The Salient Points of 1987 Philippine Constitution

•  February 1986


  Corazon Aquino became the unified opposition’s presidential candidate when Ferdinand E. Marcos unexpectedly called for presidential elections.
• February 25, 1986


  Aquino was inaugurated and proclaimed Corazon Aquino as the Philippines’ rightful president
• March 1986


  Aquino proclaimed a provisional constitution and soon thereafter appointed a commission to write a new constitution.
• February 2, 1987

  • 1987 Philippine Constitution took effect
• • The constitution begins with a preamble and 18 self-contained articles. It established the Philippines as a democratic republican state where sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. It allocates governmental powers among the executive, legislative and the judicial branches of the government.
• THE PREAMBLE OF THE 1987 PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION

  • 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.
• PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION

  • The Constitution is a social contract 
  • It is the very basis of the decision to constitute a civil society or State, breathing life to its juridical existence, laying down the framework by which it is to be governed, enumerating and limiting its powers and declaring certain fundamental rights and principles to be inviolable.
• 1987 CONSTITUTION

  • It is the body of rules and maxims in accordance with which the powers of sovereignty are habitually exercised.
  • It is a written instrument enacted by the direct action of the people by which the fundamental powers of the government are established, limited, and defined, and by which those powers are distributed among the several department
• Branches of the government

  • Executive branch
  • Legislative branch
  • Judicial branch
• EXECUTIVE BRANCH INCLUDES:

  • President 
  • Vice President
  • Cabinet
• LEGISLATIVE BRANCH INCLUDES:

  • Senate
  • House of Representatives
• JUDICIAL BRANCH INCLUDES:

  • Supreme Court
  • RTC, MTC
  • Special Court
• Separation of powers means that:

  • legislation belongs to Congress
  • execution to the executive
  • Settlement of legal controversies to the judiciary.
• • Division and Assignment is prevent from invading the domain of others.
  • It is also to prevent the concentration of authority in one person or group of persons that might lead to irreparable error or abuse in its exercise detriment to republican institutions.
• THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

  • The president is the chief executive and the head of the state but his power is limited by significant checks from the two other co-equal branches of government especially during times of emergency. 
  • In case of national emergency, the president may still declare martial law, but no longer than a period of sixty days. Congress through a majority vote can revoke this decision or extend it for a period that they determine. The Supreme Court may also review the declaration of martial law and decide if there were sufficient justifying facts for the act.
• • The president and the vice-president are elected at large by a direct vote, serving a single six-year term.
• THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

  • There are 24 senators elected at large by popular vote and can serve no more than two consecutives six-year terms.
  • The House of Representative is composed of district representatives representing a particular geographic area and makes up around 80% of the total number of representatives.
• THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

  • Supreme Court
  • Court of Appeals
  • Regional Trial Courts
  • Metropolitan Trial Courts 
  • Municipal Trial Courts in town
  • Municipal Trial Courts in the Cities 
  • Municipal Circuit Trial Courts 
  • Shari’a District Courts
  • Shari’a Circuit Courts
  • Sandiganbayan
  • Court of Tax Appeals
• THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

  • The Judicial system is also called the Court System
  • Interprets and applies laws in the name of the state
  • Often tasked to ensure equal justice under the law 
  • Consist of a court of Final Appeal called the Supreme Court or the Constitutional Court together with the lower courts.
  • The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
• THE JUDICIAL BRANCH

  • The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the people. The government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal military or civil service.
  • No person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the laws.
  • Restore the freedom of speech and to form an association.