Constitution

• Constitution of the Philippines


  The Fundamental and supreme law of the Republic of the Philippines
• Constitutions of the Philippines

  • 1898 Biak na Bato Constitution
  • 1935 Constitution and Third Philippine Republic Constitution
  • 1973 Constitution and the Marcos Regime
  • 1987 Constitution under the 1986 Revolutionary government
• 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."
• ARTICLE I National Territory • “The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines."
• Suffrage


  The right to vote in political elections
• Citizens of the Philippines

  • (1) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this Constitution
  • (2) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines
  • (3) Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority
  • (4) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law
• Suffrage in the Philippines

  • May be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise disqualified by law
  • Must be at least eighteen years of age
  • Must have resided in the Philippines for at least one year
  • Must have resided in the place wherein they propose to vote for at least six months immediately preceding the election
  • No literacy, property, or other substantive requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage
• Natural-born citizens


  Those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those who elect Philippine citizenship in accordance with paragraph (3), Section 1 hereof shall be deemed natural-born citizens.
• Securing the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot

  1. Congress shall provide a system

  2. Congress shall also design a procedure for the disabled and the illiterates to vote without the assistance of other persons

  3. Until then, they shall be allowed to vote under existing laws and such rules as the Commission on Elections may promulgate to protect the secrecy of the ballot
• Philippine citizenship may be

  1. Lost

  2. Reacquired
• Absentee voting by qualified Filipinos abroad


  Congress shall provide a system
• Citizens of the Philippines who marry aliens shall retain their citizenship, unless by their act or omission they are deemed, under the law, to have renounced it
• Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest and shall be dealt with by law