6.1 The 1987 Philippine Constitution

The 1987 Philippine Constitution

Quick Answer: The 1987 Constitution is the supreme law of the Philippines and a recurring source of questions on the Civil Service Examination (CSE). The Bill of Rights (Article III) is the single most heavily tested article. You should also recognize the Preamble, the Declaration of Principles and State Policies (Article II), the three branches of government (Articles VI–VIII), the Constitutional Commissions (Article IX), and Local Government (Article X) — even if you cannot recite every section number.

The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines was ratified after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution and replaced the 1973 Constitution associated with the Marcos administration. It is organized into a Preamble followed by 18 numbered Articles. For the CSE-PPT General Information section, you do not need to memorize every Article word for word — you need to recognize which Article covers which topic, and understand the handful of provisions that examiners return to again and again.

The Preamble

The Preamble is the introductory statement of the Constitution. It expresses the aspirations of the Filipino people — a just and humane society, a government that embodies their ideals, and the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace. Civil service exams sometimes ask examinees to identify values named in the Preamble or to recognize its opening words ("We, the sovereign Filipino people...").

Article I: National Territory

Article I defines the national territory of the Philippines — the Philippine archipelago together with all islands and waters embraced therein, and all other territories over which the Philippines has sovereignty or jurisdiction. It also describes the waters around, between, and connecting the islands as internal waters. Questions on this Article are usually conceptual: what counts as Philippine territory, and how the archipelagic concept is described.

Article II: Declaration of Principles and State Policies

Article II lays out the foundational principles and policy commitments of the State. The single most quotable provision is Section 1: "The Philippines is a democratic and republican State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them." This sentence captures two ideas at once — the Philippines is democratic (the people participate in governance, directly and through representatives) and republican (government is exercised through elected representatives accountable to the people), and it is the people, not any single ruler or institution, who are the ultimate source of governmental power.

Beyond Section 1, Article II commits the State to a broad set of policies that examinees should recognize by theme rather than section number:

• Social justice — promoting a just and dynamic social order that ensures the prosperity and independence of the nation
• Protection of labor — affording full protection to labor and promoting full employment
• The family — recognizing the family as the foundation of the nation
• Education — giving priority to education to foster patriotism, nationalism, and the development of moral character
• Environmental protection — protecting and advancing the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology

Because Article II is a declaration of principles rather than a source of directly enforceable rights, exam questions on it tend to ask you to match a policy statement ("protection of labor," "priority to education") to its general theme rather than to a specific, obscure section number.

Article III: Bill of Rights — the Most Tested Article

The Bill of Rights is the part of the Constitution that lists the fundamental civil and political rights of every person against abuse by the State. It is consistently the most heavily tested article on Philippine civil service and licensure exams, because it is the part of the Constitution most directly relevant to daily life, government transactions, and law enforcement. Rights commonly covered include:

• Due process and equal protection — Section 1 provides that 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. Due process means fair procedure and substantively reasonable government action; equal protection means persons in the same circumstances must be treated alike under the law.
• Freedom of speech, expression, and the press — the right of the people to speak, publish, and assemble peaceably, and to petition the government for redress of grievances.
• The right to privacy — protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the privacy of communication and correspondence.
• Rights of persons under investigation and the accused — including the right to be informed of one's rights, the right to counsel, the right against self-incrimination, and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.

When you see a Bill of Rights question on the exam, focus on recognizing the right being described — due process, equal protection, free expression, privacy, or the rights of the accused — rather than trying to recall an exact section number for every clause. If you are ever unsure of a precise number, reasoning from the name and purpose of the right will get you to the correct answer far more reliably than guessing a citation.

The Three Branches of Government

Articles VI through VIII describe the three co-equal branches of the national government, and the CSE-PPT tests them mainly at the level of structure and function rather than detailed procedure:

• Article VI — The Legislative Department: Congress, composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives, makes laws.
• Article VII — The Executive Department: headed by the President (with the Vice-President), enforces laws and administers the government.
• Article VIII — The Judicial Department: headed by the Supreme Court and the lower courts, interprets laws and settles disputes.

Article IX: The Constitutional Commissions

Article IX creates three independent Constitutional Commissions, each with its own constitutionally defined membership and mandate:

• Civil Service Commission (CSC) — the central personnel agency of the government, and the very body that administers the Civil Service Examination you are studying for.
• Commission on Elections (COMELEC) — enforces and administers laws and regulations relating to the conduct of elections.
• Commission on Audit (COA) — examines, audits, and settles accounts pertaining to the revenue and use of government funds and property.

All three Commissions are described as independent bodies, meaning they are not subordinate to the other branches of government in the performance of their core constitutional functions.

Article X: Local Government

Article X provides the constitutional basis for local government units (provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays) and for local autonomy — the principle that local government units should have genuine and meaningful decentralization so they can attain their fullest development as self-reliant communities.

Article-to-Topic Reference Table

Exam Strategy

Because the CSE-PPT draws so heavily on the Bill of Rights, prioritize your review time there first: make sure you can name and briefly explain due process, equal protection, freedom of expression, the right to privacy, and the rights of persons under investigation or standing trial. Then layer in the "which Article covers which branch or commission" structural knowledge from the table above — those questions reward simple recognition rather than deep legal analysis. Finally, treat Article II as a set of themes (social justice, labor, family, education, environment, and the democratic/republican character of the State) rather than as a list of section numbers to memorize.