THE MALOLOS CONSTITUTION69 YEARS AFTER

Ni E. P. Patanñe

THE beginning of the end for the Aguinaldo government was also a glorious moment in the history of the Filipino people, when in those September days of 1898 the ground was cleared for the laying of the cornerstone of the first democracy in Asia. It was the climax to the Philippines' struggle for freedom.

May 1898 saw the triumph of American naval might over the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay and the return of Aguinaldo and other exiled Filipino leaders from Hong Kong. The following month, June witnessed the proclamation of Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite and the formation of a dictatorial government quickly succeeded by a revolutionary government

The months of June and July also the landing of American troops on Philippine soil, the United States pursuing the war against Spain to this corner of the world. On August 13, 1898, after a token resistance by the Spanish garrison, American troops captured Manila while Filipino soldiers were conveniently kept out of the fight America's designs on the Philippines were apparent: she coveted the islands.

Following the capture of Manila, American and Filipino troops kept an eye on one another while tension mounted.

The revolutionary government had ordered and convoked a Congress in Malolos, Bulacan, to confront the Americans with a de facto government. Already Filipino diplomats were hard at work preventing cession of the islands.

A protocol of peace signed by the US and Spain in August already indicated the drift of things: a peace treaty was in the making.

Aguinaldo moved his government from Kawit to Bacoor, then in September decided to transfer to Malolos where a Revolutionary Congress was to be convened Site of the Congress was the Barasoain Church

Conditions in the provinces were still unstable and Aguinaldo was forced to appoint the delegates He appointed 50, the number later increased to 60 The delegates to the Revolutionary Congress made up a roster of the country's most outstanding leaders.

Aguinaldo and his party left Bacoor for Caloocan, passing through Parañaque and Pasig, to Marikina skirting around the city of Manila. In Caloocan, he took the train for Malolos, arriving in the Bulacan capital half past midnight Sept. 9, 1898.

Preparations were immediately made for the Congress, and on the bright morning of Sept. 15, 1898, Malolos stirred to history. The Banda Pasig played the national anthem while thousands in uniforms and in their best attire crowded the thoroughfares of the old town, the streets graced by arches and bedecked with the Filipino flag.

An American correspondent then in Malolos, F. D. Millet, described the setting of the historic meeting -

"At the large basilica of Barasoain, we found a large number of the delegates already assembled, and the guards drawn up to receive the expected cortege of the President and his suite. The bald interior of the church was sparsely relieved by crossed palm leaves and wreaths fastened to the columns which divide the nave from the aisles, and on the great bare spaces between the windows In the middle of the nave were two bentwood chairs; on either side and behind these, in the aisles, were seats and benches for spectators To the left of the chanel, a long table, draped with blue and red, was arranged for the secretaries, and opposite it were special seats for invited guests, and in the front one next to the chancel rail we were assigned our places. The chanel was hung with a great white drapery, rudely painted to represent ermine, and a broad border of red cloth with palm leaves and wreaths framed in this curtain

“Crossedinsurgentflagsornamentedthepilastersoneachside,andinthemiddleofthe chancel, under the imitation ermine, was a long table draped with light blue and crimson, andbehindthisthreelargecarvedchairs.

"Whilewewerewaitingforthefunctionariestoarrive,wehadanexcellentopportunityof studying those who had come from islands to assist in the foundation of a republic --- for thiswastheirprofessedpurpose.Everymanwasdressedinafullblackcostumeofmoreor less fashionable cut, according to his means or his tastes Many of them wore full evening dress,someofthemhadsilkhatsofquaintshapeandwell-wornnap,othersbowlersofthe seasonof1890,butall,toaman,wereinblack "

Aguinaldo arrived and proceeded to read the names of the candidates; thenhedeliveredamessage,firstinTagalogandtheninSpanish Theofficers oftheCongresswereelectedthatafternoon.

A permanent commission of justice was created on September 17 and so were eight other committees of the Congress and on September 29, the independenceproclaimedatKawitwasratified.

Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista took over the presiding chair after the inaugural ceremonies and promptly created two committees: one to go over the credentials of the delegates and the other to review the committee on credentials'report.

The officers of the Congress, elected on September 16 were: Pedro A. Paterno, president; Benito Legarda, vice president; Gregorio Araneta, and PabloOcampo,secretaries.

Apolinario Mabini, Aguinaldo's adviser, soon after the inauguration questioned the power of the Revolutionary Congress to draft a Constitution, citing the fact that this power was not found in Articles 15 and 16 of the OrganicDecreeofJune23,1898,whichhehimselfhadwritten

Felipe Calderon took exception to Mabini's contention and argued that "in ordertosecurerecognitionofPhilippineindependencebyotherpowersthey mustproduceafairlymodernandup-to-dateConstitution"

Factions the absolutists under Mabini and the constitutionalists led by Calderon-formed,butintheendCalderonandhisfollowerswonout.

ThreedraftsoftheConstitutionweresubmittedtoacommittee:theMabini Plan, the Paterno Plan, and the Calderon Plan. Mabini drew from the constitutional program of the Philippine Republic drafted in Cavite in 1898 and included the True Decalogue. The Paterno draft was modeled after the Spanish Constitution. Calderon's draft was based on the constitutions of France,Belgium,CostaRica,Brazil,Nicaragua,Mexico,andGuatemala.

TheConstitutionwasdebatedandfinallyapprovedinNovember.

The Treaty of Paris would be signed in December and would cede the Philippines to the United States for $20 million. Then, on February 4, 1899, hostilities would break out between Filipino and American troops. The last of theFilipinogeneralswouldsurrenderin1902.

The Malolos Constitution born of the Revolutionary Congress convened in September 1898 is a document of great political sophistication. Its preamble reads:

"We,therepresentativesoftheFilipinopeople,lawfullyassembledtomake justicesecure,provideforthecommonsafety,promotethegeneralgood,and safeguardthebenefitsoffreedom,imploringtheaidoftheSupremeLawgiver of the Universe, in order to achieve these ends do here by vote, decree and sanctionthefollowing:"

Article 5 was cause for a grand debate among the delegates. This had something to do with religion. It was originally suggested that Catholicism be made the state religion, but a final vote rejected the idea And this was the finalandacceptedstatement:

"TheStaterecognizesthefreedomandequalityofallreligionsaswellas theseparationofChurchandState"

The new Constitution was called the "Political Constitution of the Philippine Republic," and it consisted of a preamble, 14 titles, 101 articles, and"anadditionalarticle"

Someofitssalientprovisions:

TITLE I Of the Republic

ARTICLE I The political association of all Filipinos constitutes a Nation which, organized as a State, is called the Philippine Republic

ARTICLE 2 The Philippine Republic is free and independent

ARTICLE 3 Sovereignty resides exclusively in the people

TITLE III Of Religion

ARTICLE 5 The State recognizes the freedom and equality of all religions as well as the separation of Church and State

TITLE IV Of Filipinos and their Civic and Personal Rights

ARTICLE 19 No Filipino who enjoys full possession of his civic and personal rights may be impeded in the free exercises thereof

ARTICLE 20. No Filipino may be deprived of:

(1) The right to express his ideas and opinions freely, whether by word of mouth or in writing, making use of the printing press or other similar means;

(2) The right of association for any of the purposes of human life not contrary to public morals; and finally,

(3) The right to present petitions, whether individual or collective, to public officials and state authorities The right of petition may not be exercised by any kind of armed force

ARTICLE 21 The exercise of the rights enumerated in the preceding article are subject to the general provisions of law by which they are regulated

ARTICLE 27 Every Filipino has the duty of taking up arms in defense of the Fatherland when so required by law, and to contribute to the expenses of the State in proportion to his means

The present-day Constitution of the Philippines drafted in 1934 in spirit did not depart largely from the constitutions of Biak na Bato and Malolos. A discernible influence, however, is conformity with American constitutional ideas, something which Calderon had eschewed because of a peculiar psychology of the Filipino people.

Worth comparing are the present- day Constitution's Bill of Rights and the provisions of the Malolos Constitution on "civil and personal rights." The parallels are interesting, suggesting almost the same kind of thinking on this important Article.

The 1934 Constitution carries this preamble:

“The Filipino people, imploring the aid of Divine Providence, in order to establish a government that shall embody their ideals, conserve and develop the patrimony of the nation, promote the general welfare, and secure to themselves and their posterity the blessings of independence under a regime of justice, liberty, and democracy, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution."

A mere reading of the events during the last half of 1898 will already show how the Filipino leaders at the time were to succeed in forming a Philippine government and lay the foundations of a republic. But history was to take a new course.

The jubilation at Malolos during those September days was soon to turn into a mood for war. The young Republic was to lose what it had won. MPK