Constitution survives 'Cha-cha' tries, turns 37 on Feb. 2, 2024

In less than two months from today, or on Feb. 2, 2024 to be exact, the 1987 Philippine Constitution will turn 37 years old, surviving a number of attempts to change some of its provisions or replace it entirely with a new one, providing for a shift to a federal system of government.

This means that after Feb. 2 next year, the present basic law of the country will only be a year short of the 38-year existence of the 1935 Constitution that gave the Filipinos the Philippine Commonwealth Government from the United States in November 1935.

The 1987 Charter was drafted by a Constitutional Commission (ConCom) appointed by the late president Corazon C. Aquino, then newly installed, following the Feb. 22 to 25, 1986 People Power Revolution.

The 48-member ConCom was headed by former Supreme Court Associate Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma.

The formation of the ConCom was provided for by the Freedom Constitution which was earlier promulgated by Aquino. The revolutionary Constitution retained some provisions of the 1973 Constitution but abolished the Batasang Pambansa and the modified parliamentary system of government introduced under in 1976 by President Ferdinand E. Marcos under martial law.

ConCom delegate Florangel Rosario-Braid, in an introduction in the book "Development Issues: Constitutional Response" published in 1987 by the National Book Store Inc., wrote::

"The background and events that accompanied the making of the Constitution provide a good understanding of the framework that emerged from the four-and-a-half months of deliberation by the Constitutional Commission. These events include the February revolution in 1986, the growing politicization of the Filipino which threw off the oppressive and repressive Marcos dictatorship.

"The outcome, a document of 18 articles and 321 provisions, accurately reflects the pluralistic composition of the Commission -- 48 members representing various sectors of society and of divergent political, economic and religious viewpoints. It is the outcome of public consultations with various sectors throughout the country. Thus, we can say that the Charter is the distillation of people's aspirations which was communicated during those forums in the thousands of letters sent to the Commission. We can state with certainty that the Commission has successfully harmonized the interests of varying groups.

"The 1987 Constitution is not infallible but the strengths far outweigh its weaknesses. It is pro-poor, pro-people, pro-life and pro-Filipino. This monograph is intended to highlight these positive aspects of the Constitution within selected development criteria by citing specific needs and problems particularly of the disadvantaged sectors of society."

In her foreword to the same book, Palma said "a new Constitution is imperative not only for political and economic stability but because we have to respond to the critical problems and issues confronting our nation today --social inequalities, moral degeneration, cultural decay, elitism and the yawning gap between the rich and the poor."

In a related subject on constitutional changes, the 1998 Centennial Edition of the Philippine Students' Almanac published by the Children's Communication Center and Filway Marketing Inc. said that the 1987 Constitution is the seventh such basic law of the land promulgated in the Philippines since 1897.

The almanac, edited by Filipino National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario, more well known by his pen name Rio Alma, carried an article titled "The Philippine Constitution: A fundamental law rewritten seven times" by journalist Riza T. Olchondra. It stated in part:

"The political evolution of the Philippines is reflected in the seven constitutions it produced during various stages in its history. The pioneer is the Biak-na-Bato Constitution enacted in 1897 which outlined the revolutionary objectives of independence from Spain. It was framed by a congress composed of 52 representatives presided over by the president of the revolutionary government, Emilio Aguinaldo.

"Among the provisions contained in the Constitution were the use of Tagalog as the official language of the land, and religious, press, educational and professional freedom. When the Spanish authorities negotiated a truce with Aguinaldo, it implied Spanish recognition of the revolutionary government and of Filipinos as equals in this time of war.

"Two years later, the President decreed the creation of the Malolos Constitution. A new central government was set up with executive, legislative and judicial; branches, and a constitutional assembly was convened. The Malolos Constitution was framed by a 92-man congress presided over by Pedro A. Paterno and ratified on Jan. 21, 1899. It governed the First Philippine Republic proclaimed in the Barasoain Church in the same year.

"Unfortunately, the Republic was cut short with the advent of American colonization, when Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States on Dec. 10, 1899 through the Treaty of Paris."

The almanac narrated that due to the turbulent times of the early Philippine government, the first two Constitutions were not fully enforced.

What could be considered as the first charter to be fully implemented was the 1935 Constitution drafted by the 202 delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1934 which gave the Filipinos their Commonwealth government from Nov. 15, 1935 to July 4, 1946.

The 1935 Charter was replaced by the 1973 Constitution, which existed for 13 years from Jan. 17, 1973 to February 1986.

During the Second World War, a short-lived Constitution was sponsored in the Philippines by the Japanese invaders in 1943. After the Philippine liberation from Japanese rule in 1945, the 1935 Charter came again into enforcement until it was replaced by the 1973 Charter.

The present Constitution drafted by the 1986 Constitutional Commission was the seventh revision of the country's basic law since the Philippine independence from Spanish rule in 1898.

To date, the 1987 Constitution remains in effect, but some sectors continue lobbying for changes in some of its provisions.