Constitution of the Philippines

“ The people remembered with bitterness those noble words of the Cortes which declared, in the Constitution of 1812: “The countries and provinces of America and Asia are and ought always to have been an integral part of the Spanish monarchy. Their natives and free inhabitants are equal in rights and privileges to those of the Peninsula.” What the reformers sought was not separation from the mother country. They desired only that Filipinos should be recognized as among her citizens, and entitled to the rights which this declaration of the Cortes said were theirs. ”

“ The government of the Philippines was full of evil, and the people had but little justice. The tobacco monopoly had become a source of much trouble, and the people were often in rebellion because of it. Ideas of liberty were growing among other nations, and the Filipinos, too, were becoming restless under oppression. In 1811 the last state galleon for Acapulco left Manila. The first newspaper in the Philippines was started in 1811. In 1812 the Spanish Cortes passed the Constitution of 1812, giving Spanish colonies representation in the Cortes. ”

“ After days of stirring debate, it was decided to ask Congress for permission to call a Constitutional Convention to draft a Constitution for a Philippine Republic, and the following resolution was passed:
“Whereas, the people and government of the United States have solemnly promised to grant independence as soon as a stable government can be established in the Philippines ”

“ 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. ”

“ The purpose of this Organic Law is to establish a political entity, provide for its basic structure of government in recognition of the justness and legitimacy of the cause of the Bangsamoro people and the aspirations of Muslim Filipinos and all indigenous cultural communities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to secure their identity and posterity, allowing for meaningful self-governance within the framework of the Constitution and the national sovereignty as well as territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines. ”

“ In the words of General Aguinaldo, the Constitution was “the most glorious note in the noble aspirations of the Philippine revolution and is an irrefutable proof before the civilized world of the culture and capacity of the Filipino people to govern themselves.”
Comments of Foreigners.—The comments of unbiased foreigners on this ill-fated attempt of the Filipino people to live an independent existence all point to the fact that the Republic together with the constitution the independent government had established was a great work of an unquestionably able people. ”

“ The Philippines are ours forever, "territory belonging to the United States," as the Constitution calls them. And just beyond the Philippines are China's illimitable markets. We will not retreat from either. We will not repudiate our duty in the archipelago. We will not abandon our opportunity in the Orient. We will not renounce our part in the mission of our race, trustee, under God, of the civilization of the world. ”

“ We have fallen and we are falling back on our last line of defense. You are also witnesses to the patience that we have shown in the face of provocation. In the face of abuse and license, we have used or attempted to use persuasion. Now, the limit has been reached for we are against the wall. We must now defend the Republic of the Philippines with this stronger power granted by the Constitution. To those guilty of treason, insurrection, rebellion, it may pose a grave danger. ”

“ ADOPTION OF A NEW CONSTITUTION
⁠Section 1. Within sixty (60) days from date of this Proclamation, a Commission shall be appointed by the President to draft a New Constitution. The Commission shall be composed of not less than thirty (30) nor more than fifty (50) natural born citizens of the Philippines, of recognized probity, known for their independence, nationalism and patriotism. They shall be chosen by the President after consultation with various sectors of society. ”

“ WHEREAS, by virtue of Article 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution on National Territory, the Philippines has historical and legal right over certain parts of North Borneo (Sabah) ;
WHEREAS, it is in the national interest to safeguard the country’s historical and legal right in North Borneo (Sabah) ;
WHEREAS, the Philippines believes in the peaceful resolution of disputes with neighboring countries as provided under the same Constitution, which expressly states that the Philippines adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations ”

“ No Filipino who is in full enjoyment of his political and civil rights shall be impeded in his right to travel freely abroad or in his right to transfer his residence or possessions to another country, except as to his obligations to contribute to military service or the maintenance of public taxes. Article 26. No foreigner who has not been naturalized may exercise in the Philippines any office which carries with it any authority or jurisdictional powers. ”

“ In the grant of rights, privileges, and concessions covering the national economy and patrimony, the State shall give preference to qualified Filipinos. The State shall regulate and exercise authority over foreign investments within its national jurisdiction and in accordance with its national goals and priorities. ”

“ The State shall encourage appropriate technology and regulate its transfer for the national benefit. The practice of all professions in the Philippines shall be limited to Filipino citizens, save in cases prescribed by law. Section 15. The Congress shall create an agency to promote the viability and growth of cooperatives as instruments for social justice and economic development. Section 16. The Congress shall not, except by general law, provide for the formation, organization, or regulation of private corporations. ”

“ What do the best Filipinos desire? Can it be more than the United States is ready to give? They are patriots and want liberty, it is said. The commission emphatically asserts that the United States is not only willing, but anxious, to establish in the Philippine Islands an enlightened system of government under which the Philippine people may enjoy the largest measure of home rule and the amplest liberty consonant with the supreme ends of government and compatible with those obligations which the United States has assumed toward the civilized nations of the world. ”

“ So that the question is narrowed further to the inquiry whether the Philippine government cannot do what unquestionably Congress might.
As Congress is not prevented by the Constitution, the Philippine government cannot be prevented by the Philippine Bill of Rights alone. ”

“ A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of the civil courts or legislative assemblies, nor authorize the conferment of jurisdiction on military courts and agencies over civilians where civil courts are able to function, nor automatically suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus. The suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall apply only to persons judicially charged for rebellion or offenses inherent in, or directly connected with, invasion. ”

“ The President, Vice-President, the Members of the Cabinet, and their deputies or assistants shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or employment during their tenure. They shall not, during said tenure, directly or indirectly, practice any other profession, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special privilege granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries. ”

“ To endure it must be based upon a solid foundation of self-control, of self-respect and of respect for the rights of others upon the part of the great majority of the common people. If it is not, the government which follows a period of tumult, confusion and civil war will be a government of the sword. The record the Philippine republic has left behind it contains nothing to confirm the belief that it would have endured, even in name, if the destinies of the islands had been left in the hands of the men who set it up. ”

“ The conditions Congress made precedent to the grant of an assembly have not been met, and we each and all of us know it. We owe more to our own country and to truth than we do to the Filipinos. The Act of Congress of 1902 did not vest in the Philippine Commission authority to pardon disturbances of public order. It imposed upon the Commission an implied duty to report such disturbances, fully and frankly. It is not true that there has been a continuing state of general and complete peace in these Islands for the last two years, and I for one will not certify that there has been. ”

“ The most ample liberty of self-government will be granted to the Philippine people which is reconcilable with the maintenance of a wise, just, stable, effective and economical administration of public affairs, and compatible with the sovereign and international rights and obligations of the United States. ”

“ All this gave the people a taste of political freedom. The men who represented the islands in the Spanish Cortes came back to Manila full of the idea of equal rights for all. They preached this doctrine to the people, and their words found ready hearers. Soon, on Luzon, a group of young Filipinos and Mestizos gathered. Their aim was to bring about real reforms in the government, and to secure greater peace, prosperity, and liberty to the people. The discontent of the Filipinos began to be of a more intelligent sort, and to have a definite purpose. ”