1987 Constitution

1987 Constitution

March 24, 1986, Pres. Aquino issued Proclamation

no. 3 – “Freedom Constitution”
April 23, 1986, Pres. Aquino issued Proclamation no.
9 summoning the Con-Com
Con-Com accepted suggestions, delegations and
testimonies from diverse groups in the country.
October 15, 1986, the new charter was approved
September 2, 1987, a national plebiscite ratified the
new constitution.
 Meaning of a Constitution

Most important law of a country because it contains

the official declaration of the form government, its
structure and powers, and the rights and duties of
citizens.
Supreme and is called “mother of governments”
 Contents of the 1987 Constitution

Preamble – expressing the ideals of the nation

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 Officials
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
Ordinance – Apportioning the seats in the Congress to
different legislative districts in the country.
 Most important new features of 1987
Constitution:

1. Instead of imploring the aid of Divine Providence,

the Filipino people now invoke the aid of Almighty
God in promulgating the constitution (preamble).
2. The Philippines is declared a nuclear free zone
where no nuclear weapons may be stationed.
(Article 2, section 8)
3. The state shall abolish abortions and protect the
life of the unborn child (article 2, section 12)
4. No persons may be detained for political belief or
aspirations. (art.3, sec. 18[1])
5. The death penalty is abolished (art.3, sec. 19[2])
6. Torture or other degrading punishment and secret
detention are prohibited (art. 3, secs. 12[2] and
19[2])
7. The state shall compensate and rehabilitate torture
victims and their families (art.3, sec. 17)
8. An independent Human Rights Commission shall
be created (art. 13, Sec. 17)
9. Those born of Filipino mothers before January 17,
1973, may elect Filipino citizenship at the age of
majority and shall be deemed natural-born citizens
(art. 4, sec. 1[3])
10. Absentee voting by Filipinos abroad will be allowed
(art. 5, sec. 2)
11. The disabled and illiterate will be allowed to vote
without the help of other persons (art. 5 sec. 2)
12. Instead of a unicameral parliament (Batasan), the
legislature shall be a bicameral Congress, with a
24-member Senate and a House of Representative
composed of not more than 250 members (art.6)
13. Some representative in the lower house may come
from sectors (labors, farmers, urban poor, women,
youth, etc.) (art.6 sec. 5)
14. People can directly propose and enact or reject law
by means of initiative and referendum (art.6 sec.
32)
15. The term of the President is six years without
reelection; the Vice-President may run for two
terms of six years each (art.7, sec. 4)
16. The powers of the President to declare martial law
and to suspend the writ of habeas corpus are
limited (art. 7 sec. 18)
17. Political dynasties, or the appointment of relatives
of the President to government positions are
prohibited (art. 7, sec. 13)
18. The President can no longer make laws by decrees
but shall faithfully execute the laws passed by
Congress (art. 7 sec. 17)
19. Autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in
the Luzon Cordilleras shall be created (art. 10, secs.
15-21)
20. Even citizens may now file for the impeachment or
removal of high government officials (art. 11 sec.3
[2])
21. Limitations are made on the right of the state to
borrow foreign loans or approve foreign
investments in the economy and national
patrimony (art.12)
22. The practice of all professions is limited to Filipino
citizens (Art. 12, sec. 14)
23. The state shall give preference to Filipino
businessmen and laborers in contracts and in the
communications and advertising industry (art.12,
secs. 11-12 and art. 16, secs. 10—11)
24. The state is committed to agrarian and natural
resources reform (art.13 secs. 4-8)
25. The state is committed to urban land reform and
housing (art.13 secs. 9-10)
26. Free medical care for the poor is assured (art.13
sec. 11)
27. Free education up to high school level is
guaranteed (art. 14, sec. 2[1])
28. The armed forces are committed to serve and
protect the people and to be free from partisan
politics (art.2 sec. 3 and art.16 sec 3)
29. Foreign bases are banned after 1991, except by
consent of the Senate and people (Art. 18, sec. 25)
30. The state can recover ill-gotten wealth of public
officials (art.11, sec. 15)
 Basic Principles of the 1986 Constitution

1. The Philippines is a democratic and a republic

state. Sovereignty resides in the people, and all
government authority emanates from them;
2. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of
national policy;
3. Civilian authority is, at al times, supreme over the
military;
4. The prime duty of the government is to serve and
protect the people;
5. There shall be separation of church and state;
6. The state shall promote social justice;
7. The state values the dignity of the individual and
guarantees full respect for human rights.
8. The state shall strengthen and protect the family;
9. The state shall promote and protect the interests of
the youth, the elderly, and women;
10. The state shall protect and promote the right to
health;
11. The state shall protect the ecology;
12. The state shall give priority to education, science
and technology, arts, culture, and sport;
13. The state shall protect the rights of the workers.
14. The state shall develop a national economy
effectively controlled by Filipinos;
15. The state shall encourage private enterprises;
16. The state shall promote rural development and
agrarian reform
17. The state shall ensure the autonomy of local
governments;
18. The state shall promote the rights of cultural
minorities;
19. The state shall maintain honesty and integrity in
public service and take measures against graft and
corruption;
20. Freedom of information is guaranteed on all
government transactions involving public interest.
 Government of law and not of men.

(1) Concept – By this principle, which is also known

and has the same import as the rule of law, is meant
that no man in this country as above or beyond the
law. Every man, however high and mighty his station
may be, possesses no greater rights that every other
man in the eyes of the law.
(2) Exercise of government powers – A government of
laws, as contrasted with a government of men, is a
limited government. It has only the powers given it
by the Constitution and laws, and it may not go
beyond the grants and limitations set forth therein.
Its authority continues only with the consent of the
people in sovereignty resides. (Art. II, Sec. 1)
Where personal whims and uncontrolled discretion
guide the conduct of governmental action, what
exists is not rule of law but reign of men without law.
All officers of the government, from the highest to
the lowest, are creatures of the law and are,
therefore, bound to obey it. A government that fails
to enforce the law, in effect, fails to govern.
(3) Observance of the law – The same is true of private
individuals in the community. They are also bound to
respect the sovereignty of the law. A person may not
agree with the wisdom and expediency of the law but it is
his duty to follow the law so long as it remains in the
statute books. He cannot take the law into his own hands
by resorting to violence and physical force to enforce his
rights or achieve his ends without being criminally held
liable for his action.
The principle thus protects most especially the liberties of
the weak and underprivileged.
(4) Significance of the principle – It is basic that laws
must be obeyed by all and applied to everyone – rich
or poor, lowly or powerful – without fear or favor.
The observance of the supremacy of the rule of law
by officials, individuals, an the people as a whole is
what will sustain our democracy and assure the
existence of a truly free, orderly, and equitable
society. (Preamble)
Every citizen has thus a stake in the rule of law as
contrasted to the “rule of men.” Without it, there is
only anarchy, or a mere semblance of order under a
dictatorship.
 Amendments to the Constitution

1. By a vote of three-fourths of all members of

Congress;
2. By a constitutional convention; and
3. By the people through initiative upon a petition of
at least twelve percent of the total number of
registered voters, of which every legislative district
must present at least three percent of its registered
voters. However, no amendment by initiative is
authorized within five years after the ratification of
the constitution nor oftener than every five years
thereafter.