What is the meaning of Malolos Constitution?
Malolos Constitution. The Political Constitution of 1899 ( Spanish: Constitución Política de 1899 ), informally known as the Malolos Constitution, was the basic law of the First Philippine Republic. It was written by Felipe Calderón y Roca and Felipe Buencamino as an alternative to a pair of proposals to the Malolos Congress by Apolinario...
When was the Malolos Congress held?
Elections were held from June 23 to September 10, 1898 for a new national legislature, the Malolos Congress . After the Malolos Congress was convened on 15 September 1898, a committee was selected to draft a constitution for the republic.
What is the Malolos Constituent Assembly?
LA CONSTITUCIÓN DE MALOLOS THE MALOLOS CONSTITUTION Nosotros, los Representantes del Pueblo Filipino, convocados legítimamente para establecer la justicia, proveer a la defense común, promover el bien general y asegurar los beneficios de la libertad, implorando el auxilio del Soberano Legislador del Universo para alcanzar estos fines, hemos
What are the provisions on political dynasty in the Malolos Constitution?
PROVISIONS ON POLITICAL DYNASTY: There are no articles in the Malolos constitution about the provisions on political dynasty. PROVISIONS ON CHANGING/ REMOVING THE HEAD OF STATE OR THE PRESIDENT: There are no provision on changing or removing the head of state or the president in the 1899 Constitution or Malolos Constitution. End of preview.
When was the Malolos Constitution written?
The 1899 Malolos Constitution | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines
Which article recognizes the freedom of the state?
Article 5 The State recognizes the freedom
What is the meaning of Article 4?
Article 4 The Government of the Republic is. popular, representative, alternative. and responsible, and shall be divided. among three distinct powers, which. shall be named legislative, executive. and judicial.Never can two or more of these. powers be given to a person or. corporation, nor shall the power of.
Is the Philippine Republic free?
Article 2 The Philippine Republic is free and
Where did the Malolos Constitution come from?
According to the constitution’s primary author Felipe Calderon, he drew inspiration in crafting the Malolos Constitution from the Spanish constitution of 1812, the French constitution of 1793, as well as the constitutions in force at that time in Belgium, Mexico, Brazil, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. This is in contrast with the succeeding constitutions of the country, which primarily drew inspiration from the United States constitution and not much else.
What did the Malolos Congress do?
Another sensible thing the delegates of the Malolos Congress did was to make sure there were no restrictive economic policies that were included in the constitution they drafted. Come to think of it, that constitution had no economic policies stated…at all. And that is because the delegates knew all to well that a constitution should focus on establishing the basic foundations of a state, particularly the identity of the state, the rights of the people, and the form of government that shall administer the state.
Why did the Malolos Constitution take inspiration from such diverse sources?
The fact that the Malolos Constitution took inspiration from such diverse sources indicated that the Malolos delegates were at the very least enthusiastic to learn from the examples of as many countries as possible. And they did not just look at random countries. They specifically looked at countries that share a history and heritage with ours, as was the case for Spain and various countries in the Americas that used to be Spanish colonies.
What did the Malolos delegate want?
Suffice to say, the Malolos delegates were passionate about crafting a good constitution for the Philippines, one that espoused the ideals of democracy and liberty while meets the unique historical and cultural landscape of the country. And they weren’t shy of learning and taking inspiration from a variety of sources that they had available.
Is the Malolos Constitution forgotten?
Unfortunately, the legacy of the Malolos Constitution was forgotten as succeeding constitutions sought inspiration elsewhere rather than from the one the Malolos Constitution established. Thus as the discussions on constitutional reform flare up anew, it is time to reexamine this constitution and see if we can derive from it.
Was the Malolos Constitution a restrictive or restricted document?
While the Malolos Constitution itself was a short document and lacked some important provisions, it was neither a restricted nor restrictive constitution. In fact, there is room for further growth and evolution for this constitution had the First Philippine Republic managed to survive beyond the Philippine-American War. Considering that the First Philippine Republic envisioned the Mindanao, including the Moro-held areas as part of the country, it can be assumed that some arrangements would have to be made in order to fully integrate the area into the country. And a federal arrangement would have been one of the considerations to be made.
Is the Constitution written comprehensibly?
Also worth noting is that this constitution was written quite comprehensibly. Easy enough to read for even non-lawyers to appreciate. There were no legalese gobbledygook to baffle the common folk and it was as straightforward as it can get. That is an achievement in itself considering a sizeable portion of the Malolos Congress delegates were lawyers.
What were the achievements of the Malolos Congress?
The following were among the most important achievements of the Malolos Congress: 1. In September 29, 1898, ratified the declaration of Philippine independence held at Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. 2. Passage of a law that allowed the Philippines to borrow P 20 million from banks for government expenses. 3.
When was the Philippine Constitution drafted?
Drafting of the Philippine Constitution. 5. Declaring war against the United States on June 12, 1899 . A committee headed by Felipe Calderon and aided by Cayetano Arellano, the constitution was drafted, for the first time by representatives of the Filipino people and it is the first republican constitution in Asia.
What was the first Philippine Republic?
First Philippine Republic. The first Philippine Republic was inaugurated in Malolos, Bulacan on January 21, 1899.
Who was the leader of the Philippine Revolutionary Government?
The Philippine Revolutionary Government. The Malolos Congress. Emilio Aguinaldo issued a decree on July 18, 1898 asking for the election of delegates to the revolutionary congress, another decree was promulgated five days later, which declared that Aguinaldo would appoint representatives of congress because holding elections is not practical ...
How many delegates did Aguinaldo have?
He appointed 50 delegates in all (but this number fluctuated from time to time). In accordance with these two decrees, Aguinaldo assembled the Revolutionary Congress at the Brasoain Church in Malolos, Bulacan on September 15, 1898. The atmosphere was festive and the Pasig Band played the national anthem.
When was the Malolos Constitution ratified?
The Malolos Congress is the very first Constitutional Assembly in the history of the country, and the only one after the Philippine Declaration of Independence from Spain. The Constitution was drafted and ratified in 1899 under the presidency of Emilio Aguinaldo, the first Philippine president. The Constitution consists of 76 articles and is based on th
What legislation did the Philippines lobby against?
It lobbied against certain legislation like the Rizal Bill of 1956, the Reproductive Health Act and the attempts to reinstate the death penalty. When the Philippine Constitutional Commission was formed to draft the 1987 Constitution, one of its members was a priest.
How did the Church interfere in Philippine politics?
The Church interfered in Philippine elections by telling voters who to vote and not to vote. It was instrumental in the removal of two presidents, Marcos and Estrada but it was also instrumental in retaining Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when it said that the people should allow her to reform. It lobbied against certain legislation like the Rizal Bill of 1956, the Reproductive Health Act and the attempts to reinstate the death penalty. When the Philippine Constitutional Commission was formed to draft the 1987 Constitution, one of its members was a priest. During the Marcos years, the stand of the Church moved to support, to neutrality to critical cooperation and finally to total opposition. One bishop called for the approval of the 1987 constitution while one cardinal called people to gather at EDSA to overthrow Marcos. When asked about the intervention of the Church in politics, that cardinal said that when the affairs of the state involves morals, it should not remain silent.
What was the stand of the Church during the Marcos years?
During the Marcos years, the stand of the Church moved to support, to neutrality to critical cooperation and finally to total opposition. One bishop called for the approval of the 1987 constitution while one cardinal called people to gather at EDSA to overthrow Marcos.
Why does corruption never end in the Philippines?
The laws it contains has a lot of holes. This is why corruption never ends in the Philippines, because the constitution itself has a lot of flaws.
Which branch of government was the most powerful?
The most powerful branch of government was the legislature. This was a forward-looking constitution, greatly focussed on civil rights and the total separation of the 3 branches of government.
Is the Philippines a secular country?
If the Philippines should be a truly secular state, it must rid itself of items that would show favoring a religion or religious denomination . The Administrative Code of the Philippines also mandates the separation of Church and State but no one probably knows about this. Calderon must be laughing in his grave.
Best and Compatible Inspirations to Draw from
Concise and Comprehensible Document
- Whether reading the original in Spanish or its translations in English or Tagalog, the Malolos Constitution is itself not a lengthy document. Granted the needs of a state were not as much then as they would be now and the constitution itself was vague or silent on important provisions, it was able to sufficiently cover what needed to be covered as concise as possible. Also worth noti…
Foundations For Parliamentarism
- A striking feature of the Malolos Constitution is that while it envisioned a republican state with the President as head, it did not actually establish a presidential system that we have today. Instead, what it established was sort of a parliamentary government, in which the President of the Republic is actually to be elected by the legislature, wh...
No (Restrictive) Economic Policies
- Another sensible thing the delegates of the Malolos Congress did was to make sure there were no restrictive economic policies that were included in the constitution they drafted. Come to think of it, that constitution had no economic policies stated…at all. And that is because the delegates knew all to well that a constitution should focus on establishing the basic foundations of a state…
Room For Growth
- While the Malolos Constitution itself was a short document and lacked some important provisions, it was neither a restricted nor restrictive constitution. In fact, there is room for further growth and evolution for this constitution had the First Philippine Republic managed to survive beyond the Philippine-American War. Considering that the First Philippine Republic envisioned th…
Reevaluation
- With all its shortcomings and its limited scope compared to subsequent Philippine constitutions, the Malolos Constitution remains the standard not only because it is the constitution of what is considered as the first republic in Asia. It was an example of a constitution that emulated not only the best of what the world had to offer but also the ones that were well-suited to the political, cul…