Did You Know That

Did you know that today in 1935, the first fully implemented constitution of the country was drafted by the Commonwealth of the Philippines?

Although the 1935 constitution was not the first body of law to be created (the first one is the Malolos constitution made by the then-revolutionary government), it was the first to be fully effected throughout the Philippines.

It was created with the intent of gaining the approval of the United States government who at the time was occupying the country. The thought was that without a constitution of its own, the occupying US forces would be able to claim that the Philippines is not politically developed enough and is unready for independence.

Thankfully, this constitution was certified by US President Roosevelt on March 23, 1935 in conformity to the Tydings-MyDuffe act. In May 14, 1935, it was ratified by the Filipino people through a plebiscite.

Since then, it has been replaced by the 1943 constitution (sponsored by the Imperial Japanese government), followed by controversial 1973 constitution (which allowed then-President Marcos to run for a third term), which was supplanted by the Freedom Constitution of 1987 – which is the constitution that is still used to this day.

While talks of charter change has been around for over a decade, there is strong pressure from President Duterte to shift our form of government to federalism. Such a change would decentralize development away from Metro Manila and allow for a more evenly spread of resources across the country.

What do you think?