INTRODUCTION TO

CONSTITUTION

INHERENT POWERS OF THE STATE

POLICE POWER

It is the inherent and plenary power of the state which

enables it to prohibit all that is hurtful to the comfort, safety
and welfare of society.

POLICE POWER

Power of promoting the public welfare byrestraining and

regulating the use of both liberty and property of all the
people.
It is considered to be the most all-encompassing of the three
powers.
It may be exercised only by the government.
The property taken in the exercise of this power is destroyed
because it is noxious or intended for anoxious purpose.

POLICE POWER
It lies primarily in the discretion of the legislature.
Hence, the President, and administrative boards as well as
the lawmaking bodies on all municipal levels, including the
barangay may not exercise it without a valid delegation
oflegislative power.
Municipal governments exercise this power by virtue of the
general welfare clause of the Local Government Code of
1991.
Even the courts cannot compel the exercise of this power
through mandamus or any judicial process.

REQUISITES OF A VALID POLICE MEASURE:

LAWFUL SUBJECT
The activity or property sought to be regulated affects the
public welfare. It requires the primacy of the welfare of the
many over the interests of the few.

LAWFUL MEANS
The means employed must be reasonable and must conform
to the safeguards guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

EMINENT DOMAIN

It is the inherent right of the state to condemn private

property to public use upon payment of just compensation.
It is also known as the power of expropriation.

EMINENT DOMAIN
Affects only property rights.
It may be exercised by some private entities.
The property forcibly taken under this power, upon payment
of just compensation, is needed for conversion to public use
or purpose.
The taking of property in law may include:
Trespass without actual eviction of the owner;
Material impairment of the value of the property; or
Prevention of the ordinary uses for which the property was
intended.

EMINENT DOMAIN
The property that may be subject for expropriation shall not
be limited to private property.
Public property may be expropriated provided there is a
specific grant of authority to the delegate.
Money and a chose in action are the only things exempt
from expropriation.
Although it is also lodged primarily in the national
legislature, the courts have the power to inquire the legality
of the right of eminent domain and to determine whether or
not there is a genuine necessity therefore.

TAXATION

Power by which the State raises revenue to defray the

necessary expenses of theGovernment.
It is the enforced proportional contributionsfrom persons
and property, levied by the State by virtue of its
sovereignty, for the support of the government and for all its
public needs.

TAXATION

Affects only property rights and may be exercised only by

the government.
The property taken under this power shall likewise be
intended for a public use or purpose.
It is used solely for the purpose of raising revenues, to
protect the people and extend them benefits in the form of
public projects and services.

TAXATION
Hence, it cannot be allowed to be confiscatory, except if it is
intended for destruction as an instrument of the police
power.
It must conform to the requirements of due process.
Therefore, taxpayers are entitled to be notified of the
assessment proceedings and to be heard therein on the
correct valuation to be given the property.
It is also subject to the general requirements of the equal
protection clause that the rule of taxation shall be uniform
and equitable.

REGALIAN DOCTRINE

All lands of the public domain belong to the State, which is

the source of any asserted right to ownership of land.
All lands not otherwise appearing to be clearly within private
ownership are presumed to belong to the State.
All lands not otherwise clearlyappearing to be privatelyowned are presumed to belong to the State.

REGALIAN DOCTRINE

All lands of the public domain belong to the State, which is the
source of any asserted right to ownership of land. All lands not
otherwise appearing to be clearly within privateownership are
presumed to belong to the State.
All lands not otherwise clearlyappearing to be privately-owned
are presumed to belong to the State.

CONSTITUTION

The body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the

powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised. (Cooley)
That written instrument enacted by direct action of the
people by which the fundamental powers of the government
are established, limited and defined, and by which those
powers are distributed among several departments for their
safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the body politic.
(Malcolm, Philippine Constitutional Law, p.6)

PURPOSE OF CONSTITUTION:

To PRESCRIBE the permanent framework of a system of

government;
To ASSIGN to the several departments their respective
power and duties;
To ESTABLISH certain first principles on which the
government is founded.

EFFECT IF AN ACT IS NOT IN ACCORDANCE

WITH THE CONSTITUTION:

An UNCONSTITUTIONAL ACT is not a law; it confers no

rights; it imposes no duties; it affords no protection; it
creates no office; it is inoperative as if it had not been
passed at all.

KINDS OF CONSTITUTION

AS TO ORIGIN:

CUMULATIVE OR EVOLVED one where it has its origin

mainly on customs, common law principles, and decisions of
courts. It is the product of historical evolution and growth
rather than of deliberate and formal enactment.
CONVENTIONAL OR ENACTED one that is the product of
deliberate assembly and consciously adopted formally.

AS TO FORM:

WRITTEN one which has been reduced in writing at a

particular time fashioned out usually by a constitutional
convention.
UNWRITTEN one that is the product of political evolution,
both in form and in substance, not inaugurated at any
specific time and changing by accretion rather than by
systematic method.

AS TO MODALITY OF AMENDMENT OR REVISION:

RIGID one that cannot be amended except by the very

procedure spelled out in that Charter itself which is rigid.
FLEXIBLE one which possesses no higher legal authority
than ordinary laws which can be amended easily.

ESSENTIAL PARTS OF A GOOD

WRITTEN CONSTITUTION

MAJOR PARTS OF A CONSTITUTION

CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNMENT
That portion which establishes the major organs of government
and defines and allocates these powers among the several
departments.

CONSTITUTION OF LIBERTY
The provisions guaranteeing individual rights which may be invoked
against the massive powers of the government in case of excesses or
abuses.

CONSTITUTION OF SOVEREIGNTY
That part of the Constitution where it spells out the authority of the
people as the repository of sovereignty to approve or change a
Constitution.

REQUISITES OF A GOOD WRITTEN

CONSTITUTION

REQUISITES OF A GOOD CONSTITUTION

IT MUST BE BROAD
It provides for the organization of the entire government and covers
all persons and things within the territory of the State and also
because it must be comprehensive enough to provide for every
contingency.

IT MUST BE BRIEF
It must confine itself to basic principles to be implemented with
legislative details more adjustable to change and easier to amend.

IT MUST BE DEFINITE
To prevent ambiguity in its provisions which could result in
confusion and divisiveness among the people.

PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTIONS IN
HISTORY

CONSTITUTIONS OF THE PHILIPPINES

The 1897 Constitution of Biak-na-Bato
The 1899 Malolos Constitution
Acts of the United States Congress
Philippine Organic Act of 1902
Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916
TydingsMcDuffie Act (1934)

The
The
The
The

1935
1943
1973
1986

Constitution
Constitution
Constitution
Freedom Constitution

1987 PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

THE 1987 PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

The final draft was completed by the Constitutional

Commission on October 12, 1986 and was ratified by a
nationwide plebiscite on February 2, 1987.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE 1987

PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

CONSTITUTIONALISM

Constitutionalism refers to the position or practice that

government be limited by a constitution.
The doctrine or system of government in which the
governing power is limited by enforceable rules of law, and
concentration of power is limited by various checks and
balances so that the basic rights of individuals and groups
are protected.

DOCTRINE OF CONSTITUIONAL SUPREMACY

If a law violates any norm of the constitution, that law is null

and void; it has no effect.
The American case of Marbury v. Madison laid down the
classic statement on constitutional supremacy It is a
proposition too plain to be contested, that the Constitution
controls any legislative act repugnant to it.
Constitutional supremacy produced judicial review.

REPUBLICANISM

The essence of republicanism is representation and

renovation, the selection by the citizenry of a corps of public
functionaries who derive their mandate from the people and
act on their behalf, serving for a limited period only, after
which they are replaced or retained at the option of their
principal.

PRINCIPLE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS

HISTORY
Separation of powers became the pith and core of the American
system of government largely through the influence of the French
political writer Montesquieu.
By the establishment of the American sovereignty in the
Philippines, the principle was introduced as an inseparable feature
of the governmental system organized by the United States in this
country.

PRINCIPLE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS

ESSENCE
In essence, separation of powers means that legislation belongs to
Congress, execution to the executive, settlement of legal
controversies to the judiciary.
Each is prevented from invading the domain of others.

Division and Assignment. Its starting point is the assumption of

the division of the functions of the government into three distinct
classesthe executive, the legislative and the judicial.
Its essence consists in the assignment of each class of functions to
one of the three organs of government.

PRINCIPLE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS

THEORY
The theory is that a power definitely assigned by the Constitution to one
department can neither be surrendered nor delegated by that department, nor
vested by statute in another department or agency.

REASON
The underlying reason of this principle is the assumption that arbitrary rule and
abuse of authority would inevitably result from the concentration of the three
powers of government in the same person, body of persons or organ.
More specifically, according to Justice Laurel, the doctrine of separation of powers
is intended to:
Secure action
To forestall overaction
To prevent despotism
To obtain efficiency

CHECKS AND BALANCES

The Constitution fixes certain limits on the independence of each

department.
In order that these limits may be observed, the Constitution gives
each department certain powers by which it may definitely restrain
the other from exceeding their authority.

CHECKS AND BALANCES

The acts of the legislative department have to be presented to the executive for approval
or disapproval.
The executive department may veto the acts of the legislature if in its judgment they are
not in conformity with the Constitution or are detrimental to the interests of the people.
The courts are authorized to determine the validity of legislative measures or executive
acts.
Through its pardoning power, the executive may modify or set aside the judgments of the
courts.
The legislature may pass laws that in effect amend or completely revoke decisions of the
courts if in its judgment they are not in harmony with its intention or policy which is not
contrary to the Constitution.
President must obtain the concurrence of Congress to complete certain significant acts.
Money can be released from the treasury only by authority of Congress.

JUDICIAL REVIEW
Refers to the power of the courts to test the validity of
governmental acts in light of their conformity with a higher
norm (e.g. the constitution).
It is not an assertion of superiority by the courts over the other
departments, but merely an expression of the supremacy of
the Constitution.
Constitutional supremacy produced judicial review, which in
turn led to the accepted role of the Court as the ultimate
interpreter of the Constitution.

DUE PROCESS
DEFINITION:
It is the responsiveness to the supremacy of reason, obedience, to the
dictates of justice.
It is a guaranty against arbitrariness on the part of the government.
Observance of both substantive and procedural rights is equally
guaranteed by due process.

ORIGIN:
By the 39th chapter of the Magna Carta wrung by the barons from King
John, the despot promised that no man shall be taken, imprisoned or
disseized or outlawed, or in any manner destroyed; nor shall we go upon
him, nor send him, but by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law
of the land.

DUE PROCESS
ORIGIN:
In 1335, King Edward IIIs Statute 28 declared that no man, of
what state or condition whoever be, shall be put out of his lands,
or tenements, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor indicted, nor put to
death, without he be brought in to answer by due process of
law.
It is this immortal phrase that has resounded through the
centuries as the formidable champion of life, liberty and property
in all-freedom loving lands.

PREAMBLE

MEANING

Preamble means to walk before. (Praeambulus: Walking in

front)

FUNCTIONS OF THE PREAMBLE IN THE CONSTITUTION

It sets down the origin, scope and purpose of the
Constitution.
It enumerates the primary aims and expresses the
aspirations of the framers in drafting the Constitution.
Useful as an aid in the construction and interpretation of the
text of the Constitution.
Thus, Preamble is a source of light. It is not a source of
rights or obligations.

ORIGIN / AUTHORSHIP

Its origin, or authorship, is the will of the sovereign Filipino

people.
The identification of the Filipino people as the author of the
constitution also calls attention to an important principle:
that the document is not just the work of representatives of
the people but of the people themselves who put their mark
of approval by ratifying it in a plebiscite.

THE PREAMBLE

We, the sovereign Filipino people, 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 common good, conserve and develop our
patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity, the
blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of
law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and
peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.

NATIONAL TERRITORY
ARTICLE I

DEFINITION OF NATIONAL TERRITORY

Territory is an area of the earths surface which is the subject
of sovereign rights and interests.
It is that definite or aliquot area of the earths surface within
which a State exercises jurisdiction, subject to the limitations
imposed by international law.
Territory is the fixed portion of the surface of the earth
inhabited by the people of the state.
Territory as an element of a state means an area over which a
state has effective control.

BINDING EFFECT IN INTERNATIONAL LAW OF THE DEFINITION OF

NATIONAL TERRITORY IN THE CONSTITUTION

A constitution is a municipal law.

As such, it binds only the nation promulgating it.
A definition of national territory in the constitution will bind
internationally only if it is supported by proof that can stand in
international law.
Unilateral assertions in a constitution which is municipal law,
by themselves do not establish an international right to a
territory.

SCOPE OF PHILIPPINE NATIONAL TERRITORY

The Philippine archipelago;

All other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty
or jurisdiction;
The territorial sea, seabed, subsoil, insular shelves and other
submarine areas corresponding to consist of terrestrial,
fluvial and aerial domains.

TERRITORIES COVERED UNDER ARTICLE I

Those ceded to the US by virtue of the Treaty of Paris on December 10,
1898.
Those defined in the treaty concluded between the US and Spain (Treaty
of Washington) on November 7, 1990, which were not defined in the
Treaty of Paris, specifically the islands of Cagayan, Sulu and Sibuto.
Those defined in the treaty concluded on January 2, 1930, between the
US and Great Britain (Treaty with Great Britain), specifically the Turtle
and Mangsee islands.
The island of Batanes, which was covered under a general statement in
the 1935 Constitution.
Those contemplated in the phrase belonging to the Philippines by
historic right or legal title in the 1973 Constitution.

THE PHILIPPINE ARCHIPELAGO

That body of water studded with islands which is delineated in

the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898, as modified by the
Treaty of Washington of November 7, 1900, and the Treaty with
Great Britain of January 2, 1930.
These are the same treaties which delineated Philippine
territory in the 1935 Constitution.

STRAIGHT BASELINE METHOD

The method used to delineate the territorial sea.
Imaginary straight lines are drawn joining the outermost points
of the outermost islands of the archipelago without departing
to any appreciable extent from the general configuration of the
archipelago.
The waters within the baselines shall be considered internal
waters; while the breadth of the territorial sea shall then be
measured from the baselines.
12 miles from the baseline is the territorial sea.

ARCHIPELAGIC DOCTRINE

The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the

archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form
part of the internal waters of the Philippines.
This is based on the principle that an archipelago, which
consists of a number of islands separated by bodies of water,
should be treated as one integral unit.

CONTIGUOUS ZONE AND EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE

UN Convention on the Law of the Sea provides for a contiguous

zone of 12 miles from the end of the territorial sea and
exclusive economic zone of 200 miles from the baseline.
Although the contiguous zone and most of the exclusive
economic zone may not, technically, be part of the territory of
the State, nonetheless, the coastal State enjoys preferential
rights over the marine resources found within these zones.

MODE OF ACQUIRING TERRITORY

Discovery it is the oldest mode of acquiring territory.
To be valid and effective, discovery must be accompanied by occupation,
management and administration of the island discovered.

Prescription the continued occupation of a territory for a long period of

time by one state.
Accretion it is a process where the land area of a State caused by the
operation of either the forces of nature, or artificially, through human
labor, is increased.
Cession is a bilateral agreement whereby one State transfers over a
definite portion of a territory to another.
Conquest is the acquisition of a territory by the use of force which
reduces the vanquished territory to the submission of the conquering
State.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NATIONAL TERRITORY IN

CRIMINAL LAW
As a rule, penal laws of the Philippines are enforceable only within its
territory. Exception: Article 2 of the Revised Penal Code
Penal laws of the Philippines can also be enforced outside its territory
against those who:
Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or airship
Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine Islands
or obligations and securities issued by the Government of the Philippine
Islands;
Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction into these islands of
the obligations and securities mentioned in the preceding number;
While being public officers or employees, should commit an offense in the
exercise of their functions; or
Should commit any of the crimes against national security and the law of
nations, defined in Title One of Book Two of the Revised Penal Code.

TERRITORIAL DISPUTES
ARTICLE I

SABAH
The region came under British control in 1877 when a British trading
syndicate, later called the British North Borneo (Chartered) Company,
obtained concessions from the sultans of Brunei and Sulu and other
rulers in the region.
The British North Borneo Company, under a royal charter granted in
1881, undertook the administration of the region.
In 1888 North Borneo was made a British protectorate, but the
company retained its administrative powers until 1946, when British
North Borneo was proclaimed a Crown Colony.
During World War II (1939-1945) the region was occupied by Japanese
forces. When the Federation of Malaysia came into existence on
September 16, 1963, British North Borneo, renamed Sabah, became a
member state.

SPRATLY ISLANDS
Spratly Islands, group of more than 600 islets, coral reefs, sand
bars, and atolls in the South China Sea. The islands are located
to the northwest of Brunei, the Malaysian state of Sabah, and
the Philippine island of Palawan.
Ownership of some or all of the Spratlys is disputed between
China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
The largest of the 12 main islets is Itu Aba, with a total area of
36 hectares (90 acres); none is permanently inhabited.
The most significant types of local wildlife are seabirds and
turtles. Geological surveys indicate that the Spratlys lie atop
vast oil and gas reserves, perhaps greater than any previously
discovered. The islands also lie along important shipping lanes.

SPRATLY ISLANDS
The Spratly Islands were controlled by France from 1933 to
1939, by Japan during World War II (1939-1945), and after the
war China established a garrison on Itu Aba, which Taiwan
retained following its split with mainland China in 1949.
All the competing claimants except Brunei maintain military
installations on one or more of the islands. There are periodic
armed clashes in the region; in 1988 more than 70 people
were killed during a confrontation between China and Vietnam.
The Spratly Islands are regarded as a potential flashpoint for
regional conflict, especially because China has so far resisted
submitting the dispute to international courts.

DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AND

STATE POLICIES
ARTICLE II

MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE

It is a statement of the basic ideological principles and policies

that underlie the Constitution.
As such, the provisions shed light on the meaning of the other
provisions of the Constitution and they are guide for all
departments of the government in the implementation of the
Constitution.

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 1

Republican State
One wherein all government authority emanates from the people
and is exercised by representatives chosen by the people.
Government of the people, by, the people, & for the people.

The Philippines is not only a representative or republican state

but also shares some aspects of direct democracy such as
initiative and referendum.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A REPUBLICAN STATE

Existence of a Bill of Rights;
Observance of the rule of law, it is a government of law and not
of men;
Observance of the principle that the State cannot be sued
without its consent;
Observance of the principle that Congress cannot pass
irreparable laws;
Observance of the principle of separation of powers and of
checks and balance.
Presence of election through popular will or the right of suffrage;

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 2

The kind of war renounced is aggressive, not, defensive war.
Relate to Section 23, Article VI
While the Constitution gives to the legislature the power to declare the
existence of war and to enact all measures to support the war, the
actual power to make war is lodged in the executive power. The
executive power, when necessary, may make war even in the absence
of a declaration of war.
War being a question of actualities, the President was bound to meet it
in the shape it presented itself, without waiting for Congress to baptize
it with a name; and no name given to it by him or them could change
the fact.

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 2

As applied in most countries, the doctrine of incorporation
dictates that rules of international law are given equal standing
with, and are not superior to, national legislative enactments.
Some principles of international law acknowledged by the
Court as part of the law of the land:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The right of a country to establish military commissions to try war
criminals.
Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
Involves the use of early warning devices.

Duty to protect the premises of embassies and legations.

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 3

The principle of civilian supremacy is institutionalized by the

provision which makes the President, a civilian and precisely a
civilian, commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
But this does not mean that civilian officials are superior to military
officials. Civilian officials are superior to military officials only when a
law makes them so.

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 4

Prime duty of the government

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 6

To be discussed under the Bill of Rights (Article III, Sec 5)

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 10

Meaning of Social Justice

The equalization of economic, political, and social opportunities with
special emphasis on the duty of the state to tilt the balance of social
forces by favoring the disadvantaged in life.
How promotion of social justice is carried out in all phases of national
development.

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 12

Legal meaning and purpose of the protection that is

guaranteed for the unborn
This is not an assertion that the life of the unborn is placed exactly on
the level of the life of the mother.
When necessary to save the life of the mother, the life of the unborn
may be sacrificed; but not when the purpose is merely to save the
mother from emotional suffering, for which other remedies must be
sought, or to spare the child from a life of poverty, which can be
attended to by welfare institutions.

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 14

This provision is so worded as not to automatically dislocate

the Civil Code and the civil law jurisprudence on the subject.
What it does is to give impetus to the removal, through
statutes, of existing inequalities.
The general idea is for the law to ignore sex where sex is not a
relevant factor in determining rights and duties.
Nor is the provision meant to ignore customs and traditions.

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 15 and 16

The right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology is

an enforceable right.

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 17

This does not mean that the government is not free to balance
the demands of education against other competing and urgent
demands

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 18

Labor as a primary social economic force means that human

factor has primacy over non-human factors in production.
Rights of workers

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 26

The purpose of this provision is to give substance to the desire

for equalization of political opportunities. However, the
definition of political dynasty is left to the legislature.

BASIC CONCEPTS UNDER SECTION 28

The policy of full public disclosure.

CITIZENSHIP
ARTICLE IV

DEFINITION OF CITIZENSHIP

It is personal and more or less permanent membership in a

political community.
It denotes possession within that particular political community
of full civil and political rights subject to special
disqualifications such as minority.
Reciprocally, it imposes the duty of allegiance to the political
community.

MODES OF ACQUIRING CITIZENSHIP

Jus sanguinis acquisition of citizenship on the basis of blood

relationship;
Jus soli acquisition of citizenship on the basis of place of
birth;
Naturalization the legal act of adopting an alien and clothing
him with the privilege of a natural-born citizen.

OTHER BASIC CONCEPTS

Basic Philippine law follows the rule of jus sanguinis and provides for
naturalization.
The principle of jus sanguinis is applied in the 1987 Constitution under Art IV, Sec
1(2).

Effect of naturalization of a father on legitimate minor children

In general, the minor children become citizens of the Philippines.

Effect on the wife of the naturalized husband

She becomes a Filipino citizen, provided she shows, in an administrative
procedure for the cancellation of her alien certificate of registration, that she has
none of the disqualifications found in C.A. 473.

The law can not treat natural-born citizens and naturalized citizens differently
except in instances where the Constitution itself makes a distinction.
Otherwise, there would be a violation of the equal-protection clause.

DUAL CITIZENSHIP

UNDER SECTION 5
Dual citizenship, as a disqualification from running for any elective
position under the Local Government Code, must refer to citizens with
dual allegiance. Persons with mere dual citizenship do not fall under
this disqualification.
For candidates (to an elective office) with dual citizenship, it is enough
that they elect Philippine citizenship upon the filing of their certificate
of candidacy, to terminate their status as persons with dual citizenship.
The filing of a certificate of candidacy sufficed to renounce foreign
citizenship, effectively removing any disqualification as a dual citizen.
This is so because in the certificate of candidacy, one declares that
he/she is a Filipino citizen and that he/she will support and defend the
Constitution of the Philippines and will maintain true faith and
allegiance thereto.

UNDER SECTION 5
Because Philippine law has no control over citizenship laws of other
countries, dual citizenship can be unavoidable under the present
Constitution.
Example: (1) A child of a Filipina mother is a Filipino and might also have his
aliens fathers citizenship; (2) A Filipina married to an alien remains a
Philippine citizen but might also require her alien husbands citizenship.

The specific target of Sec 5 is not dual citizenship but dual allegiance
arising from, e.g., mixed marriages or birth in foreign soil.
To the extent, however, that dual citizenship also imports dual
allegiance, then it must also dealt with by law.
The Constitution leaves the disposition of the problem of dual
citizenship and dual allegiance to ordinary legislation.

AMENDMENTS OR REVISION
ARTICLE XVII

DEFINITION

Amendment is a change effected in some parts of the

Constitution without considering the whole document.
Revision is a rewriting or substantial changing in the
Constitution viewed in its entirety.

SECTION 1

Any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution may be

proposed by:
The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members; or
A constitutional convention.

METHODS OF PROPOSING AMENDMENT/REVISION

By Congress, as a constituent assembly, upon a vote of threefourths of all its members voting separately;
By Constitutional Convention called for the purpose;
By the People directly, through Initiative upon petition of the
required number of registered voters. (at least 12% of the total
number of registered voters, of which every legislative district
must be represented by at least 3% of the registered voters
therein)
Once the required number of voters signature is complied with,
Congress is bound to submit the proposed amendments to the people
in a plebiscite.

METHODS OF PROPOSING AMENDMENT/REVISION

By Constitutional Convention called for the purpose;

Constitutional Convention is a body assembled for the
expressed purpose of framing the constitution, or revising the
existing Constitution, or formulating amendments to it for the
approval of the electorate.

METHODS OF PROPOSING AMENDMENT/REVISION

By the People directly, through Initiative upon petition of the
required number of registered voters.
at least 12% of the total number of registered voters, of which every
legislative district must be represented by at least 3% of the
registered voters therein)
Once the required number of voters signature is complied with,
Congress is bound to submit the proposed amendments to the people
for ratification in a plebiscite.
Ratification means the direct approval by the people of the
amendment to, or revision of the constitution. It is the final act to
make any change in the constitution valid as part thereof.

LIMITATIONS

No amendments under this section shall be authorized within

five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor
oftener than once every five years thereafter.

IMPORTANCE OF AMENDING PROCEDURE

No Constitution, however gifted its framers, is likely to prove

adequate for an indefinite period.
There are problems that no human foresight can anticipate.
As conditions are never static, so must the fundamental law be
freed from the constraint of rigidity.
While it is reduced to writing, it should not be devoid of the
element of flexibility.

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6

Category 1

Category 2
Series 1

Category 3
Series 2

Series 3

Category 4

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First bullet point here

Group 1

Group 2

Second bullet point here

Class 1

82

95

Third bullet point here

Class 2

76

88

Class 3

84

90

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Caption