Name: Michael Lorenz P. Balais
Class Schedule: Mon/Tue
Course & Year: BS MedTech 1-A
Name of Instructor: Sir Rodel Baldado
Subject: History
Date of Submission: 11/18/22
The Importance of the Provisions added in the 1987 Philippine Constitution from
the 1935 Constitution
The Constitution plays a vital role in governing a country. It guides and protects
the people from the powers of the government. The role of the government
depends on what is written in the constitution. It is considered as the mother of
all laws. Every law that has been enacted is basically based on what is written in
the constitution. In the context of the history of Philippine Constitution, it
underwent several revisions from time to time, from Malolos Constitution down to
the present constitution which is the 1987 Philippine Constitution. It is the
constitution that is actively protecting the roles and rights of the people.
Although there were already existing provisions about protecting the rights of
people from the previous constitution, it was not properly emphasized nor
implemented. Thus, the question that we need to ponder on is, what is the
importance of the provisions added to the 1987 Philippine Constitution from the
1935 Constitution?
The 1987 Philippine Constitution centered on the will of sovereignty of Filipinos. It
is clearly emphasized in the Preamble by the use of first person “We” which
indicates the active and sovereign role of Filipino people as the author of the
Constitution. Thus, the language differs from that of the 1935 Constitution, which
used the third person "The Filipino people. "The Constitution now says “Almighty
God” instead of “Divine Providence” as it is more personal and more consonant
with personalist Filipino religiosity (Bernas,2006). It is very evident during the
People Power Revolution in EDSA, where no violence was being committed, but
instead they prayed during the rally. According to the published article by
Gorospe (1988) stated “that behind the successful revolution was a human and
Christian model of solidarity in justice and love. The power of this active
nonviolence was due to the remarkable synthesis of the Christian Faith and
Filipino Culture.” Love, Truth, Freedom and Peace was achieved by Filipinos
during the EDSA, in a way that love prevented bloodshed, and by truth it was a
protest against the deception which characterized the Marcos Administration.
The “Love, Truth, Freedom and Peace'' was added to the final phrase of the
Preamble of the 1987 Constitution “under the rule of law and a regime of truth,
justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace.”
Democracy is one of the important highlights of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
It is clearly emphasized and implemented in this constitution. In which,
democracy is clearly defined in the Article II Section 1 Declaration of Principles
and State Policies of the 1987 Constitution which states that “ The Philippines is a
Democratic and Republican State. Sovereignty resides in the People and all
Government authority emanates from them.” But why democracy became the
highlight of the 1987 Philippine Constitution? Because It is what the Filipinos
need, they want to attain freedom, peace and justice that they haven’t
experienced during the regime of Marcos. Going back to what happened
before, Democracy was restricted during the Marcos regime. In fact, freedom of
speech was threatened and was limited by the Late Dictator President
Ferdinand Marcos Sr. According to Martial Law Museum, stated “that he issued
a letter of Instruction No. 1, on September 28, 1972 , authorizing the military to
take over the assets of major media outlets including the ABS-CBN network,
Channel 5, and various radio stations across the country and only permitted
those media outlets who were under his control.” It is very clear and evident
that the freedom of expression or speech was restricted during that time, and as
we all know that one of the important features of a democratic society is the
freedom of expression.
To sum up what we have discussed, a constitution serves as a guide and serves
as the basic foundation of rights and obligation of every individual. The main
authors of the constitution are the people itself. The 1987 Philippine Constitution
is the only constitution that effectively protects human dignity and it is the only
constitution that filled up the holes from the preceding constitutions such as the
1935 to 1973 Constitution. It upholds democracy in the country where every
citizen has the freedom to express without being threatened, enjoy their rights,
attain his or her fullest development economically, politically, culturally, socially
and spiritually. Therefore, the 1987 Philippine Constitution plays an important role
in today’s era in shaping one’s country to become better in terms of protecting,
and in governing the country that is in accordance with the Supreme Law.
References
Bernas, J. G. (2006). The 1987 Philippine Constitution (A Comprehensive Reviewer).
The 1935 Constitution. Official Gazette of the Philippines. Retrieve from
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/the-1935-constitution
The 1973 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. Official Gazette of the Philippines.
Retrieve from
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1973-constitution-of-the-republic-of-the-philippin
es-2/
The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines.Official Gazette of the Philippines. Retrieve
from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/
(n.d.). Breaking the News: Silencing the Media Under Martial Law. Martial Law Museum.
https://martiallawmuseum.ph/magaral/breaking-the-news-silencing-the-media-under-martial-law/
GOROSPE, V. R. (1988). Power and Responsibility: A Filipino Christian Perspective. Philippine
Studies, 36(1), 75–87. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42633064