Introduction

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What is constitution?
A constitution is a system for government, codified
as a written document, which contains fundamental
laws and principles. It usually contains fundamental
political principles, and establishes the structure,
procedures, powers and duties, of a government.

TheConstitution of the Philippines is the

supremelawof
thePhilippines.TheConstitutioncurrently in effect was
enacted in 1987, during the administration
ofPresidentCorazon C. Aquino, and is popularly known
as the "1987 Constitution. Philippineconstitutional
lawexperts recognise three other previous
constitutions as having effectively governed the
country the 935CommonwealthConstitution, the
1973 Constitution, and the 1986 Freedom
Constitution.Constitutions for the Philippines were also
drafted and adopted during the short-lived
governments of Camilo.
2012 Charie PresidentsEmilio
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andJos P. Laurel(1943).
 Nature and purpose of
Constitution
1. It serves as the supreme or fundamental law
2. It establishes basic framework and underlying
principles of government
Constitutional Law
Body oflawderived from country'swrittenconstitution.
It lays down and guides thedutiesandpowersof
thegovernment,
and the duties andrightsof itscitizensandresidents.

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 Kind of Constitution
1. As to their origin and history
a. Conventional or enacted
b. Cumulative or evolved

2. As to their form
a. Written
b. Unwritten

3. As to manner of amending them

a. Rigid or inelastic
b. Flexible or elastic

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 Constitution distinguished from
Statute
1. Constitution is a legislation direct from the people
2. Constitution merely states the general framework of
the law
3. Constitution is intended not merely to meet existing
conditions but to govern the future
4. Constitution is the supreme or fundamental law

Statute
1. Is a legislation from the peoples representatives.
2. It provides the details of the subject of which it treats
3. Is intended primarily to meet existing conditions only
4. Statute conforms to Constitution.

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 Parts of the 1987 Constitution
The Constitution is divided into 18 parts, excluding the Preamble,
which are called Articles. The Articles are as follows:

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 Commission
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
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 Preamble of the 1987 Constitution
The Preamble reads:

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.

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 Significant features of the 1987
Constitution
The Constitution establishes the Philippines as a
"democratic and republican State", where "sovereignty
resides in the people and all government authority
emanates from them". (Section 1, Article II) Consistent
with the doctrine ofseparation of powers, the powers
of the national government are exercised in main by
three branches theexecutive branchheaded by
thePresident, thelegislative branchcomposed
ofCongressand thejudicial branchwith theSupreme
Courtoccupying the highest tier of the judiciary.
Section 1. Article 2.
The Philippines is a
democratic and republican
State. Sovereignty resides in
the people and all government
authority emanates from
them.
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 Historical
Constitution
Malolos Constitution (1899)
Commonwealth and Third Republic (1935)
Japanese Sponsored Republic (1943)
Martial Law Constitution (1973)
Freedom Constitution (1986)

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 Malolos Constitution (1899)
First republic

TheMalolos Constitutionwas the first republican

constitution in Asia.It declared that sovereignty
resides exclusively in the people, stated basic civil
rights, separated the church and state, and called for
the creation of an Assembly of Representatives to act
as the legislative body. It also called for a Presidential
form of government with the president elected for a
term of four years by a majority of the Assembly.It was
titled "Constitucin poltica", and was written in
Spanish following the declaration of independence
from Spain,proclaimed on January 20, 1899, and was
enacted and ratified by theMalolos Congress, a
Congress held inMalolos, Bulacan.

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Commonwealth and Third Republic (1935)
1935 Constitution

The 1935 Constitution was written in 1934,

approved and adopted by the Commonwealth of the
Philippines (19351946) and later used by the Third
Republic of the Philippines (19461972). It was
written with an eye to meeting the approval of
theUnited States Governmentas well, so as to
ensure that the U.S. would live up to its promise to
grant the Philippines independence and not have a
premise to hold onto its possession on the grounds
that it was too politically immature and hence
unready for full, real independence.

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 Japanese Sponsored Republic (1943)
Second Philippine Republic

The1943 Constitutionof theRepublic of the

Philippines, composed of a preamble and twelve
articles, creates a Republican state with a powerful
executive branch and subordinate legislative and
judicial branches. The executive power is vested in
the President, who is to be elected by the members of
the National Assembly from among themselves. The
President is the head of government, and
commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The powers
of the President are: to veto any bill of the Assembly,
to promulgate regulations when the Assembly is not
in session and in times of war or national emergency,
to declare martial law, to suspend the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus, and to appoint the members of
the Council of State and officials of the local
government. A limited legislative power is exercised
by the unicameral National Assembly whose
members, like the President, are not directly elected
by the people.
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Rather, the Assembly, is to be composed of
representatives from each province elected in
Kalibapi conventions throughout the country
with appointed governors and mayors as ex-
officio members. The judicial power is exercised
by the Supreme Court whose justices, together
with judges of lower courts, are to be appointed
by the President.

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 Martial Law Constitution (1973)
1973 Constitution of the Philippines

The 1973 Constitution, promulgated after

Marcos'declaration of martial law, was supposed to
introduce a parliamentary-style government.
Legislative power was vested in a National Assembly
whose members were elected for six-year terms. The
President was ideally supposed to be elected as the
symbolic and purely ceremonial head of state from
the Members of the National Assembly for a six-year
term and could be re-elected to an unlimited number
of terms.

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 Freedom Constitution (1987)
1987 Constitution of the Philippines

Following the EDSA People Power Revolution that

removed PresidentFerdinand E. Marcosfrom office,
the new President,Corazon C. Aquinoissued
Proclamation No. 3 as a provisional constitution. It
adopted certain provisions from the 1973 constitution
and granted the President broad powers to reorganise
the government and remove officials from office, and
mandated that the president would appoint a
commission to draft a new constitution.

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 Basic Principles Underlying the New
Constitution

1. Recognition of the Aid of Almighty God

2. Sovereignty of the People
3. Renunciation of war as an instrument of national
policy
4. Supremacy of civilian authority over the military
5. Separation of Church and State
6. Recognition of the importance of the
family as basic social institution and of
the vital role of youth in nation building
7. Guarantee of human rights
8. Government through suffrage
9. Separation of Power
10. Independence of Judiciary
11. Guarantee of local autonomy
12. High sense of public service morality and
accountability
13. Nationalization of natural resources and certain
private enterprises affected by public Interest
14. Non2012
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15. Rule of the majority; and