CONSTITUTIONAL LAW 1

7. Effectivity of the 1987 Philippine Constitution (Art. XVIII, Sec. 27)

Laws and International Agreements prior to the effectivity of
the 1987 Constitution Art. XVIII Sec. 3 and 4
[BASIS]:
Article XVIII TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
Section 3. All existing laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, letters of
instructions, and other executive issuances not inconsistent with this Constitution shall
remain operative until amended, repealed, or revoked.
Section 4. All existing treaties or international agreements which have not been ratified
shall not be renewed or extended without the concurrence of at least two-thirds of all the
Members of the Senate.

[FACTS/EXAMPLES]:
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVITY OF THE 1987
CONSTITUTION:

RP US Mutual Defense Treaty (August 30, 1951)

Treaty of Manila or formally the Treaty of General Relations between

the Republic of the Philippines and the United States of America
(July 4, 1946)

ASEAN Declaration (August 8, 1967)

SEATO (September 8, 1954)

United Nations Charter (June 26, 1945)

LAWS PRIOR TO THE EFFECTIVITY OF THE 1987 CONSTITUTION:

Presidential Decree No. 2036 (signed Feb. 20, 1986) - Creating the
Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines and defining its powers and functions.

Presidential Decree No. 2032 (signed Feb. 4, 1986) - Declaring National

Policies on Agricultural Development and promulgating the Agricultural Incentives Act of 1986.

Presidential Decree No. 2029 (signed Feb. 4, 1986) - Defining Governmentowned or Controlled Corporations (GOCCs) and identifying their role in National Development.

[ISSUE]:
Whether or not these laws and agreements that were enacted before the effectivity
of the 1987 Constitution remain active and in effect.
[RULING]:

Article XVIII Sec. 3 provides that All existing laws, decrees, executive orders,
proclamations, letters of instructions, and other executive issuances not
inconsistent with this Constitution shall remain operative until amended, repealed,
or revoked.
There are laws enacted prior to the 1987 Constitution that are consistent and still in
effect up to the present like the PD No. 2029 which defines GOCCs and their role in
National Development. These GOCCs remain operative up to this day. Some of these
are Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Development Bank of the Philippines, GSIS, Land
Bank of the Philippines, MWSS, NHA among many others.
Likewise in Sec. 4 of Article XVIII it provides All existing treaties or international
agreements which have not been ratified shall not be renewed or extended without
the concurrence of at least two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.
One debatable issue regarding Sec. 4 is the RP-US Mutual Defense Treaty because
during the late 1970s and 1980s our country saw a rise in anti-US sentiment
because of increasing allegations and perpetrations of U.S. military personnel
misconduct towards Filipino men and women. In 1991 President Cory Aquino wanted
to renew the agreement on Military Bases but the majority of the Senate were
opposed to the treaty. On September 13, 1991 the Senate voted against the
ratification and as a result the US Military Bases were removed in the Philippines.
However, it never truly dissipated as nowadays we can see US still exercising its
rights of the RP-US Defense Treaty especially with regards to training and
conducting anti-terrorism campaigns alongside the AFP like the Balikatan Exercises.