AmendmentS

Section 1.

1. Any amendment to, or revision of this Constitution may be proposed:

• by the Batasang Pambansa upon a 3/4 vote of all its Members, or
• by a constitutional convention.

(2) The Batasang Pambansa may, by a vote of 2/3 of all its Members, call a constitutional convention or, by a majority vote of all its Members, submit the question of calling such a convention to the electorate in an election.

SEC. 2. Any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution shall be valid when ratified by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite which shall be held not later than 3 months after the approval of such amendment or revision.

Article 17: TRANSITORY PROVISIONS

Section 1. An interim National Assembly shall exist immediately upon the ratification of this Constitution.

It shall continue until the Members of the regular National Assembly shall have been elected and shall have assumed office following an election called for the purpose by the interim National Assembly.

Except as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the interim National Assembly shall have the same powers and its Members shall have the same functions, responsibilities, rights and privileges, and disqualifications as the regular. National Assembly and the Members thereof.

SEC. 2. The Members of the interim National Assembly shall be the incumbent President and Vice-President of the Philippines, those who served as President of the 1971 Constitutional Convention, those Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives who shall express in writing to the Commission on Elections within thirty days after the ratification of this Constitution their option to serve therein, and those Delegates to the nineteen hundred and seventy-one Constitutional Convention who have opted to serve therein by voting affirmatively for this Article. They may take their oath of office before any officer authorized to administer oath and qualify thereto, after the ratification of this Constitution.

SEC. 3. (1) The incumbent President of the Philippines shall initially convene the interim National Assembly and shall preside over its sessions until the interim Speaker shall have been elected. He shall continue to exercise his powers and prerogatives under the nineteen hundred and thirty-five Constitution and the powers vested in the President and the Prime Minister under this Constitution until he calls upon the interim National Assembly to elect the interim President and the interim Prime Minister, who shall then exercise their respective powers vested by this Constitution.

(2) All proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, and acts promulgated, issued, or done by the incumbent President shall be part of the law of the land, and shall remain valid, legal, binding, and effective even after lifting of martial law or the ratification of this Constitution, unless modified, revoked, or superseded by subsequent proclamations, orders, decrees, instructions, or other acts of the incumbent President, or unless expressly and explicitly modified or repealed by the regular National Assembly.

SEC. 4. The interim Prime Minister and his Cabinet shall exercise all the powers and functions, and discharge the responsibilities of the regular Prime Minister and his Cabinet, and shall be subject to the same disqualifications provided in this Constitution.

SEC. 5. The interim National Assembly shall give priority to measures for the orderly transition from the presidential to the parliamentary system, the reorganization of the Government, the eradication of graft and corruption, the effective maintenance of peace and order, the implementation of declared agrarian reforms, the standardization of compensation of government employees, and such other measures as shall bridge the gap between the rich and the poor.

SEC. 6. The interim National Assembly shall reapportion the Assembly seats in accordance with Section two, Article Eight, of this Constitution.

SEC. 7. All existing laws not inconsistent with this Constitution shall remain operative until amended, modified, or repealed by the National Assembly.

SEC. 8. All courts existing at the time of the ratification of this Constitution shall continue and exercise their jurisdiction, until otherwise provided by law in accordance with this Constitution, and all cases pending in said courts shall be heard, tried, and determined under the laws then in force. The provisions of the existing Rules of Court not inconsistent with this Constitution shall remain operative unless amended, modified, or repealed by the Supreme Court or the National Assembly.

SEC. 9. All officials and employees in the existing Government of the Republic of the Philippines shall continue in office until otherwise provided by law or decreed by the incumbent President of the Philippines, but all officials whose appointments are by this Constitution vested in the Prime Minister shall vacate their respective offices upon the appointment and qualification of their successors.

SEC. 10. The incumbent members of the Judiciary may continue in office until they reach the age of seventy years, unless sooner replaced in accordance with the preceding section hereof.

SEC. 11. The rights and privileges granted to US citizens or to corporations or associations owned or controlled by US citizens under the Ordinance appended to the 1935 Constitution shall automatically terminate on July 3, 1974.

Titles to private lands acquired by such persons before such date shall be valid as against other private persons only.

SEC. 12. All treaties, executive agreements, and contracts entered into by the Government, or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations, are hereby recognized as legal, valid, and binding.

When the national interest so requires, the incumbent President of the Philippines or the interim Prime Minister may review all contracts, concessions, permits, or other forms of privileges for the exploration, development, exploitation, or utilization of natural resources entered into, granted, issued, or acquired before the ratification of this Constitution.

SEC. 13. Any public officer or employee separated from the service as a result of the reorganization effected under this Constitution shall, if entitled under the laws then in force, receive the retirement and other benefits accruing thereunder.

SEC. 14. All records, equipment, buildings, facilities, and other properties of any office or body abolished or reorganized under this Constitution shall be transferred to the office or body to which its powers, functions, and responsibilities substantially pertain.

SEC. 15. The interim National Assembly, upon special call by the.interim Prime Minister, may, by a majority vote of all its Members, propose amendments to this Constitution. Such amendments shall take effect when ratified in accordance with Article Sixteen hereof.

SEC. 16. This Constitution shall take effect immediately upon its ratification by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite called for the purpose and, except as herein provided, shall supersede the Constitution of nineteen hundred and thirty-five and all amendments thereto.

The foregoing Constitution was approved by the Filipino people in a referendum held between January 10, 1973 and January 15, 1973, the result of which was announced under Proclamation Numbered One Thousand One Hundred Two, dated January 17, 1973, by His Excellency, President Ferdinand E. Marcos. By virtue whereof, the Constitution came into full force and effect as of noon of January 17, 1973 In addition to the 1976 amendments reproduced in the following pages, the Filipino people in two plebiscites respectively held on January 30, 1980 and April 7, 1981 approved the amendments herein incorporated, the results being announced in Proclamation No. 1959 and Proclamation No. 2077.

1976 AmendmentS

1. There shall be, in lieu of the interim National Assembly, an interim Batasang Pambansa. Members of the interim Batasang Pambansa which shall not be more than 120, unless otherwise provided by law, shall include the incumbent President of the Philippines, representatives elected from the different regions of the nation, those who shall not be less than eighteen years of age elected by their respective sectors, and those chosen by the incumbent President from the Members of the Cabinet. Regional representatives shall be apportioned among the regions in accordance with the number of their respective inhabitants and on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio, while the sector shall be determined by law. The number of representatives from each region or sector and the manner of their election shall be prescribed and regulated by law.

2. The interim Batasang Pambansa shall have the same powers and its Members shall have the same functions, responsibilities, rights, privileges, and disqualifications as the interim National Assembly and the regular National Assembly and the Members thereof.

3. The incumbent President of the Philippines shall, within 30 days from the election and selection of the Members, convene the interim Batasang Pambansa and preside over its sessions until the Speaker shall have been elected. The incumbent President of the Philippines shall be the Prime Minister and he shall continue to exercise all his powers even after the interim Batasang Pambansa is organized and ready to discharge its functions, and likewise he shall continue to exercise his powers and prerogatives under the 1935 Constitution and the powers vested in the President and the Prime Minister under this Constitutions.

4. The President (Prime Minister) and his Cabinet shall exercise all the powers and functions, and discharge the responsibilities of the regular President (Prime Minister) and his Cabinet, and shall be subject only to such disqualifications as the President (Prime Minister) may prescribe. The President (Prime Minister), if he so desires, may appoint a Deputy Prime Minister or as many Deputy Prime Ministers as he may deem necessary.

5. The incumbent President shall continue to exercise legislative powers until martial law shall have been lifted.

6. Whenever in the judgment of the President (Prime Minister), there exists a grave emergency or a threat or imminence thereof, or whenever the interim Batasang Pambansa or the regular National Assembly fails or is unable to act adequately on any matter for any reason that in his judgment requires immediate action, he may, in order to meet the exigency, issue the necessary decrees, orders, or letters of instructions, which shall form part of the law of the land.

7. The Barangays and sanggunians shall continue as presently constituted but their functions, powers and composition may be altered by law.

Referenda conducted through the barangays and under the supervision of the Commission on Elections may be called at any time the Government deems it necessary to ascertain the will of the people regarding any important matter, whether of national or local interest.

8. All provisions of this Constitution not inconsistent with any of these amendments shall continue in full force and effect.

9. These amendments shall take effect after the incumbent President shall have proclaimed that they have been ratified by a majority of the votes cast in the referendum-plebiscite.