Josef Alec D. Geradila, Historic Sites Development Officer II
Historic Sites and Education Division
Title Page of the 1899 Constitution
NHCP Collection
On the 21st of January 1899, the Filipino people achieved one of the cornerstones of independence and self-government, the ratification and promulgation of a solemn basic law. Since 15 September 1898, one hundred and thirty-six (136) delegates, representing forty-two (42) provinces and territories that formed the former Spanish Philippines, have debated, discussed, and deliberated on the formation of a constitution for a new, free and independent government. But the road to this national milestone was fraught with many trials and tribulations where blood, sweat, and tears were shed by freedom-loving Filipinos.
A Basic Law: The Basic Requirement for Governance
Prior to the adoption of the 1899 Constitution, the Philippines operated under a Revolutionary Government. Upon his return from exile, General Emilio Aguinaldo set about the massive task of organizing the disparate provincial and regional revolutionary movements into a cohesive and united government. In a series of decrees, under the advice of lawyers Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista and later Apolinario Mabini, Aguinaldo began to flesh out the structure for bureaucracy and political divisions. On 18 June 1898, he issued a decree proclaiming the establishment of a Dictatorial Government, and himself as the Dictator. The decree prescribed the procedure for the creation of local assemblies in the town and provincial levels, the election of representatives to a “Revolutionary Congress” and the appointment of officials for the administration of the basic functions of governance (i.e. law and order, taxation, defense). This law as supplemented by a 20 June 1898 decree that provided for the rules in the holding of local assemblies and sessions, organization of police forces, and delved deeper into the administration of judicial and legal functions (creation of local magistrates, civil registry) and taxation and property rights.
This was further developed through a decree issued on 23 June 1898 wherein the Dictatorial Government was transformed into a Revolutionary Government with himself as President. The Revolutionary Government introduced the Gauaran or the Secretaria, equivalent to modern day executive departments with the first secretaries for Foreign Affairs, War & Public Works, Interior, Justice, Education, & Hygiene; and Finance, Agriculture, & Industry appointed. It defined the mode of election for the members of the Revolutionary Congress and its functions, fleshed out the Military Code of Justice, and established the Foreign Service.
But these decrees were enforced not through the consent of the governed but through the force by which the Revolutionary Government found itself liberative various parts of the country with. They defined no bill of rights or other modes of recourse and assumed that the Spanish legal codes applied inasmuch as they were not directly repealed by new decree or order. This was, however, seen as prudent during the time as the government was still embroiled in the mission of liberating the country from colonial rule. But as the Philippine flag began to fly over more and more of the archipelago, a growing number of leading figures in society also began to raise the need for a formal legal framework for governance.
Thus, as the representatives of the provinces began to gather at the new capital of Malolos, the move to call for the drafting of a constitution grew closer to reality. On their first formal session, the Congress immediately formed a committee to lead the constitution’s drafting. Thus, the representatives began to write into existence the essence of the nation.
Tensions and Triumphs
As the Congress pursued its business of drafting a constitution, various issues and points of tension arose from across a spectrum of leaders in government. Mabini, as Aguinaldo’s principal adviser, opposed the drafting of a constitution at present. The exigencies of war necessitated quick and decisive action. He feared that the usual protections from tyranny and executive overreach would hamper the successful conduct of the war of liberation. In his own writing, Mabini had a constitutional program of his own. On the other side of the argument, notable representatives Felipe Buencamino, Felipe Calderon, and newly elected President of Congress Pedro Paterno stressed the need for a constitution. Of the proposals and drafts prepared, it was Calderon’s that became the basis for development. Throughout the next two months from the opening of Congress, they dived into the discussion of each article and title.
During the drafting process, various technical, political, and moral points became issues for discussion. Many of them touched upon the very basis for the struggle for Filipino independence while others were more a tug-of-war between factions in government. Notably, the completed draft introduced the following measures and legal innovations that were non-existent or unequally implemented in the Spanish colonial system.
1. Popular Sovereignty
Ever since the conquest of the archipelago in the 1570s, the Spanish had introduced and reinforced the concept of Divine Right where the Spanish Sovereign derives their right to rule from God. The Patronato Real further emphasized the role of Christianity and religion in governance. However, liberalism and the protestant reformation among other developments in social and political thought brought to the forefront the idea of popular sovereignty.
In the 1899 Constitution, both in its preamble and its articles, the Congress unanimously adopted popular sovereignty, the idea that the right to govern is derived from the consent of the governed, is the fundamental source of political power in the Philippine Republic.
2. Fundamental Rights and Civil Liberties
In the interregnum during the height of the Napoleonic period, the Philippines experienced a period of liberalism from the historic Cadiz Constitution. This experience and later waves of liberal decrees and governors grew the Filipino idea of individual rights as fundamental rights. By the late 19th century most Spaniards in Europe already enjoyed civil liberties, but colonial policies precluded the extension of these rights to the native-born subjects of the archipelago.
In keeping with the tide of liberalism, the constitution not only contained the fundamental rights as they are enjoyed in Spain but also further protections in civil cases.
3. Separation of Church and State
One of the primary grievances laid by the Filipinos against the Spanish rule was the overreach of the Church, especially the Friar Orders, that effectively governed large swathes of land as fiefdoms. The idea of Filipino nationalism itself is commonly attributed to the martyrdom of Filipino secular priests Fr. Mariano Gomes, Fr. Jose Burgos, and Fr. Jacinto Zamora at the hands of a conservative colonial government. The clash between Filipino seculars and Spanish born Friar Orders aggravated and deeply affected the developmental years of leading Illustrados, including Jose Rizal.
But the strength of the Church remained in force throughout the drafting of the constitution that the separation of Church and State became one of the most contentious points in the draft, with separation winning only by the narrowest of margins. But even this would be suspended as a Filipino clergy was developed and the State agreed to support local priests throughout the duration of the War in order to address the spiritual needs of the faithful, especially in far-flung towns.
4. Separation of Powers
During the Spanish colonial government, the whole power of government lay in the hands of the Governor-General. The fear of the return of tyranny prompted the Congress to decide on the separation of government powers into three co-equal branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. It also proclaimed that under no peaceful circumstances would either of these powers reside in one entity or person.
The Congress further decided that as representatives of the people, the executive must be made responsible to Congress directly with the power to be exercised by a Council of Government led by a President of the Council. This effectively made the President of the Republic into a figurehead. It also provided for the Congress to elect a permanent commission to continue the exercise of its most important functions during recess.
5. Emergency Powers
The abovementioned legislative superiority caused the extended delay from the submission of the initial draft. Mabini reiterated that during emergencies such as the War for Independence, the need for quick and decisive action is necessary to ensure the proper conduct of war. It was only the acceptance of this necessity “for the duration of the war” that Aguinaldo accepted the draft for approval and later promulgation.
Zenith and Legacy
The Philippine struggle for independence arguably reached its peak with the inauguration of the Republic on 23 January 1899. With all the joy, pomp, and cheerfulness it can muster, the Filipino people rejoiced in the streets of Malolos as Aguinaldo and the Congress gathered in its home, the Church of Barasoain, where a nation was birthed into existence. And as the bells tolled and the guns saluted, in less than a year the republic would be in the middle of its existential crisis with Congress dispersed and Aguinaldo on the move north.
After Aguinaldo’s capture, the Republic effectively ceased to exist as a formal political entity. Surviving field commanders, including Miguel Malvar and Vito Belarmino, continued the struggle but would themselves yield to the overwhelming force and resources they faced. Apart from its early end, many questions still lay open for present and future researchers into the 1899 Constitution. Most notably, the Republic assumed its sovereignty over a large portion of the Spanish Pacific possessions, including Palau and the areas under the Sultanate of Sulu and the Mindanao Sultanates. At the time of the outbreak of the revolution, the Spanish were in the middle of pacification campaign against the Muslim Sultanates in Mindanao.
But these questions would never be answered and remain as questions or counterfactuals. The legacy of the 1899 Constitution remains as the first legal foundation of the Philippine nation-state made by Filipinos, for Filipinos.
References:
Agoncillo, Teodoro A. Malolos: The crisis of the republic. Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press, 1997.
Center, Information Technology. Malolos Constitution – The Lawphil Project. Accessed January 19, 2024. https://lawphil.net/consti/consmalo.html.
Foreman, John. The philippine islands: A political, geographical, ethnographical, social and commercial history of the Philippine archipelago … New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1985.
Guerrero, M. Luzon at war: Contradictions in Philippine Society, 1898-1902. Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Published and exclusively distributed by Anvil Publishing, Inc., 2015.
Guevara, Sulpicio. The laws of the first philippine republic. Manila: National Historical Comm., 1972.
Rodriguez, Rufus Bautista. Constitutionalism in the Philippines: With complete texts of the 1987 constitution and other previous organic acts and Constitutions. Manila, Philippines: Published & distributed by Rex Book Store, 1997.