JAMAICA JANE A.

LORELLA justice, freedom,

BSBA love, equality, and
peace, do ordain and
promulgate this
Preamble Constitution.
The preamble Article I – National
introduces the Territory
constitution and the
source of sovereignty, The national territory
the people. It follows comprises the
the pattern in past Philippine
constitutions, archipelago, with all
including an appeal to the islands and waters
God. The preamble embraced therein, and
reads: all other territories
over which the
We, the sovereign Philippines has
Filipino people, sovereignty or
imploring the aid of jurisdiction,
Almighty God, in order consisting of its
to build a just and terrestrial, fluvial,
humane society and and aerial domains,
establish a Government including its
that shall embody our territorial sea, the
ideals and seabed, the subsoil,
aspirations, promote the insular shelves,
the common good, and other submarine
conserve and develop areas. The waters
our patrimony, and around, between, and
secure to ourselves and connecting the islands
our posterity the of the archipelago,
blessings of regardless of their
independence and breadth and
democracy under the dimensions, form part
rule of law and a
regime of truth,
of the internal waters  Family as the basic
of the Philippines. unit of the state
Article II –  Role of youth and
Declaration of women in nation-
Principles and State building
 Autonomy of local
Policies
governments
Article II lays out the  Equal opportunity
basic social and for public services
political creed of the and the prohibition
Philippines, of political
particularly the dynasties
implementation of the Article III – Bill of
constitution and sets
Rights
forth the objectives of
the government. Some Article III enumerates
essential provisions specific protections
are: against the abuse of
state power, most of
 The Philippines is a which are similar to
democratic republic the provisions of the
 Renunciation of war U.S. Constitution.
as a form of national Some essential
policy provisions are:
 Supremacy of
civilian over  a right to due
military authority process and equal
 Separation of church protection of law
and state  a right
(inviolable) against searches and
 Pursuit of an seizures without a
independent foreign warrant issued by a
policy judge
 Abrogation of  a right to privacy
nuclear weaponry
 The right to freedom beliefs and
of speech and aspirations
expression, freedom  a prohibition
of the against cruel,
press, freedom of degrading, or
assembly, and inhuman punishment
the right to  protection providing
petition for no imprisonment
 The free exercise of for debt
religion  the right
 a right of abode and against double
the right to travel jeopardy
 a right to  prohibition of ex
information on post facto
matters of public laws and bills of
concern attainder.
 a right to form Similar to U.S.
associations jurisprudence and
 a right of free other common law
access to courts jurisdictions, the
 the right to remain scope and limitations
silent and to have of these rights have
competent legal largely been
counsel determined by the
 a right to bail and Supreme Court through
against excessive case law.
bail conditions
Article IV –
 a right to habeas
Citizenship
corpus
 the right to a speedy Article IV defines the
trial citizenship of
 the right against Filipinos. It
self-incrimination enumerates two kinds of
 the right to citizens: natural-born
political citizens and
naturalized citizens. and a system of secret
Natural-born citizens ballots and absentee
are those who are voting. It also
citizens from birth mandates a procedure
without having to for overseas and
perform any act to disabled and
acquire or perfect illiterate Filipinos
Philippine to vote.
citizenship. The Article VI –
Philippines follows Legislative Department
a jus sanguinis system
where citizenship is Article VI provides for
mainly acquired a bicameral
through a blood legislature called the
relationship with Congress composed of
Filipino citizens. the Senate and the
House of
Natural-born
Representatives. It
citizenship forms an
vests upon Congress,
important part of the
among others, the power
political system as
of investigation and
only natural-born
inquiry in aid of
Filipinos are eligible
legislation,[3] the
to hold high offices,
power to declare the
including all elective
existence of a state of
offices beginning with
war,[4] the power of the
a representative in the
purse,[5] the power of
House of
taxation,[6]and the
Representatives up to
power of eminent
the President. [7]
domain.
Article V – Suffrage
Article VII – Executive
Article V mandates Department
various age and
residence Article VII provides
qualifications to vote for a presidential form
of government where the
executive power is Committees on Justice,
vested on the and representatives
President. It provides from the legal
for the qualification, profession.
terms of office, Article IX –
election, and power and Constitutional
functions of the
Commissions
President. It also
provides for a Vice Article IX establishes
President and for the three constitutional
presidential line of commissions: the Civil
succession. Service Commission,
Article VIII – Judicial the Commission on
Elections, and the
Department
Commission on Audit.
Article VIII vests the Article X – Local
judicial power upon the
Government
Supreme Court and other
lower courts as may be Article X pursues for
established by law (by local autonomy and
Congress). While the mandates Congress to
power to appoint enact a law for the
justices and judges local government, now
still reside with the currently the Local
President, the Government Code.
President may only Article XI –
appoint nominees pre- Accountability of
selected by Public Officers
the Judicial and Bar
Council, a body Article XI establishes
composed of the Chief the Office of the
Justice of the Supreme Ombudsman which is
Court, the Secretary responsible for
of Justice, the Chairs investigating and
of the Senate and House prosecuting government
officials. It also
vests upon the Congress a Constitutional
the power to impeach Convention, or c) a
the President, the Vice petition of at least
President, members of twelve percent of all
the Supreme Court, and registered voters, and
the Ombudsman. at least three percent
Article XII – National of registered voters
Economy and Patrimony within each district
(called a People's
Article XIII – Social Initiative. All
Justice and Human amendments must be
Rights ratified in a
Article XIV – national referendum.
Education, Science and Article XVIII –
Technology, Arts, Transitory Provisions
Culture and Sports
The Constitution also
Article XV – The Family contains several other
Article XVI – General provisions enumerating
Provisions various state policies
including, i.e., the
Article XVII –
affirmation
Amendments or
of labor "as a primary
Revisions social economic force"
Article XVII (Section 14, Article
establishes the II); the equal
methods by which the protection of "the life
Constitution may be of the mother and the
amended or revised. life of the unborn from
Amendments may be conception" (Section
proposed by either: a) 12, Article II); the
a three-fourths vote of "Filipino family as the
all Members of Congress foundation of the
(called a Constituent nation" (Article XV,
Assembly), b) Section 1); the
recognition not be enforced without
of Filipino as "the accompanying
national language of legislation, and thus
the Philippines" could not bar the
(Section 6, Article disallowance of so-
XIV), and even a called "nuisance
requirement that "all candidates" in
educational presidential
institutions shall elections.[8] But in
undertake regular another case, the Court
sports activities held that a provision
throughout the country requiring that the
in cooperation with State "protect and
athletic clubs and advance the right of
other sectors." the people to a
(Section 19.1, Article balanced and healthful
XIV) Whether these ecology" did not
provisions may, by require implementing
themselves, be the legislation to become
source of enforceable the source of operative
rights without rights.
accompanying
legislation has been
the subject of
considerable debate in
the legal sphere and
within the Supreme
Court. The Court, for
example, has ruled that
a provision requiring
that the State
"guarantee equal
access to
opportunities to
public service" could