The 1899 Malolos Constitution

The Political Constitution of 1899 (Spanish: Constitución Política de 1899),

informally known as the Malolos Constitution, was the basic law of the First
Philippine Republic. It was written by Felipe Calderón y Roca and Felipe
Buencamino as an alternative to a pair of proposals to the Malolos
Congress by Apolinario Mabini and Pedro Paterno. After a lengthy debate in the
latter part of 1898, it was promulgated on 21 January 1899.

During the 1890s, the Katipunan, or KKK, a secret society dedicated to achieving
Philippine independence from Spain, was formed and led by Andres Bonifacio.
When the KKK was discovered by Spanish authorities, Bonifacio issued the Cry of
Balintawak which began the Philippine Revolution in 1896. The revolutionary
forces took steps to form a functioning government called the Republic of Biak-na-
Bato. In 1897 the Tejeros Convention was convened and the Constitution of Biak-
na-Bato drafted and ratified. It was drafted by Isabelo Artacho and Félix Ferrer and
based on the first Constitution of Cuba. However, it was never fully implemented.
After several battles between the Spanish and Philippine Revolutionary Army,
a truce was signed called the Pact of Biak-na-Bato in 1897. Emilio Aguinaldo(who
had replaced Bonfiacio as leader) and other revolutionary leaders accepted a
payment from Spain and went into exile in Hong Kong.
The 1935 Commonwealth Constitution
The Commonwealth of the Philippines was also known as the "Philippine
Commonwealth",[11][12] or simply as "the Commonwealth". It had official names
in Tagalog: Kómonwélt ng Pilipinas ([pɪlɪˈpinɐs]) and Spanish: Commonwealth de
Filipinas ([filiˈpinas]). The 1935 constitution specifies "the Philippines" as the
country's short form name and uses "the Philippine Islands" only to refer to pre-
1935 status and institutions.[10] Under the Insular Government (1901–1935), both
terms had official status.
During its more than a decade of existence, the Commonwealth had a strong executiveand a
Supreme Court. Its legislature, dominated by the Nacionalista Party, was at first unicameral, but
later bicameral. In 1937, the government selected Tagalog – the language of Manila and its
surrounding provinces – as the basis of the national language, although it would be many years
before its usage became general. Women's suffrage was adopted and the economy recovered to
its pre-Depression level before the Japanese occupation in 1942.
The Philippines Constitution in
1943
The 1943 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, composed of a preamble and twelve
articles, creates a Republican state with a powerful executive branch and subordinate legislative
and judicial branches. The executive power is vested in the President, who is to be elected by the
members of the National Assembly from among themselves. The President is the head of
government, and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. The powers of the President are: to
veto any bill of the Assembly, to promulgate regulations when the Assembly is not in session
and in times of war or national emergency, to declare martial law, to suspend the privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus, and to appoint the members of the Council of State and officials of the
local government. A limited legislative power is exercised by the unicameral National Assembly
whose members, like the President, are not directly elected by the people. Rather, the Assembly
is to be composed of representatives from each province elected in Kalibapi conventions
throughout the country with appointed governors and mayors as ex-officio members. The
judicial power is exercised by the Supreme Court whose justices, together with judges of lower
courts, are to be appointed by the President. The 1943 Constitution enumerates the duties and
rights of the citizens, requires the government to develop Tagalog as the national language, and
stipulates that one year after the termination of the Great East Asia War or the World War II; a
new constitution shall be formulated and adopted to replace this Constitution.
1973 Philippine Constitutional
Plebiscite
The Philippine constitutional plebiscite of 1973 ratified the 1973 Constitution of the
Philippines.
In 1970, delegates were elected to a constitutional convention which began to meet in 1971. In
September 1972, President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and arrested 11 members of
the convention. The convention then re-convenened wrote a constitution in line with what
President Ferdinand Marcos wanted.
Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 86 calling for the cancellation of the plebiscite and
instituted barangays' citizens' assemblies to ratify the new constitution by a referendum from 10–
15 January 1973.
On 17 January 1973, Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1102 certifying and proclaiming that the
1973 Constitution had been ratified by the Filipino people and thereby was in effect.
These results were challenged by the Ratification Cases heard by the Philippine Supreme
Court in 1973. The court upheld the results and the ratification of the 1973 Constitution.
For this plebiscite to changes to voting requirements were implemented. The voting age was
reduced from 18 to 15 years old and those who were illiterate, as described by the opposition,
were allowed to vote.
The Philippines Constitution in
1987
The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino: Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas or Konstitusyon ng
Pilipinas, Spanish: Constitución de la República de Filipinas) is the constitution or supreme law
of the Republic of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Constitutional
Commission on October 12, 1986 and was ratified by a nationwide plebiscite on February 2,
1987.

Ruling by decree during the early part of her tenure and as a president installed via the People
Power Revolution, President Corazon Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3 on March 25, 1986
which abrogated many of the provisions of the then 1973 Constitution adopted during the
Marcos regime including the unicameral legislature (the Batasang Pambansa), the office
of Prime Minister, and provisions which gave the President legislative powers. Often called the
"Freedom Constitution," this constitution was only intended as a temporary constitution to
ensure the freedom of the people and the return to democratic rule. A constitutional commission
was soon called to draft a new constitution for the country.