YOUNGEST DELEGATE. Diosdado Macapagal (right) takes his oath as president of the 1971 Constitutional Convention before a 25-year-old Richard Gordon. The now Senator Gordon was the youngest delegate of the ConCon that is commemorating its 50th anniversary this year. (Photo courtesy of the Office of Sen. Gordon)
MANILA – As part of the year-long celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1971 Constitutional Convention (ConCon), Senator Richard Gordon will lead commemoration activities on Tuesday at the Manila Hotel.
Among the highlights of the event, which will be attended by some of the delegates, is the unveiling of the “Kombensyong Konstitusyonal ng 1971” to be led by Gordon; Dr. Rene Escalante, Chair of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP); and lawyer Jose Lina, president of the Manila Hotel.
A commemorative stamp featuring a photo of the late President Diosdado Macapagal while taking his oath as ConCon chief before Gordon, the youngest (25 years old) delegate to the 1971 ConCon, will also be released by the Philippine Postal Corporation.
Macapagal replaced fellow former president Carlos Garcia, who died 13 days after taking oath when the ConCon was convened.
On June 1, 1971, a total 320 delegates gathered at the Fiesta Pavilion of the Manila Hotel for the inaugural session of the 1971 ConCon, which is by far the most widely represented delegation to assemble and draft a Philippine Constitution compared to the Malolos Convention, the 1935 Philippine Commonwealth, and the current Constitution.
In composition, the delegates of the 1971 Constitutional Convention were the cream of the crop from the most varied sectors of Philippine society — legal luminaries, industrialists, farmers, leftists, and representatives from all religious denominations were elected.
The elections for the delegates had strict non-partisan rules, which meant that all candidates had to participate as independent delegates.
It was also the first Constitutional Convention in the country where women were given the chance to participate.
Thirteen female delegates were part of the convention.
The book titled “A Legacy of Hope and Possibilities, the 1971 Constitutional Convention, A Walk back in History”, which was written through the concerted efforts of the delegates, will be launched on August 25, 2021. (PR)
