Malolos Constitution

Malolos Constitution
General Aguinaldo (seated, center) and ten of the delegates to the first assembly that passed the constitution, in Barasoain Church, Malolos
(Taken December 8, 1929)
Overview
JurisdictionFirst Philippine Republic
RatifiedJanuary 21, 1899
SystemParliamentary republic
ChambersMalolos Congress (National Assembly)
LocationMalolos, Bulacan
Author(s)Felipe Calderón y Roca and Felipe Buencamino
SignatoriesMalolos Congress
Full text
Constitution of the Philippines (1899) at Wikisource
Malolos Congress in 1898
The church where the constitution was ratified

The Political Constitution of 1899 (Spanish: Constitución Política de 1899), informally known as the Malolos Constitution, was the constitution of the First Philippine Republic. It was written by Felipe Calderón y Roca and Felipe Buencamino as an alternative to a pair of proposals to the Malolos Congress by Apolinario Mabini and Pedro Paterno. After a lengthy debate in the latter part of 1898, it was promulgated on January 21, 1899.[1]

The constitution placed limitations on unsupervised freedom of action by the chief executive which would have hampered rapid decision making.[2] As it was created during the fight for Philippine independence from Spain, however, its Article 99 allowed unhampered executive freedom of action during wartime.[3] Unsupervised executive governance continued throughout the Philippine–American War which erupted soon after proclamation.[4]

  1. ^ Kalaw 1927, p. 132
  2. ^ Tucker 2009, pp. 364-365
  3. ^ Constitution of the Philippines (1899)  – via Wikisource.
  4. ^ Tucker 2009, p. 365