FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
INTRODUCED BY HONORABLE MAR ROXAS 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Article 11, Section 1 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution in no uncertain terms 
declares that sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from 
them. As such, it is but appropriate that any amendments to, or revision of the basic law of 
the land should be a sincere answer to the people’s clamor for a genuine constitutional 
reform that will enhance the protection of human rights and promotion of social justice, 
promote good governance and public accountability and ensure autonomy and self- 
determination of the regions. 
There have been several attempts under the present administration to initiate the 
process of revising the 1987 Constitution. Proposals for charter change have been put 
forward in the House of Representatives in 2005, which then shifted to a call for a people’s 
initiative in 2006. Since the 14th Congress opened in July last year, charter change initiatives 
have come up to a total of 30 measures - 7 bills, 9 concurrent resolutions, 2 joint resolutions, 
and 12 House resolutions. Twenty-one of these measures warrant the need for charter 
change either by constitutional convention, constituent assembly, or through a people’s 
initiative. Indeed, the movement towards charter change refuses to die. 
The Filipino people however are wary. Distrust in the present administration that is 
replete with controversies and allegations of corruption, undermines the intention of those 
who are calling for sincere constitutional reforms. As it is, our nation is divided by political 
unrest and our economy is under threat from the global economic crisis. Filipinos, 
meanwhile, take severe punishment from corruption, high prices and food insecurity. Thus, 
while it is conceded that the present charter needs to go through the process of revision, this 
should be done with much deliberation and in an atmosphere of mutual trust and respect. 
This measure thus proposes a less divisive and more transparent mechanism of 
revising the present Constitution by calling for a Constitutional Convention the delegates of 
which shall be elected by the people simultaneously with the 2010 national elections. The 
filing of certificate of candidacy as a delegate to the Convention by any incumbent elective 
official of the government shall be automatically construed as resignation from office. The 
convention is mandated, through a process of public hearings and deliberations that shall be 
open to the public, to submit the proposed revised constitution for the people’s ratification 
within one year from the time of the effectivity of the rules of the Convention. The new 
Constitution shall be valid only when ratified by a majority of the votes cast in the plebiscite. 


During this difficult period characterized by political and economic unrest, it is 
incumbent that the constitutional reforms be completed through a transparent process that 
ensures utmost participation by the nation at large. In keeping with the sovereign mandate of 
the people, the new constitution of the Republic of the Philippines should be truly reflective 
of the ideals and aspirations of the Filipino nation, and not of a select few. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly requested. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session 
S E N A T E  
{i*r‘ 
I f % (  
S. B. No. 2 9 2 :$ 
INTRODUCED BY HONORABLE MAR R O U S  
AN ACT 
CONSTITUTING A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION TO AMEND THE 
1987 PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION, DEFINING QUALIFICATIONS FOR ITS 
DELEGATES WHO SHALL BE ELECTED SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE 
MAY 2010 NATIONAL ELECTIONS, APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR ITS 
OPERATIONS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assem bled 
SECTION 1. Short Tide. - This Act shall be known as the ”Constitutional Convention 
Act of 2009. 
” 
SEC. 2. 
Declaration of Policy - The State shall ensure that in the revision or 
amendment of the constitution, the time honored fundamental principles and blessings of 
democracy including but not limited to the following: protection of human rights, promotion 
of social justice, separation of powers, reduced discretion to the executive, grant of autonomy 
and self-determination to the regions, good governance and public accountability, shall be 
enhanced and better protected. 
SEC. 3. Powers and Fmctiom. -The Constitutional Convention shall have the power 
to revise or amend the 1987 Constitution pursuant to Section 2 of this Act. 
SEC. 4. Date of Hertion for Constitutional Convention Delegates. - There shall be an 
election of delegates to a Constitutional Convention simultaneous with the holding of the 
May 2010 National Elections. The Commission on Elections shall within thirty (30) days 
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from the enactment of this Act, promulgate the rules and regulations necessary for the 
elections of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention. 
SEC. 5. 
Composition and Tern of the Constimtional Convention. - The 
Constitutional Convention shall be composed of two (2) delegates from every legislative 
district. The drafting of the amended or revised constitution by the delegates of the 
Constitutional Convention shall be completed within a period not exceeding one (1) year 
after the effectivity of its rules. 
Unless approved by Congress through a law with 
appropriations, no extension of the term of the Constitutional Convention shall be allowed. 
SEC. 6. PIebiscite and Ratification of the Revised or Amended Constitution. - The 
revised or amended constitution shall be submitted for ratification in a plebiscite which shall 
be held not earlier than sixty (60) days nor later than ninety (90) days after the approval of 
such revision or amendment. The revised or amended constitution shall be valid when 
ratified by a majority of the votes cast in the plebiscite. 
SEC. 7. QuaIiEcations, - No person shall be elected a delegate of the Constitutional 
Convention 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, a qualified voter, of recognized probity, 
independence, nationalism and patriotism. 
SEC. 8. DisquaIXcatiom. - The following are disqualified from being a candidate for 
the election of delegates of the Constitutional Convention: 
1. 
All incumbent elected officials of the government, including but not limited to 
the President, Vice-president, Members of the Congress, and local government officials, 
Provided that, any of the foregoing who files a certificate of candidacy as delegate of the 
Constitutional Convention shall automatically be construed as officially resigned from his 
position. 
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Any person who has been declared by competent authority as insane or 
incompetent, or has been sentenced by final judgment for subversion, insurrection, rebellion 
or for any offense for which he has been sentenced to a penahy of more than eighteen 
months or for a crime involving moral turpitude, shall be disqualified to be a candidate for 
the Constitutional Convention, nor allowed to sit as a delegate of the Constitutional 
Convention, unless he has been given plenary pardon or granted amnesty. 
SEC. 9. 
Future Disqud&cations - Any person elected as a delegate of the 
Constitutional Convention shall not be eligible to run for any public office or position in the 
first national and first local elections to be held after the ratification of the new Constitution. 
Further, no elected delegate of the Constitutional Convention shall be appointed to any 
public office or position while the Constitutional Convention is in session and within a 
period of one (1) year after the plebiscite for the revised or amended Constitution. 
SEC. 10. Oach OfDelegates- Delegates of the Constitutional Convention shall qualify 
and assume office by taking the following oath or affirmation: 
“1, (name of delegate), do solemnly swear and affirm that I shall faithfully and 
conscientiously hlfill my duties as Delegate of the Constitutional Convention of 2010 by 
drafting a fundamental law truly reflective of the ideals and aspirations of the Filipino 
people, endeavor to complete the work of the Constitutional Convention within the period 
provided by law, not to run for any office in the first local and national elections to be held 
after the ratification of the Constitution that the Constitutional Convention will propose, and 
preserve and defend the duly ratified Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. So help 
me God.” 
SEC. 11. Adhihsmtive Support. - A11 national government offices and agencies and 
local government units shall accord and give the Constitutional Convention the necessary 
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support and respect by allowing its officers and personnel to attend the hearings and/or 
proceedings of the Constitutional Convention. 
SEC. 12. No Restrhkg Order or Pdliminary Injunction, - Except for the Supreme 
Courc, no court of the Philippines shall have jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or 
writ of preliminary injunction against the Constitutional Convention in any case or dispute 
arising from or necessary to the application and enforcement of the provisions of this Act 
SEC. 13. Rules of the Constitutional Convention - The elected delegates of the 
Constitutional Convention shall establish its own rules and regulations for the effective and 
efficient conduct of its purpose and proceedings. 
The Constitutional Convention shall have the powers to cite any person in direct or 
indirect contempt, and, accordingly, issue the appropriate penalties for contumacious 
conduct. 
The rules of the Constitutional Convention must be completed by the delegates of the 
constitutional convention within a period of Twenty (20) days from the time the delegates 
take their oath. The rules shall be approved by a majority vote of all the elected delegates. 
SEC. 14. Paxliamentay Immunities. - A delegate of the Constitutional Convention 
shall, in all offenses punishable by not more than six (6) years imprisonment, be privileged 
from arrest during attendance of its session, and in going to and returning from the same. 
Further, a delegate of the Constitutional Convention shall not be questioned nor be 
held in any other place for any speech or debate in the Constitutional Convention, in any 
committee thereof, or in any public hearing conducted by the Constitutional Convention or 
any committee thereof whenever held. 
SEC. 15. Appropnktims. - For the implementation of this Act, the amount of One 
Billion Pesos (P1,000,000,000.00) shall be appropriated to the Constitutional Convention. 
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T h i s  whole amount shall be made available to the Constitutional Convention in a timely 
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manner. 
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Each delegate of the Constitutional Convention shall receive a per diem of not less 
than Three Thousand Pesos (P3,OOO.OO) for every day of attendance in the Constitutional 
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Convention or of any of its committees, and, to necessary traveling expenses to and from his 
residence when attending the sessions of the Constitutional Convention or of its committees. 
SEC. 16. Separabilicy Clause. - If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act 
shall be held unconstitutional or invalid, the other section or provision not otherwise 
affected shall remain in full force and effect. 
SEC. 17. 
Repealing Clawe. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, 
proclamations, rules and regulations which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act 
are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
SEC. 18. E'fectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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