A.

Introduction
For more than three hundred years, the Filipinos were ruled by the Spaniards and their
occupation ended when Spain was defeated by the American Navy headed by Commodore
George Dewey in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1898. Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, the leader
of the revolutionary government in the Philippines was convinced by American Consul E.
Spencer Pratt, to return to the Philippines from Hong Kong to resume the revolution and
break the truce effected by the Pact of Biak-na-Bato. When Gen. Aguinaldo returned to the
Philippines, he summoned the revolutionaries and ordered the resumption of the armed
struggle against the Spanish government. Amidst the ongoing hostilities, Gen. Aguinaldo
proclaimed Philippine Independence on 12 June 1898 at Kawit, Cavite. Soon enough, the
relationship between the Americans and the Filipinos turned sour after the American
government agreed to negotiate with the Spaniards that resulted to Spain’s surrender and the
eventual signing of the Treaty of Paris that ceded the Philippines to the United States.
(Source: http://nhcp.gov.ph)
1. Treaty of Paris (1898)
In late September 1898, treaty negotiations were initiated between Spanish and American
representatives in Paris. The Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10, 1898. Among its
conditions was the cession of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the United States
(Cuba was granted its independence); in return, the United States would pay Spain the sum of
US$20 million. The nature of this payment is rather difficult to define; it was paid neither to
purchase Spanish territories nor as a war indemnity. In the words of historian Leon Wolff, "it
was . . . a gift. Spain accepted it. Quite irrelevantly she handed us the Philippines. No
question of honor or conquest was involved. The Filipino people had nothing to say about it,
although their rebellion was thrown in (so to speak) free of charge."

The Treaty of Paris aroused anger among Filipinos. Reacting to the US$20 million sum paid
to Spain, La Independencia (Independence), a newspaper published in Manila by a
revolutionary, General Antonio Luna, stated that "people are not to be bought and sold like
horses and houses. If the aim has been to abolish the traffic in Negroes because it meant the
sale of persons, why is there still maintained the sale of countries with inhabitants?" Tension
and ill feelings were growing between the American troops in Manila and the insurgents
surrounding the capital. In addition to Manila, Iloilo, the main port on the island of Panay,
also was a pressure point. The Revolutionary Government of the Visayas was proclaimed
there on November 17, 1898, and an American force stood poised to capture the city. Upon
the announcement of the treaty, the radicals, Mabini and Luna, prepared for war, and
provisional articles were added to the constitution giving President Aguinaldo dictatorial
powers in times of emergency. President William McKinley issued a proclamation on
December 21, 1898, declaring United States policy to be one of "benevolent assimilation" in
which "the mild sway of justice and right" would be substituted for "arbitrary rule." When
this was published in the islands on January 4, 1899, references to "American sovereignty"
having been prudently deleted, Aguinaldo issued his own proclamation that condemned
"violent and aggressive seizure" by the United States and threatened war. (Source:
http://www.bansa.org)

2. Pres. McKinley’s Instruction to the Second Philippine Commission

On January 20, 1899, President McKinley appointed the First Philippine Commission (the
Schurman Commission), a five-person group headed by Dr. Jacob Schurman, president of
Cornell University, and including Admiral Dewey and General Otis, to investigate
conditions in the islands and make recommendations. In the report that they issued to the
president the following year, the commissioners acknowledged Filipino aspirations for
independence; they declared, however, that the Philippines was not ready for it. Specific
recommendations included the establishment of civilian government as rapidly as possible
(the American chief executive in the islands at that time was the military governor), including
establishment of a bicameral legislature, autonomous governments on the provincial and
municipal levels, and a system of free public elementary schools.

The Second Philippine Commission (the Taft Commission), appointed by McKinley on

March 16, 1900, and headed by William Howard Taft, was granted legislative as well as
limited executive powers.
In the Instruction to the Second Philippine Commission of April 7, 1900 issued by
President McKinley, it is specifically provided "that no law shall be passed abridging the
freedom of speech or of the press or of the rights of the people to peaceably assemble and
petition the Government for redress of grievances."
Between September 1900 and August 1902, it issued 499 laws. A judicial system was
established, including a Supreme Court, and a legal code was drawn up to replace antiquated
Spanish ordinances. A civil service was organized. The 1901 municipal code provided for
popularly elected presidents, vice presidents, and councilors to serve on municipal boards.
The municipal board members were responsible for collecting taxes, maintaining municipal
properties, and undertaking necessary construction projects; they also elected provincial
governors. In July 1901 the Philippine Constabulary was organized as an archipelago-wide
police force to control brigandage and deal with the remnants of the insurgent movement.
After military rule was terminated on July 4, 1901, the Philippine Constabulary gradually
took over from United States army units the responsibility for suppressing guerrilla and
bandit activities.
Taft, the Philippines' first civilian governor, outlined a comprehensive development plan that
he described as "the Philippines for the Filipinos . . . that every measure, whether in the form
of a law or an executive order, before its adoption, should be weighed in the light of this
question: Does it make for the welfare of the Filipino people, or does it not?" Its main
features included not only broadening representative institutions but also expanding a system
of free public elementary education and designing economic policies to promote the islands'
development. Filipinos widely interpreted Taft's pronouncements as a promise of
independence. (Source: http://www.bansa.org)

3. The Philippine Bill of 1902

The Philippine Bill of 1902 is one of the most important decrees enacted by the American
government in the Philippines. Entitled “An Act Temporarily to Provide for the
Administration of the Affairs of Civil Government in the Philippine Islands, and for
Other Purposes,” this law contained two important provisions that strengthen both the civil
and human rights of the Filipino people, and bestowed on them the privilege of legislation.
Also known as Cooper Act, it provided a Bill of Rights for the Filipinos that protected
their rights: to live, to acquire property, to practice their religion, to be subjected to due
process, to exercise their obligations, to enjoy compensations due to them, and freedom of
expression. But the most important element contained in the bill was its clauses that called
for the creation of a lower legislative branch with elected Filipino representatives as
legislators.
The bill also stated the American government’s readiness to call for a general election in
the islands should insurrection cedes and complete peace is maintained as attested by the
Philippine Commission. The decree mandates the US President to order the Philippine
Commission to perform a census of the islands and make a detailed report about the
population and matters about the people that may deemed by the Commission as necessary,
while peace is being upheld. Two years after the publication of the result of the census, and
upon the satisfaction of the Philippine Commission and the US President, a general election
shall be called and the elected Filipinos, not less than fifty but not greater than one hundred in
number, will comprise the Philippine Assembly—the body that will act as the lower house
of the legislature in the Philippines.
The Filipinos became very cooperative with the promises offered by the bill. Peace was
maintained, a census was conducted and after its publication, an election was held on 30 July
1907 and the assembly was convened and inaugurated on 16 October 1907 at the Manila
Grand Opera House. The Nacionalista Party, espousing “immediate and complete
independence” headed by Sergio Osmeña garnered the majority of the seats. The First
Philippine Assembly is best remembered for its effort in reviving the issue of independence
and for passing laws that improved the type of education enjoyed by the Filipinos. (Source:
http://nhcp.gov.ph)

4. The Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916

With the division of the Philippine legislature between the American-controlled Commission
and Filipino-controlled Assembly, Americans could directly intervene in legislation. Filipinos
were only given full legislative power on August 29, 1916 with the passage of the Jones
Law, or the Philippine Autonomy Act, which restructured the Philippine Legislature into
the Senate (which replaced the Philippine Commission) and the House of Representatives
(which replaced the Philippine Assembly). It also divided Philippines into 12 senatorial
districts, which were to be represented by two senators each: the first place in each senatorial
district would serve for six years, while the second place would serve for three years.
Thereafter, senators would hold six-year terms. Representatives, on the other hand, were to
serve for three years.
By 1914, tensions were rising among the Nacionalistas over Assembly Speaker Sergio
Osmeña’s increasing power. As a result, a leftist faction headed by Teodoro Sandiko of
Bulacan broke away from the Nacionalistas and formed the Partido Democrata Nacional,
although they were often referred to as the Terceristas (Third Party men). The Terceristas
accused the Partido Nacionalista of not fulfilling its promises to the Filipino people through
its Tagalog newspaper Consolidacion. The Terceristas found common ground with the
Progresistas, who wanted independence with the status of a protectorate under the United
States. Both parties were opposed to the Nacionalistas, Governor-General Francis Burton
Harrison, and his constant and exclusive consultation with Osmeña. Their common
sympathies drew the two parties together, until their eventual merging into the Partido
Democrata on April 22, 1917.
The June 6, 1916 Philippine Assembly (renamed the House of Representatives in August)
election marked another victory for the Nacionalistas, who captured 83% of the seats. The
passage of the Jones Law proved to be a victory for resident commissioner Manuel L.
Quezon and the Partido Nacionalista, and this was reflected in the results of the first Senate
election, which was held on October 3, 1916. The Nacionalistas captured all but two seats,
including one of the two appointed senators who represented the non-Christian Twelfth
District, composed of the Mountain Province, Baguio, Nueva Vizcaya, and the Department of
Mindanao and Sulu. Only one elected senator, Vicente Singson Encarnacion of the First
District, was a Progresista; the other appointed senator of the Twelfth District was
independent. Quezon received the largest individual vote of 30,554. He was elected Senate
President and would keep that position until 1935, making him the longest-serving Senate
President (1916-1935). (Source: malacanang.gov.ph)

5. Tydings-McDuffie Law of 1935

By virtue of the Tydings-McDuffie or Philippine Independence Act of 1934, the
Commonwealth of the Philippines was established, creating with it the position of
president and vice president and a unicameral legislature called the National Assembly. It
also mandated the Philippine Legislature to call for an election of delegates to a
Constitutional Convention to draft a constitution for the Philippines. The document
produced was submitted to the President of the United States for certification on March 25,
1935, and was ratified by the Filipino people through a national plebiscite on May 14, 1935.
On September 16, 1935, the first national elections in the Philippines were held. The two
leading Nationalist politicians—outgoing Senate President Manuel L. Quezon and former
Senate president pro-tempore Sergio Osmeña joined forces to form a powerhouse coalition
ticket. They faced former President Emilio Aguinaldo and Raymundo Melliza, who ran under
the National Socialist Party, and Bishop Gregorio Aglipay of the Philippine Independent
Church who, with Norberto Nabong, reestablished the Republican Party. The coalition ticket
won by a landslide, with Quezon winning in all provinces except the Aguinaldo and Aglipay
bailiwicks of Cavite and Ilocos Norte, respectively. Osmeña, on the other hand, demolished
his opponents and lost only in the province of Cavite, a feat unsurpassed to this day.
While united for the country’s top two positions, Quezon’s Partido Nacionalista Democrata
(Antis) and Osmeña’s Partido Pro-Independencia Democrata (Pros) slugged it out for seats in
the National Assembly. This unicameral legislature had 98 elected members, of which 87
were from existing representative districts, eight from existing special provinces, and three
from the Mountain Province. A significant majority of elected assemblymen were Antis
(72%), while 21% were Pros; the rest belonged to opposition groups. (Source:
malacanang.gov.ph)
 6. 1935 Constitution
The 1935 constitution, drawn up under the terms of the Tydings-McDuffie Act, came into full
force and effect on November 15, 1935, with the inauguration of the Commonwealth.
Among its provisions was that it would remain the constitution of the Republic of the
Philippines once independence was recognized on July 4, 1946. It served as a basis for an
independent Philippine government from 1946 until 1973. The framers of the
Commonwealth constitution were not completely free to choose any type of government they
wanted, inasmuch as their work had to be approved by United States president Franklin D.
Roosevelt. In addition, many were legal scholars familiar with American constitutional law;
it is not surprising, then, that they produced a document strongly modeled on the United
States Constitution. In fact, the 1935 constitution differed from the United States document in
only two important respects: government was unitary rather than federal, local
governments being subject to general supervision by the president; and the president could
declare an emergency and temporarily exercise near-dictatorial power. This latter provision
was used by Marcos after September 1972, when he declared martial law.
The 1935 constitution seemed to serve the nation well. It gave the Philippines twenty-six
years of stable, constitutional government during a period when a number of other Asian
states were succumbing to military dictatorship or communist revolution. By the late 1960s,
however, many Filipinos had come to believe that the constitution only provided a
democratic political cloak for a profoundly oligarchic society. A constitutional convention
was called to rewrite the basic law of the land.
The delegates selected to rewrite the constitution hoped to retain its democratic essence while
deleting parts deemed to be unsuitable relics of the colonial past. They hoped to produce a
genuinely Filipino document. But before their work could be completed, Marcos declared
martial law and manipulated the constitutional convention to serve his purposes. (Source:
www.loc.gov)

7. 1973 Constitution
The 1973 constitution was a deviation from the Philippines' commitment to democratic
ideals. Marcos abolished Congress and ruled by presidential decree from September 1972
until 1978, when a parliamentary government with a legislature called the National
Assembly replaced the presidential system. But Marcos exercised all the powers of president
under the old system, plus the powers of prime minister under the new system. When Marcos
was driven from office in 1986, the 1973 constitution was also jettisoned. (Source:
www.loc.gov)

8. The Freedom Constitution (Proclamation No 3 1986)

After she came to power on March 25, 1986, Aquino issued Presidential Proclamation No.
3, which promulgated an interim "Freedom constitution" that gave her sweeping powers
theoretically even greater than those Marcos had enjoyed. She promised, however, to use her
emergency powers only to restore democracy, not to perpetuate herself in power. She claimed
that she needed a free hand to restore democracy, revive the economy, gain control of the
military, and repatriate some of the national wealth that Marcos and his partners had
purloined. Minister of Justice Neptali Gonzales described the Freedom Constitution as
“civilian in character, revolutionary in origin, democratic in essence, and transitory in
character." The Freedom Constitution was to remain in effect until a new legislature was
convened and a constitutional convention could write a new, democratic constitution to be
ratified by national plebiscite. The process took sixteen months. (Source: www.loc.gov)

9. The 1987 Constitution

a. The Constitutional Commission of 1986
President Corazon Aquino in April 1986 created – through Proclamation No. 9 – the 1986
Constitutional Commission (ConCom), which was responsible for drafting a replacement
for the 1973 Constitution. The new constitution, she said, should be “truly reflective of the
aspirations and ideals of the Filipino people.”
The 1986 ConCom was composed of 48 individuals who represented all sectors in the
country, including, among others, Bishop Teodoro Bacani, former Supreme Court chief
justice Roberto Concepcion, former labor minister (and eventually senator and foreign affairs
secretary) Blas Ople, Ateneo De Manila University president Father Joaquin Bernas SJ, and
University of the Philippines Student Council Chairperson (now Commission on Human
Rights chair) Chito Gascon.
The first session of the commission was held on June 2, 1986 when Cecilia Muñoz-Palma,
the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court in 1973, was elected president of ConCom.
(Source: rappler.com/1987-fast-facts)
The commission divided itself into fourteen committees and began work amidst great public
interest, which, however, soon waned. Long, legalistic hearings were sometimes poorly
attended. Aquino is known to have intervened to influence only one decision of the
commission. She voiced her support of a loophole in the constitution's antinuclear weapons
provision that allowed the president to declare that nuclear weapons, if present on United
States bases, were "in the national interest."
The commissioners quickly abandoned the parliamentary government that Marcos had
fancied, and arguments for a unicameral legislature also were given short shrift. Most
delegates favored a return to something very much like the 1935 constitution, with numerous
symbolic clauses to appease "cause-oriented" groups. The most controversial proposals were
those pertaining to the Philippine claim to Sabah, presidential emergency powers, land
reform, the rights of labor, the role of foreign investment, and United States military base
rights. Special attention focused on proposals to declare Philippine territory a nuclear-free
zone.
Aquino had asked the Constitutional Commission to complete its work within ninety days, by
September 2, 1986. Lengthy public hearings (some in the provinces) and contentious floor
debates, however, caused this deadline to be missed. The final version of the constitution,
similar to a "draft proposal" drawn up in June by the University of the Philippines Law
School, was presented to Aquino on October 15. The commission had approved it by a vote
of forty-four to two. (Source: www.loc.gov)
b. Proclamation No. 58 (Feb 11, 1987) and Ratification
On February 2, 1987, a National Plebiscite was held after a nationwide information campaign
on the draft constitution. The question voters had to answer was: "Do you vote for the
ratification of the proposed Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines with the ordinance
appended thereto?"
The results of the 1987 plebiscite canvassed by the Commission on Elections based on
returns from 83,288 precincts – or a total of 21,785,216 votes – across the Philippines are as
follows: Affirmative votes 16,622,111 (76.30%), Negative votes 4,953,375 (22.74%),
Abstentions 209,730 (0.96%)
On February 11, 1987, through Proclamation No. 58, Aquino announced the results of the
plebiscite and proclaimed the 1987 Philippine Constitution ratified. It took effect the same
day. (Source: rappler.com/1987-fast-facts)

10. Interpretation of the Constitution

There are three well-settled principles of constitutional construction: first, verba legis, that is,
wherever possible, the words used in the Constitution should be given their ordinary meaning
except where technical terms are employed; second, where there is ambiguity, ratio legis est
anima, meaning that the words of the Constitution should be interpreted in accordance with
the intent of its framers; and third, ut magis valeat quam pereat, meaning that the
Constitution is to be interpreted as a whole. (Francisco vs. House of Representatives, G.R.
No. 160261, November 10, 2003.)

11. Supremacy of the Constitution

The Constitution is the supreme law to which all other laws must confirm and in accordance
with which all private rights must be determined and all public authority administered. Thus,
if a law or contract violates any norm of the Constitution, that law or contract whether
promulgated by the legislative or by the executive branch or entered into by private persons
for private purposes is null and void and without any force and effect. Thus, since the
Constitution is the fundamental, paramount and supreme law of the nation, it is deemed
written in every statute and contract. (Source: Philippine Governance and Constitution by
Mauro R. Muñoz)