THE 1935 CONSTITUTION

(1) Framing and Ratification

Briefly stated, the steps which led to the drafting and adoption of the 1935
Constitution of the Philippines are as follows:

a. Approval on March 24, 1934 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt of the Tydings-

McDuffie Law, otherwise known as t h e Philippine Independence Act, enacted by the
United States Congress, authorizing the Philippine Legislature to call a
constitutional convention to draft a constitution for the Philippines;
b. Approval on May 5, 1934 by the Philippine Legislature of a bill calling a
constitutional convention as provided for in the Independence Law;
c. Approval on February 8, 1935 by the convention by a vote of 177 to 1 of the
Constitution (the signing began on t he following day and was completed on February
19, 1935);
d. Approval on March 23, 1935 by Pres. Roosevelt of the Constitution as submitted
to him, together with a certification that the said Constitution conformed with the
provisions of t he Independence Law; and
e. Ratification on May 14, 1935 of the Constitution by the Filipino electorate by a
vote of 1,213,046, with 44,963 against.

(2) Limitations and Conditions

While the Tydings-McDuffie Law empowered the Filipinos to frame their own
constitution, it contained, however, provisions limiting such authority. Aside from
other specific limitations and conditions laid down therein, it enjoined that the
constitution to be drafted should be republican in form, should include a bill of
rights and should contain certain provisions intended to define the relations
between the Philippines and the United States during the commonwealth period and
after the establishment of the Philippine Republic.
The 1935 Constitution ceased to operate during the Japanese occupation from 1942 to
1944. It automatically became effective upon the reestablishment of the
Commonwealth Government on February 27, 1945 (supra.) and the inauguration of the
Republic of the Philippines on July 4, 1946.

(3) Sources
The 1985 Constitution of the Philippines did not contain original ideas of
government. While the dominating influence was the Constitution of the United
States, other sources were also consulted by the framers, particularly the Malolos
Constitution and the three organic laws that were enforced in the Philippines
before the passage of the Tydings-McDuffie Law, namely:
the Instruction of Pres. William McKinley to the Second Philippine Commission on
April 7, 1900; the Philippine Bill of July 1, 1902; and the Jones Law of August 26,
1916 which, of the three mentioned, was the nearest approach to a written
constitution.

(4) Scope
The Constitution as approved by the 1935 Constitutional Convention was intended
both for the Commonwealth and the Republic. Thus, Article XVII (which later became
Article XVIII after the Constitution was amended) declares: "The government
established by this Constitution shall be known as the Commonwealth of the
Philippines.
Upon the final and complete withdrawal of the sovereignty of the United States a1:d
the proclamation of Philippine Independence, the Commonwealth of the Philippines
shall henceforth be known as the Republic of the Philippines."

(5) Amendments
The 1935 Constitution had been amended three times. Among the amendments are:
a. that establishing a bicameral legislature;
b. that allowing the re-eligibility of the President and the Vice� President for a
second four-year term of office;
c. that creating a separate Commission on Elections; and
d. the so-called Parity Amendment which gave to American citizens equal right with
the Filipinos in the exploitation of our natural resource s and the operation of
public utilities.
Concerning women suffrage, this issue was settled in a plebiscite held on April 30,
1937, when 447,725 women reportedly voted yes and 44,307 women voted no. In
compliance with the 1935 Constitution (Art. V, Sec. 1 thereof.), the National
Assembly passed ... a law which extended right of suffrage to women.