Structure of the Constitution
The 1987 Constitution has a Preamble and 18 articles. The ones you should know best include:
- Article I: National Territory
- Article II: Declaration of Principles and State Policies
- Article III: Bill of Rights
- Article IV: Citizenship
- Article V: Suffrage
- Article VI: The Legislative Department
- Article VII: The Executive Department
- Article VIII: The Judicial Department
- Article IX: Constitutional Commissions
- Article X: Local Government
- Article XVII: Amendments or Revisions
State principles
The Philippines is a democratic and republican state. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, and civilian authority is, at all times, supreme over the military.
Bill of Rights
Know the main guarantees:
- No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor denied the equal protection of the laws.
- The right against unreasonable searches and seizures, which requires a judicial warrant in general.
- Freedom of speech, of the press, of religion and of peaceful assembly.
- The right to privacy of communication and correspondence.
- The rights of the accused, including the right to bail, to be presumed innocent and to counsel.
The three branches
- Legislative: Congress has the Senate (24 members, six-year term, up to two consecutive terms) and the House of Representatives (three-year term, up to three consecutive terms).
- Executive: The President and the Vice President serve six-year terms. The President may not be re-elected. The President must be a natural-born Filipino, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least 40 years old on election day, and a resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years.
- Judicial: Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and the lower courts. The Supreme Court has a Chief Justice and 14 Associate Justices.
Constitutional commissions
There are three independent constitutional commissions: the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Elections and the Commission on Audit. Know what each one does and that they are independent.
Suffrage and amendments
- Suffrage: Filipino citizens who are at least 18 years old and who meet the residency requirements may vote.
- Amendments may be proposed by Congress, by a constitutional convention or by people’s initiative. They become effective once ratified by a majority of votes cast in a plebiscite.
How to review
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