National Territory

Article 1: The National Territory

Section 1. The Philippines comprises all the territory ceded to the US by the Treaty of Paris of December 10, 1898.

The limits are in Article 3 of the said treaty. This includes all the islands in:

• the treaty concluded at Washington between the US and Spain on November 7, 1900
• the treaty concluded between the US and Britain on January 2, 1930
• all the territory of the present Philippine Government

Article 2: Declaration of Principles

Section 1. The Philippines, is a republican state. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them.

Section 2. The defense of the State is a prime duty of government, and in the fulfillment of this duty all citizens may be required by law to render personal military or civil service.

Section 3. The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, and adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the Nation.

Section 4. The natural right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency should receive the aid and support of the government.

Section 5. The promotion of social justice to insure the well-being and economic security of all the people should be the concern of the State.

Article 3: Bill of Rights

Section 1.

1. 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.
2. Private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.
3. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated

No warrants shall issue but on probable cause, to be determined by the judge after examination under oath or affirmation of the complainant and the witnesses he may produce, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

4. The liberty of abode and of changing the same within the limits prescribed by law shall not be impaired.
5. The privacy of communication and correspondence shall be inviolable except upon lawful order of the court or when public safety and order require otherwise.
6. The right to form associations or societies for purposes not contrary to law shall not be abridged.
7. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, and the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.
8. No law shall be passed abridging 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.
9. No law granting a title of nobility shall be enacted, and no person holding any office of profit shall, without the consent of the Congress of the Philippines, accept any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind whatever from any foreign state.
10. No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.
11. No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted.
12. No person shall be imprisoned for debt or non-payment of a poll tax.
13. No involuntary servitude shall exist, except as a punishment for crime
14. The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in cases of invasion, insurrection, or rebellion, when the public safety requires it

15. No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense without due process of law.
16. All persons shall before conviction be bailable by sufficient sureties, except those charged with capital offenses when evidence of guilt is strong. Excessive bail shall not be required.
17. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall be presumed to be innocent until proven guilty.

He shall enjoy the right to be heard by himself and counsel, to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation against him, to have a speedy and public trial, to meet the witnesses face to face, and to have compulsory process to secure the attendance of witnesses in his behalf.

18. No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.
19. Excessive fines shall not be imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.
20. No person shall be twice put in jeopardy of punishment for the same offense.

If an act is punished by a law and an ordinance, conviction or acquittal under either shall constitute a bar to another prosecution for the same act.

21. Free access to the courts shall not be denied to any person by reason of poverty.

Article IV: Citizenship

Section 1. The following are citizens of the Philippines:

1. Those who are citizens of the Philippine Islands at the time of the adoption of this Constitution.
2. Those born in the Philippine Islands of foreign parents who, before the adoption of this Constitution, had been elected to public office in the Philippine Islands.
3. Those whose fathers are citizens of the Philippines.
4. Those whose mothers are citizens of the Philippines and, upon reaching the age of majority, elect Philippine citizenship.
5. Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.

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

Article 5: Suffrage

Section 1

Suffrage may be exercised by male citizens who:

• are 21 years old or over
• are able to read and write
• have resided in the Philippines for 1 year and in the municipality wherein they propose to vote for at least 6 months preceding the election.

The National Assembly shall extend the right of suffrage to women, if in a plebiscite which shall be held for that purpose within two years after the adoption of this Constitution, not less than three hundred thousand women possessing the necessary qualifications shall vote affirmatively on the question.