# Bayanihan Constitution/Article VIII

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Source: Full text: Consultative Committee's draft federal constitution. The Philippine Star.
ARTICLE VIII EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT
SECTION 1. The executive power of the Federal Republic is vested in the President.
SECTION 2. No person may be elected President unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, holder of a college degree or its equivalent and on the day of the election, at least forty (40) years of age, and domiciled in the Philippines for at least ten (10) years immediately preceding such election.
SECTION 3. There shall be a Vice President who shall have the same qualifications and term of office as the President.
The Vice-President shall be appointed as a Member of the Cabinet. The appointment shall not require confirmation.
SECTION 4. (a) The President and the Vice President shall be elected by direct vote of the people for a term of four (4) years, which shall begin at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following the day of the election and shall end at noon of the same date four (4) years thereafter. Both the President and Vice President shall be eligible for reelection to one (1) term.
(b) A person who has succeeded to the office of the President and has served as such for at least two (2) years and has been elected as President for a fresh term shall be ineligible for election to the same office at any other time.
(c) The President and the Vice President shall be elected as a team. A vote for the presidential candidate shall be counted as a vote for his vice presidential candidate.
(d) The returns of every election for President and Vice President, duly certified by the board of canvassers of each Federated Region, shall be transmitted to the Congress, directed to the President of the Senate. Upon receipt of the certificates of canvass, the President of the Senate shall, not later than thirty (30) days after the day of the election, open all the certificates in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives in joint public session, and the Congress, upon determination of the authenticity and due execution thereof in the manner provided by law, canvass the votes.
(e) The person having the highest number of votes shall be proclaimed elected, but in case two or more shall have an equal and highest number of votes, one of them shall forthwith be chosen by the vote of a majority of all the Members of both Houses of the Congress, voting jointly.
(f) The Congress shall promulgate its rules for the canvassing of the certificates.
(g) The Federal Electoral Court, shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of the President and Vice President, as provided for in Section 18, Article IX of the Constitution.
SECTION 5. Before they enter on the execution of their office, the President, the Vice President, or the Acting President shall take the following oath or affirmation:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President (or Vice President or Acting President) of the Federal Republic 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, last sentence will be omitted).
SECTION 6. The President shall have an official residence. The salaries of the President and Vice President shall be fixed by law and shall not be decreased during their tenure. No increase in compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the term of the incumbent during which such increase was approved. They shall not receive during their tenure any other emolument from the government or any other source.
SECTION 7. (a) The election for President and Vice President shall, unless otherwise provided by law, be held every second Monday of May and every four (4) years thereafter.
(b) If the President-elect fails to qualify, the Vice President-elect shall act as President until the President-elect shall have qualified.
(c) If at the beginning of their term, the President shall have died or shall have become permanently incapacitated, the Vice President shall become President.
(d) Where no President and Vice President shall have been elected or shall have qualified, or where both shall have died or become permanently incapacitated, the President of the Senate or, in case of his inability, the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall act as President until a President or a Vice President shall have been elected and qualified.
(e) The Congress shall, by law, provide for the manner in which one who is to act as President shall be selected until a President or a Vice President shall have qualified, in case of death, permanent incapacity, or inability of the officials mentioned in the next preceding paragraph.
SECTION 8. (a) In case of death, permanent incapacity, removal from office, or resignation of the President, the Vice President shall become the President to serve the unexpired term. In case of death, permanent incapacity, removal from office, or resignation of both the President and Vice President, the President of the Senate or, in case of his inability, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall act as President until the President or Vice President shall have been elected and qualified.
(b) The Congress shall, by law, provide who shall serve as President in case of death, permanent incapacity, or resignation of the Acting President. He shall serve until the President or the Vice President shall have been elected and qualified, and be subject to the same restrictions of powers and disqualifications as the Acting President.
SECTION 9. In case of vacancy in the Office of the Vice President, the President shall appoint a Vice President from among the Members of the Senate or House of Representatives who belong to the same political party or coalition of political parties as that of the President. The appointment shall need no confirmation by the Congress.
SECTION 10. The Congress shall, at ten o’clock in the morning of the third day after the vacancy in the offices of the President and Vice President occurs, convene in joint session in accordance with its rules without need of a call and within seven (7) 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 (45) days nor later than sixty days (60) from the time of such call. The bill calling such special election shall be deemed certified under paragraph (b) Section 26, Article VII of the Constitution and shall become law upon its approval on third reading by the Congress voting jointly. Appropriations for the special election shall be charged against any current appropriations and shall be exempt from the requirements of subparagraph (d) Section 25 of Article VII of this Constitution. The convening of the Congress cannot be suspended nor the special election postponed. No special election shall be called if the vacancy is within eighteen (18) months before the date of the next presidential election.
SECTION 11. (a) Whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.
(b) Whenever a majority of all the Members of the Cabinet transmit to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.
(c) Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall reassume the powers and duties of his office. Meanwhile, should a majority of all the Members of the Cabinet transmit within five (5) days to the President of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Congress shall decide the issue. For that purpose, the Congress shall convene, if it is not in session, within forty-eight (48) hours, in accordance with its rules and without need of call.
(d) If the Congress, within ten (10) days after receipt of the last written declaration, or, if not in session, within twelve (12) days after it is required to assemble, determines by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of both Houses, voting separately, that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall act as President; otherwise, the President shall continue exercising the powers and duties of his office.
SECTION 12. In case of serious illness of the President, the public shall be informed of the state of his health. The members of the Cabinet in charge of national security and foreign relations, and health, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the personal physician of the President shall not be denied access to the President during such illness.
SECTION 13. The President, Vice President, the Members of the Cabinet, and their Undersecretaries or Assistant Secretaries shall not, unless otherwise provided in the Constitution, hold any other office or employment during their tenure. They shall not, during said tenure, directly or indirectly, practice any other profession, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special privilege granted by the government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries. They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office.
The spouse and relatives by consanguinity or affinity, legitimate or illegitimate, within the fourth civil degree of the President shall not, during his tenure, be appointed as members of the Constitutional Commissions, the Federal Supreme Court, the Federal Constitutional Court, the Federal Administrative Court, the Federal Electoral Court, or as Secretaries, Undersecretaries, Chairpersons or Heads of bureaus or offices, including government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries.
SECTION 14. Appointments extended by an Acting President shall remain effective, unless revoked by the elected President within ninety (90) days from his assumption or reassumption of office.
SECTION 15. Three (3) months immediately before the next presidential elections and up to the end of his term, a President or Acting President shall not make appointments, except temporary appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein will prejudice public service or endanger public safety.
SECTION 16. The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or officers of the Armed Forces from the rank of Major General or Rear Admiral, and other officers whose appointments are vested in him by the Constitution. He shall also appoint all other officers of the Federal Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of other officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of departments, agencies, commissions, or boards.
The President shall have the power to make appointments during the recess of the Congress, whether voluntary or compulsory, but such appointments shall be effective only until after disapproval by the Commission on Appointments or until the next adjournment of the Congress.
SECTION 17. The President shall have control of all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices under the Federal Government. He shall ensure that the laws be faithfully executed.
SECTION 18. (a) The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion, or rebellion.
(b) In case of invasion, rebellion, or lawless violence, when the public safety requires it, he may, for a period not exceeding sixty (60) days, suspend the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight (48) hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, the President shall submit a report in person or in writing to the Congress. The Congress, voting jointly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its Members in regular or special session, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President. Upon the initiative of the President, the Congress may, in the same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the Congress, if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it.
(c) The Congress, if not in session, shall, within twenty-four (24) hours following such proclamation or suspension, convene in accordance with its rules without need of a call.
(d) The Federal Supreme Court may review, in an appropriate proceeding filed by any citizen, the sufficiency of the factual basis of the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the privilege of the writ or the extension thereof, and must promulgate its decision thereon within thirty (30) days from its filing.
(e) A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of the civil courts or legislative assemblies, nor authorize the conferment of jurisdiction on military courts and agencies over civilians where civil courts are able to function, nor automatically suspend the privilege of the writ.
(f) The suspension of the privilege of the writ shall apply only to persons judicially charged for rebellion or offenses inherent in or directly connected with invasion or lawless violence.
(g) During the suspension of the privilege of the writ, any person thus arrested or detained shall be judicially charged within three (3) days, otherwise, he shall be released.
SECTION 19. Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit fines and forfeitures, after conviction by final judgment of offenses defined by federal law or other penal legislation. He shall also have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the Members of the Congress, voting jointly.
SECTION 20. (a) The President may contract or guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines with the prior concurrence of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and subject to such limitations as may be provided by law.
(b) The Monetary Board shall, within thirty (30) days from the end of every quarter of the calendar year, submit to the Congress a complete report of its decision on applications for loans to be contracted or guaranteed by the government or government-owned and controlled corporations which would have the effect of increasing the foreign debt, and containing other matters as may be provided by law.
(c) When requested by Congress, the President and the Monetary Board shall submit to the Senate or the House of Representatives, or any of their committees, all documents and papers relative to such foreign loans.
SECTION 21. No treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.
SECTION 22. The President shall submit to the Congress within thirty (30) days from the opening of every regular session, as the basis of the general appropriations bill, a budget of expenditures and sources of financing, including receipts from existing and proposed revenue measures.
SECTION 23. The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time.
This work is in the public domain because it is a work of the Philippine government (see Republic Act No. 8293 Sec. 176).\nAll official Philippine texts of a legislative, administrative, or judicial nature, or any official translation thereof, are ineligible for copyright.
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