Textbook on the Philippine Constitution [Hector S De Leon]

4 TtJXTBOOK 0 ~ 'J'HE PHI LI PPINE CONSTITUTION

t he political sci en tist has t o combin e the legal with th e extra-legal view-
points .9

Function and importance of political
science.

(1 ) The function of political science i~ to discover the pr in ciples that
should be a dhere d to in public affa irs und to st udy the oper ations of
government in or der to demonstrat e wh a t i s good , t o criticize what is bad or
inefficient, a nd to suggest improveme nts .

(2) Its fi ndings and concl usions may be of immense pract ical u se t o

const itution-makers, legislators, executives, and j udges who need models
or norms tha t ca n be applied to imm edia te situati ons. Again, t hey m ay be
of immense pra ctical use t o individua ls who seek to unden~tand the state in
which they live.

(3 ) The study of political science deal s also wit h problems of socia l
welfa t'e, governmental economic programs, internationa l cooperation, and
a wide range of other matters t hat are urgent concern to publi c offi cia ls and
to private citi z.ens. 10

Goal in the study of political science /
courses.
!

I

Why s hould t he university or college student st udy politica l s~ence?
Wha t good will i t do him or he r, in la ter life'! Will it h el p in ge tting a j ob -·
in "getting a hea d"? Are political s cience courses ''practica l" (i.e., voca-
tional)?

(1 ) E ducation for citiz(mship. - I n answer, it should be ma de clear th at
the primary objective of the political science cu rriculum is education for
citizenship. The prepara tion of studen ts for careers in politics, law, teaching.
the civil service, a nd t he foreign service (though vitally important ) is Recond-
ary to the ta::~k of equipping them to dist:ha rgE> the obliga tions of democratic
citi ze nship, which grow consta ntly heavier in the modern world.

(2 J E.c;sential parts ofliberal education. _.. Most polit ical scie nce courses
should be viewed as esse ntial parts ofl iber"' l e d ucation, bearing no materi-
a h stic pr ice tag an d promising no j ob s ecurit y. Su ch shop-worn adjectives
as "pra ctical" a nd "cultural" have no releva nce h ere. I ntelligent, responsi-
ble cit izens hip ca n save democracy; ignoranc e and neg ligence can lose it .

Democra cy has pra ctical a dvant ages which no one can appraise in mon-
etary terms. Just how much is freedom worth? The oft-repeated but seldom
comprehended quota tion, "eter~l vigilance is the price of liberty," r equires
amendment. Study, in for mation, a nd understanding of the com plexities of
modern government and politics are necessary as eterna l vigilance.

~Ib i d.

'~Ibid., p . I.

iNTRODUCTION 5
B. Concept!:< of Slate and Government

1.3 J Knowledge and understanding of' government. -·· Political science
:;eeks to gather and impart this knowledge and understanding. 'fhe "good" .
citizen who behavl:!s him1:wlf <md votes regularly is no longe1· enough. He
must algo be th~ citizen who knows the answers. He mu~t know ho~' his
.government really operates, what interests and forces are behind particu-
lar policies, what the results of such policies are likely to be, what his
rights and obligations are, who his elected representatives are, and what
they stand for. 11

B. CONCEPTS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT

Meaning of state.

A stale is a c:ommunity of persons more or less numerous, permanently
occupying a definite portion of territory, having a government of their own
to which lhe great body of inhabitants render obedience, and enjoying
freedom from extt~rnal control. 1~

The Philippines is a state.

Eiements of state. .

The modern state has four (4) essential elements. They are:

(1) People.- This refers to the mass ofpopulation living within the state.
Without people there can be no fimctionarie8 to govern an<l no subjects to be
governed. There is no requirement as to the number of people that should
compose a state. But it should be neither too small nor too latge: small enough
to be well-governed and large enough to be self-sufficingY

Reputedly the smallest state in point of population is the Vatican. Its
estimated 500 citizens, mainly clerics and some Swiss guards, are ruled by the
Pope.14 The island Republic of Nauru15 has a total population of only about
9,000. China is the largest state in point of population placed at more than one

billion.

The Philippines is now estimated to have a population of about
82,663,000,16 composed mostly of Malays and Chinese;

1'Rodec, Anderson, and Christ.ol. note 1, OfL i:it., pp. 17-1H.
1~See Gamer, Introduction to Political Science, pp. :~H-41.
1'~Scc Gar11er, p,,Jitical Hci~mce and Gtw't., p. 74.

"In 2003, the Vatican had a population ofjul't 492, a world record. with only 240 people
holding citizensh;p, hut about 111 million tourists arriving t-ach yeur tn !:'1:'1:' the headquarters of
the Roman Catholic Church ancl the home ufthe Pope. iManila fhtll~tin, ,Jan. 1, 2004, p. A-2.'•

1;Locatcd in the southwest. l'acifk ;1bout aO mile~ !'Outh of th«l Equator and 1,300 miles
northeast of Australia. The Republic c,f Palau, one of thi1 Micronesian islands about iOO
kilometers east of Mindan;;o. hRs a population ofabout 15.000 in 1973. The island kingdom of
Tonga located in the western South Pacific Ocean. with Fiji on the West and Samoa on the
northeast, ha!'; a population of about. 100,000 in 2003.

'GIJ'his is :1ccording to the data from the National Cen1;us and StatisticR Offict- !NCSO}. It
may now he about 85 million. The latef't actual account, which is done e-very five (5) years, in
20<)0 was 76,498.735, with a 2.:H>'1i annual growth rate. The 1995 figun~ waH 1>8,616,536 with
a growth rab of 2 a2'iL

6 TEX'l"SOOK 0~ THF. PHILIPPl~E CONSTlTCTION

<2) Territory. - It indudes not only the~~>,Zer _wl:lic!l th!:! jurisdiclion of
the ~tat~ .~~t.e.nds, but also the'f!Y~'=§..~nd J.ik~ "therein , a .~Lt.ain area. of.the
sea wJ~~c_h.ab.ut& upon itB coasts and the a ir space above it. Thus, the domain of

the state may be described as te~~-r.r..e..s·-trial,. f.l u.via~l., ma-r-i-t4i·r-i1e, and C!-er-ial.

The smallest s tate in point of territory is Vatican , located just outside

the western boundary of Rome with a n area of on ly 1/() s quare mile or 0.43
squa r e kilometer. It would flt in Rizal Park in Manila. The Republic of
Nau ru h as an area of about eight (8) square miles or 20 square kilometers .
The former Sovi et Unjon 17 was t h e largest state in point of territory with
its total la nd a rea of about 8,599, 776 square miles. Now, the biggest st.ate
is Can ada, havi ng a n a r ea of:~,852 ,000 square miles whi.ch covers a sur face

n early as large as E urope.

T h e Phjlippines has a total land area of about 115,707 squar e miles or
299,681 :.>quare kilometers;1-'-

(3) Q.ourrnment.- It refers to th~~l:lcy__.thl:oa~h which thc.Yt:ill_Qf!,he
~d, ex.£i.~~~~-~~:~ carried_Q.l._lt. The word is sometimes u~e'a
to refer to the person or aggregate of th ose persons in whose ha nd::; a r e

placed for t he time being t he function of political control. This "body of
men" is usually spoken of as "~drn.i.uisir.awm . " The ordinary citizens of a

country a r e a par t of the state, but a.re not par t of the government; a nd

( 4) .SD..uerdg.n.ty. - The term m ay be d efin ed as the_8!J-_2.J:e.m_e_,P9."~~er_ of
the state> to.£Qm.111and a_~g _e!lfor<;e .oQa.£_h e-':J.ceto ltl) will fr om people within

two -its jurisdictionandco r o l l aril sy:1 to have f r e e d o m f ro m fo r e i gn cont rol. It has,
man ifestati on . -- . ..
t h e r efo r e·; H - O • - 0 -· ,/ :r .

/
(a) _i_n f.J:.r.!Jg_l or the pow«:!~.oLt~u~~\~~th i q_J.t~.t~.r.rjtl) r_y ;

a nd ·

(b) ~nal or the fre e99..!!LQLt_he s tate to ~a uy out its a cti viti es
w.itho~syJ.Jectia.n...to .21control by.9.thtir ~lj!tes·. External sovereignty.i::;
often referred t o as m.depe;i"Jim~. .

These in ternal and exter nal aspct:ts of sovereignty a rt' not a b:wlutely
true in pr actice beca use of the de\'el upment of i nterna tion a l rel a tions a nd
consequently, ofinternationa l la\<.· .

~·

There are severa l theories concerning the origir, of state::;. amlmg which
a r e:

( 1) !)it.Ji!~e right theory. - I t holds tha t the s tate is of divine cre ation
a nd the ruler is ordained by God to govern t he people. Refer ence h as been
m a de by advocates of this theory to the laws which Mos es received at
Mo unt Sinai;

17With the collapse of com munism, the Un ion of S oviet Sociali,:;L Republic (USSR) broke
up into several indepe ndent st ates, r eferring to t.hem~;dvcs as the Confederation of lode-
pendent Siates tC IS ).

'AA square tn ile is eq u iva ltmt to 2.59 squa1·c k ilomet ers.

INTRODUCTION 7
B. Concept.s of State and Gon!rnment

(2) ~eessi(y m· force theocy... ---It maintains that states must have been
created through force. by some great. warriorfo\ who imposed their will upon
i..he weak;

(3} Paternalistic: theory_ --- It attributes the origin of states to the
enlargementof the family \vhich remained under the authority of the
father or mother. By natural stages, the family grew into a clan, then
developed into a tribe which broadened into a nation, and the nation
became a state; and

(4) Social contract theorY~-- It asserts that the early states must have
been for~edby deliberate and voluntary compact among the people to form
a society and organize government for their common good_ This theory
justifies the right of the people to revolt against a bad mlcr

It is not known exactly which of the above theories is the correct one.
History, however, has shown that the elements of all the theories have
played an important part in the formation and development of states_

State distinguished from nation.

Nation should not be confused with state a5 they are not the same.

( 1) The ~~js a militical_con~~pt, while vation is an .~nic con~-~pt. A

'l:E.no_rds a,.group ()f p~ople bou~lcl.J~&~.i.~I .P...t-!:.ertain characteristics such
as common 'SOcial" origin, language, customs, and traditions, and who be-

lieve that they are one and distinct from others. The term is more strictly
synonymous with (:_peop~~~

(2) A state is not subject to external control while a nation may or may
not be independent of external control; and

(3l A single state may consist of one or more nations or peoples and
conversely, a single nation may be made up of several states. The United
States is a melting pot of several nationalities. On the other hand, the Arab
nation is divided politically into several sovereign states. Among them are:
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, .Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and others. The Philippines
is a state composed of one nation.

In common usage, how·ever, the two term:'~ are often used synony·
mously. The Constitution uses them interchangeably.

State distinguished from government.

In common speech, they are usually regarded as identicaL As ordinar-
ily, the acts of the government (within the limits of the delegation of
powers) are the act.1-l o! the state, the former is 111eant when the latter is
mentioned, and vice versa.

The g_Q~E_~me~is only the.__a~~c~_!\u:u.ugh. ~}:litjl t~e3}ate_e~
l.t$._~11--.~~cal}.~.L~- witho~f._~_.g.Q.ve!:_n_!l;!~I.!h_;ou -~t is possible to
have a government w1thout a~ Thus, we had var10us governments a~
different periods of our history, from pre-Spanish times to the present.

T EXTHOOK 0::--1 THE PH.ILIPPJNE CON STITlJTTON

There was no Philippine state during those periods when we were under

foreign domination.. ~~'\~ .\~ "'''· ,•·-- /,... ¥'-."~' ':"' j.Jvvi·"'J\ ,:\\'r:~-J-.A\.0.~ t ,~ ~....~
- .. ...)}I'Jtlfl':-. ~v ~~~: ~. 'vf' ).I\ ·N c,h._arv~n~e.lJ.f'~b)JIu'f'tU...t.h':e. ' :..~~ "'\vl''\--- ~...,f """ ""
A government "·
may change, 1fs form may tate, as1 o·ng
s

as its esgential clements ar e present, remains the same.

Purpose and necessity o1 government.

(1) Advancement of the p ublic welfare. - Gover nm ent exi sts and should
con tinue to cx i!->t fo r th e benefi t- of the people governed. It is necessary for
the protection of society and its members , the security of persons and
property, the administra tion of justice, the preservation of the state fro m
external da nger, and the advancement of the physical, economic, social and
cultural we ll-bei ng of t h o peo ple.

(:l ) Consequence of absence. - Government exista lo do these things
which by t heir ..Jery nature, it is bettP-r equipped to a dmi nister for the
public welfare than any private individual or group of individuals. It is
obvious that wit hout an organized structure of government, anarchy and
disorder, and a gen eral feeling of fea r and inse<.:ur ity will pn~vail in society,
progress and developme nt will not be possible, and va lue:; taken for gran ted
in a free modern society such as truth, freedom, j ustice, equality, r ule of
law, a nd human dignity can never be enjoye d.

The need for government is so a pparent that even the most primitive
socie ties, history shows, had some form of it.

Forms of government.

The principal for ms a re the following:

(] l A s to number of per:wn.s exerdsing sovereign power!'~:

(a) lviJ/[q)chy or 9lle in which the supreme and fin al authority is in

the hands of a single person without r egard to the source of hi:; ·e lection

or the nature or d uration of hi.!> t enure. Monarchies a re fur ther classi·
· /_...r···-
fted into:

1) Absolute mona.rch:y or one in which the ruler rilles by divine
right; and

21 L imited monarchy or one in whkh the ruler rule1-:. in accord-

antt! w!th a constitution; ~W.\IIt ~~n-j~ c.,..~~

lh J A•·t\~fa_cy or _pt~e in which political power is exercised by a fe w

privil eged class which is known 11!-; an a ristocracy or oligarch y; and
t.el .D· emL?.lc~ra\c)y or .P{te m- w hI-Ch po1t·tl<..:a I p.ower 1. s exerci.sed by a

rnajOJ"i ty oi"the ·people. 1'' De mocratic governm ents are fu rther classifi ed

in to:

1) J)irect or p ure de mocracy or one in which the will ofthe state
is for mulated or expressed di~ectly and imm~diately through the

- - - - - - -~\\ ~~\~\-<. '· Ir\l-.-1..~ ·,<:, ~'\o\\\ -
'9G >~r ner . Polit.ic~ l SciCJ)Ce and Government, p . :315.

rNTRODlJCTfON

B. Conct!pf.s of Sl<ltt' <md Government.
c..J;;- , •.!l. . - ·t~ ......'.\l•orv \~~~ ,~.~L-. ...._".

.~.n

people in a• mass meeting or primary assembly rather than through

the med1um of delegates or representatives chosen t1) act for thern;20

and

2) Indirect, representative, or n~publican democracy or one in
which the ltillof the state is formulated and exp1·essed through the

ag_encygf.a..r.clati:v.cly sm.alland select body.oTp-ersons ch075en by the,

people to act as their rep_~_esentativer-;. 21

(2) "As to extent of powers exercised by the central or national govern-
ment:

(a) Unitary government or one in which the control of national and

local affairs is exercised by the central or national government; and

J "---'.A ~'tVv--1. ..--:.. .
--' -- (b) Federal governmertt or one in which the powers of government
• • .. "- ~v'~· ·are divided between two sets of organs, one for national affairs and the

~-"' "'~- vther for local affairs. each organ being supreme within its own.»phere.
. ·-~.....~. (),
The United States is a federal government. ·

... ',,n:.~-..- (3) As to relationship between the executive and the legislative branches

-...: \-;.···'' ·of'\he government:

~ -:.,._._.. u ;() Parliamentary government or one in which the state confers

f ·- ~ upon the legislature the power to terminate the tenure of office of the

.~:--4/.>.'...'-.-.i··:df ·, real executive. Under this system, the Cabinet or ministry is immedi-
ately and legally responsible to the legislature and mediately or politi-
.---. • .t. _
·~:.-'t.-:~ ~ cally responsible to the electorate, while the titular or nominal execu-

• . ._,j.., t.ive - the Chief of State- occupies a pMition of irrespon.sibility; and

(b) Presidential government or one in which the state makes the
executjve constitutionally independent of the legislature as regards his
tenure and to a hu·g(! exlent as regards his policies and acts, and
furnishes him with sufficient powers to p-revent the legi::;lature from
trenching upon the sphere ma1·!>.ed out by the constitution as executive
independence and pre.rogativG.22

On the basis of the above dassHications ofgovernment, it can be said that
the Philippine government is a representative democracy, a unitary and
presidential government with separation of powers. It also embodies some
aspects of pure democracy such as, for instance, the constitutional provision
on initiative and referendum. (see Art. VI, Sec. 32.) Under our Ctmstitution,
executive power is vested in the President and the Cabinet, legislative power
with the Congress composed of a Senate and a Hou.sc of Representatives, and
judicial power with the Supreme Court and the lower ~ourts.-' 1

~0It iii no longer phyFoically pos~ihle in nn_v country today because of increase of popula·
tion, expansion of territory, and complexity of modern-day problems.

· 21Garner, note .19, p. :H!).

ztS(<C Garner, Introduction to Political Science, pp. 97-100.
2'1Fundamentally, what determine;; the effectiveness of a government to promote the
common good and achieve the development gnal!; of a nation is not it.ii form, but t-he quality of
men and women whro serve in it.

10 TEXTBOOK 0~ TTH: PHTLIPPJ NE CO.NSTITU1'ION

C. THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
PHILIPPINES IN TRANSITION

The pre-Spanish government.

(1) Unit of government. ·-· Prior to the arriv~Il of t he Spaniards, the
Philippines was compolSed of settlements or villag~!S, each called barangay
(consisting of more or less 100 families j, named after balangay, a Malayan
word meaning "boat" (ther eby confirming the theory that the early Filipi-
nos came to the Philippines in boats). Eve1·y barang~y was virtually a
stat e, for it possessed th e four basic elements of statehood. At times,
however, some barangays joined together as "confederations" mainly for
the purpose of mutual protection against common enemies.

(2) Datu. -- Each barangay was ruled by a chief called datu in some
places, and rajah, sultan or hadji in ot.lwrs. He wn::; its chit~f executive, law-
giver, chief judge, and military head. In the perfo rmance of his duties,
how ever, he was assisted usuall y by a council of e lders (maginoos) which
served as his advisers. One cou ld be a datu chiefly by inheritance, wisdom,
wealth, or physical prowess.

In form , the bara ng-a y wHs a monarchy with the d<•h t as the monarch.

(3) Social classes i11 the ba.rangay. ---The people of the barangay were
divided into four classes, n amely: the nobility (maha rlika), to which the
datu belonged, the fre emen (tim a.wa), the serfs (a/iping namamahay), and
the slo ves (aliping sagigilid).

(4) Early laws. -·The early Filipinos had both written and mnvritten

laws. The written lawl3 were promulgated by th(: <latus. The two known

written codos in the prt:>-Spanish era are the "!vlaragtaH CodE'" which was

said to h ave been written about 1250 A.D. by Datu Sum akwel of Panay,

and t he "Kalantiaw Code" written in 1433 A. D. by Datu Kalantia w. also of
Panay. The unwritten laws consisted of customs and traditions wVc:'h had
been passed down from generation to gen~ration.
!

(5 ) Comparison wWt other ancient govermnrnts. -- It can be said that
the laws of the barangay wt~re generally fair. The system of.government,
a lthough defective was not so bad considering thl:! conditions in other lands
in the age during which it flourishe d. An eminen t s chola r has written: "The
Filipino people, l:!ven in the prehistoric times h ad a lread y shown high
intelligence and moral virtues; virtues and intelligen ce clearly manifested
in their legislation, which , taking into consider atiori the circumstances and
t he epoch in wh ich it was fr amed, was clearly a s wi~e, as prudent, and a s
humane. as that of t he nations then at the head of civilization. "21

2·'S"'e Grego1·io F. Znide, Phil. Oov't ., 1962 ed., pp. 12· 19 : "A Rough Surv~y of tlH~ Pre-
Spanish Legislation in the Philippine;;,'' by .Justice Norbcrto Romualdez, PhiL Law Journal,
Nov ., 1914, p. 179.

I~TRODl.:CTION 11

C. T he Government of the Phili ppines in Transition

Government during the Spanish period.

11) Spain's title to the Philippines. - It was based on the discovery
made by Ferdinand MagQJlan in 1521, consummated by its conquest by
~1iguel Lopez de L£gazpi forty-five years later and long possession for
almost four centuries, until it was terminated in 1898, when by the Treaty
of Paris, t he Philippines was ce ded by Spain to the Unit~d States.

(2) Spanish colonial government. -- From 1565 to 1821, the Philip-
pines was indirectly governed by the King of Spain through .Mexico. From
1821, when Mexico obtained her independence from Spain, to 1898, the
Philippines was ruled directly from Spain. The council in Spain responsible
for the adminietration of the Philippines was the Council of the Indies. In
1837, it was abolished and legislation for the Philippines was temporarily
performed by the Council ofMinisters. From 1863, the Ministry ofUltramar
(colonies) exercised general powers of supervision over Philippine affairs.

Three times during the Spanish period (1810 -1813, 1820-1823, and
1836-1837), the Philippines was given representation i n the Spanish Cortes,
the legislative body of Spain. A basic principle introduced by Spain to the
Philippines was the union of the church and th e state.

(3) Government in the Philippines unitary. - The government which
Spain established in the Philippines was centralized in structure and
national in scope. The barangays were consolidated into towns (pueblos)
each headed by agobernadorcillo (little governor), popula rly called capitan,
and the towns into provinces, each headed by a governor who represented
the Governor General in the province.

Cities governed under special charters were also created. Each of these
cities had an ayuntamiento or cabildo (city council). Cebu was the first city
to be established in 1565 in the Phi lippines. Th e second was Manila , in
1571.

(4) The Governor-General. -The powers of the government were actu-
ally exercised by the Governor-General who r esided in Manila. He was
"Governor-General," "Captain General," and "vice-royal patron." As Gover-
nor-General, he had execu tive, administrative, legislative, and judicial
powers. As Captain-Gener al, he was Commander-in-C hief of all the Armed
Forces in the Philippines. As the vice-royal patron, he exercised certain
religious powers. Because of these broad powers, it h<l~ been said that the
Governor General enjoyed more powers than the King of S pain himself.
Thi~:; was justified, however, because of t he distance of t he P hili ppines from
Spain .

In the administration of the Philippines, the Governor-General was
assisted by many boards and officers, particularly the Board of Authorities
and the Council of Administration.

The first Spanish Governor-General in the Philippines was Miguel
Lopez de Legazpi (1565-1571) and the last was Ge n. Diego de los Rios
(1898).

12 Tl<;XTBOOK ON THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITl.IT!O!\

(5) The Judiciary. - Th e R oyal Audiencia \>Yhich was established in
1583 was the Supr eme Court of the Philippines during the Spanish times.
Its decision was final except on certain cases of great importance which
could be appealed t o the King of Spain. It a lso performed. functions of
executive and legislative nature.

Below the R oyal Audiencia., were two Territorial Au.diencias estab-
lished in 1893 - one in Cebu a n d the ot her in Vigan - which exercised
a ppellate jurisdiction over criminal cases coming from the surrounding
territory. In 1886, courts of fin;t instance with both civil a nd criminal
jurisdiction were es t ablished in the provinces. At t he bottom of the judicial
system were t he justice of t he peace cour ts which were ef'tablished in the
tiifferent towns in 1885.

In a ddition, there were special courts, like the miJitary and naval courts
which h ad j urisdiction over military offenses, and the ecclesiastical courts
which had cognizanct~ of canonical matters and ecc] N;iastica l offenses . Treas -
ury a nd commercial courts wer e Rlso created but were later abolished.

(6) E valuation of the Spanish Government in the Philippines. - The
government which Spain established in the Philippines was defective. I t
was a government fo r t he Spaniards a nd not for t he Filipino1:1. The Spanish
offic ials we re often ine ffic ient. and corrupt . T he union of church and state
produced serious stri f~s between the ecclesiastical and civil authorities.
Equality before the law was denied to the Filipinos.

The demerits, however, of the S panish adm inistration were more than
offset by its merits .

(a) The Spani~h rule, when viewed in the broader light. of g lobal
colonization, was generally mi ld a nd humane. The Filipino people were
not brutalized. Spaniards and Filipinos intermarried and mingled so-
cially. Slavery a nd t ribal wars were suppressed;

(b) It broug ht a bout th e uni fi eation of t.he Filipino people . The
diver se tribes were molded into one people. under on e God , one King,
a nd one gover nment, and out of t heir common grievances against Spain ,
blossomed t.he spirit of nati onalism; and

(c) S pain uplifte d the Filipinos from th~ depth of prim itive cult ure
and paganism and gave them the blessing!> of C hri ~tianity a nd Euro-
pean civilization.1';

Governments during the Revolutionary era.

(1 ) The Katipu nan government. - The Katipu nan was the secret soci -
ety t h at preci pitated our glorious revolut ion on August 26, 1896. It was
organized by Andres Bonifa cio, who, together with a group of Filipino
patriots, signed the covenant of the Katipunan with their own blood on

2;;See G.F. ZaidE', note 24, op. cit., pp. 34-35.

I:-.<TROD UCTION 13
C. The Guve rnment of\.he Phiiippine:; in Transition

July 7. 1892.~6 The c~ntral government of the Katipunan was vest.ed in a
Supreme Council (Kataastaasang Sanl{guniani. In each province there was
u Provincial Council (Scmggu.niang BalangayJ and in each town, a Popular
Council (Sa.ngguniant? Bayanj. The judicial power was exercised by a Judi -
ci al Cound l (Sanggu niang Huhu mani.

The Katipunan was the first clear break from Spanish rule with the
ultimate goal to establish a free and sovereign Philippines. It was replace d
by another government whose officials headed by Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo as
President, were elected in the Tejeros Convention held on March 22, 1897.

(2) The Biak-na-Bato Republic. - On November 1, 1897, a republic
was established by Gen. Aguinaldo in Biak-na-Bato (now San Miguel de
Mayumo, Bulacan). It had a constitution which was to take effect for two
years only. It declared t hat the aim of the revolutions was the "separation
of the Philippines fro m the Spanish monarchy a nd their form a tion into an
independent state." Th e Biak-na-Bato Republic lasted up to December 15,
1897, with the conclusion of t he "P act of Biak -na-Bato."

(3 ) The Dictatorial Government. -Following the outbreak of the Span~
ish-American war on April 25, 1898, Gen. Aguinaldo, in view of the chaotic
conditions in the cou ntry, establis hed the Dictatorial Government on May
23, 1898. The most important achievements of the Dictatorial Government
were the Proclamation of Philippine Independence at Kawit , Cavite on
June 12, 1898 and the reorganization oflocal governments.

<4) The Revolutionary Government.- On ,June 29, 1898, Gen. Aguinaldo
established the Revolutionary Gove rnment replacing the Dictatorial Gov-
ernment with himself as President and a Congress whose function was
advisory and ministerial. The decree making such change stated that th e
aims of the new government were "to struggle for the independence of the
Philippines, until all nations including Spain will expressly recognize it,"
and "to prepare the coun try for the establishmen t of a rea l Republic."

(5) The First Philippine R epublic. --On September 15, 1898, a re\·o tu-
tionary Congress of Filipino rcpresentat.iYes met in Malolos, Bulacan at the
call of the Revolutionary Government. The Malolos Congress ratified on
Septembt!r 29, 1898 the proclamation of Philippine independence made by
Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite on ,June 12, 1898 and framed the
so-called Malolos Consti tut.ion. This Constitution was t he first democratic
constitution ever promulgated in the whole of Asia. It esta blished a "free

'16The Katartstaa.san, Ka.ga lanl{galu.ng Katipun.an ng mfla A.nak ng Ba_,·u.n or Katipunno
for short was actually the brainch ild of Marcelo H. del Pilar. He tried to establish it in
Manila in 11:190 but succE~edl:!d only in 1R92 thr ough the he lp of his brother -in-law DeQdato

Arellano and other F ilipino patriots. Del Pilar envi;;iont>d the Katipunan to be the "weapon of
the weak" against. coloni·' l rnle in the country. The f(lunding of the radi<'al Kati punan justi-
fied the Filipino peoph!'S rt>sort to force because the colonial authorities a.horted La Liga
Filipina , the organization through which Filipino dema nds could be pursued peacefull y. With

the death of Del Pilar, nonifacio was th,·u!;t into the mat>lstrom of the Philipp in(! revr> lution.
He becam e the moving l'<pirit of the Katipunan. The word "Ka tipu nan'' suggests oneness.

l4 T £ XT fi00 K ON THE PHI LIPPI NE CONSTITUTION

a nd indep end en t Phil ippine Rep ublic" whi ch wa s inaugu r a t ed on .Ja nuary
23, 1899 with G(m. Aguina ldo as President.

Our First P hili ppi ne Republic was not recognized by t he fa mil y of
n at ions. It was neverth eless a n or ganized government beca use it actually
existed a nd its author ity wa~:> accepted by the people. It exis ted from
Janu ary 23, 1899 to Ma rch 23, 1901 Y

In February, 1899, the United States a nnexed the Philippines a s a
r esult of the Spanish-American War a nd in April, 1901, Gen. Aguina ldo
was captured . Thus, the Republic was s hort-lived , its in depen dence cut
short by the superior might. of a n ew colonial power. The Malolos Constitu-
tion which provided for the est ablishment of a P hilippine Republic had no
opportunity to opera te. However, this in no way diminis hes t h e histor ical
signifi cance of the Ph ilippine Revolution of 1896. It wa s the first war of
independence fo ught by Asia ns a ga inst fore ign domination and it gave
birth to the first constitutiona l democracy in Asia and th e West P acific.

Governments during the American regime.

(1) The Military Government. - The America n military r ule in the
P hilippines bega n on August 14, 1H98, the day aft er the ca pture of Ma nila.
The exis ten ce of war gave t he President of the U ni ted St a tes the power to
establish a Military Government in the Philippines , a s Comma nder-in-
Chief of all Armed F orces of the United States. His au thority was delegated
t o t he military governor wh o exercis ed as long as t he war lasted, all power s
of government - executive, legislative, a nd judicia l.

Th e fi rst Ame ri can Mili t a ry Governor was General vVes ley Mer ritt, t he

second was GeMral Elwell E. Ot is, and the th ird and la st, was Major

Genera l Arth ur J\.b eArthur. /

(2) The Civil Government.- Pursuant to the s o-called Spoo ner Amend-
ment (on the army a ppropria t ion a ct passed in the U.S. Congress on March
3, 1901) which ended the m ilitary regime in th e Philippines , the Civi l
Government was inaugurated in Man ila on July 4, 190 1, h eaded by a Civil
Governor whose position was created on October 29, 1901. Th e Civil Gover-
nor (the title was la ter changed to Governor-Gene ra l on Febru ary 6, 1905)
also exercised legislative powers . He remained as Presiden t of the Philip-
pine Commission, the sole lawma king body of th e government from 1901 to
1907.

From 1907 t o 1916, the Philippine Commission a cted a s the upper
house of the legislative branch with th e Philippine Assembly serving a s th e
lower house. With the pass age of t he Spooner Law in 1901, these two
bodies ga ve way to th e Philippine Legislat ure. The Philippines was repr e-
se nted in the Unite d State s by t wo Resident Commissioners who were
elected by the Ph ilip pine Legis lature. T hese com missioners had seats in

27SE!e G.F . 7-!!idc. not e 24, op. d t., pp. 38-45.

INTRODUCTJON 15
C. The Govemm'!llt of t ht! Philippines iu Tr(l n sition

the United Stat~s House of Representatives, r eeeiving the same emolu- :"<.
ments and other privileges a.s the American members of that body, but
without the right to vote.:t~<

The fir::~t Civ·tl Governor was JudgQ William H. 'I'aft 0901-1903 ). He
was succeeded by Luke F. Wright (1904-1906) who wa~ the first American
to enjoy the title of Governor-General of the Philippines. The last Gover-
nor-General was Frank Murphy (198:~-1935) who was also the first High
Commissioner of the United States to the Philippines upon the inau~ura­
tion of the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines.

(3) The Commonwealth Government of' the Philippines. - The next
stage in the political development of the Filipinos was the establishment of
the Commonwealth Government of the Philippines pursuant to an act. of
the United States Congress on March 24, 1934, commonly known as the
Tydings-McDuffi.e Law. Among other things, the Jaw provided for a transi-
tion period often years during which the Philippine Commonweal th would
operate and at the expiration of ::.-aid period on July 4, 1946, the independ-
ence of the Philippines would be proclaimed <'!nd established.

The new government of t.he Commonwealth of the Philippines, deemed
successor to the Government of the Philippine Islands, was inaugurated on
November 15, 1935, following the first national election under the 1935
Constitution h eld on September 12, 1935, with Manuel L. Quezon and
Sergio Osmefia, as President and Vice-President, respectively.

The Commonwealth Government of the Philippines was republic an in
form under the presidential type . The legislative povu~r was first. vested in
a unicameral National Assembly and later in a bicameral Congress com-
posed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The judicial power
was vested in the Supreme Court a nd inferior (i.e., lower) courts provided
by law. The Government of the Commo nwealth ofthe Philippines was very
autonomous. The Filipino~ had almost complete control over the domestic
affairs, the United States retaining control only over matters involving
foreign affair:-~ .

During World War II , the Commomvcalth Government fum;tione d in
oxile in Washington from May 13, 1942 to October 3, 1944. It was
reestablished in Manila on February 27, 1945 when Gen. Douglas
MacArthur, in a ceremony held at Malacafiang Palace on hehalf of the
United States Govern ment, lurnt~d over to Pref:'ident Osmena the full
powers and responsibilities of t he Commonwcall.h Government under the
(1935) Constitution.

Governments during the Japanese occupation.

(1) The Jap anese Military Administration. - It was established in
Manila on January 3, 1942, one day after its occupation. Under a proclama-

2"See Ibid., pp. 54·55.

16 TEXTBOOK ON THE PHfl.IPl'INE CONSTITUTION

tion iss uNl by the .Japanese High Command, the sovereignty of the Unite d
States over t he Ph1li ppines was declared terminated.

(2) The Phihppine Executive Comrnission. - A civil government known
as the Philippi ne Executi ve Commission composed of Filipinos with J orge
B. Vargas as chairman, was organized by t he military forceg of occupation.
The com mission exercised bot h the executive and legislative powers. The
laws enacted were. however, subject to the approval of the Commander-in-
Chief of the Japanese For ces. The judiciary continued in the same form as
it wa~ u n der th e Commonwealth. Howevt>r, it funct ioned without the inde-
pen dence which it ha d tradi tionally enj oy ed.2!l

(3) The Japane~o:e-sponsored Rr~public of the Philippines. -On October
14, 1943, the so-called Japanese-sponsored Republic of the Philippines was
inaugurated with .Jose P . Laurel as President. It was ofihe same character
as the Philippine E xecutive Commission. Like the latter, the ultimate
source of its a uthority was the Japanese military a uthority an d go vern-
men t.:JU On August 17, 1945. P r esident Laurel proclaimed th~ dissolution of
i.he Republic.

The previous Philippine Republics.

(1) Under .Joint Hesolution No . 9:3, approved by the United States
Congresg on .June 29 , HJ44 , the Pr esident of t he United States was aut hor-
ized to proclaim the independence of the Philippines prior to July 4, 1946,
a fter t he .Japanese had been vanqu ished and constitutiona l processes in
t hfl country restored. The Republic of the Philippines wa s formally ina ugu-
r<lted on July 4, 1946 with Manuel A. Roxas as the first President a nd
Elpidio Quirino ag th e first Vice-President. Roxas and Quirino also served
fr om May 28, 1946 to .J uly 4, 1946 as the last Commonwealth President and
Vice-Presidcnt, re.speaively.

T he 1935 Constitution served a s the fundamentall"\,w not only for the
Commonwealth Government which was inter;upted by th'e ..Sg_cgpd World
War but also for the Republic of the P hilippines un til the "ratification" of
the 1973 Phili pp ine Constitution establishing a parliamentary form of
government, effected by virtue of Procl amation No. 1102 of President
Ferdinand E. Marcos <Jn ,Jan ua ry 17, 1973, a fter th e decl aration of martia l
law on September 21 , 1972.

<2) The First Republic was established on January 23, 1899 under the
Malolos Const itu tion ; the Second, on October 14, 1943 under the Japanese-
sponsored Constitution, and t he Third, on ,July 4. . 1946 under the 1935
Constitution. President Ferdinand E. Marcos, in his inaug ural add1·ess on
.June :30, 1981, proclaimed th e birth of the Fourth Republic under the 197:3
Constitution which, a s a mended in a plebiscite on April 7, 1981, installed a

""See ibid.. pp. 100-1 01.
·'''Co Kim Chan vs. Valdez Tan Kch. 75 Phil. 11 3.

1NTHODUCTIO:-.; 17
C. The Gover-nm ent of th~ Philippines in Transition

modified parliamentary system of government,:H thus making him its first
Pre::1ident. All in a ll , there were nine Presidcnts32 in the previous t hree
republics, including President Marcos in his two (2) terms in the Third
R e p u b l i c . J:J

The present Republic came in to being upon the ratification of the 1987
Constitu tion (,n February 2, 1987.31

The Provisional Government of 1986.

Before Corazon C. Aquino took her oath of office on the morning of
February 25, 1986 at Club !filipino, San ,Juan , Metro Manila, the last day
of a four-d ay "people pc>wer" revolt <Feb. 22-25) t hat culminated in the
ouster of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, she read Proclamation No. 1
wherein she declared that she and her Vice-President were "taking power
in the n ame a nd by the will of th e Filipino people" on the banis of the clear
sovereign will of th e people expressed in the e lection of February 7. 1986.
In her oath, she swore to preserve and defend the "fundamental law" (not
the "Constitution") and ex~cute "just laws" <inl:ltead of "its laws").

(l:t Reuolutionary. -- The government was revolutionary because it
was instituted not in accordance with t he procedun? provided in an existing
Constitution. There is a definite acknowledgment in Procl amation No. 3
that the provil:lional government established t hel'ounder was revolutionary
in character (without calling itself as such) having been install ed by direct
action of the people or by "people power,'' deriving its existence and author-
ity directly from the people themselves and not from the then operati ng
1973 Constitution.

(2) De jure I de facto. - The first is one constitut ed or founded in
accordance with.the existing constitution of the state (according to law ),
while the other is not so constituted or fou nded but has the general support
of the people and effective control ofthe territory over which it exercises its
powers. A de facto go\'ernmcnt acquires a de jure status when it gains wide
acceptance from the people a nd recognition from the community of nati ons.

'1 'Se~ "Pri nciplf, (If separnt.ion (If powers" under At·ticln VI, Section 1.
~!Namely : Emilio A~:.ruinnlclo 0898-1901J, Jose P. Laurel ( 1943- 1945j, :.\1a.nuc~J :\. }{oxas (1946-

1948), El pidio Quiriuo 11948·195:31, l:{amon Mngs<ty;;ay !l9fi:l- l957i, C'arlol5 P. Garc i<1 (March

l957- 1961J, Dio.c;darlo P. Macapagal Cl961-196Gl, and Ferdinand E. Marl'os • I9tif>-l 986.J.
3"The last. 1.4-ye~r rule of President Marcos from t h e d~claration. of mart.i<1l law on

Sept.embcr 21. 1972 u ntil hi;. ovP.rthrow on Fchruary 25, J9HG by the so·callcd "people power
n!volution," waF: generally d~~cribed as dictatorial or auth oritarian .

'"With the ouster of President Marcos, Co razon C. ,\quino o HJ86-1992), became- the

President, follownd by Fidel V. R;~mos (1992- 1998). ,Josf•ph r:. Estrada (!998-200li, and

Gloria Macapagai-Arroyo <2001-presentJ. ls~e no te 2 to Art. \'1. Sec. :12. l F'rom 1898 to
pre;;ent . we have 14 Presiden tr;, including Manuel Qu~zon 1\935-1944 ! and Sergio Osmei'ln

: Hl-14-1946 1 who both served as Com m onwealth PrP.sidcnt.q. Macapagal-Arroyo WH"- elected
\"ice-President in 1998. She ,:;·~cceeded b:.">trada a.~ Presidant. in 2001 whe n the l11tter wn~
fcm.:ed to give up the l'residt~ncy. !see not.e 2, to Sc(:. 32 of Art. VI. l Prcsidt\ nt. Arroyo wa~
elt>e ted (not rn-clecbH]) for a six-year term in the May 10. 2004 e lflct.ions after serving the Last
three! 3 1year!': of the term of Presi den t F.l!trada. (see Art. VII. s~~. 4, par. 1.)

If! TEXTBOOK OK THE PHII.ll'PlNE CONSTITUTION

At its inception, the r evolutionary government was ill egal for lack of
constitutional basis not having been sanctioned by either the 1935 or the
1973 Constitution. It was a de facto government but acquired a de jure
status. There was no question then that the revolutionary government had
won continuous public acceptance and support without any rcsistanrB
whatsoever anywhere in the Philippines and the recognition of practically

all foreign governments.

(3) Constitutional and transitory. -The provisional government was not.
a purely revolutionary rme but a hybrid constitutional revolutionary govern-
ment, i.e., a revolutionary government. governing under a provisional or in -
terim constitution the people could invoke to protect their rights and to pro-
mote their welfare, to exist for a limited period until the ratification and
effectivity of a permanent constitution. There was nothing, however, to pre-
vent the government from amending, suspending or abrogating the Provisional
Constitution and adopting a new one or operating without. any constitution.

Jn other words, the Provisional Constitution did not have t.he status of
a supreme or fundamental law because the government was not created by
it and was not bound to obey it.

(4'> Democratic. -The provisional government was claimed to be demo-
cratic because it wa~ in stall ed by direct action of the pMple as a direct
expression or manifestation of their sovereign will, and. therefore, it was
based on the consent of the governed or the approval of the people.

(5) Power/:i. -A revolutionary government heing a direct ct'eation of

the people, derives its power~ from the people to whom alone it is account-

able. It is said that a revolutionary government is clothed with unlimited

powers because it makes its own laws; it is "a law unto itself." However,

with the adoption of the Provisional Constitution, the revolutionary gov-

ernment opted to abide with and to subject itself to the provisions thereof,

pending approval of a new charteL ~·

(6J The ProvisionaLConstitution. - Instead of declaring the 191~ Con--
s titution with certain amendments and minus certain article~_...and provi-

sions, as the interim Constitution, Proclamation No. 3 promulgated a

Provisional Constitution to repln.cP the former , adopting in toto insnfar as

they are not inconsistent with the provisions of the Proclamation, certajn

provisions of the 1973 Constitution.

By its very nature, the Provisiona l Constitution 1as wt:ll as the revolu -
tionary government which operated under it l self-dest1·uc:t upon the ratifi -
cation and effectivity of tht> new Constitution on February 2, 1987. (Art.
XVIII , Sec. 27.)

D. CONCEPT OF CONSTITUTION

Meaning of constitution.

In its broad sense , the term constitution refers to "that body of rules

orand princj_p].e.s ia accu:r.<:!ctn~~- -"~-J~_h....w.hic.h....t.h.~ . P.9"Yer~ _sove-reignty -~Ye

INTRODUCTION 19
D. Concept of Coniltitution

.regulas!Y-~rcised .~~ As t hus defin ed , it cover s both..$..i=!:ttelj and .tinwritten

~on stitution~. ·

With parti<:u1ar reference to the Can stitution of the. EhJli.pvines, it may

be defined as that wdtt@,instrJ.Lm.ent.by which the fl.:l.PdamentalPa.wers_of

the government are established, limited, and defined and by which these

power_~_~1~~ .Qhtributed among .the several d epartment::; or _pran~:hes for

tht.!)~-safe and \;sef\.iTex.ercise for the benefit of the people.36 \Vi~" \'"-.<..
\A\"'..¥'1\11.'\ ,, \'"• •

Nature and purpose or function of constitution.

(1) S erves as the supreme or fitndamentallaw. - A constitution is the
ylfartf;\!:_ creating the gov~r!!ment. It has the status of a ppr~mlil gr .(unda-

iiiimtal fii\v·&6 -it:spe~l_l.{s for t.J:'Ie -~[_l_tire people from \\fhomit derives its claim
to obedience. It is binding nn all individual citizens and all organs .of the
government. lt is the law to which all other laws must conform a nd in

accordance with which all private rights must be determined and aJl public
authority administered_:n It is the test of the legality of alJ governmental
actions, whether proceeding from the highest official or lowest function-

ary. ~8

(2 ) Establisht!.<; basic framework and underlying principles of govern-
ment. -The purpose of a cons titution is to prescribe lhe permanent frame-
work of the system of governm ent and to assign to the different depart-
ments or branche1:1, their respective powers and duties, and to establish
certain basic principles on which the governm ent is founded.~9 lt is prima-
rily designed to preserve and protect the rights of individuals against the
arbitrary actions of those in authority.10 Its function is not to legis lat~ in
detail hut to set limits on the otherwise unlimited power of the legislature.

Meaning of constitutional law.

Con~ti.tutionallaw may be defined as that branch of puhJic law (see A,
supra.) which treats of c.onstitutions, their nature, formation , amendment,
and interpretation.

It refers to lhe law embodied in the Constitution a s well as the princi~
pies growing out of the interpretation and application made by the courts
(particularly the Supreme Court, being the court of last resort) of the

3~Sec Cooley, Constit.utionnl limitations. p. 4 .

36See Malcolm and Laurel. Phil. (;onstitutional Law, p. 6 (J936l.

•1~.Statf! v~< . .\1ain, ;n AtL HO.

~~This it; not so unde r the Rritish Constitution in view of the su premacy of P11rliament

wh ich det-e rm ines what is con11litutional, and lc!Sislatcs accord ingly.
3~Ma!t.•>lrn and Laurel. n<)te 32, op. cit., p. 2. [t actu ally serves as the framework of th e

soci;ll. economic and political life ofth t~ nation because i t. governs , a lthough in a general way.
practically all areas of human t>n deavor.

•"Its effectivene~s as tile supremn Jaw dopends to a great dP.gree upon thl:! people
the mselves. Tt becom n,:; a "mMe sc1·ap of paper" if they a llow those in authori ty to viola te it
with impunity. The root:> ofcOil;;titutionalis m, it has been ~;a id , lie in the hearts of the people.

20 TEXTBOOK ON THE PHlLIPPlf\i .b: CONSTlTUTION

provisions of the Constitution in specific caf.les. Thus , the Philippine Con·
stitution itself is bnef hut the Ja w of the Constitution lies scattered in
thousands of Supreme Co urt decisionsY

Kinds of constitution.

Constitutions may be das1>ified as foll ows:

( U A<; to th eir origi n and history:
(a ) Conventional or enacted. - One which is enactNl by a con~titu­

cnt assembly or granted by a monarch to his subjects like the Constitu-
tion of J apan in 1889; and

(bJ Cumulative or evolved . ·-- LikH the Engli!:'h Consli.t ution, one
which is a product of growth or a long period of development originat·
ing in cus toms, traditions, judicial decisions, etc.. rather than from a
deliberate and formal enactment.
ThE! above cla ssification substa n tially coincides with that of written
and unwritten constitutions.

(2) As to their form :

(a ) Wri tten. ··- One which has been given definite written form at a
particular time, usually by a specially constituted authority called a
"constitutional convention"; and

(b) Unwri tten. -·- One which is entirely the product of political
evolution, consisting targely of a mass of customs, usages and judicial
decisions togethP.r with a smaller body of statutory enactments of a
fundamental character, usua lly bearing diffenmt dates.42 The English
Constitution is unwritten only in the sense that it js not codified in a
single document. Part of it is written - the Acts of Parliament and
judicial decisions. Indeed, there is no ConRlitution that is entirely
written or unwritten.

(3 ) As to manner of am.1mding them :

\a ) Rigid or inelastic. - One regarded as a document of special
s anctity which cannot be amended or altered except by some special
machinery more cumbrous tha n the ordinary legi ~ lative procl:!ss;n and

ib ) Flexible or ela.stic. - One which possesses no h igher legal au-
thority than ordinary laws and which may be altered in the same way
as oth(!r laws.44

The Phi lippi ne Co n~ti tution ··ro-~; ·b~--classified a!'i con ventional or en·

a (;ted . written, a nd r igid or inelastic. It was draft ed by an appointive body
called "Constitutional Commission." (see E, in fra.}

•'V.G. Since•. Ph il. P olit i•:a l Law. I! Lh e d., p. 67 11962i.
' 1See Garner. Po iitica l Scien ce and C'.r<>vernmcnt, p . 508.
'"Strong. ~f<tdern l'ol iti<-n l Cttn.;<tit\lt.io ns . p. 6 .
·•·•Garner. Pn lit i<:al Sctc: ntt! and Go v~ rnment, p. nOB.

JNTRODUCTTON 21
D. Concept of Constiiu t ion

Advantages and disadvantages of a written
constitution.

(1) It has the advantage of clearness nnd definiteness over an unwrit-
t en one. This is because it is prepared with great care and deliberation.
Such a conRtitution cannot be easily bent or twisted by the legislature or by
the courts, to meet the temporary fancies of the moment. Hence, the
protection it affords and the righ ts it guarantees are apt to be more secure/
Moreover, it is more st able and free from a ll dangers oft~mporary pop.ulat

passion.~5

(2 ) Its disadvantage lies in the difficulty of its amendment. (see Art.

XVII.) This prevents the immediate introduction of needed changes and

m ay thereby retard the h ealthy growth and progress of the state.46

Requisites of a good written constitution.

(1) A.c: to form, a good written constitution should be:

(a) Brief. - because if a constitution is too detailed, it would lose

the advantage of a fundam ent al law which in a few proviHions outlines

the structure of the government of the whole state and th e rights of the

citi1.ens. Jt would probably never be understood hy t.h(~ pu blic. Further-

more, it would then be nec£;ssary to amend it every once in a while to

cover m<my future contingencies; .-...

(b) Broad. - because a statement <.1f the powers a nd functions of
government, and of the relations between the governing body and the
gove rned, requires that it be as comprehensive as possible;47 and

(c) Definite. -because otherwise the application of its provisions
to concrete situations may prove unduly difficult if not impossible. Any

vagueness which may lead to opposing interpretations of essential
features may cause incalculable har m. Civil war and the disruption of
the !:'tate may conceivably follow from ambiguous expressions in a
constitution.18

(2) As to contents, it should contain at least three sets of provisions:

(a) That dealing with t he framework of government a nd its powers,.
and defining the electorate. This group of provisions has been called
the constitution ofgovernment;

(b) That setting for th the fundamental rights of the people and
imposing certain limitations on the powers of the government as a

"'Ibid., p. 524.
' Hf bid.

'The scope must be wide enough to make the Constitution n t<xib le and easily adaptable
to (:hanging social. economic. and political conditions, and thus .,nable i t, without amend·
numt, to meet every exigtmcy, tor a Constitution is designed l.o b(:l ~permane nt document to
serve a coun try for mnny generations .... indeed, if possible ''to nndurf:' liJr ages to come."

·~sec Malcol m and Luurel, note 32, 1lp. <:it., pp. 15- 16.

TEXTI300K ON THE PHILIPPINB CONSTf1'UTlON

means of securing the e~joyment of these rights. This group has been
referred to as the constitution ofliberty; and

(c) That pointing out the mode or procedure for amending or revis-
ing the constitution. This group has been called the constitution of
souereignty.49

Constitution distinguished from statute.

( l) A ccnstitution is a legislation direct from the people, while a statute
(see Art. VI, Sec. 1.) is a legislation from the people's representatives;

(2) A constit.ution merely states the general framework of the law and
the government, while a statute provides the details of the subject of which
it treats;

(:1) A constitution is intended not merely to meet existing conditions
but to govern. the future, while a statute is intended primarily to meet
existing conditions only; and

(4) A constit ution is the supreme or fundamental law of the State to
which statutes and all other laws mu~t conform.

Authority to interpret the Constitution.

( l) Even a private individual may interpret or ascertain the meaning
of particular provisions of the Constitution in order to govern his own
actions and guide him in his dealings 'Vith other pen:ons.MI

(2) It is evident, however, that only those charged with official duties,
whether executive, legislative, or judicial, can give authoritative interpre·
tation of the Constitution.

(a) This function primarily belongs to the courts whose final deci-
sions are binding vn all departments or organs of the government,
including the legislature.;, They will thus construe the applicable con-
stitutional provisions not in acwrdance with how the ·executive or
legislative department may want them construed, but in accordance
with what said provision$ say and provideY

(b) There are, however, constitution al questions !i.e.. political ques-
tions) which under the Constitution are addresse d to the discretion of
the_ other departments a n d, therefore, beyond the power of the judiciary
to decide. (see Art. VIII , Sec. 4.) Thus, t he determination of the Presi-
dent as to which foreign gcvernment "is to be ~ecognized by the Philip-
pines cannot be passed upon by the courts.

·~see Garner. In troduction to Political Science, pp. 390-:!98.
"'Black , Constitutio nal Law, :~ rd <!d .• p. 55.
" 16 C.J.S., pp. 49-50.
5"Sarmitmto Ill v;:;. Mi,;_on. L-79974, Dec. 17,1987.

INTRODUCTION 23
E. Constit ution of thn Rep ublic of the Philippines

Purpose in interpreting the Constitution.

The fundamental purpose in construing constitutional provisions is to
ascertain and give effect to the intent of the framers and of the people who
adopted or approved it or its amendments.

It is, therefore, the duty of the courts to constantly keep in mind the
objectives sought to be accomplished by its adoption and the evils, if any,
sought to be prevented or remedied. 53 It may be assumed that the people, in
ratifying the Constitution, were guided mainly by the explanations given
by the framers on the meaning of its provisions .""

E. CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC
OF THE PHILIPPINES

The 1935 Constitution.

(1) Framing and ratification. - Briefly stated, the steps which led to
the drafting and adoption of the 1935 Constitution of the Phil ippines are as
foll ows:

(a ) Approval on March 24, 1934 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
of the Tydings-McDuffie La w, otherwise known as t h e Philippine Inde-
pendence Act, enacted by the United States Congress, authorizing the

Philippine Legislature to call a constitutional convention to draft a

constitution for the Philippines;

(b) Approval on May 5, 1934 by the Philippine Legislature of a bill
calling a constitutional convention as provided for in the Independence
Law;

(c) Approval on F ebruary 8, 1935 by the convention by a vote of 177
to 1 of the Constitution (the signing began on t he following day and was
completed on February 19, 1935);

{d) Approval on March 23, 1935 by Pres. Roosevelt of the Constitu-
tion as submitted to him, together with a certification that the said
Constitution conformed with the provisions of t he Independence Law;
and

(e) Ratification on May 14, 1935 of the Constitution by the Filipino
electorate by a vote of 1,213,046, with 44,963 against.

(2) Limitations and .conditions. - While the Tydings-McDuffie Law
empowered the Filipinos to frame their own constitution, it contained,
however , provisions limit ing such authority. Aside from other specific limi-
tations and conditions laid down therein, it enjoined that the constitution
to be dt·afted should be republican in form, should include a bill of rights,

•ssee 76 C.J.S., pp. 49-50.
G•Nitatan vs. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 152 SCRA 284, July 23, 1987.

24 TEXTBOOK ON THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

and should contain certain proVJSlons intended to define the relations
between the Philippines and the United States during the commonwealth
period and a fter the establishment of the Philippine Republic.

The 1935 Constitution ceased to operate during the Japanese occupa-
tion from 1942 to 1944. It automatically became effective upon the re-
establishment of the Commonwealth Government on February 27, 1945
(supra.) and the inauguration of the Republic of the Phili ppines on July 4,
1946.

(3) Sources.- The 1985 Constitution of the Philippines did not contain
original ideas of government. While the dominating influence was the
Constitution of the United States, other sources were al so consulted by the
framers, particularly the Malolos Co.1stitution and the three organic laws
that were enforced in the Phi lippines before the passage of the Tydings-
McDuffie Law, namely: the Instruction of Pres. Wilham McKinley to the
Second Philippine Commission on April 7, 1900; the Philippine Bill of July
1, 1902; and the Jones Law of August 26, 1916 which, of the three men-
tioned, was the nearest approach to a written constitution.

(4) Scope. -The Constitution as approved by the 1935 Constitutional
Convention was intended both for the Commonwealth and the Republic .
Thus, Article XVII (which later became Article XVIII after the Constitution
was amended) declares: "The government established by this Constitution
shall be known as the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Upon the final
and complete withdrawa l of the sovereignty of the United States a1:d the
proclamation of Philippine Independence, the Commonwealth of the Phil-
ippines sh a ll henceforth be known as the Republic of the Philippines."

(5) A mendments. - The 1935 Constitution had been amended three
times. Among the amendments are:

(a ) that establishing a bicameral legislature;

(b) that a llowing the reeligibility of the President and the Vice·
President for a second four-year t erm of office;

(c) that creating a sepa rate Commi ssion on Elections; and

(d) the so-called Parity Amendment which gave to American citi-
zens equal right with the Filipinos in the exploitation of our natural
resource s and the operation of public util ities.

Concerning women suffrage, this issue was settled in a plebiscite held
on April 30, 1937, wh en 447 ,725 women reportedly vote d yes and 44,307
women voted no. In compliaMe with 'th.~ 1935 Constitution (Art. V, Sec. 1

thereof.), the N ational Assembly passed...a la\v which extended right of

suffrage to women.

The 1973 Constitution.

( 1) Framing. - The experience of more than three decades as a sover-
eign nation had revealed flaw s and inadequacies in the 1935 Constitution .

INTRODUCTION 25
E. Const itution of the Republic of t ho Philippines

(a) Taking into account the "felt necessities of the times," particu-
larly the new and grave problems arising from an ever increasing
population, urgently pressing for solution, Congress in joint session on
March 16, 1967, passed Resolution of Both Houses No. 2 (as amended
by Resolution No. 4, passec on June 17, 1969), authorizing the holding
of a constitutional convention in 1971.

(b) On August 24, 1970, Republic Act No. 6132 was approved set-
ting November 10, 1970, as election day for 320 delegates to the Consti-
tutional Convention. The convention started its work of rewriting the
Constitution on June 1, 1971 . The 1935 Constitution, with reference to
the Malolos Constitution, was made the basis for the drafting of amend-
ments to th e new Constitution. The proposed Constitution was signed
on November 30, 1972.

(2) Approval by Citizens Assemblies. - Earlier on September 21,.1972,
the President of the Philippines issued Proclamation No. 1081 placing the
entire country under martial law.

(a) "To broaden the base of citizens' participation in the democra tic
process, and to afford ample opportunities for the citizenry to express
their views on important matters of local or national concern," Presi-
dential Decree No. 86 was issued on December 31, 1972 creating a
Citizens Assembly in each barrio in municipalities and in each district
in chartered cities throughout the co~ntry. Subsequently, Presiden tial
Decree No. 86-A was issued on January 5, 1973 defining the role of
barangays (formerl y Citizens' Assemblies).

(b) Under the same decree. the barangays were to conduct a refer-
endum on n ational issues between January 10 a nd 15, 1973. Purs uant
to Presidental Decree No. 86-A, the following qn~stions were submitted
before the Citizens' Assemblies or Barangays:

1) "Do you approve of the New Constitution'?"; and

2) "Do you still" want a plebiscite to be called to ratify the new
Constitution?"

(3) Ratification by Presidential proclamation. - According to Procla-
mation No. 1102 issued on January 17, 1973, 14,976,561 members of all the
Barangays (Citizens' Assemblies) voted for the adoption of the proposed
Constitution, as against 743,869 who voted for its rejection. On the ques-
tion a s to whether or not the people would still like a plebiscite to be called
to ratify the new Constitution, 14,298,814 answered that there was no need
for a plebiscite.

On the basis of the above results purportedly showing that more th'an
95% of the members of the Barangays (Citizens Assemblies) were in favor
of the new Constitution and upon the allegedly "strong recommendation" of
the Katipunan ng mga Barangay , the President of t he Philippines, through
Proclamation No. 1102 on January 17, 1973, certified and proclaimed that

26 TEXTBOOK ON THE PHIUPPINE CONSTITUTION

the Constitution proposed by the 1971 Constitutional Convention had been
ratified by the Filipino people and had thereby come into effect.55

(3) Amendments. -The 1973 Constitution had been amended on four
occasions. Among the important amendments are:

(a) that making the then incumbent President, the regular Presi·
dent and regular Prime Minister;

(b) that granting concurrent law-making powers to the President
which the latter exercised even after the lifting of martial law in 1981;

(c) that establishing a modified parliamentary form of government;

(d) that permitting n atural-horn citizens who have lost their citi-
zenship to be transferees of private land, for use by them as residence;

(e) that allowing the '"'grant" of lands of the public domain to quali-
fied citizens; and

(f) that providing for urban land reform and social housing pro·
gram.

The 1987 Constitution.

(1) Framing and ratification. - The 1987 Constitution was drafted by
a Constitutional Commission created under Article V ofProclamation No.3
issued on March 25, 1986 which promulgated the Provisional Constitution
or "Freedom Constitution" following the install~tion of a revolutionary
government "through a direct exercise of the power of the Filipino people."

(a) Pursuant to Proclamation No. 3, the President promulgated on
April 23, 1986 Proclamation No. 9, the "Law Governing the Constitu-
tional Commission of 1986," "to organize the Constitutional Commis-
sion, to provide for the details of its operation and establish the proce-
dure for the ratification or rejection of the proposed new Constitution."

Under the Proclamation, the Constitutional Commission "shall be
composed of not more than fifty (50} national, regional, and sectoral rep-
resentatives who shall be appointed by the President." As constituted,
the Commission was composed only of forty-eight (48'! members- forty-
two (42) men and six (6) women, with a prepo nderance of lawyers-
because of the withdrawal of an opposition appointee and non-accept-

s~ln cases involving the above proclamation, the Supreme Court on March 31, 1973, by a
\•ote of six (6) to four ( 4), dismi;;sed all the petitions filed . It said that "this being the vote of
the majority there is no further obstacle •t-o the new Constitution b~i11g considered in force
and effect.'' There was, however, no rulint(that.the 1973 Constitution has been validly
.t·atified, because six (6) out often (10) justices held that there was no valid ratification, but
the votes were not enough to declare that the Constitution was not in force.

In suhs~quent cases, the Suprem~o Court recognized the validity of the 1973 Constitution.
Javellana vs. Execu ti\·e Secretary, 1!1 al.; Tan vs. Executive Secretary; Roxas v~:. Melchor;
Monteclaro vs. Executive Secrct.ary; Dilag vs. Executive Secretary, 6 SCRA 1048, March 31,
1973. See also Aquino vs. COME!...EC and National Treasurer, 62 SCRA 270, Jan. 31, 1975.

rl\·monuc·J'lON 27

E . Constitution of the RApublic of t he Phili ppine;;

anee by the Iglesia ni Krista of the President's offer to submit a nomi-
nee.

(b) The Constitutional Commission, which m arked the fourth exer-
cise in the writing of a basic chartet in Philippine history since the
Malolos Constitution at the turn of the century,11G convened on June 2,
1986 at the Batasang Pambansa Building in Diliman, Quezon City.
With the Malolos Constitution of 1898, the 1935 Constitution, and the
1973 Constitution as "working drafts," the Commission in addition to
committee discussions, public hearings, and plenary sessions, conducted
public consultations in different parts of the country.

(c) The proposed new Constitution was approved by the Constitu-
tional Commission on the night of Sunday, October 12, 1986, culminat-
ing 133 days of work, by a vote of 44-2. A Commissioner57 signed
subsequently by affixing his thumbmark at his sickbed on Octooer 14,
1986 so that he actually voted in favor of the draft. Another Commis-
sioner5·' had resigned earlier. The two Commissioners5~ who dissented
also signed "to express their dissent and to symbolize their four (4)
months of participation in drawing up the new Con~titution."

(d) The Constitutional Commission held its final session in the
morning of October 15, 1986 to sign the 109-page draft consisting of a
preamble, 18 Articles, 321 Sections and about 2,000 words - after
which, on the same day, it presented to the President the original
copies in English and Filipino. It was ratified by the people in the
plebiscite held on February 2, 1987.1'0 It superseded the Provisional
Constitution which had abrogated the 1973 Charter.

(2) Merits and demerits o/' an appointive framing body. ·-- Admittedly,
t here were some merits or advantages in delegating thfl drawing up of the
n ew charter to an appoi:1ted Constitutional Commission r ather than to an
elected Constitut1onal Convention.

(a) For one, the Constitutional Commission was r:ut expensive and
time-consuming, as was our experience with the 1971 Constitutional
Convention and it was thus practical because the <:ountry could not then
afford the cost of electing delegates because oflack of funds, and time was
of the essence in view of the instability inherent in a revolutionary govern-
ment a nd the need to accelerate the restoration to full constitutional
democracy.

5'This does not include the 1943 Constitution which wHs drafted and ratified hy a special
National Convention of the Kapisanan sa Paglilingkod .sa Bagong Pilipinaf> (KALIRAPI>
when the Philippines was under Japanese occupation from 1942-1944 during Wnrld War II.

~7Decoroso R. Rosales, St.. Luke's HospitaL Quezon City.
;,~Lino 0. Brocka.

r.~Jose E. Suarez and Jaime S.L. Tadeo.
A'117,059,495 voted "yes" 176.37?C of the t otal votes cusl) ~:~s agains t 5,058,714 rcpreF<ent -

ing "no" votes (22.615%i with 207 ,730 llbste ntions.

28 n;XTBOOK ON THE PHILIPPINE COt\STlTUTION

(b) However, the strongest a nd most fundamental a rgument pro-
pounded against this rnGthod is that an a ppointive body is sus ceptible
to the charge of lack of independence a~d the suspicion ofprcssure and
even manipula tion by th~ appointing power. The writing of a Constitu-
tion as the highest expreHsion of t he peoplc'!ol "ideals and aspirations" to
serve the country for generation s to come is a political exercise of
transcendental importance in a republican democracy a nd, therefore,
only those directly elected an d em powered by the people must be
entr us ted with the task to discharge this grave and solemn responsibil-
ity.Gt

(3) N eed to cure defect i.n the Constitution. - To havo a truly demo-

cratic and constitutional government, it is absoh.ttely necessary that the
Constitution be initially drafted by duly elected members of a representa-
tive constituent a ssembly or convention a nd later on approved by the
people in a plebiscite. Some see the need to Rtraighten out the present
Constitution which was drafted by n on-elective commissioners a nd ratified
under the authority of a revolutionary government. The theory is posited
that having it ame nded by electe d delega tes and having constitutional
amendments ratified under the democratic government, we will have now
cured any defect in its formul a tion and ratificati on. 6~

Basic principles underlying the new Constitution.

The 1987 Constitution is founded upon certain fundamental principles
of government which have become part and parcel of our cherished demo-
cratic heritage as a people. A knowledge of t hese principles is, therefore,
essential to a proper understanding of our organic law.

Among these principles as contained in the new Constitution nre the
fo llowing:

(1) Recognition of the aid of Almighty God (see Preamble. l;

(2) Sovereignty of the people Csee Art. II, Sec. 1.);

(3) Renunciation of war as an i nstrument of national policy «see Ibid.,
Sec. 2.);

(4) Supremacy of civilian authority over the military 1 see Ibi d., Sec.

3.);

(5) Separation of church and S tate <see Ibid.. Sec. 6.1;

~'The fact, howcver;-that thtl memhort; of the Co nstitutiona l Comm is:oion were s elected
a nd app ointed by th e.: Presliten.t..[!:Q!ll..a-lis t. of nomi netls does n(•t nece,saarily establish that it.
was not representative of the sover eign will of t.he Filipino ~ople or th at the new Const.itu-
tion fails to ex:press their will as to wha t the supreme law ought t o be. Conversely, a
constitutional convention. like the ones Wtl have hnd in 1935 a nd 1971 , may not a l way~ be
reflecti ve of the senti men ts or dAs ires of the majori ty of the people who e lected it:; delegates.

62See "Though ts: RP Cons ti tution," hy former President Diosdado Macapagal , Manila
Bulletin , p. 7, Feb. 5, 1989.

INTR ODUCTJO;-..' 29
K Constitution of the: Republic of thE' Ph ilippinl's

(6) Recognition of the importance ofthc family al:l R basic social institu-
tion and of the vita l role of the youth in na tion-building (see Ibid., Sees . 12,
13; Art. XV. );

(7) Guarantee of human rights (l';ee Art. III, Sees. 1-22.);

(8j Government through s uffra ge (see Art. V , Sec. 1.);
(9) Separation of powers (see Art. VI, Sec. L );

(10 ) Independence of the judiciary (see Art. VIII, Sec. 1.);

( 11) Guarantee oflocal a utonomy (see Art. X , Sec. 2.);

(12) High seosP. of public service morality and accountability of public
officers (see Art XI , Sec. 1.);

( 13) Nationalization of natural resources and certain private enter-
prises affected with p ublic intere1;t (see Art. Xll , Sees. 2, 3, 17, 18.);

(14 ) Non-suability of the State (see Art. XVI, Sec. 3.);

(15) Rule of the majority; and

(1 6} Governmen t of laws and not of men.

The above principles (except Nos. 15 and 16) a re discussed u nder t he
corresponding provisions indicated .

Rule of the majority.

( 1) Concept. - The observance of the rule of th e majoritys.1 is an
unwritten law of popular (i.e., d emocratic) government. The wishes of t h e
majority prevail over those of the minority. It does not mean that the
mi nority is left without rights. It is given certain fuhdamental rights, like
the right to express their opinions, or to protest the actH of the majority
a lthough it is bound to abide by the decision of the latter.

(2) Instances.- In many in Htances, the rule of the majority is observed
in our government. Thus, under the new Constitution:

(a ) A majority vote of a ll the respective members of the Congress is
necessary to elect the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives (Art. VI, Sec. 16ll ].), and a majority of all the members
of Con gress to concur t o a grant of a mnesty (Art. VII, Sec. 19.) and t o
pass a law g-ran ting tax exemptions. (Art. VI , Sec. 28(41.) In case of a tie
in the election for Pres_ident (or Vice-President), the President shall be
chosen by the majorit y vote of all the members of both Houses of
Congress. (Art. VII, Sec. 4 .)

(b) A two-thirds majority of a ll its respective members is required
to suspend or expel a member of eith er House (Art. VI, Sec. 16[31.); of
all the members of Congress to declare the existence of a state of war

6"'';\1ajority" me<tns at lem;t one--hal f pluA one of a gi ven nu mber.

30 Ti':XTBOOK ON THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTI ON

(Ibid ., Sec. 23L2.1. l, to reconsider a bill vetO(!d by the President (Ibid.,
Sec. 27[2j.). and to call a constitutiona l convention (Art. XVII, Sec. 3.);
n.nd of all t he members of the Senate t o concur t o a treaty or interna-
tiona l a greement (Art. VII , S ec. 21.) and to r ender a judgment of
conviction in impeachment cases. (Art. XI, Sec. 3 l6J.)

(c) Any amendment to, or revision of, t he Constitution may be
proposed by Congress upon a vote of t hree-/ilurths of a ll its members

(Art. XVII , Sec. ll.lJ. ), and it sha ll be valid when ratifie d by a majority
of the votes cast in a plebi scite. (!bid., Sec. 4.)

(d) Decisions of the Supreme Court en bane h ave to be concurr ed in
by a majority of the mentbers who a ctually took part in the delibera-
tions on the issues in the cas;;~ and voted thereon , to pronounce a treaty,
international or executive a greement, or law unconstitutional x x x.
(Art. VII1, Sec. 4. )

In the Court of Appeals, the vote ofat least the majority is necessary in
m a ny cases. Even in the passage of local ordinances, t he rule of the
m ajority is observed.

(3) A practicable rule oflaw. - T he d evice of the majority is a practica-
ble rule of law based on reasun and experience. Democracy assumes that in
a society uf r a tional beings, the judg ment a nd experience of the many will,
in most instances , be superior to t he judgment and experience of the few ;
and hence, t htit the verdict of the majority will more likely be correct than
tha t of the minori ty. li is, of course, to be understood t hat the m ajority acts
within t lw pale of the law.64

Government of law and not of men.

( 1) Conc(~pt. -By t h is principle, which is also known a nd h as the sam e
import as thHrule of !a u·, is meant that no man in this country is above or
beyond t he law . E very ma n, however high and mighty his station m ay be,
possesses n o greater rightsl;.; than every other man in the eyes of the law.

( 2 ) Exercise of government powers. - A government of laws, as con·
trasted with a govemment of men, is a limited government. It has only the
powers given it by the Constitution a nd laws, and i t may not go beyond the
gr ants and limitations set fo r th therein.ojfj Its authority continues only with
the con::;ent of the people in wh om sovereignty resides. 1Art. II , S ec. l. )

Where personal whims and uncontrolled discretion guide the conduct of
govornmental action, what exists is not a rule of la w but a r eign of men

'.\

•;·•Sec Sclum1 ndt & Steinbicker, note 2, op. cit., p. 265.
";Rut where there n re ra tio nal gro unds for so doing. the law may constitu t ionall y grant
special r ights or pri\ilcges t o IJCrsons belon ging to n clas;; (o?.g., to the Pres ident ) which are
denied t.o persons who a re not s imilarly situo ted. (see Art. III. Sec. 1.)
''''Sec V.G. Sirwo, n ote 37, op. cit.. p. 126.

INTRODUCTION 31
E. Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines

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 ofthe 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 or 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 ofthe principle.- It is basic that laws must be obeyed
by all and applied to everyone - rich or poor, lowly or powerful - w.ithout
fear or favor. The observance of the supremacy of the rule of law by
officials, individuals, and the people as a whole is what will sustain our
democracy and assure the existence of a truly free, orderly, and equitable
society. (see Preamble.)

Every citizen has thus a stake in the rule of laW07 as contrasted to the
"rule of men." Without it, there is only anarchy, or a mere semblance of
order under a dictatorship.

- oOo-

67P roclamation No. 713 (Se;:>t. 22, 2004) declares September of ~;~ve ry year as "Rule of

Law" month, and for the Department of Education to implement programs and activities in
the observance thereof.

PREAMBLE

We, the sovereign Filipino p eople, 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 com mon good, conserve a nd
d evelop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our
posterity the blessings of independence a n d d e mocracy un-
d er the rule of law and a regime of t ruth , justice, freedom,
love, equ ality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this
Constitution.

Meaning of Preamble.
The term preamble is derived fro m the Latinpreambulare which means

"to walk before~" 1 It is an int roduction to the main subject. It is the
prologue of the Constitution.

Preamble not essential in a constitution.
Technically s peaking, the Preamble forms no integral part of our Con-

stitution. Of itself alone, it cannot be in voked as a source of private right
enforceable by the courts or of any governmental power not expressly
granted or at least, clearly implied therefrom.2

It is significa nt to note, however, that a m ajority of the constitutions of
the world contain a preamble.

Object and value of Preamble.
(1) Sets down origin and purpose.~ of the Constitution. - While a

preamble is not a necessary part of a constitution. it is advisable to have
one. In the case of the Constitution of the Philippin es, the P reamble which
is couched in general terms, provides the broad outline of, and the spirit
behind, the Constitution.

It serves two (2) very important ends:
(a ) It tells u s who are the authors of the Constitution and for whom

it has been promulgated; and

1Tucker on the Constitution, p. 381.

,"2See 1, S tory on the Constitution,··P.-.....3.....61.

3~

PREAMBLE 33

(b) It states the general purposes which are intended to be achieved
by the Constitution and the government es ta blished under it, and
certain basic principles underlying the fundamental charter.

(2) May serve as an aid in it.<; interpretation . - The PreamblP. has a
value for purpose& of const ruction. The statement of the general purposes
may be resorted to as an aid in determining the meaning of vague or
a mbiguous provisions of the Constitution proper. By way of illustration,
the government is without power to impose taxes for private purpose
because according to the Preamble it is established for public purpose -
t he promotion of t he common good - and not for pr:-ivate purpose.

Source of Constitution's authority.

(1) The Filipino people. - The Constitution begins and ends 'vith the
words, "We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid ofAlmighty God x
x x, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution." Thus, the Filipino people
themselves (not just their representatives) are the source from which the
Constitution comes a nd being so, it is the supreme law of the land.

The Preamble r etains the use of the term "F ilipino people" to signify
their oneness and solidarity. It is different from the term "people of the
Philippines" which may refer to the entire body of inhabitants, a mere
"aggrupation" of individuals, including aliens.

(2) A souere{gn people. - The Constitution calls the Filipino people
"sovereign." The first person approach consisting of the use of the pron ouns
"we" and "our'' h as also been retained instead of the impersonal t hird
person approach (i.e., "the Filipino people" and "their") in the Preamble of
the 1935 Constitution. The intention is to stress that the Filipino people in
ordaining and promulgating the Constitution do so on their own authority
as a sovereign people and not by virtue of the authority or permission given
by a superior foreign power.

Belief in God stressed.

Our Preamble is in the form of a collective prayer. The Filipinos are

intensely religious people. In imploring the z.id of Almighty God, they

declare and affirm their belief in the existence of a Supreme Being that

guides the destinies of men and nations. They recognize the fact that with

th e help of God, t hey will be able to achieve the ideals and aspirations to

which they are commit ted. In a sense, they acknowledge God as the source

of their authority. ·

The Philippines is the only predominantly Christian and partly Muslim
nation in Asia and East Pacific Region.3

3Christ ian ity and ].slam are the two leading religions of mankind t hat co·exist in
Philippine socie ty today. Isla m came to the sou thern Philippines at about th e beginning of
the 14th century, or even earlier, through foreign :.\oluslim traders - and later mainly

34 TEXTBOOK ON 1'HE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

National purposes and aims in adopting
the Constitution.

A., set forth in the Preamble, they are:

(1) To build a just and humane society; and

(2) To establish a Government that shall:

(a) embody our ideals and aspirations;

(b) promote the common good;

(c) conserve and develop our patrimony; and

(d) secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independ-
ence an d democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice,
freedom, love, equality, and peace.

Attainment of the constitutional goals.

(1) Root causes of our present problems. - After more than a half
century of independent existence,' the Philippines continues to be beset
with pressing economic, political, a nd social problems usually associated
with underdevelopment. To be sure, every administration has been respon-
sible, one way or another, for the slow progress of our country. A simple
analysis will reveal that the root causes of our country's problems can be
traced to a large extent to the government machinery itself - graft and
corruption, political wrongdoings, blunders in economic policies, and mis-
management, among others.5

The public perception of these shortcomings plus the inability of the
government to satisfy the basic needs of our increasing population, have
engendered misgivings in the minds of many in t he effectiveness of the
existing system, and have , in fact, contributed to our lack of unity and
oneness as a people.,;

(2) Government envisioned by the Constitution . - The two goals - to
build the kind of society and to establish the kind of government set forth

through Muslim mi:.<sionaries. The introduction ofCh ri.;tianity t.o the Fili pinos began in 1565

when Miguel Lopez de Legazpi can1e to colonize the Philippint!S. Over 9Qf.( of the population

t oday are Christians , mostly Catholics. Luzon 11.nd Vi;;ayas are !ilmost entirely populated by

the Christians. Enm Mindanao is !'>ettled larg~ly by Christi ans excPpt for the provinces of

Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, Taw i-Tawi, La nao riel S ur, and Lanao d el ~orte whe n~ the

Muslims preponderate. ·

'From the United States, with the proclamAtion of independence and inauguration of the

Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946.

5To the credit of President Ramos, the Philippines, after three decades of turtle -paced

growth, has made much headway in its development efforts to achieve the status of a newly

industrialized count.r y by the year 2000.

'This lack of national unity is easily one of the main reasons why the Philippines has

been left far behind by its Asian neighbors tJ:!at up to 30 years, with the exception of ,Tnpan,

were traili ng the Phili ppines in ex ports a;, weH.,as gross national product CGNPJ. (see Art.

XII, Sec. 1.) '"""'

\

PREAMBLE 35

in the Preamble - are attainable only if the government actually estab-
lished js of the character envisioned by the Constitution.

(a) That government must be democratic, i.e., based on the consent

of the governed, and it must be so not only in its structure but more
importantly, in its operation. (see Art. II, Sec. 1.) For instance, it is not
enough that taws are just and humane- they must be applied justly
and humanely; or that periodic elections are held- they must be clean
and orderly and must accurately reflect the will of the electorate.

(b) That government must be administered by honest, efficient and
dedicated men and women who consider public office as a public trust.
(Art. IX, Sec. 1.)

(c) That government must be responsive to the people's needs and
expectations, exercising power and authority in view only of the com-
mon good, always guided and controlled by the laws and the Con'stitu-
tion.

(3} Single biggest factor for national solidarity. - Such a government
is beyond doubt, t he single biggest factor for national solidar-ity for it
commands the respect and confidence of the citizens in its ;ntegrity and
competence and, therefore, can readily secure their support and coopera-
tion behind great undertakings and, in times of grave crises, count on their
loyalty and patriotism to make sacrifices, and if need be, to defend it and
the democratic ideals and values (e.g. , rule of law, respect for human

dignity, freedom, equality) it stand~ for .

(4) Key to a succ:essful democracy. -Only when we succeed in estab-
lishing a truly popular "government that shall embody our ideals and
aspirations,'' as intended by the Constitution, can we overcome \vhatever
difficulties and m eet whatever challenges that we face today and that may
confront us in the future. Only then can we build for ourselves and the
succeeding generations a vibrant democracy that can withstand the tough-
est tests of events and a::;sure a life of prosperity and progress, justice and
dignity for all, especially the poor and the less privileged in our society who
up to now consti.tute the vast majority of "the sovereign Filipino penple."
·see Art. II, Sees. 9-11.)

Changes in the Preamble.

(1) The Preamble, consisting of 75 words, is one of the world's longest
preambles. It has 15 words more than that of the 197a Constitution.

(2) The phrase Almighty God replaced "Divine Providence" in the 1935
and 1973 Constitutions which was considered vague and impersonal. The
latter term was used in the 1973 Constitution as a compromise to accom-
modate some atheists in the 1971 Constitutional Convention. Common
good is used to refer to all the people in place of "general welfare" which is
not as inclusive as it may be interpreted to refer only lo the welfare of the
greater majority (even to the gre at prejudice of the minority), and f'reedom

36 TEXTBOOK ON T HE Pl\ ll.lPPfNB C0!\1STITVTION

instead of "liber ty'' becau se the latter wor d does not cover freedom fr om
want, fe ar and ign ora nce.

( 3) Other a mendment s are the insertion of the following phrases a nd
words:

(a) to build a just a nd h umane societ:v, t o stress that in ordaining
a nd promul gating the Con st itution , the purpose is not only t o establish
a gover n ment but also such a society where inequalities or inequities in
a ny form do not exist. This is esp ecially r elevant in our society toda y
where there are so few with so much and so ma ny with so litt}(•;

(b ) the rule of la w (see Introduction -E .), the Const itutional Com-
mis sion appar ently having in mind the cou ntry's experi('nce of authori-
taria n rule under the fo r mer r egi me which had been accus ed, am ong
other s, of huma n right s violat ions. electoral fra uds a n d t err orism,
suppression of diSt!ent , abuse of the decree- making powe r , an d un equal
application of the law;

(c) aspirations, to stand for the un reallze d drea ms of t he nat ion as
distinguis hed from "ideals" which r efer t o accepted norms a nd senti-
ments;

(d) -truth , to emphasize the const itutiGna l policy of t ranspa rency in
the a dministration of the govern ment ; a nd

(e ) lot'e, as a dir ective principle of the P r eamble together with
t ruth , justice, freedom, equality a nd pea ce . In ma ny parts of t he cou n-
try t oday , int ense partis an conflict s and political riva lries, not to men-
tion the long-dr a wn communist a rme d rebellion a nd the seces::;ionist
move ment in the south,' and the r epeated coup attempts by disaffected
military r ebels to overth r ow t he governme nt,k have engendere d hatred,
violence and tension!:! , a nd hin der our progres s and development. With ·
out a sense of love to bind the F ilipin os and m a ke them show mor e
com passion, concern a nd u nderstanding for one another es pecially dur -
ing thes e cr it ical t imes when the cou ntry is confront ed by vexing socio-
politico-economic problems , nation al unity a nd pea ce so vitally needed
in th e gr eat tas k of bui lding a s trong and st a ble nation, will remain an
elusive goal.

' Armed dis,.,idence again ilL t he go,·ernm e n t ha,; r aged virtually wit hout let-up !Iince t.be

late 1940!1. lt wa!; followed by t he H ukba la h ap re bt! llion, then beginni11g l9i0, by a Maoist

in surgency . The se pa ratist n~ht!ll ion among the l\Iu:;lim comm ~&nitic;; of S ul u a nd Wcf<t~;rn

M indanao which took a n incrf!.as ingl y rc:ligious color s tart ('!d 1n 1969

As of this wri tin g, th e Govern ment is !;till e•' g"ged in P<!ace tal k~ with the Nationa l

Dem ocratic F r ont CNDF ), t he political a rm of t he Comm unis t P ar ty of t h e P hilippines (CP PJ.

A fin al peace s ettle men t has a lre ad y been forged with t h e Mo ra ~ ati ona l L ibera tion F ront

cMN Lfo'i in 1996. Now, the Govern ment h as to con tend with a brea ka way faction of the

MNLF, t he Moro Isla mi c· Lib enttion Fr ont (.MILF! which cont inues to su pport the secession

of Mi nd an no. O n Octobt<r 19, 200 1. th e Phi lippine Gover·,lmellt and the MILF inked a cease-

fixe operations pact a t. Ku ala Lu m p ur , Ma laysia . consider ed to be a hig positive step towards

ach ieving last ing pea ce. ......
..DUl·ing th e ndmi ni,:;!.ratiou. of President. Co ra;·~· Aq uino (1986- 19921.

'·

37

Incidentally, the new Constitution is the only one in the world to
enshrine "love" in its text which can also be read as ''human fraternity''
or "brotherhood."

(4) The word independence in the 19~~5 text of the Pr~amble (which was
almost an exact reproduction of the Pn~amble of the U.S. Constitution
except for some alterations in phraseology) was changed to "democracy" in
the 1973 Constitution for the reason that the term denotes the idea of a
colonial status (which was existing at the time of the adoption of the 1935
Constitution), and it is long E.fter 1946 when the Philippines had become
legally independent. It is restored to stress our being an independent
nation, "free to build and chart our own destiny, in our own time and in our
own way."

Of course, there is no nation in the wcrld that is truly independent.
Each nation is to a certain degree depEmdcnt upon others, for no nation, no
matter how progressive and prosperous, can be completely self-sufficient.
The constitutional goal is self-reliance and freedom from foreign control
and intervention in the development of our national economy (see Art. II,
Sec. 19.} and the pursuit of our foreign policy. (lbid., Rec. 7.)

(5) The words peace and P.quality were inserted in the 197:{ Constitu-
tion in view of the turbulence, and the waves of p1·otest against "basic
economic and social inequalities" then prevailing in the country at the time
of the framing of the same. ThE-se conditions continued to exist up to the
last days of the Marcos regime. While the idea which "equality" signifies is
already embodied in the term "democracy," it is imperative that emphasis
.should continue to be made in the new Charter of the egalitarian objedives
of our society.

-oOo-

Article I

NATIONAL TERRITORY

SECTION 1. The n a tional territory comprises the Philippine
archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein,
and all other territories ove r which the Philippines has s over-
eignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and
aerial domains, including its t e rritor ial sea, the s eabed, the
subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The
waters around, between, a nd connecting the islands of the
a rchipelago, rega rdless of their breadth and dimensions, form
part of the internal waters of the Philippines.

Necessity of constitutional provision
on National Territory.
The Constitution begins with a delimitation of our national t erritory.
( 1) Binding fo rce of such provision under internationa llaw. -There is

no rule in international law which requires a State to define its territorial
boundaries in irs Con::; titution . The r eason is th at \vith or without such a
prnvision, a State under i nterna tiona l la w has the unquestioned right to
assert juri.sdil'tion t hroughout the e xte nt of its territory. Nor is s uch de-
limitation binding upon other S tates who are not precluded from claiming
title to territories which they think is their!'l .1

In any case, terri torial disputes have t o be settled ael'Ording to tht>
rules ofinternationallaw.

(2) Value of provision defining our national territory. - :-\eYertheless,
it is important to define as precisely as possible our na tion a l terrhory fo r
the purpos e of making known to t he world the «reas O\·cr ,,·hieh we assert
title or ownership to avoid future conflicts with other n mions. As a sover-
eign State, the Philippines can promulgate and enforce laws within our
country. Every other power is exclud ed from exercis~ng dominion or juris-
diction without t he conse nt of the Philippines.

1A constitutio n is not intern at ional law but only a ~ to te la w: a ~ l! uch. it is binding only on
the state promulgating it.

38 ' \.

......

Sec. 1 ART. I. -NATIONAL TERRITORY 39

International law recognizes the supreme authority ofevery state within
its territory, although foreign sovereigns and diplomatic envoys are enti-
tled to exemption from local civil and criminal jurisdiction.2

(3) Acquisition ofother territories. ·-Incidentally, the definition of our
national territory in our Constitution does not prevent the Philippines
from acquiring other territories in the future through any of the means
(e.g., purchase, exchange, etc.) sanctioned by international law.

l National Territory of the Philippines.

As provided in Article I, it comprises:

(1) The Philippine archipelago3 with all the islands and waters em-
braced therein;4

(2) All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or

jurisdiction;5 •

(3) The terrestrial, fluvial and aerial domains including the territorial
sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine
areas thereof; and

(4) The internal waters. (Sec. 1.)

Meaning of archipelago.

The term archipelago is derived from the Greek word pelagos meaning
"sea." It has been defined as a sea or part of a sea studded with islands,
often synonymous with island groups,6 or as a large group of islands in an
~xtensive body of water, such as sea.7

In other words, it includes both sea and islands which geographically
may be considered as an independent whole.

Other territories over which the Philippines
has sovereignty or jurisdiction.

(I) The phrase "all the other territories belonging to the Philippines by

2Every Filipino i.:itizen, however, whether he is inside or outside the country, is subject
to the personal JUrisdiction of the Philippines. Thus, he can be made subject to Philippine
income tax.

~The Philippi rws. one ofthe largellt archipelagos in the world, lies off the southeast coast
of Asia. Nearest to it are MalaYsia and Indonesia on the south and Taiwan on the north. Its
estimated 7.107 i~lands cover an area of about 300.440 square kilometet·s stretching in
discontinuous coastli(1e of 1.850 kilometer;; from north to south. The Philippine archipelago
referred to in Article I are those mentioned in Article I of the 1935 Constitution.

'Geographically, the Philippines is compo~ed of three main parts: Luzon in the ~orth,
Visayas in the center, and Mindanao in the south.

r.Actual exercise of sovereignty is not essential to the acquisition or retention of sover-
eignty rights over a territory.

"See Glossary of Oceanographic Terms (1960}, U.S. Naval Oceano~raphic Office.
:see Meritt Students Encyclopedia (1960).

40 TEXTBOOK ON THE PHILlPPINE CONSTITUTION Sec. 1

historic right or legal title"8 in the former provlSIOn was amended as
indicated above. The phras e acquired a definite meaning in the 1973
Const itution as a cover-aU for pending Philippine claim to Sabah (formerly
North Bor neo) against Malaysia and the possible ~laim to the so-called
Freedomland (a group of isla nds known as "Spratley" islands in the South
China Sea) and the Marian as Islands, including Guam (which according to
historical documents were under the control of the civil and ecclesiastical
authorities in the Philippines during the Spanish r egim e), or any other
territory over which the Philippines may in the future fine it h as a right to
cl aim.

Its inclusion in the definition of our national tenitory merely provided
for the possibility that said territories might eventually become a part of
the Philippines but it did not settle t he question of whether they belong to
the P hilippines by historic right or legal title.

(2) The deletion, h owever, of the words "by historic right or legal title"
is not to be construed as precluding future claims by the Philippines to
a reas over which it does n ot actually e xercise sovereignty. The change is
designed to improve our relations with Malaysia while allowing flexibility
in pursuing the Sabah claim.9

Other areas included in the Philippine
archipelago.

Th e Philippine territory consists of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aeriaP0
domains. Included in its fluvial domains, in addition to the external wa-
ters, are:

( 1} The territorial sea. - It is that part of the sea e xtending 12 nautical
miles (19 kms. } from the low-watermark. It is also-called the "marginal
sea," the ';m a rginal belt,'' or the "marine belt";

(2) The seabed (or sea floor or sea bottom). -This r efers to the land
tha t holds the sea, lying beyond the seashore, including mineral and
natural resources;

~Hi.~torit: right h as been tak en to mean title created in derogation of internati onal law

th roug h h istorical process by which on e state has asserted jurisdiction originally illegal,

which has been acquiesced in by the community of nations. I.egal title, on the other hand,

r~ fc,·s to >l der ivative title, ll UCh <l!; ces!<ion by u State of its soverei gn rig h t..~ over a territory .
(J ustit·e .F.Q. Anton io, "For and against the RP Sabah Claim.~ 'fhe Bulletin Today. Sept. 23,

1977. ! .

~The catch· all cla im has c1 eated irrit ants in our tie~ wi th Malaysia, a member of

ASEAN, which con~i clered Lhe ph rase as an assertion of Philippine claim over Sabah. T he

d eletion of the cla use has removed a possi ble constitutional obstacle to the·dropping of t he

Sabah claim by t h e P hilippines if it dce;ires to do so.

•cThit=: refers to the air l!pacc or that part of the air abo ve the la nd and water te rritor y of

th e Philippines. The prese nt state of developmen t in space navigation does not permit any

delimitation of thE' height of air space subject t o the Rovereign jcrisdiction of a state. (See

Committee on Na tional Territory Report No. 01 fl97l Constitutional Convention], dated

Jan. 15. 1972.)

SE>c. 1 ART. I.- NATlONAL TERR[TORY 41

(3) The subsoil. -This refers to everything beneath the surface soil
and the seabed, including mineral and natura] resources;

(4) Insular shelves (or continental shelves).- They are the submerged
portions of a continent or offshore island, which slope gently seaward from
the low waterline to a point where a substantial break in grade occurs, at
which point the bottom slopes seaward at a considerable increase in slope
until the great ocean depths are reached; and

(5) Other submarine areas. -They refer to all areas under the territo-
rial sea. Among oceanographic terms used are seamount, trough, trench,
basin, deep, bank, shoal, and reef.

As part of the national territory, the seabed, the insular shelves, and
other submarine areas are necessarily co-extensive with the territorial sea.
The Philippines has a right or title to them to-the extent recognized by
international law.

Three-fold division of navigable waters.

From the standpoint of international law, the waters of the earth are
divided into:

(1) Inland or internal waters. -They are the parts of the sea within
the land territory. They are considered in tht same light as rivers, canals,
and lakes within the land territory of a state. They are sometimes called
national waters;

(2) Territorial sea. (~pra.)- It is the belt of water outside and paral-
lel to the coastline or to the outer limits of the inland or internal waters;
and

(3) High or open seas. - They are waters that lie seaward of the
territorial sea.

Jurisdiction over navigable waters.

The inland or internal waters and the territorial sea together comprise
what is generally known as the·-~erritorial ·waters of a state. Over these
waters, a state exercises sovereignty to the same extent as its land terri-
tory but foreign vessels have the right of innocent passage through the
territorial sea.

On the other hand, the open seas are internationai waters which means
that they are not subject.to the sovereignty of any state but every state has
equal right of use in them. 11

11Presidential Decree No. 1599 (June 11, 1978) establishes an cxclul':ive economic zone
(Eii:Zl of the Philippines extending to a distance of 200 nautical miles beyond and from the
baselines from which the territorial sea is measured; except that where the limits overlap the
economic zone of an adjacent or neighboring state, common boundaries !\hall be determined
by agreement with the state concerned, or in accordance with generally r<lcognized principle~
of international law on delimitation.

42 TEXTBOOK ON THE PHILIPPINE CONSTI-TUTION Sec. 1

The archipelagic concept or principle
of territoriality.

The use of the word "archipelago" in Article I is intended to project the
idea that the Philippines is an archipelago (a state composed of a number of
islands) and bolster the archipelagic concept (or archipelago doctrine)
which the Philippines, together with Indonesia and other archipelago states,
had espoused in international conferences on the Law of the Sea.

By this concept is meant that an a_rchipelago shall be regarded as a
single unit, so that the waters around, between;-·8."nd connecting the islands
of the archipelago, irrespective of their breadth and dimensions. form part
of the interna1 waters ofthe state, J.i.ubiect _iq__iJ~.J~.~-c;llJ.s.ive sovereignty.

The Philippine position.

The archipelago theory is in reality an exception to the three-mile rule
(now 12-mile rule). This rule does not adequately protect Philippine inter-
ests at all.

(l) In the International Convention on the Law of the Sea held in
Geneva in 1958, the Philippine position was exrlained12 as follows:

"To apply the three-mile rule to the Philippines, with every island
having its own territorial sea, would have a fatal effect upon the
territorial integrity of the Philippines. It would mean the dismember-
ment of t he archipelago with the Sibuyan sea separating ti,e Visayas,
and the Mindanao Strait and the Sulu isolating Palawan from the rest
of the archipelago.

These and other areas of waters would cease to be Philippine
waters; they wou ld become international waters or high seas, and
fishing vessels from all nations can enter to get the fish and other living
resources of the sea which nature and Divine Providence intended for
the Filipinos. Furthermore, warships of even unfriendly nations could
enter these waters and stay there with perfect legal right to do so. At
the same time, we would lose a large part of our territory on both sides
of the archipelago, towards the China Sea and the Pacific Ocean."

As long as the Philippine Constitution stands, as long as the Philip-
pines continues as one united country, a nd as long as the Philippines
contitutes one nation, the three-mile limit can neyer be acceptable to us."

(2) In a statement before the Sub-Committee II of the Committee on
Peaceful Uses of the Seabed and the Ocean Floor Beyond the Limits of
National Jurisdiction at Geneva on August 16, 1971, the Solicitor GeneraP3

12By the late Senator Arturo M. Tolentino.
13E stelito P. Mendoza.

Sec. 1 ART. l. - NA1'TONAL T ERRITORY 43

of the Philippines reiterat ed t he reasons why the over 7,000 islands com-
posing the Philippines should be treated as one whol e unit:

"More than seven thousand islands comprise the Philippines ruled
by one whole unitary governme nt, bound by a common heritage, be-
holden to the same tradi.tion, pursuing the same ideals, interdependent
a nd united politically, economically and socially a s one nation.

To suggest that ea ch isla nd has its own territoria l s ea and that base
lines mus t be drawn around each island is to s plinter into 7,000 pieces
what is a single nat ion a nd a united stat e. One need only imagine a
map of the P hilippines wit h t erritorial seas around each island and
with pockets of high seas in between islands to r ealize the absurdity of
the resulting situation. De pending on the breadth of the territorial sea
that may emerge, such pockets of high seas in the very heart of the
country may be such small areas of no more than 5 to 10 or 15· square
miles. And yet, on account of this, on the pre text of going to those
pockets of high seas, any vessel may intrude into the middle of our
country, between, for ex ample, the islands of Bohol and Camiguin
which fr om shore t o sh or e a r e separated by no more th an 29 miles."

(3 } Even , therefore, a twelve-mile breadth of th e t err itoria l sea would
not be acceptable to t he Philippines as it would still result in having some
pocket s within the sea be tween some islands which would be considered
international waters. 11 The a rchipelago principle an d the exclusivi! eco-
nomic zone rights (see Note 11 are now fully recognized in the U.N. Law of
the Sea Convention and, ther e for<:, form part of public international law. It
was ratified by the interim Ba t asang Pambansa on Febr uary 27, 1984. 15

- oOo -

HTh e significance of the archipelagic doctrine is more r ea lized with the present progra m
of t ho government to develop a ll its n atura l resources found in i tB water s under the sea and
in t he seabed to their fullest. extent. There is now tremendous interest recently generated in
off-shore oil exploration in our country . ("The TerritoTial Jurisd ic tion of the Philippine ~;,''
J ourn al of the IBP, Vol. 1, No. 3, p. 176, by ,Judge [now retired .Jus tict:l l Jorge R. Coquia .1
With t he new technology, the exploita tion of seabed mineral r eso ur·c e:-; particularly manga·
n esc, nickel and copper, "<Hl increase the export potentials and hasten th e indust.rial develop·
ment of the Philippines.

1' Am ong th e beMfits the P hili ppi nes would derive fro m the convent ion are:
( 1) Ownershi p of the Phi lippi nes over all the m iner a ls , oil unci livi ng resources in t he
waters an d the s eabed and su bsoil of th e archipelago, th e 200-mile l! xcl u sive economic zon e
ar ound the isl ands, a nd the con t inental shelf even hey.md 200 miles fr om tht- shore;
(2 ) Increase in the wat ers u nde r Philippine jurisdi ction in ch1ding t h E:- exclusive eco·
no mic zone, by more than 93 m illion h ectares;

(3) Recognition in internat ional law of the archipelago principle which the Philippines
h as been advocating since 1956; and

( 4 ) Acceptance of the PhilippineiS by the international community a!; a single political,

economic and geographical unit with no intcrnati9nal waters bet ween the diflerent islands.
(Acco rd ing to forme1· Senator 111H.l A!:l.semblyma n ·Arturo M . T,llf!u l i n o , Philippine Daily

Express, Feb. 28, 1984.)

Article II

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND
STATE POLICIES

PRINCIPLES

SECTION 1. The Philippines is a democratic and re publican
State . Sovereignty resides in the people and all government
au thority eman ate s from them.

The Philippines, a democratic
and republican state.
T h e above declar a t ion is a r e-st atement (see P re am ble) of the dem o-

cra tic charact er of our government.
A republican government is a democratic government b y r epresenta-

tives chosen by the people at large. The essence, therefore, of a r epublican
state is indirect ru le. T he people h ave est ablished the gove rnment to
g(lvern th em selves. Its officers from th e high est to t he lowest are ser vants
of the people and not their masters. They can only exercise the powers
delegated to them by the people who remain as the ultimate sour ce of
political power and authority.

S ection 1 adds th e word "democratic" because th e govern ment, whi le
essent ially a republican democr acy , em bodies some features of a pure
democr acy such a s t he initiative and referend u m. (see Art. VI, Ser. 32.j

Manifestations of a democratic
and republican state.
Th e manifestations of a democratic and republican st ate are:
( 1) The existence of a hill of rights (Art. II I. J;
(2) Th e observance of the rule of the majority ilntrodu ction-E. );
(3) The obser vance of t he principle t hat our s is a government of laws,

and not of men (Ibid.);
(4) The p1·esence of elections thr ough popular will (Art. V.);

44

Sec. 1 ART. IT. - DECLARATION OF PRI::-.l'ClPLES _f-
AND STATE POLICIES
-s

.,~~

Pri!lciples

y

t5) The observance of the principle of separation of powers and the ;

system of ch ecks and balances (see Art. VI, Sec. 1.); _;;-

16) The observance of the principle that the legislature cannot pass c:
~
irrepealable laws (sec Art . VI, Sec. 26.);

(7) The obser vance of the law on public officers (Ar t. XI. ); and ,.. ~

(8) The observance of the principle that the State cannot be sued .?

without its consent. (Art. XVI, Sec. 3.) ~

Sovereignty of the people.

Sovereignty 1mplies the supreme authority to govern. As the State in
whom sovereignty resides, the Filipino people have th e right to con stitute
their own government, to change it , and t o define its j urisdiction and
powers.

(1) Exercised indirectly through public officials. - But the people do

not govern themselves directly. Sovereignty (i.e., making laws, en forcing

t he same, and deciding cases involving life, liberty, and property) is exer-

cised through duly elected and appointed public officials who, as public

servants, a re accountable to t he people. (Art. XI , Sec. 1.) Their a ct s, if

within the scope of their delegated powers, are, in effect, the acts of the

P~P~- I

(2) Exercised directly through suffrage. - Actual sovereignty is exer-
cised by t h e people through the electoral process. 1 The popular will is best
expressed when electoral processes are free , clean a nd honest, on the basi s
of universal suffrage (i.e., not granted by status or property) and thr0'.1gh
secret vote. It is also imperative that the broadest choice of representatives
is available t o the people. Since we a re a r epresentative democracy, the
free and true expression of the people's sovereignty is of ~:,rreat importance.~

Right of the people to revolt.

Section 1 above recognizes that the people, as t he ultimate judges of
their destiny, can r esort to revolution as a matter of right.

A provision in the Cons titution expressly recognizing the people's right
t6 revolt against an oppressive or tyrannical government is not necessary
and proper.

( 1) Being an inherent right, it exists whether or not such right is
embodied in the Constitution and , regardless of t he Constitution, a people
will revolt if s ufficiently provoked by oppression or abuses.

'The will or consent of tho people is expressed by way of election, plebiscite, initiative.
referendum, and recall l,..ee Art . V, Sec. 1.) an d through publir opinion which t hey exert on
those who gvvc rn on their behalf, particularly the elective officials.

2Democracy cannot do witho ut elections which are the means by which the people lll'e
able to boot out corrupt an d incompetent offociub. But because the proce11s is not perfect.,
election s st ill yield officials who are unworthy of the people's mandate.

46 TEXTBOOK ON ·rHE PHILIPPINE CONST ITUT ION Sec. 2

(2 ) A constitution in a democratic State enshrines the rule of law and,
therefore, any allusion to the right of violent or armed revolution (which
connotes an act committed beyond the framework of the rule oflaw) would
be inconsistent with the concept of a Constitution.

(3) It would also not speak well of the political stability of the State,
because such a provision connotes that there is a distinct possibility that
the time may come when the people have to revolt against tyranny.

(4) In any case, in a democratic society where t he consent of the
governed is rc-!gularly expressed through open debates and free elections ,
"prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should
not be changed [through revolution1 for light and transient causes.";i

SEC. 2. The Philippines t·enounces war as an instrument of
national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of
international law as partofthe law ofthe land and adheres to the
policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom , coop eration, and
a mity with all nations.

Renunciation of war as an Instrument
of national policy.

This is the first aspect ofthe above declaration. It is in accordance with
the principle in the United Nations Charter binding all members to "re-
frain in their internationa l relations from the threat or use of force against
the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. x x x." The
declaration refers only to the renunciation by the Philippines of aggressive
'Var, not war in defen8e of her national honor and integrity. Men and
n ations cannot. waive in advance the basic right of self-preservation.

Under Article VI, Section 23(1) of t he Constitution, Congress wit h t he
concurrence of two-thirds of all its members, voting separately, may de-
clare the existence of a state of war.

Adoption of the generally accepted principles
of international law as part of our law.

This second portion of the declaration binds the Philippines to enforce
or observe within its jurisdiction, generally accepted princi ples of interna-
tional law, whether customary or by treaty provision, as part of the law of
the land. Tnternationallaw refers to the body of rules and principles which
governs t he relntions of nations and their re5pecti\·e peoples in their
intercourse with one another.

(1 ) When inienwtional usage to be applied. - International usages or
the customs of t.•ivilized nations are given effect by our courts in the
absence of any treaty, executive order, legislative act, or judicial decision.

:1The American Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1976).

Sec. 3 ART. II. - DECLARATION OF PRINCl PU ":S 47
AN D STATE POLICIER
Pri nciples

An example of a principle established by international u sage is that fishing
· boats belonging to an enemy a r e not subject to seizure in time of war. 1

( 2 ) A treaty has force ofa statute. -The Constitution gives a treaty the
same weight and value as a statute of Congress. In case of a conflict
between a treaty and a statute, the prior act is superseded by the later one
in point of time. When a treaty is superseded by a subsequent statute of
Congress, the treaty is repe aled or a brogated as part of the law of the land
but it still subsists as an engagement of the Philippines, although it may
n ot be enforceable by our courts. The other S t ate may only present its
compla int to the political orga n s (i .e., t he President and Congress) of our
government.2

( 3 ) Constitution prevails over a treaty. - The phrase "law of the na-
tion''.in the 1935 Constitution was changed to "law of the land" in the 1973
Constitution in order to avoid any conjecture that the generally accepted
principles of international law are incorporated into Philippine htw with
the force of constitutional provisions.'} The change is retained in the new
Constitution. Thus, should a conflict arise between the Constitution and a
treaty, the former prevails .

Adherence to the policy of peace, etc.,
with all nations.

This third aspect is a corolla ry to the foregoing portions of the above
declaration of principle. It s hows a positive attitude on the part of the
Philippines toward the observance of the principles of the United Nations
Ch arter and to universally accepted rules and principles of international
law.

In line with the objectives of the United Nations, the Philippines seeks
only peace and friendship with her neighbors and all countries of the
world , regardles s of race, cr el?.d, ideology and political system, on the basis
of mutual trus t , respect, a nd cooperation. It suppor ts the right of a ll
nations, big and small, to equality, freedom, and justice in their relations
with one another and the policy of non-interference and peaceful settle-
me nt of international disputes and opposes the use offorce, or the threat of
force, in the relations among nations.

The Constitution does not imply. however, that the Phi lippines is duty
bound to extend diplom atic r ecognition to all nations. (see Sec. 7. )

SEC. 3. Civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the
milit ary. The Armed Forces ofthe Philippines is the protector of
the people and the State. Its goal is to secure t h e sovereignty of
the State and the integrity of the national t erritory.

'Tho Paquete Habana, 17fi U.S. 677.
~see V.G. Sinco, op. cit. , p. 293.

JHl70 U.P. Law Center Cons titutio nal Revision Project, p. 20.

48 TEXTBOOK ON THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION Sec. 3

Supremacy of civilian authority
over the military.

(1) Inherent in a republican system. - The idea of the supremacy of
civilian authority, the highest of such authority being the President, over
the military has always been recognized in our jurisdiction by implication
from express provisions of the 1935 Constitution and by practice. This
deeply rooted pqlitical tradition is also inherent in a republican system of
government. Nonetheless, the 1971 Constitutional Convention and the
1986 Constitutional Commission have incl uded t h e above provision as they
felt the need for a clear expression in the Charter concerning the su-
premacy ofthe civilian authority over the military at all times, particularly
during periods of martial law or suspension of the privilege of the writ of
habeas corpus. (see Art. III, Sec. 15; Art. VII, Sec. 18.) Even in war, the
armed forces is subordinate to civilian authority.

(2) A safeguard against military dictatorship. - A civilian, the Presi-
dent is the commander-i n-chief of all armed force s of the Philippines (Ibid.)
-the army, the navy, the air force, the constabulary, and t he marines .1 As
commander-in-chief, h e issues orders to the armed forces. Even the a p-
point ment of their high-ranking officers is vested in the President wi th the
consent of the Commission on Appointments of Congress (Ibid., Sec. 16.)
Along with Congress, the President determines the military budget and
defines the national policy on defense and security.

This arrangement is considered an important safeguard against th~
rise of military dictatorship.

Armed Forces of the Philippines, protector
of the people and the State.

(1) Fearsome image acquired during martial rule. - Under a previous
regime, particularly during the early part of martial law, the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP),2 acquired a fearsome image. This was a contribu-
tory factor to the failure of the government to contain the growing insur -
gency problem. Rightly or wrongly, it had been accused of having commit-
ted, abetted, or tolerated numerous violations ofhuman rights both against
r ebels and the civilian population. Among the cases reported are unex-
plained or forced disappearance, extrajudicial kill ings (salvaging), massa-
cres, tortures, haml etting, and food blockades .

Many believed that the military organization was being used as an
instrument to prop up the continued stay in office· of the then incumbent

1The Philippine National Police (PNPj (Art. XVI, Sec. 6.l is under the Department of
Interior and Local Government which, in turn, is under the control of the President as
administrative head of the executive department. tArt. VII, Sec. 17.)

2It was change1 hy the organization itself and was called for sometime as the New
Armed Forces of the Philippines (NAFP) to shed ofT its former imag~ during the martial law
regime a nd indicate its new r(lle under the new dispensatio n.

Sec. 4 ART. II. - DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES 49
AND STATE POLICIES
Principles

President who a t the time of his overthrow in a peaceful revolution on
February 25, 1986 had held power for more than 20 years. This perception
was st rengthened by the lion's share given to the defense establishment in
the annual budgd and the appointment to sensitive positions in the armed
forces, of generals known for their personal loyalty to the President and the
repeated extension of their tour of duty. Many of these generals allegedly
enriched themselves while in the service but the government remained
silent on their cases although they were a matter of public knowledge.

(2) Constitutional mandates. - The ConstitutiQn seeks to change this
state of affairs:

(a) Through Section 3 above, it defines clearly the function of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and its goal in the discharge of

this function. It shall be the protector of the people and the State to
secure the sovereignty of the State and the integrity of the national
territory. This means fighting all forces, internal or external; which
seek to overthrow the government, impair t he independence of the
nation, or dismember any portion of its territory.

(b l Through another provision (s ee Art. XVI , Sec. 5.), t he Constitu -
tion insures professionalism in the armed forces and insulates it from
partisan politics. Furthermore, it directs th e State to "str engthen the
patriotic spirit and nationalist consciousness of the military, and re-
spect for people's rights in the performance of their duty."

(3) Support of the people. - Adherence to these constitutional man-
dates is essential if the AFP is to win "the hearts and minds" of the people
in the efforts to resolve the long-drawn insurgency problem and fulfill its
crucial task as an effective guardian of the nation's safe ty against any
threat to its existence, whether from within or from without. The strength
of t he armed forces, indeed, of our nation, sterns from the people.

SEC. 4. The prime duty of the Government is to serve and
protect tile people. The Government may call upon the people to
d efend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may
be required, under conditions provided by law, to render per·
sonal military or civil service.

Prime duty of the Government.

Section 4 enunciates the first and foremost duty of the Government--
to serve and protect the"people. In our contempor a ry set ting, when the
country is beset by formidable social and economic problem/ all dellfanding
pri9rity attention, part icularly the problems of.lfiass pov~r~y andfinassive
¥employment, the above principle is most proper and timely . It is consist-
ent with the most basic democratic tenet that the government exists for the
people and not the people for the government. The State fulfills this prime
duty by pursuing and implementing the State Policies mandated by the
Constitution in Sections 7 to 28.

1)0 TEXTBOOK ON THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION Sec.4

In both the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions, "the defense of the State is
the prime duty of the Government x x x." This concept is considered
anachronistic. It was taken f1·om the Constitution of the Spanish Republic. 1

Defense of the State by the people
against foreign aggression.

While the defense of the State is no longer the prime duty of the
government, it may call upon the people to defend the State. (Sec. 4.)

For self-preservation and to defend its territorial honor and integrity,
the Philippines can engage in a defensive war. In recognition of this fact,
the Constitution has provided for the above principle. The defense of the
State is one of the duties of a citizen.

The term "people" may also include aliens since they are likewise
subject to regulations adopted by the government for the defense of the
State.

The constitutional provision covers both time of peace and time of war.

Military and civil service by the people.

(1) Defense of State performed through an army. - The duty of the
government and the people to defend the State cannot be performed except
through an army. To leave the organization of an army to the will of the
citizens would be to make this duty excusable should there be no sufficient
men who volunteer to enlist therein.2 This principle is reinforced by the
provision on the formation of a citizen armed force. (see Art. XVI, Sec. 4.)

(2) Compulsory. - Thus, the citizens may be compelled to render
personal military, or civil service. Accordingly, the Supreme Court upheld
in a case the validity of the National Defense Act requiring compulsory

1~The Spanish republican government at least had no reason to insist on it:; order of
priority that the first responsibility of the government and the people is to sh,Yulder arms to
defend the State. At that time, war·making was the favorite sportt:. in the We:<tern World
and, worse for the Spaniards, their coloni<ls all over the world were being co,·eted and
invaded by other world powers. Thus, they had to ~tre!'\S the principle that it was the primary
obligation of the government, home and colonial, and the people in them. to defend the State
and their colonies through compulsory military and civil service.

In carelessly adopting this theory in our Collstitution, we emhrace anachronism thnt
adds insult to injury. To enunciate that its prime duty is to defend the State and thus eompci
every citizen to be a soldier is to make the building of a· larger armed forces as the
government's overriding obligation. In that sense, it gives Ihl.' military a primordial position
in the political hierarchy, a role wider and more important than a democratic constitution
would allow it. The lopsided view of the primary duty of the government has its perils.

Mr. Marcos and many dictators, both in Spain and Spani!'\h territories, took villainous
advantage of the declar(-ld constitutional principle. To justify their military regime!'\, Mr.
Marcos and the military juntas in South America invoked the constitutional precept that tht~
first duty of the government is to defend the State and beef up the military." ("The Anachro-
nism in the Constitution" by Com. Napoleon G. Rama, Manila Bulletin, Sept., 198ft)

2Peoplt> vs. Lagman, 66 Phil. 13.

Sees. 5-6 ART. II. - DECLAHA'flO!\ OF PRINCJPLBS 51
AND STATE POLICIES

Pri ncipl e~

military Bervice.3 Any citizen recruited for the army or civil ser vice pursu-
ant to law for the defense of the State may not refuse on the ground tha: to
go to war is against his r eligion. The constitutional provision 1·emoves all
dm1bt as to the validity of such law.

(3) Meaning of ciuil service. - The term, as used above, refers to any
service for the defense of the State other than as soldiers, like as workers in
munition factories.

~ 4) Personal. - One cannot render the service required through an-
other. 'l'he service must be "per sonal."

(5) By law . - The phra~e "under conditions provided by law" is in-

tended to prevent arbitr?.!'iness on the part of certain officials to require

military or civil service.4 It seek s to emphasize the primordial responsibil-

ity of the Government "to serve and protect the people'' even when they are

called upon "to defend the State.'' ·

SEC. 5. The maintenance of peace and order, th e protection
of life, liberty, and prope rty, a nd the promotion of the general
welfare are essential for the enjoyment by all the people of the
blessings of democ racy.

Maintenonce of peace and order, etc.

The State (Government) shall pursue the maintenance of peace and
order (see Art. XVI, Sec. 6. ), the protection of life, liberty a nd property (see
Art. fii , Sec. 1.), and the promotion of the genera l welfa re or the common
good.

Only when peace and order, security, and a life of dignity (see Sec. 11.)
are established and maintained, will political stabih ty and economic pros-
perity become attainable and t he people t ruly enjoy t h e "blessings of
independence and democracy." (see Preamble.)

SEC. s:The separation of Church and State shall be inviola-
b le .

'1C. A. 1\Jo. 1.
'Pre~ide ntial Decree No. 170() !Aug. 8, 1980), otl)erwise known as uThc National Service
Law,'' provides for compu]t<;c>ry "national service" for all citizens of the Philippines which, a;; used
ir, th e Decree, "shall con;;ist of three (31 main programs, namely: civil weltiue service, law
enfnrcem!.'nl. .service, and military l.>er vice." Each citiY.tm shall rcndor the service in any of the
program!~ or a combination thcrerof and t;uch senicc shall be 1.:redited in h is favor for the purpose
of fulfilling educational requirem<:nt!l established by law. The Deer~ amended C.A. No. 1.
In view of widespread protests which h ave been registered by various sectorR, its implemen·
tativn was suspended by Memorandum Order No. 11 ofthe P resident at all schoolleveis effective
school .vear 1986-1987, except. the provisions on military service. The Secretary of Education,
Cult.urc a nd Sports inow Sccretnry of Educationl is directed to review the law and submit
r t>commendation,:;.
Su bsequently, RA. No. 7077 (,Tunc 27, 19911, the ucitizcn Armed Forces of the Philip-
pine:; Resen· ist Act,'' was enacted . R.A. No. 916:1 (::;ee note 1 to Sec. 13.1 ame nded Sections 2

aand of Presidential Dccr~o No. l 706 ;ind Sections :JH and 39 of R.A. No. 7077.

TEXTBOOK t)!\' THE PHILIPPINE CO:-;"STITUTION Sec. 6

Principle of separation of the church
and State.

The principle of the SE>para tion of Church and State being inviolable
(i.e., secured or protected from violation) is implied from the constitutional
prohibitions that "no law shall be made respecting an establishment of
religion" (Art. III, Sec. 5.1 and that "no public money or property shall ever
be appropriated, applied, paid, or employed, directly or indirectly, for the
use, benefit, or support of any sed, church, denomination, sectarian insti-
tution or system of n~ligion.'' (Art. VI , Sec. 29l21.) Settion 6 merely affirms
this old constitutional principle.

The principle simply mean s that the church is not to interfere in purely
political matters or temporal aspects of man's life and the State, in purely
matters of relig ion and morals. which are the exclusive concerns of the
other. 1 The demarcation line C'alls on the two institutions to "render unto
Ceasar the t hings that are Ceasar's and unto God the things t hat are
God's." Thi s is not as simple as it appears for the exact di vidir.g line
between t he r espective domains or jurisdict ions of the Church and t he
St~te has always been the subject matter of much disagreement.2

The term "church," as us~d in the Constitution, coYers all faiths .

Meaning of "establishment of religion
clause.''

The ph•·ase "no law respecting an establishment of religion " h as been
referred to as the "establishment of religion clau se."3 In the words of

'Durin~ th e Sp11 nish !·egimf!. not only wa;; there no !>cpflrlltion of church and State, but

the church arrogated unt u its;>lf powr:rs that properly be longed to the Sll:lte. Th~ church

tolerated , and l t ) 80m!c' extent. perpctun~ d the abuses of the coloni al regi m e . The original

ra ~ionale behi nd the separa tion was t h<! grow ing power of religio us autho ri t ies who im pot<ed

thf!i r doctrillf!l! and r ulcs on tlwir f'•Jili)WI: r::: t o tht' extent of encroaching in to the politi cal or

~'"-:ular real m . •

2F or cxmnple. a church may concern it.sf:'lf with a secul11r acti\'ity !e.g.. politics, violation

of human righ ts. gTH ft and corruption. arti fi(:ial birth cootro ll which it hc::lieve ~ is conducted

or is in contraven t,ion of tlw law of God an d the commo n good and an.· inconsiste nt with

christian valu~l:\ 1:mcl principles. The Cat holic Church. in piHt icular. sees the r en ewal of the

temporal order >H;(·ording to th e gos p e l a!! falli ng with in its di ,·i ne missio n.

In con nection wi t.h the Day of Prayt?r fo r the Nation held on September 2 1, 1999

i11it.iated by the Cath olic Church, t h e Archh i;;h"P of ~1anil a issued a circular giving th e main
r<:a:;ons why t.he chur ch ha~; a m ission in poi itic;;. as follo w:;.:'First. because politics has a

mor:-11 dimension. Politic;; if\ a human activity. It may hurt o r l:>E'nefit people; Second, because
tht· (;u;,pd and l.he Kingdnrn nfGod callth~ Church to pol iti('al im·o l\'t:?ment. T o prodai m the

go>-p<;l for all •~rt~a l ion neccs;;arily incl udes llvangelizing th e political world; Third, because

the m is;;ion nf t.h1; Church of integral ~;a lvation involvt-~ the political sphe re. Meaning,
salvation in vo l ve~ th e tntal pE>n;on, so ul a nd body, spiritual a nd temporal; Fou rth, because

orthe ii<!l vatinn lht' h uman j)f:'T:SOI1 is from pe r;;onal and social sins. In t he political field,

:;,)ciA] :sins unfnrwna t.ely abound.

l'f'ht- provi;;inn was contained in clau;;e <7 J. Sectio n 1 of Article Ill {Bill of Right s) of the

19:t'i Constitutinn. Jt. i;: now cmbndied in Sf:'rtion 5, Art ide III in the 1987 ConF;titntion as a

s c'!Hlrat(• provi l"inn.

Sec. 6 ART. II. - DECLARATION OF PR£NCIPI.ES 53
AND STATE POLIC IES
Prin ciples

Thomas Jefferson, using a metaphor, this clause was intended to erect "a
wall of separation between the Church and the State. "~ And it means that:

( l.) The State r;hall have no official religion;

(2> The State cannot set up a church, whether or not su pported with
public funds; nor aid one religion, aid all religions (see Art. VI, Sec. 29[2].),
or prefer one religion over another;

(3) Every person is free to prClfess belief or disbelief in any religion;

(4) Every religiou s minister is free to prad.ice his call ing; and

(5) The State cannot punish a person for entertaining or professing
religiou s beliefs or disbeliefs. G

No hostility towards religion.

The command that Church a nd State be separate is not to be interpreted
to mean hostility to religion. In so far as religion instills into the minds the
purest principles of morality, its influence is deeply felt and highly appreci-
ated.G As a matter of fact, the Preamble of the Constitution starts with these
words: "We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God .
. ." Wit.b these words, the Filipino people "manifested their intense religious
nature and placed unfaltering reliance upon him who guides the destinies of
men a nd nations.""'

Furthermore:

(1) Our Constitution and laws exempt from taxation, properties de-
voted exclusively to religious purposes (Art. VI, Sec. 28[3.1.);

(2) The use of public money or property is not prohibited when a priest,
preacher or dignitary as such is assigned to the armed forces, or to any penal
institution or government orphanage or leprosarium (Art. VI , Sec. 29[2]. );

(3) Optional religious instruction in public elementary and high schools
is by constitutional mandate a llowed (Art. XIV, Sec. 3[3.1.);

(4) Thursday and Friday of Holy Week, Christmas Day and Sundays
are made legal holidays8 because of the secular idea that their observance
is conducive to beneficial moral results; and

•Everson vs. Board of F.ducHtion, 330 U.S. 1.

6Soc Ibid. There is nothing in th e Constitution prohibiting the ch urch from expressing

its views or stand on public i&sl•'es.

sAglipay vs. Ruh. 64 Phil. 201.

' lhid. .

' Executive Order No. zrn {J une 30, 1987 ! list,:; Ma nndy Thursday and Good Friday

(movnhlc date) as rcgulllr holidays l:lnd All Saints' Day INov. 1) and Chdstmn" Day !Dec. 25) a.c;

nationwide ilpecial holidays. isee Adm. Code of 19H7 [~;xec. Order No. 2921. Book I, Sec. 26.)

Proclamntion No. 192a (Oct. 27, 1979J established the annual celebration ofl\:ntional Bible Week

and National Rihln Sunday. Procla mations No. i"ifi !Nov. 21. 1986J and 1\o. 1067 !Aug. 26, 1997)

call forth~ oh;;t~rvance ofN11tional BiOle Week on the lnst week of J anua ry each year with the l<~t!t

Sunday a:o Bihk Sunchty. Proclama tion No. 1067 calls for "natiom1l a ttention to be focused on the

imporiM•ce of reading and .studying thc Bible in molding the !:lpiri t.tJtll. mora l. und social fiber of