EASTERN SAMAR STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF NURSING
Philippine History and Constitution
Activity No.2
“The Philippine Constitution”
Submitted by:
BARBERO, CLAUDETTE G.
08-21996
Submitted to:
RAY DOMINIC R. LADERA
Instructor
March 5, 2012
COURSE: Philippine History and Constitution
ACTIVITY NO.2 : The Constitution
1.A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or
other organization is governed. When these principles are written down into a single collection or set of
legal documents, those documents may be said to comprise a written constitution.
Constitutions concern different levels of organizations, from sovereign states to companies and
unincorporated associations. A treaty which establishes an international organization is also its
constitution in that it would define how that organization is constituted. Within states,
whether sovereign or federated, a constitution defines the principles upon which the state is based, the
procedure in which laws are made and by whom. Some constitutions, especially written constitutions,
also act as limiters of state power by establishing lines which a state's rulers cannot cross such as
fundamental rights.
The Philippine constitution may be defined as the written instrument by which the fundamental or
basic powers of the government are established, limited and defined for the safe an useful exercise of
these powers for the benefit of the people. Our country’s constitution believes in God, protects the people
and independence is at individual’s hands.
In changing constitution there are several processes that you need to undergo. The first thing that you
are going to do is to have a proposal of amendments or revisions are made ratification or approval of the
people takes place, lastly it is carefully studied by the plebiscite where it is either be approved or rejected.
There are three bodies that may propose a change in the constitution in accordance with Article XVII of
the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
a.
There is a need to change a constitution because it is being established by a more democratic
government by expanding the range of human rights of our people, rebalancing the powers of
government, among others and giving the sovereign people more power to govern directly thru
referendum, recall and initiative.
b. The advantages of constitutional change are to correct the unbalanced representation in the
government, revisions to the safer provisions that the government has the prime duty to protect
the people and the state, to allow foreign investors to own land and operate public ultilities such
as transportation, electricity, and telecommunication because they can help our economic uplift
and the disadvantage is that the people will be confused on the changes that always occur in a
country.
c.
Former President Ramos’ proposal for amendment to the 1987 Constitution through people’s
initiative was criticized for political aspects, a separate initiative for amendment advanced by
former President Estrada was largely about economic agenda. The Ramos Chrter Change
(CHACHA) proposal for one, had a bearing on the tenure of office by officials, including the
president. Wherasa the Estarada counterpart was on economic reforms.Estrada called his
proposal for constitutional change CONCORD, an acronym for Constitutional Corrections and
Development. According to him, there are provisions in the constitution that need correction so as
to attune the country to the changing needs of the globalized world and finally, attain economic
development that will benefit the poor. After which, former President Golria Macapagal Arrroyo
who was catapulted to the presidency in 2001 by People Power II, is also for changing the
constitution. The pronouncement of her political supporters in congress point to changing the
present presedential system to parliamentary system adoption of a federal government to that of
the unitary government and a return to unicameral Congress. The wisdom of changing the presnt
constitution alongside with the merits of the proposed changes will be brought to the fore as soon
as Congress acts to amend or revise the present constitution.
2. a. Our three constitutions, namely, the 1935, 1973 and the 1987 constitutions which states that 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 seabaed, the subsoil, the insular
shelves,a ndthe 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. As asserted in the constitution, the territory of a state does not grant an international right to a
territory. Nevertheless, our constitution has one because before the writing of the 1935 Constitution, the
Americans thought of retaining their colonial government in Mindanao and grant independence to Luzon
and Visayas. This is because the Earthquakes while Mindanao is not. Aside from that Mindanao is very
rich in natural resources. Taking the cognizance of the American plan and the threat to separate the
whole Mindanao, the delegates of the 1934 Constitutional Convention deliberately included a provision on
the national territory. It was believed that defining what constitutes the Philipppine territory in the
Constitution might prevent the dismemberment of Mindanao from the Philippines. The threat was
removed when the US President approved the 1935 Constitution. So it was in the 1935 Constitution that a
provision on Philippine territory appears. But again, a provision on the National Territory was included in
the 1973 Constitution through there was no compelling reason for it. It was argued by some delegates
that a definition of the national territory might well preserve the national wealth and manifestation of our
solidarity as as a people. More importantly, it was pointed out that through the constitution, Philippine
adherence to the archipelagic principle can be properly projected.The same arguments were forwarded in
the deliberation of the 1987 Constitution. In addition to these, it was deemed important for its educational
value and it was recognized that national territory in the 1987 constitution when it is found both in the
1935 and 1973 Constitutions. The following are the compararative provisions on the National Territory
the 1935 states that the Phils. Comprises all the ceded to the United states by the Treaty of Paris
concluded and Spain on the 10th day of December 1898, the limits of which are set forth in the Article III of
the said treaty, together with all the Islands embraced in the treaty conclude at Washington, between the
Unioted States and Spain on the 7th day of November 1900, and the treaty concluded bet. United States
and great Britain on the 2nd day of January 1930 and all territory over which the present Government of
the Philippine Islands exercises jurisdiction.
b. 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, the connecting the islands of the
archipelago, regardless of their breadth and dimensions, from part of the internal waters of the
Philippines. The components are:
The archipelago that is referred to in Article I, Sec.1 includes:
1. Those ceded by Spain to the US according to the Treaty of Paris on Dec.10, 1898;
2. Those that were included according to the treaty of Washington on November 7, 1900 between
US and Spain, which were not included in the Treaty of Paris. These are the Islands of Cagayan,
Sulu, and Sibuto;
3. Those which were identified in the Treaty with Great Britain on Jan.2, 1930 between US and
Great Britain, such as the Turtle Islands and the Mangsee Islands; and
4. The islands of Batanes, which were not included under the treaty of Paris and consequently,
covered under the 1935 constitution.
c.The Archipelago Doctrine which posited the unity of the land, water and people into a single entity, and
Tolentino defended that the waters separating the islands should be considered as a single unit because
of the reasons stated.
d.
The Philippine claim on the Spartlys started when Tomas Claoma sent a note to then VPres and
Foreign Affairs Sec. Carlos P. Garcia on May 15 and again on may 26, 1956, claming that he had
discovered in 1947, and had occupied what he called Freedomland Archipelago. He claimed it by virtue of
“discovery and effective occupation” in his private capacity and not iin behalf of the gov’t of the Phils.
The Phil. claim on Sabah has a long historical basis compared to its claim oon the Spartlys. In
1704, North Bornoe, which was now called Sabah, was given as a gift to the Sultan of Sulu by the Sultan
of Brunei when the former was able to help the latter in quelling a rebellion. The phil. claim did not
prosper until the provision of the constitution on National territory had been rephrased during the Aquino
administration.
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary
War between Great Britain on the one hand and theUnited States of America and its allies on the other.
The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details
of these, and the negotiations which produced all four treaties, see Peace of Paris (1783). It is most
famous for being "exceedingly generous" to the United States in terms of enlarged boundaries.
The agreement
The treaty document was signed at the Hotel d'York – which is now 56 Rue Jacob – by John
Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay (representing the United States) and David Hartley (a member
of the British Parliament representing the British Monarch, King George III).
On September 3, Britain also signed separate agreements with France and Spain, and (provisionally) with
the Netherlands. In the treaty with Spain, the territories of East and West Florida were ceded to Spain
(without any clearly defined northern boundary, resulting in disputed territory resolved with the Treaty of
Madrid), as was the island of Minorca, while the Bahama Islands, Grenada and Montserrat, captured by
the French and Spanish, were returned to Britain. The treaty with France was mostly about exchanges of
captured territory (France's only net gains were the island of Tobago, and Senegal in Africa), but also
reinforced earlier treaties, guaranteeing fishing rights off Newfoundland. Dutch possessions in the East
Indies, captured in 1781, were returned by Britain to the Netherlands in exchange for trading privileges in
the Dutch East Indies, by a treaty which was not finalized until 1794.
The American Congress of the Confederation ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784
(Ratification Day). Copies were sent back to Europe for ratification by the other parties involved, the first
reaching France in March. British ratification occurred on April 9, 1784, and the ratified versions were
exchanged in Paris on May 12, 1784. It was not for some time, though, that the Americans in the
countryside received the news because of the lack of speedy communication.
The Ten Articles: key points
Preface. Declares the treaty to be "in the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity," states the bona
fides of the signatories, and declares the intention of both parties to "forget all past misunderstandings
and differences" and "secure to both perpetual peace and harmony."
1. Acknowledging the United States to be free, sovereign and independent states, and that
the British Crown and all heirs and successors relinquish claims to the Government, propriety,
and territorial rights of the same, and every part thereof;
2. Establishing the boundaries between the United States and British North America;
3. Granting fishing rights to United States fishermen in the Grand Banks, off the coast
of Newfoundland and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence;
4. Recognizing the lawful contracted debts to be paid to creditors on either side;
5. The Congress of the Confederation will "earnestly recommend" to state legislatures to recognize
the rightful owners of all confiscated lands "provide for the restitution of all estates, rights, and
properties, which have been confiscated belonging to real British subjects [Loyalists]";
6. United States will prevent future confiscations of the property of Loyalists;
7. Prisoners of war on both sides are to be released and all property left by the British army in the
United States unmolested (including slaves);
8. Great Britain and the United States were each to be given perpetual access to the Mississippi
River;
9. Territories captured by Americans subsequent to treaty will be returned without compensation;
10. Ratification of the treaty was to occur within six months from the signing by the contracting
parties.

Spain received East and West Florida under the separate Anglo-Spanish peace agreement
Consequences
Historians have often commented that the treaty was very generous to the United States in terms of
greatly enlarged boundaries, which came at the expense of the Indian allies of the British. The point was
America would be a major trading partner. As the French minister Vergennes later put it, "The English buy
peace rather than they make it.
Privileges which the Americans had received from Britain automatically when they had colonial status
(including protection from pirates in the Mediterranean Sea in respect of which see: Barbary Wars) were
withdrawn. Individual States ignored Federal recommendations, under Article 5, to restore confiscated
Loyalist property, and also evaded Article 6 (e.g. by confiscating Loyalist property for "unpaid debts").
Some, notably Virginia, also defied Article 4 and maintained laws against payment of debts to British
creditors. Individual British soldiers ignored the provision of Article 7 about removal of slaves. The real
geography of North America turned out not to match the details given in the Canadian boundary
descriptions. The Treaty specified a southern boundary for the United States, but the separate AngloSpanish agreement did not specify a northern boundary for Florida, and the Spanish government
assumed that the boundary was the same as in the 1763 agreement by which they had first given their
territory in Florida to Britain. While that dispute continued, Spain used its new control of Florida to block
American access to the Mississippi, in defiance of Article 8. In the Great Lakes area, the British adopted a
very generous interpretation of the stipulation that they should relinquish control "with all convenient
speed", because they needed time to negotiate with the Native Americans, who had kept the area out of
United States control, but had been completely ignored in the Treaty. Even after that was accomplished,
Britain retained control as a bargaining counter in hopes of obtaining some recompense for the
confiscated Loyalist property. This matter was finally settled by the Jay Treaty in 1794, and America's
ability to bargain on all these points was greatly strengthened by the creation of the new constitution in
1787.
Only Article 1 remains in force as of 2012.
3.. a. State commonly refers to either the present condition of a system or entity, or to a governed entity
(such as a country) or sub-entity (such as a province or region).Therefore state talks about a government,
so the prime duty of a government is to serve and protect the people. The government may call upon the
people to defend that the state and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under
conditions provided by law, to render personal, military or civil service. What is emphasized in the present
constitution is that the government’s prime duty is not the defense of the state but to serve and protect the
people.
b. Both the 1973 and the1987 Constitutions express the separation of church and state. They also
declare its inviobillity. Article III, Sec.5, of 1987 Constitution reiterates the separation of church and state
which prohibits any law to be made respecting the establishment of religion and curtailing its free
exercise. By this, it meant that the state cannot declare an official religion for its citizens nor prohibit the
formation of religion as long as such religion does not violate laws of the state.
c. Local Government refers to a municipal corporation. A municipal corporation is a public corporation
created by the government for political purposes with subordinate and local powers of legislation. Simply
put, local gov’t refers to the political subdivision of the state commonly reffered to as barangay,
municipalities, cities and provincies. The provision on autonomy has been operationalized by
institutionalized democracy at the local level through the transfer of power and authority from the national
government to the local gov’t units.
d. Recognizing the role of Women and Ensuring Gender Equality is a recognition of women in our society.
It states: “The sates recognizes the role of women in nation building and shall ensure the fundamental
equality before the law of women and men.” We may be aware of it but before the enactment on March
12, 1992 of R.A. No. 7192 or the Women in Nation Building Act, our laws did not allow married women to
enter into a business contract, or acquire or sell properties without their husband’s permission.
4.. a. The bill of rights that was violated in the situation are the following:
Section 1. 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.
-
This right was violated due to the deprivation of the policemen towards the woman in the
sense that she never respected the right of the woman to sell the items that she owned.
Section 2. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against
unreasonable searches and seizures of whatever nature and for any purpose shall be inviolable, and no
search warrant or warrant of arrest shall issue except upon probable cause to be determined personally
by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may
produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
-
This was violated because the policemen has no visible warrant of arrest against the
woman, but still they condemned her. When she was at the jail she was also abused
there for the reason that she was treated like an animal,and she was not given a proper
place to stay with.
Section 4. No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the
right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.
- The law that was violated here because the woman was not given a chance to talk and to explain on her
side, hence she was threatened by the abusers which are the policemen.
2) No torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means which vitiate the free will shall be
used against him. Secret detention places, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention
are prohibited.
-The right of the woman was violated in this situation because as what we observed in the case she was
being tortured, forced, violated and theatened verbally not just verbally but also physically due to the
presence of inhuman treatment towards the accused.
Section 19. (1) Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel, degrading or inhuman punishment
inflicted. Neither shall death penalty be imposed, unless, for compelling reasons involving heinous crimes,
the Congress hereafter provides for it. Any death penalty already imposed shall be reduced to reclusion
perpetua.
-
The policemen should face these consequences due to their inhuman treatment toward
the woman.
b. The accused can invoked his constitutional rights by having adequate legal assistance. The lawyer will
be provided by the government to poor litigants, which include low paid employees, domestic servants,
and laborers. The right against the use of torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means
which vitiates the freewill. The right to due process of law.
END