Malolos Constitution

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Malolos Constitution
Malolos Congress
Full text
Constitution of the Philippines (1899) at Wikisource
Part of a series on the
History of the Philippines
Timeline
Prehistoric period (pre-900)

Events/Artifacts

Precolonial period (900–1565)
Historically documented states/polities

(north to south)

Events/Artifacts

Spanish colonial period (1565–1898)
Events

Artifacts

American colonial period (1898–1946)
Post-independence (1946–1965)
Marcos era (1965–1986)
Contemporary period (1986–present)
By topic
flag Philippines portal
Malolos Congress in 1898
The church where the constitution was ratified

The Political Constitution of 1899 (

Malolos Congress by Apolinario Mabini and Pedro Paterno. After a lengthy debate in the latter part of 1898, it was promulgated on January 21, 1899.[1]

The constitution placed limitations on unsupervised freedom of action by the chief executive which would have hampered rapid decision making.[2] As it was created during the fight for Philippine independence from Spain, however, its Article 99 allowed unhampered executive freedom of action during wartime.[3] Unsupervised executive governance continued throughout the Philippine–American War which erupted soon after proclamation.[4]

History

Main article: History of the Philippines (1898–1946)

Background

Main article: Philippine Revolution

After over 300 years of Spanish rule, the country developed from a small overseas colony governed from the

Viceroyalty of New Spain to a land with modern elements in the cities. The Spanish-speaking middle classes of the 19th century were increasingly exposed to modern European ideas, including Liberalism
, some studying in Spain and elsewhere in Europe.

During the 1890s, the

truce called the Pact of Biak-na-Bato was signed in 1897. Emilio Aguinaldo (who had replaced Bonfiacio as leader) and other revolutionary leaders accepted a payment from Spain and went into exile in Hong Kong
.

Felipe Buencamino, a lawyer and revolutionary leader, was one of the writers of the Malolos Constitution

When the

U.S. Navy. On May 1, 1898, the American force defeated the Spanish in the Battle of Manila Bay
. Later that month, the U.S. Navy transported Aguinaldo back to the Philippines.

Aguinaldo took control of the newly re-formed Philippine revolutionary forces and quickly surrounded

Malolos Congress
.

Drafting a basic law

After the

Arsenio Cruz and Felipe Buencamino.[6] They were all wealthy and well educated.[7]

Ratification

Choice Votes %
For 98 100
Against 0 0
Invalid/blank votes –
Total 98 100
Source:The Law of the First Philippine Republic (The Laws of Malolos) 1898-1899

The document

The Political Constitution of 1899 is written in Spanish which was the official language of the Philippines at the time. It is composed of one hundred one articles divided into fourteen titles, with transitory provisions in eight further articles, and with one un-numbered additional article.

Influences

The style of the document is patterned after the Spanish Constitution of 1812, which many Latin American charters from the same period similarly follow.[8] Calderón himself writes in his journal that the charters of Belgium, Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, in addition to using the French Constitution of 1793, were also studied as these countries shared similar social, political, ethnological, and governance conditions with the Philippine Islands.[9]

Constitutional ideas

Retroversion of sovereignty to the people

The principle of the retroversion of the sovereignty to the people, which challenged the legitimacy of the colonial authorities of the Spanish Empire,[10] was the legal principle underlying the Spanish American wars of independence and Philippine Revolution. This principle was a preprocessor to the concept of popular sovereignty, currently expressed in most constitutional systems throughout the world, whereby the people delegate governmental functions to their civil servants while retaining the actual sovereignty.

This concept of the precedence of popular sovereignty over the national sovereignty is derived from the French political document, the

United States Constitution
.

Civil liberties in the Spanish tradition

The twenty-seven articles of Title IV detail the

secular priest José Burgos, and later including Galicano Apacible y Castillo, Graciano López y Jaena, Marcelo Hilario del Pilar y Gatmaitán and José Rizal. Calderón mentions in his journal that the draft constitution was meant to enshrine: "all those freedoms that Englishmen enjoyed in the Assize of Clarendon (end to arbitrary arrest, a professional and independent judiciary) and in Magna Carta (due process of law)".[citation needed
]

According to Title III, Article 5 of the Malolos constitution: "The State recognizes the freedom and equality of all beliefs, as well as the separation of Church and State."

Form of government

According to Title II, Article 4 the Government of the Republic is to be popular, representative, alternative and responsible, and shall exercise three distinct powers: namely, the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. Any two or more of these three powers shall never be united in one person or cooperation, nor the legislative power vested in one single individual. The Government of the Republic is a

Responsible Government, a very important aspect of parliamentarianism
where the executive branch is directly responsible to the legislative branch. This is further emphasized in Title V, Article 50 and Title VII, Article 56.

Title V, Article 50 stated that the

President of the council of government. The Constitution also stated in Title IX, Article 75 that the secretaries of government shall be held jointly responsible by the National Assembly for the general policies of Government, and individually for their personal actions like in most parliamentary systems
.

The parliamentary terminologies used in this constitution are different to the more usual Anglo-Saxon titles. Terms like Parliament, Cabinet, Prime Minister, Minister, and Member of Parliament (or MP) are replaced with Assembly, Council of Government, President of the Council of Government, Secretary, and Representative, respectively.

Permanent Commission

The Permanent Commission is created to make decisions when the National Assembly is in recess. The National Assembly is empowered to elect seven of its members to constitute the Permanent Commission, with the obligation that the Commission choose a President and a Secretary on its first session. The powers of the commission were:

1. Declare whether or not there is sufficient cause to take legal action against the President of the Republic, the Representatives of Congress, the Secretaries of Government, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice, and the Solicitor General in the cases provided for in this Constitution;
2. Convene the Assembly in extraordinary session in cases when the Court of Justice must be constituted;
3. Act on matters that have remained unresolved in order for them to be taken into consideration;
4. Convene the Assembly in extraordinary sessions when the exigency of the case so requires; and
5. Substitute the National Assembly in the exercise of its powers in accordance to the Constitution, except in the power of creating and passing any legislative acts. It shall meet whenever it is convened by whoever presides over it in accordance to this Constitution.

Final changes and promulgation

The Malolos Congress had discussed the draft constitution article by article as a project of Calderon from October 25 to November 29, 1898. By the end of these discussions, the Congress was in general agreement except with regard to religion. An amendment adding an article guaranteeing religious freedom was approved by one vote on November 28.[11]

Mabini remained opposed to the draft constitution. He argued that this plan of government would not work well in time of war. As Aguinaldo's chief advisor, his opposition was significant. On January 21, Aguinaldo sent a message to the congress recommending changes to the draft.[12] Following this, provisions were added essentially giving Aguinaldo the power to rule by decree, "during the time the country may struggle for its independence." As amended, the draft constitution was approved by the congress on January 20, 1899 and was promulgated on January 21.[13][14]

Translations

The original was written in Spanish, which became the first official language of the Philippines and a number of translations have been published.[15]

Legacy

The First Philippine Republic never gained

international recognition
and the Malolos Constitution was never fully implemented across the Philippines.

Following Spain's defeat in the Spanish–American War, the United States in the Treaty of Paris of 1898 acquired the Philippines from Spain, along with several other territories. On February 4, 1899, the Philippine–American War started with the Battle of Manila of 1899. On March 23, 1901, Aguinaldo was captured.[16] On April 19, he issued a Proclamation of Formal Surrender to the United States, telling his followers to lay down their weapons and give up the fight.[17] General Miguel Malvar took over the leadership of the Filipino government, or what remained of it.[18] Malvar surrendered, along with his sick wife and children and some of his officers, on April 13, 1902.[19]

Beginning with the

1987 Constitution. These were written in the American constitutional tradition and based upon American constitutional principles, often lifting wording directly from the Constitution of the United States and other American sources.[7] The Malolos Constitution, rooted in Spanish constitutionalism, has had limited influence on subsequent Philippine constitutions, rooted in American constitutionalism.[citation needed
]

Isagani Giron, a past president of the Samahang Pangkasaysayan ng Bulacan (Historical Society of Bulacan; SAMPAKA), described the Malolos Constitution as "the best Constitution the country ever had".[20]

The original copy of the Malolos Constitution is kept in the historical archives of the Batasang Pambansa Complex, the current seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The document is not available for public viewing.

See also

References

  1. ^ Kalaw 1927, p. 132
  2. ^ Tucker 2009, pp. 364-365
  3. ^ Constitution of the Philippines (1899)  – via Wikisource.
  4. ^ Tucker 2009, p. 365
  5. ^ Kalaw 1927, p. 126
  6. ^ Calderón, Felipe (1907). Mis memorias sobre la revolución filipina: Segunda etapa, (1898 á 1901). Manila: Imp. de El Renacimiento. pp. 234, 235, appendix, pp. 5–10.
  7. ^
    ISBN 0844407488
    .
  8. JSTOR 2142663
    .
  9. ^ Calderón, Felipe (1907). Mis memorias sobre la revolución filipina: Segunda etapa, (1898 á 1901). Manila: Imp. de El Renacimiento. p. Appendix I, p. 17.
  10. ^ Nuevas perspectivas en la Historia de la Revolución de Mayo Archived May 26, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish)
  11. ^ NHI 2010, p. 18.
  12. ^ NHI 2010, p. 19.
  13. ^ NHI 2010, p. 20.
  14. ^ Kalaw 1927, pp. 131-132.
  15. ^ Published translations include:
    ^ Kalaw, Maximo Manguiat (2007) [1921], The Present Government of the Philippines, Oriental commercial,
    ISBN 978-1-4067-4636-5
     (Note: 1. The book cover incorrectly names the author as "Maximo M Lalaw", 2. Originally published in 1921 by The McCullough Printing Co., Manila)
    ^ Rodriguez, Rufus Bautista (1997),     "The 1899 'Malolos' Constitution", Constitutionalism in the Philippines: With Complete Texts of the 1987 Constitution and Other Previous Organic Acts and Constitutions, Rex Bookstore, Inc.,
    ISBN 978-971-23-2193-1
    .
    ^     The Malolos Constitution, Chanrobles Law Library, January 20, 1899, retrieved December 21, 2007.
  16. ^ Foreman, J, 1906, The Philippine Islands, A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical, Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons pp. 507–509
  17. ^ Aguinaldo's Proclamation of Formal Surrender to the United States, y Filipino.biz.ph – Philippine Culture, April 19, 1901, retrieved December 5, 2009
  18. Manila Times
    , January 2, 2008 (archived on December 11, 2008)
  19. ^ Tucker 2009, pp. 477–478
  20. Philippine Star
    . Retrieved August 12, 2013.

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Malolos_Constitution&oldid=1216871123"