1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF 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.
• Article IV: Citizenship, Section 1.

  The following are citizens of the Philippines:

  1. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this Constitution;
• Article IV: Citizenship, Section 1.

  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; and

  4. Those who are naturalized in the accordance with law.
• Article IV: Citizenship, Section 2.

  Natural-born citizens are 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.
• Article IV: Citizenship, Section 3.

  Philippine citizenship may be lost or reacquired in the manner provided by law.
• Article IV: Citizenship, Section 4.

  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.
• Article IV: Citizenship, Section 5.

  Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest and shall be dealt with by law.
• Article V: Suffrage, Section 1.

  Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines, not otherwise disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the Philippines for at least one year and 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. 
• Article V: Suffrage, Section 2.

  The Congress shall provide a system for securing the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot as well as a system for absentee voting by qualified Filipinos abroad. 

  The Congress shall also design a procedure for the disabled and the illiterates to vote without the assistance of other persons. 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.
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 1.

  The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 2.

  The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four Senators who shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the Philippines, as may be provided by law. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 3.

  No person shall be a Senator unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least thirty-five years of age, able to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the election. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 4.

  The term of office of the Senators shall be six years and shall commence, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following their election. No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of his service for the full term of which he was elected. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 5.

  1. The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than two hundred and fifty members, unless otherwise fixed by law, who shall be elected from legislative districts apportioned among the provinces, cities, and the Metropolitan Manila area in accordance with the number of their respective inhabitants, and on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio, and those who, as provided by law, shall be elected through a party-list system of registered national, regional, and sectoral parties or organizations.
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 5.

  2. The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum of the total number of representatives including those under the party list. For three consecutive terms after the ratification of this Constitution, one-half of the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall be filled, as provided by law, by selection or election from the labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, and such other sectors as may be provided by law, except the religious sector.
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 5.


  3. Each legislative district shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory. Each city with a population of at least two hundred fifty thousand, or each province, shall have at least one representative.
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 5.

  4. Within three years following the return of every census, the Congress shall make a reapportionment of legislative districts based on the standards provided in this section.
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 6.

  No person shall be a Member of the House of Representatives unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least twenty-five years of age, able to read and write, and, except the party-list representatives, a registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected, and a resident thereof for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the election. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 7.

  The Members of the House of Representatives shall be elected for a term of three years which shall begin, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following their election. No Member of the House of Representatives shall serve for more than three consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of his service for the full term for which he was elected. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 8.

  Unless otherwise provided by law, the regular election of the Senators and the Members of the House of Representatives shall be held on the second Monday of May. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 9.

  In case of vacancy in the Senate or in the House of Representatives, a special election may be called to fill such vacancy in the manner prescribed by law, but the Senator or Member of the House of Representatives thus elected shall serve only for the unexpired term. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 10.

  The salaries of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives shall be determined by law. No increase in said compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the full term of all the Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives approving such increase. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 11.

  A Senator or Member of the House of Representatives shall, in all offenses punishable by not more than six years imprisonment, be privileged from arrest while the Congress is in session. No Member shall be questioned nor be held liable in any other place for any speech or debate in the Congress or in any committee thereof. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 12.

  All Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives shall, upon assumption of office, make a full disclosure of their financial and business interests. They shall notify the House concerned of a potential conflict of interest that may arise from the filing of a proposed legislation of which they are authors. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 13.


  No Senator or Member of the House of Representatives may hold any other office or employment in the Government, or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries, during his term without forfeiting his seat. Neither shall he be appointed to any office which may have been created or the emoluments thereof increased during the term for which he was elected.
• No Senator or Member of the House of Representatives may personally appear as counsel before any court of justice or before the Electoral Tribunals, or quasi-judicial and other administrative bodies
• Neither shall he, directly or indirectly, be interested financially in any contract with, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by the Government, or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including any government-owned or controlled corporation, or its subsidiary, during his term of office
• He shall not intervene in any matter before any office of the Government for his pecuniary benefit or where he may be called upon to act on account of his office
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 15.

  The Congress shall convene once every year on the fourth Monday of July for its regular session, unless a different date is fixed by law, and shall continue to be in session for such number of days as it may determine until thirty days before the opening of its next regular session, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. The President may call a special session at any time. 
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 16.

  1. The Senate shall elect its President and the House of Representatives, its Speaker, by a majority vote of all its respective Members. Each House shall choose such other officers as it may deem necessary.
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 16.

  2. A majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and may compel the attendance of absent Members in such manner, and under such penalties, as such House may provide.
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 16. 


  3. Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its Members, suspend or expel a Member. A penalty of suspension, when imposed, shall not exceed sixty days.
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 16. 


  4. Each House shall keep a Journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in its judgment, affect national security; and the yeas and nays on any question shall, at the request of one-fifth of the Members present, be entered in the Journal. Each House shall also keep a Record of its proceedings.
• Article VI: The Legislative Department, Section 16. 


  5. Neither House during the sessions of the Congress shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.
• Electoral Tribunal


  The sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective Members
• Electoral Tribunal

  • Composed of nine Members
  • Three Justices of the Supreme Court designated by the Chief Justice
  • Six Members of the Senate or the House of Representatives chosen on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties and the parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented therein
• Chairman of the Electoral Tribunal

  The senior Justice in the Electoral Tribunal
• Commission on Appointments

  Consisting of the President of the Senate as ex officio Chairman, twelve Senators, and twelve Members of the House of Representatives, elected by each House on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties and parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented therein
• Commission on Appointments

  1. Acts on all appointments submitted to it

  2. Within thirty session days of the Congress from their submission

  3. Rules by a majority vote of all the Members
• Chairman of the Commission

  Does not vote, except in case of a tie