# 1984 Amendments to the Constitution of the Philippines

Source: Acts and Resolutions, Batasang Pambansa. pp. 327-330, 337-352.
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Republic of the Philippines Batasang Pambansa Metro Manila
Sixth Regular Session
Resolution No. 104
Resolved by the Batasang Pambansa in session assembled pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution and its Rules to propose, as it hereby proposes, to amend Sections Two and Four of Article Eight of the Constitution:
Section 1. Section Two, Article Eight of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 2. The Batasang Pambansa which shall be composed of not more than 200 Members unless otherwise provided by law, shall include representatives elected from the different provinces with their component cities, highly urbanized cities as may be declared by or pursuant to law, and districts in Metropolitan Manila, those elected or selected from the various sectors as may be provided by law, and those chosen by the President from Members of the Cabinet. Each district in Metropolitan Manila shall comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous, compact and adjacent territory. The elective representatives shall be apportioned by law among the provinces with their component cities, highly urbanized cities, and the districts of Metropolitan Manila in accordance with the number of their respective inhabitants and on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio, but the provinces with their component cities and highly urbanized cities shall have at least one representative each. The provinces and cities shall have at least the same total number of representatives as under the 1935 Constitution.
"The manner of the election of the representatives shall be prescribed by law. The number of representatives from each sector and manner of their election or selection shall be provided by law."
Sec. 2. Section Four, Article Eight of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4. No person shall be a Member of the Batasang Pambansa as a provincial, city or district representative unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least twenty-five years of age, able to read and write, a registered voter in the political subdivision in which he shall be elected, and a resident thereof for a period of not less than six months immediately preceding the day of the election.
"A sectoral representative shall be a natural-born citizen, able to read and write, and shall have such other qualifications as may be provided by law."
Sec. 3. Effectivity.—The proposed amendments shall take effect on the date the President of the Philippines shall proclaim that they have been ratified by a majority of the votes cast in the plebiscite held for the purpose, but not later than three months from the approval of the amendments.
Adopted, November 21, 1983.
Republic of the Philippines Batasang Pambansa Metro Manila
Sixth Regular Session
Resolution No. 105
Resolved by the Batasang Pambansa in session assembled pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution and its Rules to propose, as it hereby proposes, to amend Section 11 and Section 12 of Article XIV of the Constitution:
Section 1. Section 11, Article XIV of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 11. The Batasang Pambansa, taking into account conservation, ecological, and developmental requirements of the natural resources, shall determine by law the size of lands of the public domain which may be developed, held or acquired by, or leased to, any qualified individual, corporation, or association, and the conditions therefor. No private corporation or association may hold alienable lands of the public domain except by lease not to exceed one thousand hectares in area; nor may any citizen hold such lands by lease in excess of five hundred hectares or acquire by purchase, homestead or grant, in excess of twenty-four hectares. No private corporation or association may hold by lease, concession, license, or permit, timber or forest lands and other timber or forest resources in excess of one hundred thousand hectares; however, such area may be increased by the Batasang Pambansa upon recommendation of the National Economic and Development Authority."
Sec. 2. Section 12, Article XIV of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:
"Sec. 12. The State shall formulate and implement an agrarian reform program aimed at emancipating the tenant from the bondage of the soil and achieving the goals enunciated in this Constitution.
"Such program may include the grant or distribution of alienable and disposable lands of the public domain to qualified tenants, farmers and other landless citizens in areas which the President may by or pursuant to law reserve from time to time, not exceeding the limitations fixed in accordance with the immediately preceding Section."
Sec. 3. These amendments shall be valid as a part of the Constitution when approved by a majority of the votes cast in an election/plebiscite at which it is submitted to the people for their ratification pursuant to Section 2 of Article XVI of the Constitution, as amended.
Adopted, November 21, 1983.
Republic of the Philippines Batasang Pambansa Metro Manila
Sixth Regular Session
Resolution No. 110
Resolved by the Batasang Pambansa, by a vote of not less than three-fourths of all its Members, to propose as it hereby proposes:
Section 1. There are hereby proposed amendments to the Constitution of the Philippines new sections of Article VII to be known as Sections 2 and 3 to read as follows:
"Sec. 2. There shall be a Vice-President who shall have the same qualifications and term of office as the President, and may be removed from office in the same manner as the President as provided in Article XIII, Section 2 of this Constitution.
"The Vice-President may be appointed as a member of the Cabinet and may be nominated and elected as Prime Minister.
"The Vice-President shall be elected with and in the same manner as the President.
"Sec. 3. A vote for the President shall also be a vote for the Vice-President running under the same ticket of a political party, unless otherwise provided by law."
Sec. 2. Article VII, Section 2 of the Constitution is hereby proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 4. No person may be elected President unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election."
Sec. 3. Article VII, Section 4 of the Constitution is hereby proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 6. If, at the time fixed for the beginning of his term, the President-elect shall have died, the Vice-President-elect shall become President. If a President shall not have been chosen before the time fixed for the beginning of his term, or if the President shall have failed to qualify, then the Vice-President shall act as President until a President shall have qualified. The Batasang Pambansa shall by law provide for the case wherein neither a President-elect nor a Vice-President-elect shall have been chosen or shall have qualified, or both shall have died at the time fixed for the beginning of their term, declaring who shall then act as President or the manner in which one who is to act shall be selected, and such person shall act accordingly until a President or Vice-President shall have qualified."
Sec. 4. Article VII, Section 6 of the Constitution is hereby proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 8. (1) The President shall have an official residence. The President and Vice-President shall receive a salary to be fixed by law, which shall not be increased or decreased during their term of office. They shall not receive during their tenure any other emolument from the Government or any other source. Unless the Batasang Pambansa shall provide otherwise, the President and the Vice-President shall receive an annual salary of one hundred thousand pesos and eighty thousand pesos, respectively.
"(2) The President and the Vice-President shall not, during their tenure, hold any other office, except when otherwise provided in this Constitution, nor may they practice any profession, participate directly or indirectly in any business, or be financially interested directly or indirectly in any contract with, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including any government-owned or controlled corporation."
Sec. 5. Article VII, Section 7 of the Constitution is hereby proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 9. In case of permanent disability, death, removal from office or resignation of the President, the Vice-President shall become the President to serve the unexpired term. The Batasang Pambansa shall by law provide for the case of permanent disability, death, removal from office or resignation of both the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall then become President or the manner in which one shall be selected. In case a vacancy in the Office of President occurs before the presidential election in 1987, the Speaker of the Batasang Pambansa shall act as President until a President and a Vice-President or either of them shall have been elected and shall have qualified. Their term of office shall commence at noon of the tenth day following their proclamation, and shall end at noon on the thirtieth day of June of the sixth year thereafter.
"The Acting President may not declare martial law or suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus without the prior consent of at least a majority of all the Members of the Batasang Pambansa, or issue any decree, order or letter of instruction while the lawmaking power of the President is in force. He shall be deemed automatically on leave and the Speaker Pro Tempore shall act as Speaker. While acting as President, the Speaker may not be removed. He shall not be eligible for election in the immediately succeeding election for President and Vice-President.
"The Batasang Pambansa shall, at ten o'clock in the morning of the third day after the vacancy occurs, convene in accordance with its Rules without need of a call and within seven days enact a law calling for a special election to elect a President and a Vice-President to be held not earlier than forty-five days nor later than sixty days from the time of such call. The bill calling such special election shall be deemed certified under paragraph (2), Section 19, Article VIII of this Constitution and shall become law upon its approval on Third Reading by the Batasang Pambansa. Appropriations for the special election shall be charged against any current appropriations and shall be exempt from the requirements of paragraph (4), Section 16 of Article VIII of this Constitution. The convening of the Batasang Pambansa cannot be suspended nor the special election postponed. No special election shall be called if the vacancy occurs within seventy days before the date of the presidential election of 1987.
"Appointments extended by the Acting President shall remain effective, unless revoked by the newly elected President within ninety days from his assumption of office.
"The Batasang Pambansa shall by law provide for the case of death, permanent disability or resignation of the Speaker at the time the vacancy in the Office of the President occurs or subsequently thereafter, declaring who shall serve as President until the President and the VicePresident shall have been elected and qualified, subject to the same restrictions of powers and disqualifications as the Speaker when acting as President."
Sec. 6. Article VII, Section 10 of the Constitution is hereby proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 12. The President shall appoint the heads of bureaus and offices, the officers of the armed forces of the Philippines from the rank of brigadier general or commodore, and all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. However, the Batasang Pambansa may by law vest in the Prime Minister, members of the Cabinet, courts, heads of agencies, commissions, and boards the power to appoint inferior officers."
Sec. 7. As a consequence of the foregoing amendments, the numbering of the Sections of Article VII of the Constitution shall be adjusted as follows: Section 3 shall become Section 5; Section 5 shall become Section 7; Section 8 shall become Section 10; Section 9 shall become Section 11; Section 11 shall become Section 13; Section 12 shall become Section 14; Section 13 shall become Section 15; Section 14 shall become Section 16; Section 15 shall become Section 17; and Section 16 shall become Section 18.
Sec. 8. Article VIII, Section 7, paragraph (1) of the Constitution is hereby proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 7. (1) The Batasang Pambansa shall, by a majority vote of all its Members, elect its Speaker from among the elected provincial, city and district representatives thereof. It shall choose such other officers as it may deem necessary."
Sec. 9. All of Section 3, Article IX of the Constitution is hereby repealed.
Sec. 10. Article IX, Section 4 of the Constitution of the Philippines is proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 3. The term of office of the Prime Minister shall commence from the date of his election by the Batasang Pambansa and shall end on the date that the nomination of his successor is submitted by the President to the Batasang Pambansa. Any other member of the Cabinet may be removed at the discretion of the President."
Sec. 11. Article IX, Section 6 of the Constitution of the Philippines is proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 5. The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and the Members of the Cabinet, on assuming office, shall take the following oath or affirmation:
       ⁠'I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as (name of position) of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God.' (In case of affirmation, the last sentence will be omitted.)"
Sec. 12. Article IX, Section 7 of the Constitution is hereby proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 6. The salaries and emoluments of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Members of the Cabinet shall be fixed by law which shall not be increased or decreased during their tenure of office. Until otherwise provided by law, the Prime Minister shall receive the same salary as that of the President."
Sec. 13. Article IX, Section 8 of the Constitution of the Philippines is proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 7. The Prime Minister and the Members of the Cabinet shall be subject to the provisions of Section 11, Article VIII hereof and may not appear as counsel before any court or administrative body, or take part in the management of any business, or practice any profession, and shall also be subject to such other disqualifications as may be provided by law."
Sec. 14. Article IX, Section 9 of the Constitution of the Philippines is proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 8. The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister or any Member of the Cabinet may resign for any cause without vacating his seat as provincial, city, district or sectoral representative in the Batasang Pambansa, or any other government position."
Sec. 15. As a consequence of the foregoing amendments, Section 5 of Article IX shall become Section 4 and Section 10 shall become Section 9.
Sec. 16. Article VIII, Section 10 of the Constitution of the Philippines is proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
A Member of the Batasang Pambansa shall not hold any other office or employment in the Government, or any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations, during his tenure except that of Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Member of the Cabinet or Deputy Minister. Neither shall he, during the term for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office which may have been created or emoluments thereof increased while he was a Member of the Batasang Pambansa."
Sec. 17. Article VIII, Section 13, Paragraph (2) of the Constitution is hereby proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"(2) The Prime Minister may advise the President in writing to dissolve the Batasang Pambansa whenever the need arises for a popular vote of confidence on fundamental issues, but not on a matter involving his own personal integrity. Whereupon, the President may dissolve the Batasang Pambansa not earlier than seven nor later than fourteen days from his receipt of the advice, and call for an election on a date set by him which shall not be earlier than forty-five nor later than sixty days from the date of such dissolution. However, no dissolution of the Batasang Pambansa shall take place within eighteen months immediately preceding a regular election of the Batasang Pambansa or within eighteen months immediately following such election, or during the pendency of impeachment proceedings against the President, or when the powers of the President are exercised by the Speaker. The Batasang Pambansa shall not be dissolved oftener than once every twelve (12) months."
Sec. 18. Article XII (B), Section 4 of the Constitution is hereby proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"Sec. 4. (1) Unless otherwise provided by law, no elective official shall be eligible for appointment to any office or position during his tenure except as Member of the Cabinet.
"(2) No candidate who lost in an election shall be eligible for appointment or reappointment to any office in the Government, or in any government-owned or controlled corporation, within one year following such election."
Sec. 19. The title of Article VII of the Constitution is proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"THE PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT"
Sec. 20. The title of Article IX of the Constitution is proposed to be amended so as to read as follows:
"THE PRIME MINISTER AND THE CABINET"
Sec. 21. The foregoing amendments shall become effective on the date the President of the Philippines shall proclaim that they have been ratified in a plebiscite in accordance with Section 2, Article XVI of the Constitution of the Philippines.
Adopted, December 16, 1983.
Republic of the Philippines Batasang Pambansa Metro Manila
Sixth Regular Session
Resolution No. 111
Whereas, the approval by the Batasang Pambansa of a resolution proposing to amend certain provisions of Article VIII by providing for the election of its Members from provinces, highly urbanized cities and districts necessitates a proposal to amend certain provisions of Article IX so as to harmonize the provisions of both Articles on the membership of the Batasang Pambansa: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Batasang Pambansa, by a vote of three-fourths of all its Members, To propose, as it hereby proposes:
Section 1. The first paragraph, Section 1, Article IX of the Constitution is amended to read as follows:
"Section 1. There shall be a Cabinet which shall be composed of Ministers with or without portfolio appointed by the President. At least a majority of the Members of the Cabinet who are heads of ministries shall come from the provincial, city or district representatives of the Batasang Pambansa."
Sec. 2. This amendment shall be valid as part of the Constitution when approved by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite to be held pursuant to Section 2, Article XVI of the Constitution.
Adopted, December 16, 1983.
Republic of the Philippines Batasang Pambansa Metro Manila
Sixth Regular Session
Resolution No. 112
Resolved by the Batasang Pambansa, by a vote of three-fourths of all its Members, To propose, as it hereby proposes, an Ordinance to be appended to the Constitution as follows:
Section 1. For purposes of the election of Members of the regular Batasang Pambansa on the second Monday of May 1984 and subsequent elections and until otherwise provided by law, the Members of the Batasang Pambansa, other than the sectoral representatives and those chosen by the President from the Cabinet, shall be apportioned to the different provinces with their component cities, highly urbanized cities and the representative districts of Metropolitan Manila as follows:
National Capital Region: Manila, six (6); Quezon City, four (4); Caloocan, two (2), Pasay, one (1); Pasig and Marikina, two (2); Las Piñas and Parañaque, one (1); Makati, one (1); Malabon, Navotas and Valenzuela, two (2); San Juan and Mandaluyong, one (1); Taguig, Pateros and Muntinglupa, one (1);
Region I: Abra, one (1); Benguet, one (1); Ilocos Norte with Laoag City, two (2); Ilocos Sur, two (2); La Union, two (2); Mountain Province, one (1); Pangasinan with the cities of Dagupan and San Carlos, six (6); Baguio City, one (1);
Region II: Batanes, one (1); Cagayan, three (3); Ifugao, one (1); Isabela, three (3); Kalinga-Apayao, one (1); Nueva Vizcaya, one (1); Quirino, one (1);
Region III: Bataan, one (1); Bulacan, four (4); Nueva Ecija with the cities of Cabanatuan, Palayan and San Jose, four (4); Pampanga with Angeles City, four (4); Tarlac, two (2); Zambales, one (1); Olongapo City, one (1);
Region IV: Aurora, one (1); Batangas with the cities of Batangas and Lipa, four (4); Cavite with the cities of Cavite, Tagaytay and Trece Martires, three (3); Laguna with San Pablo City, four (4); Marinduque, one (1); Occidental Mindoro, one (1); Oriental Mindoro, two (2); Palawan with Puerto Princesa City, one (1); Quezon with Lucena City, four (4); Rizal, two (2); Romblon, one (1);
Region V: Albay with Legaspi City, three (3); Camarines Norte, one (1); Camarines Sur with the cities of Iriga and Naga, four (4); Catanduanes, one (1); Masbate, two (2); Sorsogon, two (2);
Region VI: Aklan, one (1); Antique, one (1); Capiz with Roxas City, two (2); Iloilo with Iloilo City, five (5); Negros Occidental with the cities of Bacolod, Bago, Cadiz, La Carlota, San Carlos and Silay, seven (7);
Region VII: Bohol with Tagbilaran City, three (3); Cebu with the cities of Danao, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Toledo, six (6); Negros Oriental with the cities of Bais, Canlaon and Dumaguete, three (3); Siquijor, one (1); Cebu City, two (2);
Region VIII: Leyte with the cities of Ormoc and Tacloban, five (5); Southern Leyte, one (1); Eastern Samar, one (1); Northern Samar, one (1); Samar with Calbayog City, two (2);
Region IX: Basilan, one (1); Sulu, one (1); Tawi-Tawi, one (1); Zamboanga del Norte with the cities of Dapitan and Dipolog, two (2); Zamboanga del Sur with Pagadian City, three (3); Zamboanga City, one (1);
Region X: Agusan del Norte with Butuan City, one (1); Agusan del Sur, one (1); Bukidnon, two (2); Camiguin, one (1); Misamis Occidental with the cities of Oroquieta, Ozamis and Tangub, one (1); Misamis Oriental with Gingoog City, two (2); Surigao del Norte with Surigao City, one (1); Cagayan de Oro City, one (1);
Region XI: Surigao del Sur, one (1); Davao del Norte, three (3); Davao Oriental, one (1); Davao del Sur, two (2); South Cotabato with General Santos City, three (3); Davao City, two (2);
Region XII: Lanao del Norte, one (1); Lanao del Sur with Marawi City, two (2); Maguindanao with Cotabato City, two (2); North Cotabato, two (2); Sultan Kudarat, one (1); Iligan City, one (1).
Sec. 2. Any province that may hereafter be created or any component city that may hereafter be declared by or pursuant to law as a highly urbanized city shall be entitled in the immediately following election to at least one Member or such number of Members as it may be entitled to on the basis of the number of its inhabitants and on the same uniform and progressive ratio used in the last preceding apportionment. The number of Members apportioned to the province out of which the new province was created or where the new highly urbanized city is geographically located shall be correspondingly adjusted by the Commission on Elections but such adjustment shall not be made within 120 days before the election.
Sec. 3. This Ordinance shall be appended to the Constitution and shall take effect on the date the President of the Philippines shall proclaim that they have been ratified by a majority of the votes cast in the plebiscite held for the purpose.
Adopted, December 16, 1983.
Republic of the Philippines Batasang Pambansa Metro Manila
Sixth Regular Session
Resolution No. 113
Whereas, significant numbers of residents in urban areas in various parts of the country are without residential land of their own and do not have the means to provide themselves with decent shelter;
Whereas, this deplorable situation is caused in great measure by the traditional concept of land ownership in Philippine society which has resulted in great misery among the urban poor, thereby hampering economic development and threatening the social and political stability of the nation;
Whereas, under the New Society the government has proclaimed urban land reform and has enacted laws and implemented programs pursuant thereto;
Whereas, there is need to continue developing and improving the urban land reform program in order to adequately meet the needs of ever-growing segments of urban communities;
Whereas, there is a corresponding need to emphasize and strengthen the constitutional base for urban land reform consistent with the constitutional provisions on social justice, bridging the gap between the rich and the poor, and other provisions of the Constitution: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Batasang Pambansa, by a vote of three-fourths of all its Members, To propose, as it hereby proposes:
Section 1. To add a last paragraph to Section 12 of Article XIV of the Philippine Constitution, which shall read as follows:
    "The State shall moreover undertake an urban land reform and social housing program to provide deserving landless, homeless or inadequately sheltered low income resident citizens reasonable opportunity to acquire land and decent housing consistent with Section 2 of Article IV of this Constitution."
Sec. 2. This amendment shall be valid as part of the Constitution when approved by a majority of the votes cast in a plebiscite held pursuant to Section 2, Article XVI of the Constitution.
Adopted, December 19, 1983.
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