Constitution

 The body of rules and principles in accordance with

which the powers of sovereignty are regularly
exercised.
The Constitution of the Philippines
 The written instrument by which the fundamental
powers of the government are established, limited, and
defined and by which these powers are distributed
among the several departments or branches for their
safe and useful exercise for the benefit of the people.
Functions/Purpose
 Serves as the supreme or fundamental law.

 Establishes basic framework and underlying

principles of government.
Kinds of constitution
 As to their origin
 As to their form
 As to manner of amending
As to their origin
 Conventional or enacted
- one which is enacted by a constituent assembly
or granted by a monarch to his subjects.
 Cumulative or evolved
- one which is a product of growth or long period
of development originating in customs, traditions, and
judicial decisions
As to their form
 Written

 Unwritten
As to manner of amending them
 Rigid or inelastic
- one regarded as a document of special sanctity
which cannot be amended or altered except by some
special machinery more cumbrous than the ordinary
legislative process
 Flexible or elastic
- one which possesses no higher legal authority
than ordinary laws and which may be altered in the
same way as the other laws.
So, the 1987 Philippine Constitution can be
classified as .....

 conventional or enacted
 written, and
 rigid or inelastic.
Is our constitution a
good constitution?
Requisites of a good constitution
 As to form
 As to contents
Requisites as to form
 Brief
 Broad
 Definite
Requisites as to content
 Constitution of government
 Constitution of liberty
 Constitution of sovereignty
Constitution of government
 Deals with the framework of government and its
powers and defining the electorate
Constitution of liberty
 Sets forth the fundamental rights of the people and
imposing certain limitations on the powers of the
government as a means of securing the enjoyment of
these rights.
Constitution of sovereignty
 Points out the mode or procedure for amending or
revising the constitution.
Difference
 Constitution
 Statute
Authority to interpret the
constitution
 Private individual
 Those who are charged with official duties
Philippine Date of Ratification Manner of Framing
Constitutions

Malolos Constitution January 20, 1899 Constitutional Assembly

1935 Constitution May 14, 1935 Constitutional

Convention

1973 Constitution January 17, 1973 Constitutional

Convention

1987 Constitution February 2, 1987 Constitutional

Commission
Basic Principles
 Recognition of the aid of Almighty God
 Sovereignty of the people
 Renunciation of war as instrument of national policy
 Supremacy of civilian authority over the military
Basic Principles
 Separation of church and state
 Recognition of the importance of the family as a basic
social institution and the vital role of the youth in
nation-building
 Guarantee of human rights
Basic Principles
 Government through suffrage
 Separation of powers
 Independence of the judiciary
 Guarantee of local autonomy
Basic Principles
 Nationalization of natural resources
 Non-suability of the state
 Rule of the majority
 Government of laws and not of men.
“If we have to build a better nation we have to demand
from ourselves, each of us to be a good citizen that is
value-based and values-driven. Let’s not leave our
future in the hands of our leaders alone. If we cannot
find heroes among our leaders, let us find them among
the ordinary people, who will build our nation by heroic
act of being good citizens all the days of their lives by
living the Philippine Constitution which contains a
provision which has a direct and indirect bearing upon
the development of strong and sound nationalism
among our people. By living according to good
citizenship values, we can derive from the Preamble of
our Constitution.”

- Senator Leticia R. Shahani (1993)

PREAMBLE
 Derived from the Latin word preambulare which
means “to walk before”

 An introduction to the main subject.

 A prologue of the constitution

PREAMBLE of the 1987
Philippine Constitution
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.
Object and value of Preamble
 Sets down origin and purposes of the Constitution
 May serve as an aid in interpretation.
Source of Constitution’s authority
 The Filipino people
 A sovereign people
National purposes and aims in
adopting a Constitution
1. To build a just and humane society;
2. To establish a Government that shall:
a. embody our ideals and aspiration
b. promote the common good
c. conserve and develop our patrimony
d. 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.