THE 1943 CONSTITUTION

The Filipino people, imploring
the aid of Divine Providence and desiring to lead a free national existence, do
hereby proclaim their independence, and in order to establish a government that
shall promote the general welfare, conserve and develop the patrimony of the
Nation, and contribute to the creation of a world order based on peace,
liberty, and moral justice, do ordain this Constitution.

Article I: The Republic of the Philippines

SECTION 1. The Philippines is a republican state. The
government established by this Constitution shall be known as the Republic of
the Philippines.

SEC. 2. The Republic of the Philippines shall exercise sovereignty over
all the national territory as at present defined by law.

Article II: The Executive

SECTION 1. The Executive power
shall be vested in the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

SEC. 2. The President shall be
elected by a majority of all the members of the National Assembly at the place
and on the date to be fixed by law.

SEC. 3. No person may be elected
President unless he be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, is forty years of age or over,
and has been a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years
immediately preceding the election.

SEC. 4. The President shall hold
office during a term of six years and may not be re-elected for the following
term.

SEC. 5. The term of the President
shall end at noon on the thirtieth day of December following the
expiration of six years after his election, and from such time the term of his
successor shall begin. If his successor shall not have been chosen before such
time, or if the President-elect shall have failed to qualify, then the outgoing
President shall continue in office until his successor shall have been elected
and qualified. In the event of the removal of the President from office or of
his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of his
office, the same shall devolve on the ranking Minister in the order of
precedence established by law until a new President shall have been elected for
the unexpired term. In the latter case, the election shall be held within sixty
days after such removal, death, resignation, or inability.

SEC. 6. Before assuming the
duties of his office, the President shall take the following oath, or
affirmation:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of
the Republic of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute
its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the
Nation. So help me God.” (In case of affirmation, the last sentence will be
omitted.)

SEC. 7. The President shall have
an official residence and receive such compensation as may be fixed by law
which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period for which he
shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that period any other
emolument from the government or any of its subdivisions or instrumentalities.

SEC. 8. The President shall have
supervision and control of all the ministries, bureaus or offices, all local
governments, and all other branches or instrumentalities of the Executive
Department, and take care that the laws be faithfully executed.

SEC. 9. The President shall be
commander-in-chief of all armed forces of the Republic of the Philippines and, whenever it becomes
necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress
lawlessness, invasion, insurrection, or rebellion. In case of invasion,
insurrection, or rebellion, or imminent danger thereof, or when the public
safety so requires, he may suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus,
or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law.

SEC. 10. The President shall
appoint the Ministers and Vice-Ministers, and with the advice of his Cabinet,
shall appoint ambassadors, diplomatic ministers and consuls, heads of bureaus
and offices, officers of the Army from the rank of [colonel, of the Navy and of
the Air forces from the rank of] captain or commander, provincial governors,
city and municipal mayors, and all other officers of the government whose
appointments are not otherwise provided for by law.

SEC. 11. There shall be a Council
of State to advise the President on matters of national policy. It shall be
composed of not more than twenty members to be appointed by the President from
among citizens who may have rendered distinguished service to the Nation.

SEC. 12. The President, with the
concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the National Assembly, shall
have the power to declare war and make peace, and, with the concurrence of a
majority of all its members, conclude treaties. He shall receive ambassadors
and diplomatic ministers duly accredited to the Republic of the Philippines.

SEC. 13. The President shall have
the power to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons, and remit fines and
forfeitures, after conviction, for all offenses, upon such conditions and with
such restrictions and limitations as he may deem proper to impose. He shall have
the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of the National Assembly.

SEC. 14. The President shall from
time to time give to the National Assembly information of the state of the
nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge
necessary and expedient.

Article III: The Legislature

SECTION 1. The Legislative power
shall be vested in the National Assembly.

SEC. 2. The National Assembly
shall be composed of the provincial governors and city mayors as members
ex-officio and of delegates to be elected every three years, one from each and
every province and chartered city. The date and manner of their election and
the method of filling vacancies shall be prescribed by law, which shall not be
subjected to change or modification during the Greater East Asia War.

SEC. 3. No person shall be
elected to the National Assembly unless he has been five years a citizen of the
Philippines, and is at least thirty years of
age.

SEC. 4. (1) The National Assembly
shall convene in regular session once every year on a date to be fixed by law,
but no regular session shall continue longer than sixty days, exclusive of
Sundays. It may also be called in special session by the President, for such
time as he may determine, to consider general legislation or only such subjects
as he may designate.

(2) The National Assembly shall
choose its Speaker, a secretary, a sergeant-at-arms, and such other officers as
may be required. A majority of all the members shall constitute a quorum to do
business, but a smaller number may meet from day to day, and may compel the
attendance of absent members, in such manner and under such penalties as the
National Assembly may provide.

(3) The National Assembly shall
be the sole judge of the election, returns and qualifications of its elective
members, and may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its members for
disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member. It
shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to time publish the
same, excepting such parts as may in its judgment require secrecy, and the yeas
and nays on any question shall, at the request of one-fifth of its members
present, be entered in the journal.

SEC. 5. The Speaker and members
of the National Assembly shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by
law, exclusive of traveling expenses to and from their respective province or
cities in attending the sessions of the National Assembly. The National
Assembly shall not have the power to increase the compensation of its Speaker
and its members during their term of office.

SEC. 6. The members of the
National Assembly shall be privileged from arrest during their attendance at
the sessions of the National Assembly, and in going to and returning from the
same, except when they commit a crime in which the penalty fixed by law is
death or imprisonment or more than twelve years; and for any speech or debate
therein, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

SEC. 7. (1) The President shall
submit within ten days of the opening of each regular session of the National
Assembly a budget of receipts and expenditures which shall be the basis of the
general appropriation bill.

(2) If at the termination of any
fiscal year the appropriations necessary for the support of the government for
the ensuing fiscal year shall not have been made, the several sums appropriated
in the last appropriation bills shall be deemed to be reappropriated for the
several objects and purposes therein specified, so far as the same may be done
in the judgment of the President, until the general appropriation bill shall
have been approved.

(3) No provision or enactment
shall be embraced in the general appropriation bill, unless it relates
specifically to some particular appropriation in the bill; and any such provision
or enactment shall be limited in its operation to such appropriation.

SEC. 8. The Ministers, upon their
own initiative or upon the request of the National Assembly, may appear before
and be heard by the National Assembly on any matter pertaining to their
ministries, unless the public interest shall require otherwise and the
President shall so state in writing.

SEC. 9. (1) No bill which shall
have passed the National Assembly shall become a law unless approved by the
President. If he approves the same, he shall sign it; but if [it] not, he shall
return it with his objections to the National Assembly, which shall enter the
objections at large on its journal and may proceed to reconsider and reapprove
it by a vote of two-thirds of all its members. In all such cases the votes of
the National Assembly shall be determined by yeas and nays and the names of the
members voting for and against shall be entered in the journal. If the
President should disapprove the bill for the second time, the National Assembly
may not during the same session reconsider and repass the bill. If any bill
shall not be returned by the President as herein provided within twenty days
(Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall
become a law in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the National
Assembly by adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall become a law
unless vetoed by the President within forty days after adjournment.

(2) The President shall have the
power to veto any particular item or items of an appropriation, revenue or
tariff bill, but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does
not object. When a provision of an appropriation bill affects one or more items
of the same, the President cannot veto the provision without at the same time
vetoing the particular item or items to which it relates.

SEC. 10. (1) No bill which may be
enacted into law shall embrace more than one subject which shall be expressed
in the title of the bill.

(2) No bill shall be passed or become
a law unless copies thereof in its final form shall have been furnished the
members at least three calendar days prior to its passage by the National
Assembly, except when the President shall have certified to the necessity of
its immediate enactment. Upon the last reading of a bill no amendment thereof
shall be allowed; and the question upon its final passage shall be taken
immediately thereafter, and the yeas and nays entered on the journal.

SEC. 11. (1) All money collected
on any tax levied for a special purpose shall be treated as a special fund and
paid out for such purpose only. If the purpose for which a special fund was
created has been fulfilled or abandoned, the balance, if any, shall be
transferred to the general funds of the government.

(2) No money shall be paid out of
the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.

(3) No public money or property
shall be appropriated, applied, or used directly or indirectly, for the use,
benefit, or support of any sect, church, denomination, sectarian institution,
or system of religion, or for the use, benefit, or support of any priest,
preacher, minister, or other religious teacher or dignitary as such, except
when such priest, preacher, minister, or dignitary is assigned to the armed forces
or to any penal institution, orphanage, or leprosarium.

SEC. 12. (1) The rule of taxation
shall be uniform.

(2) The National Assembly may, by
law, authorize the President, subject to such limitations and restrictions as
it may impose, to fix, within specified limits, tariff rates, import or export
quotas, and tonnage and wharfage duties.

(3) Cemeteries, churches and
parsonages or convents appurtenant thereto, and all lands, buildings and
improvements used exclusively for religious, charitable or educational
purposes, shall be exempt from taxation.

SEC. 13. In times of war or other
national emergency, the National Assembly may by law authorize the President,
for a limited period and subject to such restrictions as it may prescribe, to
promulgate rules and regulations to carry out a declared national policy.

SEC. 14. When the National
Assembly is not in session, the President may in cases of urgent necessity,
promulgate rules and ordinances which shall have the force and effect of law
until disapproved by resolution before the end of the next regular session of
the National Assembly.

Article IV: The Judiciary

SECTION 1. The Judicial Power
shall be vested in the Supreme Court and such inferior courts as may be
established by law.

SEC. 2. The National Assembly
shall have the power to define, prescribe, and apportion the jurisdiction of
the various courts, but may not deprive the Supreme Court of its original
Jurisdiction over cases affecting ambassadors, diplomatic ministers and
consuls, nor of its jurisdiction to review, revise, reverse, modify, or affirm
on appeal, certiorari, or writ of error, as the law or the rules of court may
provide, final judgments and decrees of inferior courts in all cases in which
the constitutionality of any law, ordinance, or executive order or regulation
is in question, or in which the jurisdiction of any court is in issue or where
only errors or questions of law are involved.

SEC. 3. Unless otherwise provided
by law, the Supreme Court shall be composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate
Justices.

SEC. 4. The members of the
Supreme Court shall be appointed by the President with the advice of the
Cabinet. All judges of inferior courts shall be appointed by the President with
the advice of the Supreme Court.

SEC. 5. No person may be
appointed member of the Supreme Court unless he be a citizen of the Philippines, is at least forty years of age
and has been a judge of a court of record or has been engaged in the practice
of law in the Philippines for at least ten years.

SEC. 6. The National Assembly
shall prescribe the qualifications of judges of the inferior courts but no
person may be appointed judge of any such courts unless he be a citizen of the Philippines and has been admitted to the
practice of law in the Philippines.

SEC. 7. The members of the
Supreme Court and judges of inferior courts shall hold office during good
behavior, until they become incapacitated to discharge the duties of their
office. They shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by law, which may
not be diminished during their continuance in office except in case of a
general revision of salaries of all officials and employees of the government.

SEC. 8. The conclusions of the
Supreme Court in any case submitted to it for decision shall be reached in
consultation before the case is assigned to a Justice for the writing of
opinion of the court. Any Justice dissenting from a decision shall state the
reasons for his dissent.

SEC. 9. No law or executive
order, ordinance or regulation may be declared unconstitutional without the
unanimous vote of all the members of the Supreme Court.

SEC. 10. No decision shall be
rendered by any court of record without expressing therein clearly and
distinctly the facts and the law on which it is based.

SEC. 11. The Supreme Court shall
have the power to promulgate rules concerning pleading, practice and procedure
in all courts, and the admission to the practice of law. Said rules shall be
uniform for all courts of the same grade and shall not diminish, increase or
modify substantive rights. All existing laws on pleading, practice and
procedure are subject to alteration and modification by the Supreme Court.

Article V: Impeachment

SECTION 1. The President and the
Justices of the Supreme Court shall be removed from office on impeachment for,
and conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, or
other high crimes.

SEC. 2. The National Assembly, by
a vote of two-thirds of all its members, shall have the sole power of
impeachment.

SEC. 3. The Supreme Court shall
have the sole power to try all impeachments. No person shall be convicted
without the concurrence of three-fourths of all the Justices of the Supreme
Court.

SEC. 4. Judgment in cases of
impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office and disqualification
to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the government of
the Republic of the Philippines, but the party convicted shall nevertheless be
liable and subject to prosecution, trial, and punishment, according to law.

Article VI: Citizenship

SECTION 1. The following are
citizens of the Philippines:

(1) Those who are citizens of the
Philippines at the time of the adoption of
this Constitution and their descendants.

(2) Those who are naturalized in
accordance with law.

SEC. 2. Philippine citizenship
may be lost or reacquired in the manner provided by law.

Article VII: Duties and Rights of the Citizen

SECTION 1. It is the duty of
every citizen to render personal military and civil service as may be required
by law, to pay taxes and public charges, and to engage in a useful calling,
occupation or profession.

SEC. 2. No person shall be
deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor shall any
person be denied the equal protection of the laws.

SEC. 3. No law shall be made
respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof, and no religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or
political rights.

SEC. 4. No law impairing the
obligation of contracts shall be passed.

SEC. 5. No ex post facto shall be
enacted.

SEC. 6. No person shall be
imprisoned for debt.

SEC. 7. No involuntary servitude
in any form shall exist except as a punishment for crime whereof the party
shall have been duly convicted.

SEC. 8. The privilege of the writ
of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of invasion,
insurrection, rebellion, or when the public safety so requires.

SEC. 9. Private property shall
not be taken for public use without just compensation.

SEC. 10. Free access to the
courts or administrative tribunals shall not be denied to any person by reason
of poverty.

SEC. 11. Subject to such
limitations as may be imposed by law in the interest of peace, morals, health,
safety or public security.

(1) The right to be secure
against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated.

(2) The privacy of communication
and correspondence shall not be invaded.

(3) The right to form
associations or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be
infringed.

(4) The free enjoyment and
practice of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or
preference, shall not be curtailed.

(5) The liberty of abode and of
changing the same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be impaired.

(6) The freedom of speech, or of
the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the
government for redress of grievances, shall not be abridged.

Article VIII: Conservation and Utilization of
Natural Resources

SECTION 1. All agricultural,
timber, and mineral lands of the public domain, waters, minerals, coal,
petroleum, and other mineral oils, all sources of potential energy, and other
natural resources of the Philippines belong to the State, and their
disposition, exploitation, development, or utilization shall be limited to
citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations or associations at least sixty
per centum of the capital of which is owned by such citizens, subject to any
existing right, grant, lease, or concession at the time of the inauguration of
the government established under this Constitution. Natural resources, with the
exception of public agricultural land, shall not be alienated, and no license,
concession, or lease for the exploitation, development, or utilization of any
of the natural resources shall be granted for a period exceeding twenty-five
years, renewable for another twenty-five years, except as to water rights for
irrigation, water supply, fisheries, or industrial uses other than the
development of water power, in which cases beneficial use may be the measure
and the limit of the grant.

SEC. 2. No private corporation or
association may acquire, lease, or hold public agricultural lands in excess of
one thousand and twenty-four hectares, nor may any individual acquire such
lands by purchase in excess of one hundred and forty-four hectares, or by lease
of one thousand and twenty-four hectares, or by homestead in excess of
twenty-four hectares. Lands adapted to grazing, not exceeding two thousand
hectares, may be leased to an individual, private corporation, or association.

SEC. 3. The National Assembly may
determine by law the size of private agricultural land which individuals,
corporations, or associations may acquire and hold, subject to rights existing
prior to the enactment of such law.

SEC. 4. The National Assembly may
authorize, upon payment of just compensation, the expropriation of lands to be
subdivided into small lots and conveyed at cost to individuals.

SEC. 5. No private agricultural
land shall be transferred or assigned except to individuals, corporations, or
associations qualified to acquire or hold lands of the public domain in the
Philippines, or to persons entitled by law [to inherit in case of intestate
succession].

Article IX: General Provisions

SECTION 1. The flag of the
Republic of the Philippines shall be red, white, and blue,
with a sun and three stars, as consecrated and honored by the Filipino people.

SEC. 2. The government shall take
steps toward the development and propagation of Tagalog as the national
language.

SEC. 3. There shall be a General
Auditing Office to examine, audit and settle all accounts pertaining to the
revenues, receipts, expenditures of funds and properties of the government, its
subdivisions and instrumentalities, as well as of such persons or institutions
as may be provided by law.

SEC. 4. A Civil Service embracing
all branches and subdivisions of the government shall be provided by law.
Appointments in the Civil Service, except as to those which are
policy-determining, primarily confidential or highly technical in nature, shall
be made only according to merit and fitness, to be determined as far as
practicable by competitive examination.

SEC. 5. All public officers and
members of the armed forces shall take an oath to support and defend the
Constitution.

SEC. 6. No public officer or
employee shall receive additional or double compensation unless specifically
authorized by law.

SEC. 7. Public officers and
employees shall not be engaged in the practice of any profession during their
continuance in office; nor shall they, directly or indirectly, intervene in the
management or control of any private enterprise which in any way may be
affected by the functions of their office, or be financially interested in any
contract with the government, or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof.

SEC. 8. The promotion of social
justice to insure the well-being and economic security of all the people shall
be the concern of the State.

SEC. 9. The State shall promote
scientific research and invention. Arts and letters shall be under its
patronage. The exclusive right to writings and inventions shall be secured to
authors and inventors for a limited period.

SEC. 10. All educational
institutions shall be under the supervision of and subject to regulation by the
State. The government shall establish and maintain a complete and adequate
system of national education, and shall provide at least free public elementary
instruction, and citizenship training to adult citizens. All schools, colleges,
and universities shall aim to develop moral character, personal and collective
discipline, civic conscience, and vocational skill, secure social efficiency,
and teach the duties of citizenship. Optional religious instruction shall be
maintained in the public schools as now authorized by law. The State shall
create scholarships in arts, science, and letters for specially gifted
citizens.

SEC. 11. The State shall afford
protection to labor, especially to working women and minors, and shall regulate
the relations between landowner and tenant, and between labor and capital in
industry and in agriculture. The State may provide for compulsory arbitration.

SEC. 12. The State may, in the
interest of national welfare or defense, establish and operate industries and
means of transportation and communication, and, upon payment of just
compensation, transfer to public ownership utilities and other
private-enterprises to be operated by the government.

SEC. 13. No franchise,
certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public
utility shall be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to
corporations or other entities organized under the laws of the Philippines,
sixty per centum of the capital of which is owned by citizens of the
Philippines, nor shall such franchise, certificate, or authorization be
exclusive in character or for a longer period than fifty years. No franchise or
right shall be granted to any individual, firm or corporation, except under the
condition that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by the
National Assembly when the public interest so requires.

SEC. 14. The National Assembly
shall not, except by general law, provide for the formation, organization, or
regulation of private corporations, unless such corporations are owned or
controlled by the government or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof.

Article X: Amendments

SECTION 1. The National Assembly,
by a vote of two-thirds of all its members, may propose amendments to this
Constitution, but such amendments shall not be valid as part of the
Constitution unless approved by the people at a plebiscite or convention
especially called for that purpose and on the date and under conditions to be
prescribed by law.

Article XI: Transitory Provisions

SECTION 1. This Constitution
shall be ratified by the people at a plebiscite or convention especially called
for that purpose. The manner of holding such plebiscite or convention shall be
provided by law.

SEC. 2. The first National
Assembly shall convene at the place and on the date fixed by law, and immediately
after its organization shall elect the President of the Republic of the Philippines.

SEC. 3. The existing executive
departments of the Philippine Executive Commission shall continue as Ministries
of the Republic until the National Assembly shall by law provide otherwise.

SEC. 4. All laws of the
Philippines shall continue in force until the inauguration of the Republic;
thereafter, such laws shall remain operative unless inconsistent with this
Constitution, until amended, altered, modified or repealed by the National
Assembly, and all references in such laws to the government or officials of the
Philippines or of the Philippine Executive Commission shall be construed, in so
far as applicable, to refer to the government and corresponding officials under
the Republic.

SEC. 5. All courts existing at
the time of the adoption of this Constitution shall continue and exercise their
jurisdiction, except in so far as it may be inconsistent with the provisions of
this Constitution, until otherwise provided by law in accordance with this
Constitution; but all cases, civil and criminal, pending in said courts shall
be heard, tried and determined under the laws [then in force].

SEC. 6. All officers and
employees of the government under the Philippine Executive Commission shall
continue in office until the National Assembly shall provide otherwise; but all
officers whose appointments are by this Constitution vested in the President
shall vacate their respective offices upon the appointment and qualification of
their successors.

SEC. 7. The prohibitions and
limitations provided for in this Constitution, notwithstanding, the President
of the Republic of the Philippines may enter into an agreement with
any foreign nation for the utilization of natural resources and the operation
of public utilities, which agreement shall expire upon the termination of the
Greater East Asia War.

SEC. 8. All property rights and
privileges acquired by any person, entity or corporation, since the outbreak of
the Greater East Asia War, shall be subject to adjustment and settlement upon
the termination of the said war.

SEC. 9. The provisions of this
Constitution, except those contained in this Article and those which refer to
the election and qualification of officers to be elected under this Constitution,
shall not take effect until the inauguration of the Republic of the Philippines.

Article XII: Special Provisions

SECTION 1. Within one year after
the termination of the Greater East Asia War, the National Assembly shall by
law provide for the election by popular suffrage of delegates to a
Constitutional Convention, which shall meet not later than sixty days after
their election in order to formulate and adopt a new Constitution which shall
become effective upon its approval by the people at a plebiscite to be held for
the purpose. After such approval the National Assembly shall forthwith provide
for the election of the officers under the new Constitution and the
inauguration of the government established thereunder.