1973 Constitution, seedbed of Philippine federalism

The 1973 Constitution was the brainchild of three brilliant minds: Carlos P Garcia, Diosdado P. Macapagal and Ferdinand E. Marcos.

The Congress of the Philippines initiated the 1971 Constitutional Convention (ConCon). Both Houses passed Resolution Number Two in 1967, amended in 1969, calling for a convention to draft a new Constitution for the country.

Under Republic Act 6132, the 1971 Constitutional Convention Act, some 300 delegates from all over the country convened on 1 June 1971 to draft a new Constitution to replace the 1935 Charter.

The ConCon was first chaired by former President Carlos P. Garcia and then by former President Diosdado P. Macapagal when President Garcia died on 14 June 1971. The draft charter was approved on 29 November 1972, exactly eight months after the inaugural session and two months after the promulgation of martial law nationwide by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on 21 September 1972.

The new Constitution was ratified by the citizens in barangay assemblies through a plebiscite on January 10 and 15, 1973, and took full effect two days later with the issuance of Presidential Proclamation No. 1102.

President Ferdinand Marcos did not directly use the Constitution overseen by Carlos Garcia and Diosdado Macapagal; instead, he promulgated a new Constitution in 1973 after a constitutional convention he effectively constituted, approving it amid his declaration of Martial Law. This 1973 Constitution, known as the Marcos Constitution, granted him expanded powers under “constitutional authoritarianism” during his dictatorial rule and served as the legal basis for his powers.

The 17-Article 1973 Constitution shifted the government system from presidential to a modified parliamentary system in the second half of the 1970s.

Section I of Article XVII (Transitory Provisions) of the Charter provided that “there shall be an interim National Assembly which shall exist immediately upon ratification of this Constitution and shall continue until the members of the regular National Assembly or Batasan Pambansa shall have been elected and assume office.”

In the modified parliamentary form of government, the President was assisted by the Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet, who had close links to the legislative body, then known as the Batasang Pambansa. The close relationship between the executive and legislative branches of government was perceived to be a deterrent to the constant deadlocks in the government hierarchy.

The 1973 Charter was in force for 13 years — from 17 January 1973 to 25 March 1986. It was superseded by the present 1987 Constitution promulgated under the administration of President Corazon C. Aquino after the 22-25 February 1986 People Power Revolution.

The draft of the 1987 Constitution was prepared by 48 delegates handpicked by President Aquino and led by retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma. It was approved on 12 October 1986, ratified in a plebiscite on 2 February 1987 and went into full force immediately.

It abolished the Batasang Pambansa and restored the bicameral Congress with a House of Representatives and a Senate, whose bicameral conference committee, or the now dreaded “bicam,” has brought about a scourge to the most significant number of Philippine societies.

Lately, it caused the most devastating corruption in our country’s history, the costly and ghostly P1.2-trillion flood control scam.