First, 

the change clarified the effect of the lack of concurrence to

a treaty, that is, a treaty without legislative concurrence shall not be
valid and effective in the Philippines.

Second, the change of wording also reflected the dual nature of

the Philippines' approach in international relations. 12 Under this
approach, the Philippines sees international law and its international
obligations from two perspectives: first, from the international
plane, where international law reigns supreme over national laws;
and second, from the domestic plane, where the international
obligations and international customary laws are considered in the
same footing as national laws, and do not necessarily prevail over
the latter.13 The Philippines' treatment of international obligations as
statutes in its domestic plane also means that they cannot contravene
the Constitution, including the mandated process by which they
become effective in Philippine jurisdiction.

Thus, while a treaty ratified by the President is binding upon the

Philippines in the international plane, it would need the concurrence
of the legislature before it can be considered as valid and effective in
the Philippine domestic jurisdiction. Prior to and even without
concurrence, the treaty, once ratified, is valid and binding upon the
Philippines in the international plane. But in order to take effect in
the Philippine domestic plane, it would have to first undergo
legislative concurrence as required under the Constitution.

Third, that the provision had been couched in the negative

emphasizes the mandatory nature of legislative concurrence before a
treaty may be considered valid and effective in the Philippines.

The phrasing of Article VIII, Section 14 of the 1973 Constitution has

been retained in the 1987 Constitution, except for three
changes: First, the Batasang Pambansa has been changed to the
Senate to reflect the current setup of our legislature and our tripartite
system of government Second, the vote required has been increased
to two-thirds, reflective of the practice under the amended 1935
Constitution. Third, the term "international agreement' has been
added, aside from the term treaty. Thus, aside from treaties,
"international agreements" now need concurrence before being
considered as valid and effective in the Philippines. Thus, Article
VII, Section 21 of the present Constitution reads: