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Philippine Constitutions: A Comparative Analysis

There have been several constitutions in Philippine history with differences in their forms of government and lengths of effectiveness. The constitutions include the Biak-na-Bato Constitution of 1897, Malolos Republic Constitution of 1899, 1935 Constitution, Second Philippine Republic Constitution of 1943, 1973 Constitution, Freedom Constitution of 1986, and the current 1987 Constitution. They range from republic to parliamentary forms of government. The 1987 Constitution remains in effect today, while earlier constitutions lasted from 2 to 13 years before being replaced. Each constitution had distinct features that reflected the times, such as provisions on separation of church and state, women's suffrage, and the national language.

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Jessa Pascua Sumio
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1K views2 pages

Philippine Constitutions: A Comparative Analysis

There have been several constitutions in Philippine history with differences in their forms of government and lengths of effectiveness. The constitutions include the Biak-na-Bato Constitution of 1897, Malolos Republic Constitution of 1899, 1935 Constitution, Second Philippine Republic Constitution of 1943, 1973 Constitution, Freedom Constitution of 1986, and the current 1987 Constitution. They range from republic to parliamentary forms of government. The 1987 Constitution remains in effect today, while earlier constitutions lasted from 2 to 13 years before being replaced. Each constitution had distinct features that reflected the times, such as provisions on separation of church and state, women's suffrage, and the national language.

Uploaded by

Jessa Pascua Sumio
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

There are different constitutions framed in the Philippines and


they have similarities and differences. The constitutions in the
Philippines are: Biak-na-Bato Constitution, Malolos Republic
Constitution, 1935 Constitution, Second Philippine Republic
Constitution, 1973 Constitution, Freedom Constitution and 1987
Constitution. In terms of their form of government they are republic
but the 1973 Constitution have republic and parliamentary government.
A republic is a form of government in which a state is ruled by
representatives of the citizen body while the parliamentary government
is a system of government having the real executive power vested in a
cabinet composed of members of the legislature who are individually
and collectively responsible to the legislature.
This constitution was promulgated in different times. First, we
have the Biak-na-Bato Constitution which was promulgated by the
Philippine Revolutionary Government on November 1, 1897, and became
the provisionary constitution of the government during the Revolution
against Spain. Then the Malolos Republic Constitution was formally
adopted by the Malolos Congress on January 20, 1899 which promulgated
by President Emilio Aguinaldo on January 21, 1899. Next we have the
1935 Constitution which was approved on March 23, 1935 by US President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt and ratified by the Filipino people in a
plebiscite on May 14, 1935. The Second Philippine Constitution was
written by PCPI and was finished then it was signed on September 4,
1943 in public ceremony and ratified by KALIBAPI. While the 1973
Constitution was ratified by Citizens’ Assemblies Wherein President
Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1102 declaring the 1973 Constitution.
We Also have the Freedom Constitution which was promulgated by
Presidential Proclamation on March 24, 1986. Lastly, we have the 1987
Constitution which was presented to President Corazon C. Aquino on
October 15, 1986. Then it was ratified on February 2, 1987 by a
plebiscite.
In terms of the constitutions length of effectivity the Freedom
Constitution has the shortest length because it only lasted for a
year. Then next to it are Biak-na-Bato and Malolos Republic wherein
both of this constitution lasted for 2 years. Next is the Second
Philippine Republic Constitution which lasted for 3 years; 1935
constitution lasted 8 years; and 1973 Constitution lasted for 13
years. Then the longest constitution is the 1987 Constitution which is
effective until now.
All of this constitutions have distinct features. First let’s start
with the Biak-na-Bato, in its preamble, the objective of the
revolution was repeatedly spoken which was “the separation of the
Philippines from the Spanish monarchy and their formation into an
independent state with its own government”. In Malolos Republic, its
distinct feature is it has 3 distinct branches-executive, legislative
and judicial; it has presidential form of government and the president
has a term of 4 years; it has freedom of religion and separation of
Church and State; it emphasized basic civil right. In 1935
Constitution, they created Auditing Office;provision for women
suffrage giving the right to vote; creation of Philippine Armed Forces
and development of national language. During the Second Philippine
Republic the bill of rights enumerated the citizen’s duties rather
than their constitutional rights; and during this time Tagalog was
declared the national language. In 1973 Constitution, a parliamentary
form of government was implemented; legislative power was vested in
“Batasang Pambansa”. During the Freedom Constitution they practice
legislative powers until a legislature was ordered. And the 1987
Constitution, the constitution we have right now, was administered by
presidential system of government with bicameral legislature and
independent judiciary.

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