1987 Constitution

*The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land. It establishes the basic framework and underlying
principles of government. It expresses the aspirations/will of the people.

*The drafters of the constitution are the Filipino people (through their representatives)

*Ways to draft constitution:

Constitutional Commission ( e.g. 1987 Constitution – there were 48 members)

Constitutional Convention (Malolos Constitution)

*A drafted constitution is ratified by the people through a PLEBISCITE

*Amendment to, revision of, the Constitution may be proposed by Congress upon a vote of two-thirds of
all its members or through a constitutional convention.

Total Number of Law Makers

Senators = 24

Congressmen = 250 (maximum)

a. District representatives (80%)

b. Sectoral representatives/ partylists (20%)

Articles of the 1987 constitution

Article 1 National Territory

The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced
therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of
its terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular
shelves, and other submarine areas. 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.

An archipelagic state is any internationally recognized state or country that comprises a series of islands
that form an archipelago. The term is defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in
order to define what borders such states should be allowed to claim.

In various conferences of the United Nations on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Fiji, Indonesia, Papua New
Guinea, the Bahamas, and the Philippines are the five sovereign states that obtained approval in the UN
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) held in Montego Bay, Jamaica on December 10, 1982 and
qualified as archipelagic states.[2]

Archipelagic states are states that are composed of groups of islands forming a state as a single unit, with
the islands and the waters within the baselines as internal waters. Under this concept ("archipelagic
doctrine"), an archipelago shall be regarded as a single unit, so that the waters around, between, and
connecting the islands of the archipelago, irrespective of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the
internal waters of the state, and are subject to its exclusive sovereignty.

Articles of the 1987 constitution

Article 2 Declaration of Principles and State Policies

Article 2 – Declaration of principles and state policies

Sec 1: The Philippines is a democratic and republican state. Sovereignty resides in the people and all
government authority emanates from them.

Sec 2: The Phil Renounces war as an instrument of national policy…

Aggressive vs. defensive war…

Which department declares a state of war?

*Congress by a 2/3rd vote

Article 2

Sec 3. Civilian authority is, at all time, supreme over the military.

*The commander in chief of the Military is a civilian>President of the Phil.

Sec 6. The Separation of Church and State shall be inviolable

*Our constitution and laws exempt from taxation properties devoted exclusively to religious purposes

Articles of the 1987 constitution

Article 3 Bill of Rights

Article 3: bill of rights

Classification of constitutional rights

Article 3 : BiLL of rights

Due Process of Law - any deprivation of life, liberty, or property by the State is with due process if it is
done:

Under the authority of a law that is valid;

After compliance with fair and reasonable methods of procedure by law

Article 3, Sec 9:

Section: Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.

Inherent powers of the government

Article 3, Sec 14

Right to presumption of innocence:

1. A safeguard against false conviction

2. Requirement of proof of guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Article 3, sec

Search and Seizures

Who determines the probable cause?

**Judge

Article 3

Meaning of right of privacy:

the right to be left alone; the right of a person to be free from undesirable publicity…
Article 3, section 17

“No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.”

**Right against self-incrimination

Article 3 Sec 21

Right against double jeopardy

Article 3 section 22

No ex factor law or bill of attainder shall be enacted

An ex post facto law is one that operates retrospectively

Bill of attainder is a legislative act which inflicts punishment without a judicial trial.

Article v - suffrage

Section 1. Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines, not otherwise disqualified by law,
who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year
and in the place wherein they propose to vote, for at least six months immediately preceding the
election. No literacy, property, or other substant