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1987 CONSTITUTION |
1973 CONSTITUTION |
1935 CONSTITUTION |
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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. |
Preamble We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence, in order to establish a government that shall embody our ideals, promote the general welfare, conserve and develop the patrimony of our Nation, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of democracy under a regime of justice, peace, liberty, and equality, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution. |
Preamble The Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence, in order to establish a government that shall embody their ideals, conserve and develop the patrimony of the nation, promote the general welfare, and secure to themselves and their posterity the blessings of independence under a regime of justice, liberty, and democracy, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution. |
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ARTICLE I The National Territory
The national territory comprises the Philippine archipelago, with all the islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction, consisting of its terrestrial, fluvial, and aerial domains, including its territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves, and other submarine areas. The waters around, between, and connecting the islands of the archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, form part of the internal waters of the Philippines. |
ARTICLE I The National Territory
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ARTICLE I The National Territory
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ARTICLE II Declaration of Principles and State Policies
Principles
SEC. 1. The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
State Policies
SEC. 7.
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ARTICLE II Declaration of Principles and State Policies
The Philippines is a republican state. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
Section 2. The defense of the State is the prime duty of government, and in the fulfillment of this duty all citizens may be required by law to render personal military or civil service.
Section 3. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land, and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.
Section 4. The State shall strengthen the family as a basic social institution. The natural right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the aid and support of the government.
Section 5. The State recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation-building and shall promote their physical, intellectual and social well-being.
Section 6. The State shall promote social justice to ensure the dignity, welfare, and security of all the people. Towards this end, the State shall regulate the acquisition, ownership, use, enjoyment, and disposition of private property, and equitably diffuse property ownership and profits.
Section 7. The State shall establish, maintain, and ensure adequate social services in the field of education, health, housing, employment, welfare, and social security to guarantee the enjoyment of the people of a decent standard of living.
Section 8. Civilian authority is at all times supreme over the military.
Section 9. The State shall afford protection to labor, promote full employment and equality in employment, ensure equal work opportunities regardless of sex, race, or creed, and regulate the relation between workers and employers. The State shall assure the rights of workers to self-organization, collective bargaining, security of tenure, and just and humane conditions of work. The State may provide for compulsory arbitration.
Section 10. The State shall guarantee and promote the autonomy of local government units, especially the barrio, to ensure their fullest development as self-reliant communities. |
ARTICLE II Declaration of Principles
The Philippines, is a republican state. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.
Section 2. The defense of the State is a prime duty of government, and in the fulfillment of this duty all citizens may be required by law to render personal military or civil service.
Section 3. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, and adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the Nation.
Section 4. The natural right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency should receive the aid and support of the government. Section 5. The promotion of social justice to insure the well-being and economic security of all the people should be the concern of the State. |
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ARTICLE VI
SEC. 7.
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ARTICLE VIII The National Assembly
The Legislative power shall be vested in a National Assembly.
Section 2. The National Assembly shall be composed of as many Members as may be provided by law to be appointed among the provinces, representative districts, and cities in accordance with the number of their respective inhabitants and on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio. Each district shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory. Representative districts or provinces already created or existing at the time of the ratification of this Constitution shall have at least one Member each.
Section 3. (1) The Members of the National Assembly shall be elected by the qualified electors in their respective districts for a term of six years which shall begin, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following their election.
(2) In case the National Assembly is dissolved, the newly elected Members shall serve the unexpired portion of the term from the time the Prime Minister convenes the Assembly, which shall not be later than thirty days immediately following the elections.
Section 4. No person shall be a Member of the National Assembly 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, a registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected, and a resident thereon for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the day of the election.
Section 5. (1) Unless otherwise provided by law, the regular election of Members of the National Assembly shall be held on the second Monday of May every six years thereafter.
(2) In case a vacancy arises in the National Assembly one year or more before a regular election, the Commission on Elections shall call a special election to be held within sixty days after the vacancy occurs.
Section 6. The National Assembly 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 until thirty days before the opening of its next regular session, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. It may recess for periods not exceeding thirty days each, and not more than ninety days during the year. However, it may be called to session at any time by the Prime Minister to consider such subjects or legislation as he may designate.
Section 7. (1) The National Assembly, shall, by a majority vote of all its Members, elect its Speaker from the Members thereof. It shall choose such other officers as it may deem necessary. The election of the President and the Prime Minister shall precede all other business following the election of the Speaker.
(2) A majority of the National Assembly 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 the National Assembly may provide.
(3) The National Assembly may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly behavior, and with concurrence of two-thirds of all its Members, suspend or expel a Member, but if the penalty is suspension, this shall not exceed sixty days.
(4) The National Assembly 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.
Section 8. (1) Unless otherwise provided by law, each Member of the National Assembly shall receive an annual salary of sixty thousand pesos. The Speaker of the National Assembly shall receive an annual salary of seventy-five thousand pesos. No increase in salary shall take effect until after the expiration of the term of the Members of the National Assembly approving such increase.
(2) The records and books of accounts of the National Assembly shall be open to the public in accordance with law, and such books shall be audited by the Commission on Audit which shall publish annually the itemized expenditures for each Member.
Section 9. A Member of the National Assembly shall, in all offenses punishable by not more than six years imprisonment, be privileged from arrest during his attendance at its sessions, and in going to and returning from the same; but the National Assembly shall surrender the Member involved to the custody of the law within twenty-four hours after its adjournment for a recess or its next session, otherwise such privilege shall cease upon its failure to do so. A Member shall not be questioned or held liable in any other place for any speech or debate in the Assembly or in any committee thereof.
Section 10. A Member of the National Assembly shall not hold any other office or employment in the government, or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations during his tenure except that of Prime Minister or Member of the Cabinet. Neither shall he be appointed to any civil office which may have been created or the emoluments thereof increased while he was a Member of the National Assembly.
Section 11. No Member of the National Assembly shall appear as counsel before any court inferior to a court with appellate jurisdiction, before any court in any civil case wherein the government, or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof is the adverse party, or before any administrative body. 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, during his term of office. He shall not intervene in any matter before any office of the government for his pecuniary benefit.
Section 12. (1) There shall be a question hour at least once a month or as often as the rules of the National Assembly may provide, which shall be included in its agenda, during which the Prime Minister or any Minister may be required to appear and answer questions and interpellations by Members of the National Assembly. Written questions shall be submitted to the Speaker at least three days before a scheduled question hour. Interpellations shall not be limited to the written questions, but may cover matters related thereto. The agenda shall specify the subjects of the question hour. When the security of the State so requires and the Prime Minister so states in writing, the question hour shall be conducted in executive session.
(2) The National Assembly or any of its committees may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance with its duly published rules of procedure. The rights of persons appearing in such inquiries shall be respected.
Section 13. (1) The National Assembly may withdraw its confidence from the Prime Minister only by electing a successor by a majority vote of all its Members. No motion for the election of such successor shall be debated and voted upon until after the lapse of three days from the submittal of such motion.
(2) The Prime Minister may advise the President in writing to dissolve the National Assembly whenever the need arises for a popular vote of confidence on fundamental issues, but not on a matter involving his own personal integrity. Whereupon, the President shall dissolve the National Assembly not earlier than five days nor later than ten days from his receipt of the advice, and call for an election on a date set by the Prime Minister which shall not be earlier than forty-five days nor later than sixty days from the date of such dissolution. However, no dissolution of the National Assembly shall take place within nine months immediately preceding a regular election or within nine months immediately following any general election.
(3) In case of dissolution of the National Assembly or the termination of its regular term, the incumbent Prime Minister and the Cabinet shall continue to conduct the affairs of government until the new National Assembly is convoked and a Prime Minister is elected and has qualified.
Section 14. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, no treaty shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by a majority of all the Members of the National Assembly.
(2) The National Assembly, by a vote of two-thirds of all its Members, shall have the sole power to declare the existence of a state of war.
Section 15. In times of war or other national emergency, the National Assembly may by law authorize the Prime Minister, for a limited period and subject to such restrictions as it may prescribe, to exercise powers necessary and proper to carry out a declared national policy. Unless sooner withdrawn by resolution of the National Assembly, such powers shall cease upon its next adjournment.
Section 16. (1) The Prime Minister shall submit to the National Assembly within thirty days from the opening of each regular session, as the basis of the general appropriations bill, a budget of receipts based on existing and proposed revenue measures, and of expenditures. The form, content, and manner of preparation of the budget shall be prescribed by law. (2) No provision or enactment shall be embraced in the general appropriations bill unless it relates specifically to some particular appropriation therein. Any such provision or enactment shall be limited in its operation to the appropriation to which it relates.
(3) The procedure in approving appropriations for the National Assembly shall strictly follow the procedure for approving appropriations for other departments and agencies.
(4) A special appropriations bill shall specify the purpose for which it is intended, and shall be supported by funds actually available as certified to by the National Treasurer, or to be raised by a corresponding revenue proposal included therein.
(5) No law shall be passed authorizing any transfer of appropriations; however, the Prime Minister, the Speaker, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the heads of Constitutional Commissions may by law be authorized to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from saving in other items of their respective appropriations.
(6) If, by the end of the fiscal year, the National Assembly shall have failed to pass the general appropriations bill for the ensuing fiscal year, the general appropriations law for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed re-enacted and shall remain in force and effect until the general appropriations bill is passed by the National Assembly.
Section 17. (1) The rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable. The National Assembly shall evolve a progressive system of taxation.
(2) The National Assembly may by law authorize the Prime Minister to fix within specified limits, and subject to such limitations and restrictions as it may impose, tariff rates, import and export quotas, tonnage and wharfage dues, and other duties or imposts.
(3) Charitable institutions, churches, personages or convents appurtenant thereto, mosques and non-profit cemeteries, and all lands, buildings and improvements actually, directly, and exclusively used for religious or charitable purposes shall be exempt from taxation.
(4) No law granting any tax exemption shall be passed without the concurrence of a majority of all the Members of the National Assembly.
Section 18. (1) No money shall be paid out of the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.
(2) No public money or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, paid, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution, or system of religion or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary as such, except when such priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary is assigned to the armed forces, or to any penal institution, or government orphanage or leprosarium.
Section 19. (1) Every bill shall become a law unless it has passed three readings on separate days, and printed copies thereof in its final form have been distributed to the Members three days before its passage, except when the Prime Minister certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency. Upon the last reading of a bill, no amendment thereto shall be allowed, and the vote thereon shall be taken immediately thereafter, and the yeas and nays entered in the Journal.
(2) No bill except those of local application shall be calendared without the prior recommendation of the Cabinet.
Section 20. (1) Every bill passed by the national Assembly shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the Prime Minister. If he approves the same he shall sign it; otherwise, he shall veto it and return the same with his objections to the National Assembly. The bill may be reconsidered by the National Assembly and, if approved by two-thirds of all its Members, shall become a law. The Prime Minister shall act on every bill passed by the National Assembly within thirty days after the date of receipt thereof; otherwise, it shall become a law as if he had signed it. (2) The Prime Minister shall have the power to veto any particular item or items in appropriation, revenue, or tariff bill, but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object. |
ARTICLE VI Legislative Department
The Legislative power shall be vested in a Congress of the Philippines, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
Section 2. The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four Senators who shall be chosen at large by the qualified electors of the Philippines, as may be provided by law.
Section 3. The term of office of Senators shall be six years and shall begin on the thirtieth day of December next following their election. The first Senators elected under this Constitution shall, in the manner provided by law, be divided equally into three groups, the Senators of the first group, to serve for a term of six years; those of the second group, for four years; and those of the third group, for two years.
Section 4. No person shall be a Senator unless he be a natural born citizen of the Philippines and, at the time of his election, is at least thirty-five years of age, a qualified elector, and a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately prior to his election.
Section 5. The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than one hundred and twenty Members who shall be apportioned among the several provinces as nearly as may be accorded to the number of their respective inhabitants, but each province shall have at least one Member. The Congress shall by law make an apportionment within three years after the return of every enumeration, and not otherwise. Until such apportionment shall have been made, the House of Representatives shall have the same number of Members as that fixed by law for the National Assembly, who shall be elected by the qualified electors from the present Assembly districts. Each representative district shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous and compact territory.
Section 6. The term of office of the Members of the House of Representatives shall be four years and shall begin on the thirtieth day of December next following their election.
Section 7. No person shall be a Member of the House of Representatives unless he be a natural born citizen of the Philippines, and, at the time of his election, is at least twenty-five years of age, a qualified elector, and a resident of the province in which he is chosen for not less than one year immediately prior to his election.
Section 8. (1) Elections for Senators and Members of the House of Representatives shall be held in the manner and on the dates fixed by law.
(2) 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.
Section 9. The Congress shall convene in regular session once every year on the fourth Monday of January, unless a different date is fixed by law. It may be called in special session at any time by the President to consider general legislation or only such subjects as he may designate. No special session shall continue longer than thirty days and no regular session longer than one hundred days, exclusive of Sundays.
Section 10. (1) The Senate shall elect its President and the House of Representatives its Speaker. Each House shall choose such other officers as may be required.
(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.
(3) Each House may determine the rule of its proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its Members, expel a Member.
(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 requires secrecy; and the yeas and nays on any question shall, at the request of one-fifth of the Members present, be entered into the Journal.
(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.
Section 11. The Senate and the House of Representatives shall have an Electoral Tribunal which shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective Members. Each Electoral Tribunal shall be composed of nine Members, three of whom shall be Justices of the Supreme Court to be designated by the Chief Justice, and the remaining six shall be Members of the Senate or the House of Representatives, as the case may be, who shall be chosen by each House, three upon nomination of the party having the largest number of votes and three of the party having the second largest numbers of votes therein. The senior Justice in each Electoral Tribunal shall be its Chairman.
Section 12. There shall be a Commission on Appointments consisting of twelve Senators and twelve Members of the House of Representatives, elected by each House, respectively, on the basis of proportional representation of the political parties therein. The president of the Senate shall be the Chairman ex officio of the Commission, but shall not vote except in case of tie.
Section 13. The Electoral Tribunal and the Commission on Appointments shall be constituted within thirty days after the Senate and the House of Representatives shall have been organized with the election of their President and Speaker, respectively. The Commission on Appointments shall meet only while the Congress is in session, at the call of its Chairman or a majority of its Members, to discharge such powers and functions as are herein conferred upon it. Section 14. The Senators and the Members of the House of Representatives shall, unless otherwise provided by law, receive an annual compensation of seven thousand two hundred pesos each, including per diems and other emoluments or allowances and exclusive only of traveling expenses to and from their respective districts in the case of Members of the House of Representatives, and to an from their places of residence in the case of Senators, when attending sessions of the Congress. No increase in said compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the full term of all the Members of the Senate and of the House of Representatives approving such increase. Until otherwise provided by law, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall each receive an annual compensation of sixteen thousand pesos.
Section 15. The Senators and Members of the House of Representatives shall in all cases except treason, felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of the Congress, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate therein, they shall not be questioned in any other place.
Section 16. No Senator or Member of the House of Representatives may hold any other office or employment in the government without forfeiting his seat, nor shall any Senator or Member of the House of Representatives, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office which may have been created or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased while he was a Member of the Congress. Section 17. No Senator or Member of the House of Representatives shall directly or indirectly be financially interested in any contract with the government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by the Congress during his term of office. He shall not appear as counsel before the Electoral Tribunals or before any court in any civil case wherein the Government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof is the adverse party, or in any criminal case wherein an officer or employee of the government is accused of an offense committed in relation to his office, or collect any fee for his appearance in any administrative proceedings; or accept employment to intervene in any cause or matter where he may be called upon to act on account of his office. No Member of the Commission on Appointments shall appear as counsel before any court inferior to a collegiate court of appellate jurisdiction.
Section 18. All appropriation, revenue or tariff bills, bills authorizing increase of the public debt, bills of local application, and private bills, shall originate exclusively in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments.
Section 19. (1) The President shall submit within fifteen days of the opening of each regular session of the Congress a budget of receipts and expenditures, which shall be the basis of the general appropriations bill. The Congress may not increase the appropriations recommended by the President for the operation of the Government as specified in the Budget, except the appropriations for the Congress and the Judicial Department. The form of the Budget and the information that it should contain shall be prescribed by law. (2) No provision or enactment shall be embraced in the general appropriations bill unless it relates specifically to some particular appropriation therein; and any such provision or enactment shall be limited in its operation to such appropriation.
Section 20. (1) Every bill passed by the Congress shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President. If he approves the same, he shall sign it; but if not, he shall return it with his objections to the House where it originated, which shall enter the objections at large on its Journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the Members of such House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent together, with the objections, to the House by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the Members of that House, it shall become a law. In all such cases, the votes of each House shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the Members voting for and against shall be entered on its Journal. If any bill shall not be returned by the President as herein provided within twenty days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall become a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall become a law unless vetoed by the President within thirty days after adjournment.
(2) The President shall have the power to veto any particular item or items of an appropriation bill, but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object. When a provision of an appropriation bill affects one or more items of the same, the President cannot veto the provision without at the same time, vetoing the particular item or items to which it relates. The item or items objected to shall not take effect except in the manner heretofore provided as to bills returned to the Congress without the approval of the President. If the veto refers to a bill or any item of an appropriation bill which appropriates a sum in excess of ten per centum of the total amount voted in the appropriation bill for the general expenses of the Government for the preceding year, or if it should refer to a bill authorizing an increase of the public debt, the same shall not become a law unless approved by three-fourths of all the Members of each House.
(3) The President shall have the power to veto any separate item or items in a revenue of tariff bill, and the item or items shall not take effect except in the manner provided as to bills vetoed by the President.
Section 21. (1) No bill which may be enacted into law shall embrace more than one subject which shall be expressed in the title of the bill.
(2) No bill shall be passed by either House unless it shall have been printed and copies thereof in its final form furnished its Members at least three calendar days prior to its passage, except when the President shall have certified to the necessity of its immediate enactment. Upon the last reading of a bill no amendment thereof shall be allowed, and the question upon its passage shall be taken immediately thereafter, and the yeas and nays entered on the Journal.
Section 22. (1) The rule of taxation shall be uniform.
(2) The Congress may by law authorize the President, subject to such limitations and restrictions as it may impose, to fix, within specified limits, tariff rates, import or export quotas, and tonnage and wharfage dues.
(3) Cemeteries, churches, and parsonages or convents appurtenant thereto, and all lands, buildings, and improvements used exclusively for religious, charitable, or educational purposes shall be exempt from taxation.
Section 23. (1) All money collected on any tax levied for a special purpose shall be treated as a special fund and paid out for such purpose only. If the purpose for which a special fund was crated has been fulfilled or abandoned, the balance, if any, shall be transferred to the general funds of the Government.
(2) No money shall be paid out of Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.
(3) No public money, or property shall ever be appropriated, applied, or used, directly or indirectly, for the use, benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution or system of religion, for the use, benefit, or support of any priest, preacher, ministers, or other religious teacher or dignitary as such except when such priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary is assigned to the armed forces or to any penal institution, orphanage or leprosarium.
Section 24. The heads of departments upon their own initiative or upon the request of either House may appear before and be heard by such House on any matter pertaining to their departments, unless the public interest shall require otherwise and the President shall so state in writing. Section 25. The Congress, shall, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of each House, have the sole power to declare war. Section 26. In times of war and other national emergency the Congress may by law authorize the President, for a limited period, and subject to such restrictions as it may prescribe, to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out a declared national policy. |
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ARTICLE VII
Appropriations for the special elections shall be charged against any current appropriations and shall be exempt from the requirements of paragraph 4, Section 25, Article VI of this Constitution. The convening of the Congress cannot be suspended nor the special election postponed. No special election shall be called if the vacancy occurs within eighteen months before the date of the next presidential election.
by law. The Monetary Board shall, within thirty days from the end of every quarter of the calendar year, submit to the Congress a complete report of its decisions on applications for loans to be contracted or guaranteed by the Government or government-owned and controlled corporations which would have the effect of increasing the foreign debt, and containing other matters as may be provided by law. |
ARTICLE VII The President and Vice-President
The President shall be the head of state and chief executive of the Republic of the Philippines.
Section 2. There shall be a Vice-President who shall have the same qualifications and term of office as the President and may be removed from office in the same manner as the President as provided in Article XIII, Section 2 of this Constitution.
The Vice-President may be appointed as a member of the Cabinet and may be nominated and elected as Prime Minister.
The Vice-President shall be elected with and in the same manner as the President.
The President shall be elected from among the Members of the National Assembly by a majority vote of all its Members for a term of six years from the date he takes his oath of office, which shall not be later than three days after the proclamation of the National Assembly, nor in any case earlier than the expiration of the term of his predecessor. Upon taking his oath of office, the President shall cease to be a Member of the National Assembly and of any political party. He shall be ineligible to hold any other elective office during his term.
Section 3. No person may be elected President unless he is at least fifty years of age at the day of his election as President, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding his election. However, if no Member of the National Assembly is qualified or none of those qualified is a candidate for President, any Member thereof may be elected President.
Section 4. (1) The President shall have an official residence and shall receive a compensation to be fixed by law, which shall not be increased or decreased during his term of office. He shall not receive during his tenure any other emolument from the government or any other source. Until the National Assembly shall provide otherwise, the President shall receive an annual salary of one hundred thousand pesos.
(2) The President shall not during his tenure, hold any appointive office, practice any profession, participate directly or indirectly in the management of any business, or be financially interested directly or indirectly in any contract with, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by, the government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations.
Section 5. In case of permanent disability, death, removal from office, or resignation of the President, the Speaker of the National Assembly shall act as President until a successor has been elected for the unexpired portion of the term of the President.
Section 6. The President shall have the following duties and functions: (1) Address the National Assembly at the opening of its regular session.
(2) Proclaim the election of the Prime Minister.
(3) Dissolve the National Assembly and call for a general election as provided herein.
(4) Accept the resignation of the Cabinet as provided herein.
(5) Attest to the appointment or cessation from office of Members of the Cabinet, and of other officers as may be provided by law.
(6) Appoint all officers and employees in his office in accordance with the Civil Service Law.
(7) Perform such other duties and functions of State as may be provided by law.
The President shall be immune from suit during his tenure. |
ARTICLE VII Executive Department
The executive power shall be vested in a President of the Philippines.
Section 2. The President shall hold his office during a term of four years and together with the Vice-President chosen for the same term, shall be elected by direct vote of the people. The returns of every election for President and Vice-President, duly certified by the board of canvassers of each province or city, shall be transmitted to the seat of the National Government, directed to the President of the Senate, who shall, in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person respectively having the highest number of votes for President and Vice-President shall be declared elected, but in case two or more shall have an equal and the highest number of votes for their office, one of them shall be chosen President or Vice-President, as the case may be, by a majority vote of the Members of the Congress in joint session assembled.
Section 3. No person may be elected to the office of the President or Vice-President unless he is a natural born citizen of the Philippines, a qualified voter, forty years of age or over, and has been a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding the election.
Section 4. Elections for President and Vice-President shall be held once every four years on a date to be fixed by law.
The terms of the President and Vice-President shall end at noon on the thirtieth day of December following the expiration of four years after their election, and the terms of their successors shall begin from such time.
Section 5. No person shall serve as President for more than eight consecutive years. The period of such service shall be counted from the date he shall have commenced to act as President. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of the service of the incumbent for the full term for which he was elected.
Section 6. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of the term of the President, the President-elect shall have died, the Vice-President-elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term or if the President shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice-President shall act as President until a President shall have qualified, and the Congress may by law provide for the case wherein neither a President-elect nor a Vice-President-elect shall have qualified, declaring who shall then act as President, or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice-President shall have qualified.
Section 7. Before he enters on the execution of his office, the President shall take the following oath or affirmation : "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God." (In case of affirmation, last sentence will be omitted)
In the event of the removal of the President from office, or his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress shall by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inability, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.
Section 9. The President shall have an official residence and receive a compensation to be ascertained by law which shall be neither increased nor diminished during the period of which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within the period any other emolument from the Government or any of its subdivisions or instrumentalities. Until the Congress shall provide otherwise, the President shall receive an annual salary of thirty thousand pesos. The Vice-President, when not acting as President, shall receive an annual compensation of fifteen thousand pesos until otherwise provided by law.
Section 10. (1) The President shall have control of all executive departments, bureaus or offices, exercise general provision over all local governments as may be provided by law, and take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
(2) The President shall be commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Philippines, and, whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, insurrection, or rebellion. In case of invasion, insurrection, or rebellion or imminent danger thereof, when the public safety requires it, he may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, or place the Philippines or any part thereof under Martial Law.
(3) The President shall nominate and with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, shall appoint the heads of the executive departments and bureaus, officers of the Army from the rank of colonel, of the Navy and Air Forces from the rank of captain or commander, and all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of inferior officers, in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of departments.
(4) The President shall have the power to make appointments during the recess of the Congress, but such appointments shall be effective only until disapproval by the Commission on Appointments or until the next adjournment of the Congress.
(5) The President shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the state of the Nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.
(6) The President shall have the power to grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, after conviction, for all expenses except in case of impeachment, upon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations as he may deem proper to impose. He shall have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of the Congress.
(7) The President shall have the power, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate to make treaties, and with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, he shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls. He shall receive ambassadors and other public ministers duly accredited to the Government of the Philippines.
Section 11. (1) The executive departments of the present Government of the Philippine Islands shall continue as now authorized by law until the Congress shall provide otherwise.
(2) The heads of the departments and chiefs of bureaus or offices and their assistants shall not, during their continuance in office, engage in the practice of any profession, or intervene, directly or indirectly, in the management or control of any private enterprise which in any way may be affected by the functions of their office; nor shall they, directly or indirectly, be financially interested in any contract with the Government, or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof.
(3) The President may appoint the Vice-President as a member of his Cabinet and also as head of an executive department. |
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