The 1987 Philippine 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
Some information about the Philippine constitution
The present Constitution of the Philippines:
Approved by the 1986 Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986, the
1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines was presented to President
Corazon C. Aquino on October 15, 1986. It was ratified on February 2, 1987 by a
plebiscite. It was proclaimed in force on February 11, 1987.
Former constitutions of the Philippines:
• The 1986 Freedom Constitution: promulgated by Presidential Proclamation,
March 25, 1986.
• The 1973 Constitution: as Amended in October 16-17, 1976, on January 30,
1980, and April 7, 1981.
• The 1973 Constitution: draft presented to President Marcos by the 1971
Constitutional Convention on December 1, 1972; deemed ratified by Citizens’
Assemblies held from January 10 to 15, 1973, proclaimed in force by
Proclamation by President Marcos, January 17, 1973.
• The 1943 Constitution: as approved by the Preparatory Committee on
Philippine Independence, September 4, 1943 and ratified by the KALIBAPI
Convention, September 7, 1943.
• The 1935 Constitution: as amended on June 18, 1940, and on March 11, 1947.
• The 1935 Constitution: as approved by the 1934 Constitutional Convention on
February 8, 1935, certified by the President of the United States on March 25,
1935, and ratified by plebiscite on May 14, 1935.
• The Jones Law of 1916: enacted into law by the United States Congress on
August 29, 1916.
• The Philippine Organic Act of 1902: enacted into law by the United States
Congress on July 1, 1902
• The 1899 Malolos Constitution: approved by the Malolos Congress on
November 29, 1898, draft returned by President Aguinaldo on December 1, 1898
for amendments, which the Congress refused; approved by President Aguinaldo
on December 23, 1898; formally adopted by the Malolos Congress on January
20, 1899, promulgated by President Emilio Aguinaldo on January 21, 1899.
The 1987 Constitution
Aquino began her term by removing several of the Marcos-era rules that had
oppressed the people for so long. In March, she issued a unilateral declaration to
establish a provisional constitution. This constitution granted the President
tremendous powers and authority, but Aquino committed to use them solely to
restore democracy in a new constitution. This new constitution was developed in 133
days by an appointed Constitutional Commission of 48 members and accepted by
the people in a vote on February 2, 1987. It was mostly modeled after the American
Constitution, which had a significant influence on the 1935 Constitution, but it also
included Roman, Spanish, and Anglo law.
The 1987 Constitution established a representative democracy in which authority
is distributed among three distinct and independent branches of government: the
Executive, a bicameral Legislature, and the judiciary. There were three independent
constitutional commissions: the Audit Commission, the Civil Service Commission, and
the Elections Commission. The Constitution included a full Bill of Rights that
guaranteed fundamental civil and political rights, as well as provisions for free, fair,
and frequent elections. In comparison to the weak text that provided Marcos with a
legal fiction behind which to hide, many Filipinos emerging from 20 years of political
repression and tyranny saw this Constitution as perfect.
Facts about the 1987 Philippine Constitution
President Corazon C. Aquino, through Proclamation No. 211 of 1988, assigned
February 2 of each year as Constitution Day to mark the new 1987 Constitution.
The Philippines has had 6 constitutions
The 5 constitutions started with the country’s independence in 1898:
• The 1899 Malolos Constitution (1899-1901)
• The 1935 Constitution (1935-1943, 1945-1973)
• The 1943 Constitution (1943-1945)
• The 1973 Constitution (1973-1986)
• The 1987 Constitution (1987-present)
The 1973 Constitution, according to former Aquino spokesman Teodoro
Locsin Jr, was never ratified as the process conducted by then president Ferdinand
Marcos Jr met strong opposition.
The Aquino government had 3 options with regard to the law of the
land:
• To revert to the 1935 Constitution. But because Marcos abolished the
bicameral legislature they had to resort to general elections.
• To retain the 1973 Constitution and be granted the power to make reforms.
This was shot down by Aquino as “she did not want to derive legitimacy and
power from the very institutions that she fought.”
• To start anew and break from the “vestiges of a disgraced dictatorship.”
The 1986 Constitutional Commission drafted the Philippine
Constitution we now know
In April 1986, President Corazon Aquino established the 1986 Constitutional
Commission (ConCom) with Proclamation No. 9, which was in charge of creating a
substitute for the 1973 Constitution.
She stated that the new constitution should be "truly reflective of the
aspirations and ideals of the Filipino people."
The 1986 ConCom was made up of 48 people who represented all sectors of
the country, including Bishop Teodoro Bacani, former Supreme Court Chief Justice
Roberto Concepcion, former labor minister (and later 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.
Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court in
1973, was elected president of ConCom during its inaugural session on June 2, 1986.
Several issues were the subject of heated discussions within ConCom
The events surrounding the development of the 1987 Philippine Constitution,
like with other key legislative instruments in the country, were undoubtedly fraught
with tension.
According to reports, members of the ConCom engaged in passionate
disputes on a variety of topics, including the death sentence, economic policies, land
reform, forms of government, and even the retention of American military bases in
Clark and Subic, among others.
According to Palma, the ConCom completed its task after approximately
111 days. The draft constitution was passed on October 12, 1986, with 44 delegates
voting in favor and two against, and handed to Aquino three days later.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution was ratified with more than ¾ of
votes.
A National Plebiscite was held on February 2, 1987, following a nationwide
awareness campaign about 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 to it?""
The Commission on Elections canvassed the 1987 plebiscite based on
returns from 83,288 precincts - or a total of 21,785,216 votes - across the Philippines,
and the results are as follows:
Number of votes
Affirmative votes 16,622,111 (76.30%)
Negative votes 4,953,375 (22.74%)
Abstention 209,730 (0.96%)
On February 11, 1987, Aquino issued Proclamation No. 58, announcing
the results of the plebiscite and proclaiming the 1987 Philippine Constitution
adopted. It took effect on the same day.
Film director Lino Brocka was among the members who walked out
from the ConCom
Lino Brocka, a director recognized for his works that examine social
realities, was a member of the ConCom.
However, due to intense discussions and disagreements over specific
clauses, he and other ConCom members walked out of the proceedings.
Brocka eventually sent a letter to the committee on August 28, 1986,
announcing that he had informed President Cory Aquino of his irreversible
resignation. "The 48 was reduced by one," Palma stated in her final remarks to the
ConCom.
The late filmmaker, who was posthumously acknowledged as a National
Artist for Film in 1997, is credited with putting the freedom of expression section in
Article III, Section 4 because the word "freedom" is "more expansive, has a wider
scope, and would refer to means of expression other than speech."
References:
Commission, C., 1 THE 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
(1987). Manila, Philippines; HR Library. Retrieved 2024, from
http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/research/Philippines/PHILIPPINE%20CONSTITUTION.pdf.
Stromborge, & Source, E. (1970, February 5). Constitutional history of the Philippines.
Constitution Net.
https://constitutionnet.org/country/philippines#:~:text=The%201987%20Constitution%20e
stablished%20a,bicameral%20Legislature%2C%20and%20the%20Judiciary.
Gavilan, J. (2016, February 2). Fast facts: 1987 Philippine Constitution. RAPPLER.
https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/121019-fast-facts-1987-philippine-constitution/
The constitution of the Republic of the Philippines | Official ... (n.d.).
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/
Philippine constitutions | Official Gazette of the Republic of ... (n.d.-a).
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/
