The Philippines has five constitutions since gaining independence in 1898:

1. Malolos Constitution (1899): Also known as the Constitution of the First Philippine Republic, it was the fundamental law of the Philippines during the short-lived First Philippine Republic.
2. 1935 Constitution: This constitution established the Commonwealth of the Philippines, which served as a transitional government before full independence from the United States. It provided the framework for the government until 1973.
3. 1973 Constitution: During the Martial Law Era under President Ferdinand Marcos, this constitution replaced the 1935 Constitution. It established a presidential form of government with a parliamentary system.
4. 1986 Freedom Constitution: After the ousting of President Marcos through the People Power Revolution, this provisional constitution was promulgated by President Corazon Aquino. It served as an interim constitution until a new one could be ratified.
5. 1987 Constitution: This constitution, drafted and ratified after the restoration of democracy, replaced the 1973 Constitution. It reestablished the presidential system of government and introduced various reforms to safeguard democracy and human rights.

In Francisco v. House of Representatives, the Supreme Court stated three basic principles when interpreting the Constitution.

1. Verba legis: Whenever possible, the words used in the Constitution must be given their ordinary meaning, except where technical terms are employed. It highlights that the Constitution, even though it is essential to the rule of law, is NOT primarily a lawyer’s document, and must be understood by the average person in order to be ever-present in the people’s consciousness.
2. Ratio legis est anima: In cases of ambiguity, the words of the Constitution should be interpreted in accordance with the intent of the framers. It stresses that a doubtful provision must be examined in the light of the history of the times, and the condition and circumstances under which the Constitution was framed.
3. Ut magis valeat quam pereat: The Constitution should be interpreted as a whole. This means that certain provisions should not be taken by themselves, especially in order to favor a specific objective, but rather interpreted together with all other provisions.

The general presumption is also that all provisions of the constitution are self-executing unless the contrary is clearly intended. This means that Congress does not need to pass particular laws to enforce them.

However, statements of general principles, especially those embodied in Article II, are usually not self-executing and only provide guidelines for legislation.  

Exceptions to these are the right to a balanced and healthful ecology, the promotion and protection of health, the right to information, and the Filipino First Policy.

The Supreme Court, in Lambino v. COMELEC, outlines the different aspects of the Philippine Constitution:

1. Constitution of Government: establishes the basic structure of the government, its branches, and their operations.
2. Constitution of Sovereignty: provides how the Constitution may be changed.
3. Constitution of Liberty: states the fundamental rights of the people. 

I. CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT

The Legislative Department

Articles VI talks about the Legislative Department, the branch of the government tasked to make laws. It covers both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which together comprise the Philippine Congress. 

The Senate is composed of 24 senators, serving 6 years for a maximum of 2 consecutive terms (Art. VI, Sec. 2 and 4). It is helmed by the Senate President (Art. VI, Sec. 16(1)).

The House of Representatives has a maximum of 250 members unless increased by law. Representation is based on proportional representation from legislative districts, each representing a roughly equal number of inhabitants (Art. VI, Sec. 5).

There is also a Party List system in the Congress, which provides representation for marginalized and underrepresented sectoral groups in the House of Representatives (Art. VI, Sec. 5). Members of the House of Representatives serve for a term of 3 years, with a maximum of 3 consecutive terms (Art. VI, Sec. 7). The Constitution mandates that the House of Representatives elect its Speaker by majority vote, as well as choose other officers (Art. VI, Sec. 16).  

Congress is said to have not only legislative power but also, “power of the purse” giving its imprimatur on government budget and spending (Art. VI, Sec. 24 and 25). 

The Executive Department

The President leads the Executive Department, which is responsible for implementing laws, as Article VII of the Constitution outlines. The President heads all executive departments, agencies, and offices and holds the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Philippine Armed Forces.

Article VII, Section 3 provides six-year terms for the President and the Vice President. There are, however, clear restrictions on their ability to be re-elected. As stated in the same provision, the Vice President is limited to two consecutive terms of office, whereas the President is not eligible for reelection. The President’s executive authority is the principal focus of the Constitution. The Vice President’s roles and responsibilities are not specified,except for the Vice President’s role as the successor to the President in the event of the latter’s death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation (Article VII, Section 8).

The President is also known as the Chief Architect of foreign policy, although all treaties and international agreements must still be concurred in by at least two-thirds of the Members of the Senate for them to be valid and effective (Art. VII, Sec. 21).

The Judiciary

Article VIII focuses on the Judiciary, which interprets the laws. It is headed by the Supreme Court, composed of the Chief Justice and 14 Associate Justices, who serve until 70 years of age or are too incapacitated to perform the duties required by their respective offices (Art. VIII, Sec.4(1); Sec. 11). All judicial branch members must be members of the Philippine Bar (licensed lawyers).

All members of the judicial branch must be members of the Philippine Bar (licensed lawyers). 

Independent and Special Offices

Article IX enumerates the different Constitutional Commissions. This includes the Commission on Elections, the Commission on Audit, and the Civil Service Commission. These are independent bodies designed to keep the three branches of government in check. All three enjoy fiscal and administrative autonomy to help ensure that they are not influenced by politics. 

• The Civil Service Commission serves as the central personnel agency of the government and handles the rules of admission, conduct, and discipline of those in public service. 
• The Commission on Elections is tasked to enforce all laws and regulations related to elections, plebiscites, initiatives, referendum, and recall. It also decides controversies related to the qualifications and election of all elective regional, provincial, and city officials.
• The Commission on Audit ensures that government funds are properly spent and accounted for. It covers all bodies of Government, including government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and autonomous states’ colleges and universities.

Local governance is covered in Article X. It subdivides the country into provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays, with a special provision creating autonomous regions for Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras. These are all collectively called local government units or LGUs.   

Commission on Human Rights mandated under Art. XIII, Sec. 17  is tasked to investigate all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights.

Note that the CHR’s primary mandate is to protect citizens from the abuses of state actors. This ensures that government officials will not abuse their power at the expense of individual citizens. If a fellow citizen commits harm against another citizen, then generally this is not covered by the CHR but rather by criminal justice institutions, like the Philippine National Police.

Other Non-Independent Offices

The 1987 Constitution also mandated the creation of a special agency for disabled persons (Art. XIII, Sec. 13) and the establishment of one police force (Art. XVI, Sec. 6), as well as a national language commission (Art. XIV, Sec. 9). 

Other government institutions specifically referred to by the 1987 Constitution include the Sandiganbayan (Art. XI, Sec. 4), the Ombudsman, formerly known as the Tanodbayan (Art. XI, Sec. 5), the National Economic Development Administration (Art. XII, Sec. 9) and the Central Bank (Art. XII, Sec. 20).

II. CONSTITUTION OF SOVEREIGNTY

The Philippine Constitution affirms that sovereignty, the power of the state, resides in the people. Thus, the power to effect changes to the Constitution lies with the people as well. 

Art. XVII, Sec. 2, for example, states that “amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative,” provided that certain conditions are met, including a percentage of the total number of registered voters (12%) and territorial representation (3% of the registered voters of every legislative district).

It affirms Art. II, Sec. 1, which declares that “sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.”

III. CONSTITUTION OF LIBERTY

Art. III, the Bill of Rights, embodies the Constitution of Liberty. It lists down certain inviolable rights enjoyed by every citizen, and this includes:

• Sec. 1. Right to life, liberty and property, due process, equal protection of laws
• Sec. 2. Right against unreasonable searches and seizures
• Sec. 3. Privacy of communication and correspondence
• Sec. 4. Freedom of speech, expression, and the press, peaceful assembly 
• Sec. 5. Freedom of religion
• Sec. 6. Liberty of abode and right to travel
• Sec. 7. Right to information
• Sec. 8. Right to form and join labor unions, associations, and societies
• Sec. 9. Right to just compensation for public acquisition of private property
• Sec. 10. Freedom to contract
• Sec. 11. Free access to legal assistance, the courts, and quasi-judicial bodies  
• Sec. 12. Rights of the accused, including the right to be informed, the right to counsel, and the prohibition on torture
• Sec. 13. Right to bail
• Sec. 14. Due process, right to be considered innocent until proven guilty 
• Sec. 15. The writ of habeas corpus
• Sec. 16. Right to timely justice and speedy disposition of cases
• Sec. 17. Right against self-incrimination
• Sec. 18. Right against prosecution for political beliefs and ban on involuntary servitude
• Sec. 19. Right against excessive fines and cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishments, including substandard or inadequate penal facilities under subhuman conditions
• Sec. 20. Non-imprisonment for failure to pay debt or poll tax
• Sec. 21. Right against double jeopardy 
• Sec. 22. Prohibition on ex post facto laws and bills of attainder

The Constitution emphasizes the primacy of civilian authority (Art. II, Sec. 3), considering that sovereignty and all government authority emanates from the people (Art. II, Sec. 1).

The Constitution, while prescribing authority to the government, also often provides a structure by which to prevent abuses of its power. This is often described as checks and balances, where the different branches of the government share in the power of the sovereign, and that no one branch will amass so much power to the detriment of the others. This is based on the concept of separation of powers. While not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, the concept is respected in practice. 

The Supreme Court stated in G.R. No. 45081. July 15, 1936:  “It does not follow from the fact that the three powers are to be kept separate and distinct that the Constitution intended them to be absolutely unrestrained and independent of each other. The Constitution has provided for an elaborate system of checks and balances to secure coordination in the workings of the various departments of the government.” 

Due to the imposition of Martial Law in the 1970s and the subsequent abuse of executive and legislative power, the 1986 Constitutional Commission (ConCom) of the 1987 Constitution included stricter provisions to prevent such abuses from happening again. Article VII, Section 18 retains the President’s power as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, allowing the imposition of martial law and the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. However, this section limits such actions to a period not exceeding 60 days. Additionally, the President must present the decision to Congress within 48 hours, and Congress has the power to revoke the proclamation or suspension. Furthermore, the Supreme Court may review the sufficiency of the factual basis for the proclamation or suspension and must issue a ruling within 30 days of the filing of a complaint.

Though not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, the president enjoys executive immunity.  This means that the President is immune from suit during his or her stay in office and can only be removed by impeachment. 

The Legislative Department has a similar but much more limited immunity.

Members of Congress are privileged from arrest during the duration of their term if they are charged with criminal offenses punishable by not more than 6 years in prison (Art. VI, Sec. 11). Furthermore, this only applies when Congress is in session.

The Philippines, while it adopts generally accepted principles of international law (Art. II, Sec. 2), also strives to maintain an independent Foreign Policy (Art. II, Sec. 7), both of which are paramount in order to build a strong interdependent and international community.

The Constitution also promotes a number of different values, such as human rights, family, youth, women, health, environment, education, science and technology, arts, culture, and sports, labor, indigenous cultural communities, and civil society activities. It also seeks to prohibit political dynasties, graft, and corruption (Art. II).

Art. IV discusses citizenship, as to who is considered a Filipino national while Art. V talks about suffrage, otherwise known as the right to vote. In line with this, the Constitution also provides provisions on ownership: what can and cannot be owned by Filipinos and non-Filipinos. 

For example, Art. XII, Sec. 3 prohibits the acquisition of real estate property by foreigners, unless acquired through hereditary succession.  Art. XIV, Sec. 4 (2) requires that educational institutions, other than those established by religious groups and mission boards, shall be owned solely by citizens of the Philippines or corporations or associations at least sixty percent of the capital of which is owned by such citizens. Another example is mass media, whose ownership is limited to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, cooperatives, or associations, wholly owned and managed by such citizens (Art. XVI, Sec. 11(1)).

There are a number of other industries the ownership of which is limited by the Constitution, including the exploration and utilization of natural resources (Art. XII, Sec. 2), grants and franchises of public utilities (Art. XII, Sec. 11), and advertising (Art. XVI, Sec. 11(2)), among others.

While the Constitution advocates for the separation of church and state and disallows laws from establishing a religion (Art. II, Sec. 6; Art. III, Sec. 5), it nevertheless forwards the free exercise thereof, meaning people are free to individually choose what religion to follow, if at all (Art. III, Sec. 5).

The simple answer is NO. The Constitution, while possessing a number of exemplary characteristics, possesses well-grounded criticisms against it.

As the supreme law of the land and the basis of every other law arising, the Constitution must be must be written simply, easily understandable by the common people. Instead, it is peppered with platitudes, beginning from the Preamble until the end. 

The 1987 Constitution is also the longest Constitution of the Philippines to date and contains details otherwise not usually seen in constitutions of other countries. Many of these details could otherwise have been left to  the legal codes, and not embedded in the Constitution.

The organization of the 1987 Constitution leaves much to be desired, and there are many examples of this. Art. III, Sec. 14 (1) mentions due process, repeating Sec. 1 of the same article. Art. VII, Sec. 21 talks about the Senate, when the entire article actually refers to the Executive Department.  Repetitions of similar values, concepts, and terms are common, highlighting the redundancy of provisions.

In addition, there are recent moves to transform the presidential system of government to a parliamentary, federal form of government. Proponents insist that this could be the key to empowering local government and could result in inclusive development across the different islands of the Philippines. However, a working framework for this is yet to be presented. 

Because of these factors, there are proposals to modify the 1987 Constitution. This is all well and good; after all, updating the basic law created more than three decades and a half prior to reflect the changing times is a positive legal development.

However, we must be vigilant not to let unscrupulous entities insert self-serving provisions into the new version. 

Something to Remember: A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Please note that this module serves only as a summary and utilizes keywords to make the concepts easier to understand. But before citing a provision of the Constitution in discussions and arguments, please make sure to read the actual provision first. And in cases of doubts and blurred insights,  don’t hesitate to read more about it.