Table of contents |
2 Previous Constitutions |
The 1987 Freedom Constitution is the one currently in effect and was created following the ascendancy of Corazon Aquino to presidency in 1986. She formed a commission to frame a new constitution to replace the 1973 Constitution formed during the reign of her predecessor Ferdinand Marcos.
The commission finished the draft charter within four months and a majority of voters approved it in a referendum in February 1987.
The Preamble reads:
Following the declaration of independence from Spain, by the Revolutionary Government, a congress was held in Malolos, Bulacan in 1899 to draw up a constitution. It was the first republican constitution in Asia. The document states that the people has exclusive sovereignty. It states basic civil rights, separated the church and state, and called for the creation of an Assembly of Representatives which would act as the legislative body. It also calls for a Presidential form of government with the president elected for a term of four years by a majority of the Assembly.
The Preamble reads:
Freedom Constitution, 1987
Previous Constitutions
Constitución Política de Malolos, 1899
Constitution of the Philippine Commonwealth, 1935
Constitution of the Second (Japanese puppet) Republic, 1943