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History · Constitutional democracy

Freedom Constitution · Commission · Plebiscite

The 1987 Constitution of the Philippines

A sourced guide to the 1987 Philippine Constitution: its origins, ratification, Bill of Rights, term limits, institutions and martial-law safeguards.

President Corazon Aquino during the democratic transition after 1986
JO2 Roger Dutcher, U.S. Department of Defense · Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
48
Constitutional commissioners
2 Feb 1987
Ratified by plebiscite
16.6m
Affirmative votes
6 years
Single presidential term

By Biography Compass Editorial TeamPublished 8 September 2026

The short answer

Ratified on 2 February 1987, the Constitution rebuilt elected and independent institutions after authoritarian rule. It restored a bicameral Congress, strengthened the Bill of Rights, limited presidents to one six-year term and subjected martial-law powers to time limits and review.

Chronology

A timeline of the turning points

  1. Corazon Aquino takes office

    The People Power Revolution ended Ferdinand Marcos’s rule. Aquino’s government began dismantling authoritarian structures and planning a return to constitutional government.

  2. The Freedom Constitution takes effect

    Proclamation No. 3 adopted a provisional constitution. It gave the president legislative authority during a transition while promising a commission to draft a permanent charter.

  3. Rules for the Constitutional Commission are issued

    Proclamation No. 9 organised a commission of national, regional and sectoral representatives and established its procedure, independence and timetable.

  4. The Constitutional Commission convenes

    Forty-eight appointed commissioners began public deliberations. Former Supreme Court justice Cecilia Muñoz Palma served as president of the body.

  5. The final draft is approved

    The commission approved the proposed constitution after months of committee work and plenary debate.

  6. Commissioners sign the charter

    The completed constitution was signed and prepared for a national information campaign and plebiscite.

  7. Voters ratify the constitution

    A national plebiscite returned 16,622,111 affirmative votes and 4,953,375 negative votes. The Supreme Court later confirmed that the constitution took effect on this date.

  8. Ratification is officially proclaimed

    Proclamation No. 58 announced the certified result and declared the constitution effective and in full force.

  9. Congressional elections are held

    Elections filled the restored Senate and House of Representatives, putting the charter’s bicameral legislature into operation.

Why was a new constitution written?

The 1973 Constitution had operated through extensive amendments and decrees under Marcos, and many democratic institutions had been weakened or reshaped during authoritarian rule. After People Power, Aquino’s government needed both an interim legal order and a durable framework for elections, rights and separated powers.

The March 1986 Freedom Constitution was deliberately provisional. It preserved parts of the previous charter, authorised the president to legislate during the transition and directed the creation of a commission for a new constitution. The central challenge was to restore representative institutions without leaving the transition itself without legal authority.

How the Constitutional Commission worked

Aquino appointed forty-eight commissioners drawn from law, politics, religion, education, labour, business and other sectors. The body used committees and public plenary sessions to draft, debate and vote on each part. Its members included people with different views of presidential power, economic policy, social justice and the role of the military.

Because the commission was appointed rather than elected, ratification by voters supplied the charter’s direct democratic approval. The plebiscite asked the public to accept or reject the complete document, not individual articles. More than sixteen million affirmative votes produced a clear majority on 2 February 1987.

Rights, institutions and presidential limits

The constitution restored a presidential system with a bicameral Congress and an independent judiciary. Its Bill of Rights protects due process, equal protection, speech, religion, assembly, privacy and safeguards for accused persons. It also constitutionalised independent commissions for elections, civil service and audit, and created the Commission on Human Rights.

A president is elected for a single six-year term and cannot be re-elected. The vice president may serve two successive terms. These rules responded to the concentration and extension of presidential power under Marcos, while provisions on accountability, impeachment, public disclosure and the ban on political dynasties—subject to legislation—addressed broader concerns about abuse of office.

What changed about martial law?

The president remains commander-in-chief and may proclaim martial law or suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus in cases of invasion or rebellion when public safety requires it. The constitution, however, limits an initial declaration or suspension to sixty days and requires a report to Congress within forty-eight hours.

Congress may revoke or extend the measure, and the Supreme Court may review the sufficiency of its factual basis. Martial law does not suspend the constitution, replace civil courts where they can function or automatically suspend habeas corpus. These express safeguards reflect the experience of the declaration made in 1972.

Durability, amendments and continuing debate

The 1987 Constitution has lasted longer than the transitional order that preceded it and remains the foundation of Philippine government. It can be amended through Congress acting as a constituent assembly, a constitutional convention or a people’s initiative, followed in each case by ratification in a plebiscite.

Debates over federalism, economic restrictions, term limits and the distribution of power regularly produce proposals for charter change. Supporters of revision argue that institutions must adapt; opponents warn that amendment can be used to weaken safeguards or extend incumbents’ power. Understanding the document therefore requires both its post-authoritarian origins and the political interests surrounding later reform efforts.

Continue the chronology

1972–1973

The 1973 Philippine Constitution

Compare the authoritarian-era charter and its disputed ratification with the post-EDSA settlement.

Read the timeline1521—present

Philippines History Timeline

Connect constitutional restoration to the country’s longer political history.

Read the timeline19 biographies

People Power and Philippine Democracy Figures

Meet the jurists, political leaders, advocates and organisers across the transition.

Read the timeline24 biographies

Democracy, Dictatorship and Restoration

Follow the people who contested constitutional authority from 1969 through democratic restoration.

Read the timeline22—25 Feb 1986

The People Power Revolution

See the democratic mobilisation and transfer of power that opened the transition.

Read the timeline1972—1986

The Marcos Martial Law Era

Understand the experience that shaped the charter’s limits on executive power.

Read the timeline

Connected biographies

Eight biographies behind the constitutional transition

Filipino statesman Jovito Salonga speaking into a microphonePhilippines · Politics

1920—2016

Jovito Salonga

Opposition senator and post-EDSA Senate presidentA Filipino lawyer, opposition leader and statesman who survived wartime imprisonment and the Plaza Miranda bombing before helping rebuild the Senate after EDSA.Read biography

Quick answers

Common questions

When was the 1987 Philippine Constitution ratified?
Filipino voters ratified it in a plebiscite on 2 February 1987. Proclamation No. 58 formally announced the certified result on 11 February.
Who wrote the 1987 Constitution?
A forty-eight-member Constitutional Commission appointed by President Corazon Aquino drafted it in 1986. Former Supreme Court justice Cecilia Muñoz Palma presided over the commission.
What are the three branches of Philippine government?
The constitution distributes national power among the executive headed by the president, a bicameral Congress exercising legislative power and the judiciary headed by the Supreme Court.
How long can a Philippine president serve?
A president serves one six-year term and is not eligible for re-election. A person who succeeds to the presidency and serves more than four years also cannot later be elected president.
Can the president declare martial law?
Yes, in cases of invasion or rebellion when public safety requires it. An initial proclamation is limited to sixty days and is subject to congressional action and Supreme Court review.

Primary and institutional sources

How this history was checked

Dates, legal milestones and historical claims are checked against the official and institutional records below. This article was reviewed on 8 September 2026.

  1. The LawPhil Project1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines
  2. The LawPhil ProjectProclamation No. 3 — the 1986 Freedom Constitution
  3. The LawPhil ProjectProclamation No. 9 — law governing the Constitutional Commission
  4. The LawPhil ProjectProclamation No. 58 — ratification of the Constitution
  5. Supreme Court of the Philippines via LawPhilDe Leon v. Esguerra — effectivity on 2 February 1987
  6. National Historical Commission of the PhilippinesConstitutional Commission of 1986 historical marker