all educational institutions shall
undertake regular sports activities throughout the country in cooperation with
athletic clubs and other sectors." (Section 19.1, Article XIV) Whether these
provisions may, by themselves, be the source of enforceable rights without
accompanying legislation has been the subject of considerable debate in the
legal sphere and within the Supreme Court. The Court, for example, has ruled
that a provision requiring that the State "guarantee equal access to
opportunities to public service" could not be enforced without accompanying
legislation, and thus could not bar the disallowance of so-called "nuisance
candidates" in presidential elections.[4] But in another case, the Court held that a
provision requiring that the State "protect and advance the right of the people to
a balanced and healthful ecology" did not require implementing legislation to
become the source of operative rights.[5]

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.