SOUTH EAST ASIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, INC.

National Highway, Crossing Rubber, Tupi, South Cotabato

GENERAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

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LEARNING MODULE
FOR
GE 112: READINGS IN PHILIPPINE HISTORY

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WEEK 9
October ___, 2020
 WEEK 9
EVOLUTION OF THE PHILIPPINE CONTITUTION

The constitution I defined a set of fundamental principles or established

precedent according to which a state or other organization is governed, thus, the word
itself means to be a part of a whole, the coming together of distinct entities into one
group, with the same principles and ideals. These principles define the nature and
extent of government.

The Constitution of the Philippines, the supreme law of the Republic of the
Philippines, has been in effect since 1987. There were only three other constitutions that
have effectively governed the country: the 1935 Commonwealth Constitution, the 1973
Constitution, and the 1986 Freedom Constitution. However, there was earlier
constitution attempted by Filipinos in the struggle to break free from the colonial yoke.

1897: Constitution of Biak-na-Bato

The Constitution of Biak-na-Bato was the provisionary Constitution of the

Philippine Republic during the Philippine Revolution, and was promulgated by the
Philippine Revolutionary Government on 1 November 1897. The constitution, borrowed
from Cuba, was written by Isabelo Artacho and Felix Ferrer in Spanish, later on
translated into Tagalog.

The organs of the government under the Constitution were:(1) the Supreme
Council, which was vested with the power of the Republic, headed by the president and
four department secretaries: the interior, foreign affairs, treasury, and war; (2) the
Consejo Supremo de Gracia Y Justicia (Supreme Council of Grace and Justice), which
was given the authority to make decisions and affirm or disprove the sentences
rendered by other courts and to dictate rules for the administration of justice; and (3)
the Asamblea de Representantes ( Assembly of Representatives), which was to be
convened after the revolution to create a new Constitution and to elect a new Council of
Government and Representatives of the people.
`
The Constitution of Biak-na Bato was never fully implemented, since a truce, the
Pact of Biak-na-Bato, was signed between the Spanish and the Philippine Revolutionary
Army.

Primary Source: Preamble of the Biak-na-Bato Constitution

The separation of the Philippines from the Spanish monarchy and their formation
into an independent state with its own government called the Philippine Republic has
been the end sought by the Revolution in the existing war, begun on the 24 th of August,
1896; and, therefore, in its name and by the power delegated by the Filipino people,
interpreting faithfullyr their desires and ambitions, we the representatives of the
Revolution, in a meeting at Biak-na-Bato, November 1, 1897, unanimously adopted the
following articles for the constitutions of the State.

1899: Malolos Constitution

After the signing of the truce, the Filipino revolutionary leaders accepted a
payment from Spain and went to exile in Hong Kong. Upon the defeat of the Spanish to
the Americans in the Battle of Manila Bay on 1 May 1898, the United States Navy
transported Aguinaldo back to the Philippines. The newly reformed Philippine
revolutionary forces reverted to the control of Aguinaldo, and the Philippine Declaration
of Independence was issued on 12 June 1898, together with several decrees that
formed the First Philippine Republic. The Malolos Congress was elected, which
selected a commission to draw up a draft constitution on 17 September 1898, which
was composed of wealthy and educated men.

The document they came up with, approved by the Congress on 29 November

1898, and promulgated by Aguinaldo on 21 January 1899, was titled "The Political
Constitution of 1899" and written in Spanish. The constitution has 39 articles divided
into 14 titles, with eight articles of transitory provisions, and a final additional article. The
document was patterned after the Spanish Constitution of 1812, with influences from
the charters of Belgium, Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, and the
French Constitution of 1973. According to Felipe Calderon, main author of the
constitution, these countries were studied because they shared similar social, political,
ethnological, and governance conditions with the Philippines. Prior constitutional
projects in the Philippines also influenced the Malolos Constitution, namely, the Kartilya
and the Sangguniang-Hukuman, the charter of laws and morals of the Katipunan written
by Emilio Jacinto in 1896; the Biak-na-Bato Constitution of 1897 planned by Isabelo
Artacho; Mabini’s Constitutional Program of the Philippines Republic of 1898; the
provisional constitutions; and the autonomy projects of Paterno in 1898.

Primary Source: Preamble of the Political Constitution of 1899

We, the Representatives of the Filipino People, lawfully convened, in order to

establish justice, provide for common defense, promote the general welfare and insure
the benefits of liberty, imploring the aid of the Sovereign Legislator of the Universe for
the attainment of these ends, have voted, decreed, and sanctioned the following
political constitution.

As a direct challenge to colonial authorities of the Spanish empire, the

sovereignty was retroverted to the people, a legal principle underlying the Philippine
Revolution. The people delegated governmental functions to civil servants while they
retained actual sovereignty. The 27 articles of Title IV detail the natural rights and
popular sovereignty of Filipinos, the enumeration of which does not imply the prohibition
of any other rights not expressly stated. Title III, Article V also declares that the State
recognizes the freedom and equality of all beliefs, as well as the separation of Church
and State. These are direct reactions to features of the Spanish government in the
Philippines, where the friars were dominant agents of the State.

The form of government, according to Title II, Article 4 is to be popular,

representative, alternative, and responsible, and shall exercise three distinct power-
legislative, executive, and judicial. The legislative power was vested in a unicameral
body called the Assembly of Representatives, members of which are elected for terms
of four years. Secretaries of the government were given seats in the assembly, which
meet annually for a period of at least three months. Bills could be introduced either by
the president or by a member of the assembly. Some powers not legislative in nature
were also and interpretation, and the right of impeaching the president, cabinet
members, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and the solicitor-general. A permanent
commission of seven, elected by the assembly, and granted specific powers by the
constitutions, was to sit during the intervals between sessions of the assembly.

Executive power was vested in the president, and elected by a constituent

assembly of the Assembly of Representatives and special representatives. The
president will serve a term of four years without re-election. There was no vice
president, and in case of a vacancy, a president was to be selected by the constituent
assembly.

The 1899 Malolos Constitution was never enforced due to the ongoing war. The
Philippines was effectively a territory of the United States upon the signing of the Treaty
of Paris between Spain and the United States, transferring sovereignty of the
Philippines on 10 December 1898.

1935: The Commonwealth Constitution

It is worth mentioning that after the Treaty of Paris, the Philippines was subject to
the power of the United States of America, effectively the new colonizers of the country.
From 1898 to 1901, the Philippines would be placed under a military government until a
civil government would be put into place.

Two acts of the United States Congress were passed that may be considered to
have qualities of constitutionality. First was the Philippine Organic Act of 1902, the first
organic law for the Philippine Islands that provided for the creation of a popularly
elected Philippine Assembly. The act specified that legislative power would be vested in
a bicameral legislature composed of the Philippine Commission as the upper house and
the Philippine Assembly as lower house. Key provisions of the act included a bill of
rights for Filipinos and the appointments of two non-voting Filipino Resident
Commissioners of the Philippines are representative to the United States House of
Representatives. The second act that functioned as a constitution was the Philippine
Autonomy Act of 1916, commonly referred to as “Jones Law”, which modified the
structure of the Philippine government through the removal of the Philippine
Commission, replacing it with a Senate that served as the upper house and its members
elected by the Filipino voters, the first truly elected national legislature. It was also this
Act that explicitly declared the purpose of the United States to end their sovereignty
over the Philippines and recognize Philippine independence as soon as a stable
government can be established.

In 1932, with the efforts of the Filipino independence mission led by Sergio
Osmeña and Manuel Roxas, the United States Congress passed the Hare-Hawess-
Cutting Act with the promise of granting Filipinos’ independence. The bill was opposed
by then Senate President Manuel L. Quezon and consequently, rejected by the
Philippine Senate.

By 1934, another law, the Tydings-McDuffie Act, also known as the Philippine
Independence Act, was passed by the United States Congress that provided authority
and defined mechanisms for the establishment of a formal constitution by a
constitutional convention. The members of the convention were elected and held their
first meeting on 30 July 1934, with Claro m. Recto unanimously elected as president.

The constitution was crafted to meet the approval of the United States
government, and to ensure that the United States would live up to its promise to grant
independence to the Philippines.

Primary Source: Preamble of the 1935 Commonwealth

The Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence, in order to establish a
government that shall embody their ideals, conserve and develop the patrimony of the
nation, promote the general welfare, and secure to themselves and their posterity the
blessings of independence under a regime of justice, liberty, and democracy, do ordain
and promulgate this constitution.

The constitution created the Commonwealth of the Philippines, an administrative

body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946. It is a transitional administration
to prepare the country toward its full achievement of independence. It originality
provided for a unicameral National Assembly with a president and vice president elected
to six-year term without re-election. It was amended in 1940 to have a bicameral
Congress composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives, as well as the
creation of an independent electoral commission, and limited the term of office of the
president and vice president to four years, with one re-election. Rights to suffrage were
originally afforded to male citizens of the Philippines who are twenty-one years of age or
over and are able to read and write; this was later on extended to women within two
years after the adoption of the constitution.

While the dominant influence in the constitution was American, it also bears
traces of the Malolos Constitution, the German, Spanish, and Mexican constitutions,
constitution of several South American countries, and the unwritten English Constitution.

The draft of the constitution was approved by the constitutional convention on 8

February 1935, and ratified by then U.S President Franklin B. Roosevelt on 25 March
1935. Elections were held in September 1935 and Manuel L. Quezon was elected
President of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth was briefly interrupted by the events of the World War II,
with Japanese occupying the Philippines. Afterward, upon liberation, the Philippines was
declared an independent republic on 4 July 1946.

ACTIVITY #9
(To be submitted on October ___, 2020)
Discussion Points and Exercise Questions

Direction: Read and understand this module. Provide what is being asked. Use the
Rubric below as your guide. Write your answer in a long bond paper (Hand written) and
attached to the last page of this module.

TASK:
1. Compare and contrast the 1899 Malolos Constitution and 1935
Commonwealth Constitution using Venn diagram

20 points rubric

Level Description
Outstanding Well written and very organized. Excellent grammar mechanics. Clear
and concise statements. Excellent effort and presentation with detail.
Demonstrates a thorough understanding of the topics.
Value: 18-20
Level Description
Good Writes fairly clear. Good grammar mechanics. Good presentation and
organization.
Sufficient effort and detail.
Value: 15-17
Level Description
Fair Minimal effort. Good grammar mechanics. Fair presentation. Few
supporting details.
Value: 10-14
Level: Description
Poor Somewhat unclear. Shows little effort. Poor grammar mechanics.
Confusing and incomplete sentences. No organization of thoughts.
Value: 5-9
Level: Description
Very Poor Lacking effort. Very poor grammar mechanic. Very unclear. Doesn’t
address topic. Limited attempt.
Value: 1-5

End of Ninth Week

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