Chapter II – The President of the Republic

Article 90. The President of the Republic, as the Head of State, symbolizes the sovereignty of the people and the unity and solidarity of the nation with its ethnic, linguistic, cultural, social and economic diversities. The civilian control of the military is vested in the President of the Republic as the Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and in this capacity he shall be entitled to wear the uniform of Captain-General.

Article 91. The President of the Republic shall not be elected, but shall serve for a single term of seven years, or until he resigns or becomes incapacitated to discharge the duties of the Presidency, commencing from the date he ascends from the position of Vice President of the Republic into the office of the Presidency immediately upon its vacancy.

Article 92. The election of the Vice President of the Republic shall be held not earlier than sixty days nor later than ninety days from the date of the vacancy of the Vice Presidency. The President of the National Assembly shall fix the day of election and shall notify it in writing at least twenty days in advance to all the members of the Electoral Assembly, which is composed of members of the National Assembly and all the members of the assemblies of autonomous territories voting together as one body.

The Vice President of the Republic shall be elected from among three qualified candidates jointly nominated by the majority and minority parties together through the Electoral Tribunal. No person shall qualify for election as Vice President unless he:

  1. Is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
  2. Is at least sixty years of age on the day of election;
  3. Is a registered voter and resident of the Philippines for a period of not less than ten years immediately preceding the date of election;
  4. As required by Article 6, is a member of no clergy, whether as a priest, preacher, minister, other religious teacher, or dignitary as such;
  5. Is a member of no political party or coalition for a period of not less than six months immediately preceding the date of election;
  6. Is a well-accomplished person of sound mind with years of experience as a noted and recognized leader and expert in his field;
  7. Has had his nomination sponsored unanimously by all the members of the Electoral Tribunal; and
  8. Has consented to the nomination in writing.

The election of the Vice President of the Republic shall be held not later than ninety days from the date of vacancy, and not more than thirty days after the Electoral Tribunal has publicized its list of the three candidates for the Vice Presidency. There shall be no electioneering campaigns for the Vice Presidency.

The Vice President shall be elected from among the three qualified candidates by direct vote of the people. The candidate who received the majority of the entire votes cast in a preferential or alternative system of voting must be declared duly elected, and in the case of tie the President of the Republic shall cast the final vote.

Article 93. On assuming office, the Vice President shall make the following solemn Affirmation in writing before the Council of State:

“I do solemnly affirm that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines, and will continue to do so when I become the President of the Republic of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every person, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation.”

Two identical originals of the Affirmation shall be executed, one of which shall be handed over to the National Assembly to be preserved in its archives, and the other be filed in the National Archives of the Philippines.

Article 94. The President and Vice President of the Republic shall be politically neutral, shall not become members of any political party or coalition, and shall forfeit their right to exercise suffrage, except in the instance mentioned in Paragraph 3 of Article 92.

Article 95. The President and Vice President of the Republic shall each have an official residence. The salaries and emoluments of the President and Vice President of the Republic shall for each be determined by law and shall not be increased nor decreased during their tenure.

 Article 96. The offices of the President and Vice President of the Republic shall enjoy fiscal independence. Appropriations for the said offices shall be periodically increased by as much as the projected rate of inflation for the current fiscal year and shall not, under any situation, be decreased below the amount appropriated for the previous year. After approval of the budget by the National Assembly, the amounts so appropriated shall be automatically and regularly released.

Article 97. The President and Vice President of the Republic shall each be subject to the provisions of Articles 60 and 61 of this Constitution.

Article 98. The President of the Republic shall address the National Assembly at the opening of its ordinary session. He may also address messages to the National Assembly or appear before it any other time.

Article 99. The President of the Republic shall appoint the President of the Council of Government within three days following the latter’s election by the National Assembly.

Article 100. The President of the Republic shall act on behalf of the Republic in international affairs. Provided that without consent of the National Assembly the President of the Republic shall not undertake any act whereby the territory of the Republic will be increased or decreased, nor shall he enter into any obligation which for fulfillment requires the concurrence of the National Assembly, or which otherwise is of major importance; nor shall the President of the Republic, except with the consent of the National Assembly, terminate any international treaty entered into with the consent of the National Assembly.

Except for purposes of defense against an armed attack upon the Republic or Philippine forces the President of the Republic shall not use military force against any foreign state without the consent of the National Assembly. Any measure that the President of the Republic may take in pursuance of this provision shall immediately be submitted to the National Assembly, or to the Permanent Commission if the National Assembly is not in session.

Article 101. The President of the Republic shall receive the annual reports of the Supreme Court of Justice on the activities of the Judiciary within thirty days of the opening of the National Assembly. The President of the Republic shall also receive the annual reports of the Constitutional Commissions.

Article 102. The President of the Republic shall accredit ambassadors and special envoys and receive ambassadors and diplomatic envoys duly accredited to the Republic of the Philippines. He shall also appoint all officers and employees in his office in accordance with the Civil Service Law.

Article 103. The President of the Republic, upon the binding advice of the President of the Council of Government and whenever it becomes necessary, may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion. In case of invasion, rebellion or imminent danger thereof, upon the advice of the President of the Council of Government and when the public safety requires it, he or she may, for a period not exceeding sixty days, suspend the privilege of the writs of habeas corpus, habeas data, or amparo, or place the Philippines or any part thereof under martial law. Within forty-eight hours from the proclamation of martial law or the suspension of the writs of habeas corpus, habeas data, or amparo, the President of the Council of Government shall submit a report in person or in writing to the National Assembly. The National Assembly, by a vote of at least a majority of all its Representatives, may revoke such proclamation or suspension, which revocation shall not be set aside by the President of the Republic or the President of the Council of Government.

Upon the initiative of the President of the Council of Government and approved by the President of the Republic, the National Assembly may, in the same manner, extend such proclamation or suspension for a period to be determined by the National Assembly, if the invasion, rebellion or imminent danger thereof shall persist and public safety requires it.

The Permanent Commission shall, following such proclamation or suspension, substitute for the National Assembly if not in session, and shall convene within twelve hours. The Supreme Court of Justice 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 writs or extension thereof, and must release its decision thereon within thirty days from its filing.

A state of martial law does not suspend the operation of the Constitution, nor supplant the functioning of the civil courts or local legislative assemblies, nor authorize the conferment of jurisdiction on military courts and agencies over where civil courts are able to function, nor automatically suspend the privilege of the writ. 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. During the suspension of the privilege of the writs, any person thus arrested or detained shall be judicially charged or released within the period required in Article 31.

Article 104. Upon the binding advice of the President of the Council of Government, and not without such advice, the President of the Republic shall also exercise the following powers and functions:

  1. Declare a state of war or national emergency;
  2. Convene the National Assembly following the election of its members;
  3. Dissolve the National Assembly when the Government loses a vote of confidence;
  4. Call the National Assembly to an extraordinary session with the concurrence of the Permanent Commission;
  5. Promulgate all laws, treaties and international agreements;
  6. Appoint the regular members of the Judicial and Bar Council;
  7. Appoint the Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice;
  8. Appoint the Chairman and Members of the Constitutional Commissions; and
  9. Appoint the Chief of Staff and the heads of all the armed services.

Article 105. Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided in this Constitution, the President of the Republic, upon the recommendation of the President of the Council of Government, may grant pardon, and, after conviction by final judgment, grant reprieves, commutations, and remit fines and forfeitures. He shall, upon the recommendation of the President of the Council of Government, have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the Representatives in the National Assembly.

Article 106. The President of the Republic may, in the event of his illness or absence, delegate temporarily some or all his duties to the Vice President of the Republic. Temporary delegation of all duties shall not exceed three months without bringing into question in the National Assembly the incapacity of the President of the Republic. If the President of the Republic is judged by the National Assembly to be incapacitated, he or she shall vacate the Presidency and the Vice President shall ascend into the office of the Presidency.

Article 107. If the both the Presidency and the Vice Presidency of the Republic is vacant, the functions of an interim President of the Republic shall be exercised by the President of the Supreme Court of Justice whose office shall be taken over by one of the other Ministers of the Supreme Court of Justice in accordance with law. The interim President of the Republic shall have the same powers, functions, and limitations as the regular President of the Republic, but shall only serve until the regular Vice President has been elected and ascended into the position of President, after which he shall return to being a Minister of the Supreme Court pursuant to his previous appointment.

 

Kristian Ligsay Jensen

Half Danish half Filipino. Born and raised in Southeast Asia - mostly the Philippines. Has been living in Denmark since the age of 18.

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