1973 Constitutional Authoritarianism

Post-war Philippine Governments

After the liberation of the Philippines from Japanese control in
1944, the Americans restored the Commonwealth Government in the
Philippines with Sergio Osmena as President (Quezon died while exile in
the US). As provided earlier by the Tydings-Mcduffie Law, the
Americans granted Philippine independence on July 4, 1946. Thus, the
Third Republic, which adopted the 1935 Constitution, and still in effect.
Afterwhich, six presidents had administered the government of this
Republic (Roxas, Quirino, Magsaysay, Macapagal, and Marcos).
 In 1965, Ferdinand E. Marcos was elected president. Marcos won
the re-election in 1969, in a bid boosted by campaign overspending and
use of government funds. in 1967, Philippine Congress passed a
resolution calling for a constitutional convention to change the 1935
Constitution.

On August 24, 1970, RA No. 6132 was approved setting November

10, 1970 as an election day for 320 delegates to the Constitutional
Convention. Former President Carlos P. Garcia being elected as
convention president. Unfortunately, he died, and was succeeded by
another former president, Diosdado Macapagal.
Before the convention finished its work, martial law was declared.
Marcos cited a growing communist insurgency.
 The convention started its work rewriting the Constitution on
June 1, 1971. The 1935 Constitution, with reference to the
Malolos Constitution, was made the basis for the drafting of
amendments to the new Constitution. After 15 months, on its
291st plenary session on November 29, 1972, the convention
approved the new proposed charter of the land. The vote was
273 in favor, 15 against, 27 absent. 1 refused to vote. There
were no abstentions. The proposed Constitution was signed the
following day, November 30, 1972.
 Earlier on September 21, 1972, Marcos issued Proclamation
No. 1081 placing the entire country under martial law. To
broaden the base of citizen participation in the democratic
process, and to afford ample opportunities for the citizenry to
express their views on important matters of local or national
concern, Presidential Decree No. 86 was issued on December 3,
1972 creating a Citizens Assembly in each barrio in
municipalities and in each district in chartered cities throughout
the country.
 Subsequently, Presidential Decree No. 86A was issued on
January 5, 1973 defining the role of barangays (formerly Citizens
Assemblies). It provides that the barangay created under PD 86
shall constitute the base for citizens’ participation in
governmental affairs and their collective views shall be
considered in the formulation of national policies or programs
and, whenever practicable, shall be translated into concrete and
specific decisions.
 Under the same decree, the barangays were to conduct a
referendum on national issues between January 10 and 15, 1973.
Pursuant to PD 86A, the following question were submitted
before the Citizens Assemblies or Barangays:

1) Do you approved of the new Constitution?; and

2) Do you still want a plebiscite to be called to ratify the new

Constitution?
 The results revealed that 14,976,561 members of all the
Barangays (Citizens Assemblies) voted for the adoption of the
proposed Constitution, as against 743,869 who voted for its
rejection. On question as to whether or not the people would
still like a plebiscite to be called to ratify the new Constitution,
14,298,814 answered that there was no need for a plebiscite.
 On the basis of the above results showing that more than 95%
of the members of the Barangays (Citizen Assemblies) were in
favor of the new Constitution and upon the strong
recommendation of the Katipunan ng mga Barangay, Marcos
issued Proclamation No. 1102 on January 17, 1973 certifying
and proclaiming that the Constitution proposed by the 1971
Constitutional Convention had been ratified by the Filipino
people in a viva voce vote and had thereby come in effect.
The 1973 Constitution was amended by the following:

• The first, in 1976, gave the President, Legislative powers even

if the Interim Batasang Pambansa was already operating.
• The second, in 1980 was not significant. It merely raised the
retirement of justices of the SC from 65 to 70 as to keep
Fernando for 5 more years.
• The third, in 1980 changed the form of government from
Parliamentary to Presidential.
• The fourth, in 1984, responded to the succession problem by
providing for a Vice-President.
 The 1973 Constitution, promulgated after Marcos’ declaration
of martial law, was supposed to introduced a parliamentary-style
government. Legislative power was vested in a unicameral
National Assembly whose members were elected for six-year
terms. The President was ideally elected as the symbolic and
purely ceremonial head of state chosen from amongst the
members of the National Assembly for a six-year term and could
be re-elected to an unlimited number of terms.
 Executive power was meant to be exercised by the Prime
Minister who was also elected from amongst the sitting
Assemblymen. The Prime Minister was to be the head of
government and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
But the set up was subsequently amended. The 1976
amendment are:

• An Interim Batasang Pambansa (IBP) substituting for the

Interim National Assembly;
• The President would also become the Prime Minister and he
would continue to exercise legislative powers until such time
martial law was lifted.
 Other amendment authorized the President to legislate on his
own on an “emergency” basis:

Whenever in the judgement of the President there exists a

grave emergency or a treat imminence thereof, or whenever the
IBP fails or unable to act adequately on any matter for any
reason that in his judgement requires immediate action, he may,
in order to meet the exigency, issue the necessary decrees,
orders or letters of instructions, which shall be form part of the
law of the land.
 In the 1981 amendment, the false parliamentary system was
formally modified into a French-style semi-presidential system:

• Executive power was restored to the President;

• Direct election of the President was restored;
• An Executive Committee composed of the Prime Minister
and not more than 14 members was created to “assist the
President in the exercise of his powers and functions and in
the cabinet
 While the 1973 Constitution ideally provided for a true parliamentary
system, in practice, Marcos had made use of subterfuge and
manipulation in order to keep executive powers for himself, rather than
devolving these to the Assembly and the cabinet headed by the Prime
Minister.

The end result was the final form of the 1973 – after all amendments
and subtle manipulations- were merely the abolition of the Senate and a
series of cosmetic rewordings.
 The old American-derived terminology was replaced by names more
associated with parliamentary government:

• The House of Representatives became known as the “Batasang

Pambansa” (National Assembly);

• Departments became “Ministries”, and their cabinet secretaries

became known as “cabinet ministers”, with the President assistant –
the Executive Secretary – being styled the “Prime Minister”.
 Marcos’ purported parliamentary system in practice functioned as an
authoritarian presidential system, with all real power concentrated in the
hands of the President but with the promise that such was constitutional.