1899 Constitution
1899 Constitution
1899 Constitution
Preamble
We, the Representatives of the Filipino people, lawfully covened, in order to establish justice, provide for common
defense, promote the general welfare, and insure the benefits of liberty, imploring the aid of the Sovereign Legislator
of the Universe for the attainment of these ends, have voted, decreed, and sanctioned the following:
POLITICAL CONSTITUTION
Title IV: The Filipinos and Their National and Individual Rights
Article 6. The following are Filipinos:
1. All persons born in the Philippine territory. A vessel of Philippine registry is considered,
for this purpose, as part of Philippine territory.
2. Children of a Filipino father or mother, although born outside of the Philippines.
3. Foreigners who have obtained certification of naturalization.
4. Those who, without such certificate, have acquired a domicile in any town within
Philippine territory.
Constitution of the Philippines (1899) 2
It is understood that domicile is acquired by uninterrupted residence for two years in any locality within
Philippine territory, with an open abode and known occupation, and contributing to all the taxes
imposed by the Nation.
The condition of being a Filipino is lost in accordance with law.
Article 7. No Filipino or foreigner shall be detained nor imprisoned except for the commission of a crime and
in accordance with law.
Article 8. All persons detained shall be discharged or delivered to the judicial authority within 24 hours
following the act of detention. All detentions shall be without legal effect, unless the arrested person is duly
prosecuted within 72 hours after delivery to a competent court. The accused shall be duly notified of such
proceeding within the same period.
Article 9. No Filipino shall be imprisoned except by virtue of an order by a competent court. The order of
imprisonment shall be ratified or confirmed within 72 hours following the said order, after the accused has
been heard.
Article 10. No one shall enter the dwelling house of any Filipino or a foreigner residing in the Philippines
without his consent except in urgent cases of fire, inundation, earthquake or similar dangers, or by reason of
unlawful aggression from within, or in order to assist a person therein who cries for help. Outside of these
cases, the entry into the dwelling house of any Filipino or foreign resident in the Philippines or the search of
his papers and effects can only be decreed by a competent court and executed only in the daytime. The search
of papers and effects shall be made always in the presence of the person searched or of a member of his family
and, in their absence, of two witnesses resident of the same place. However, when a criminal caught in fraganti
should take refuge in his dwelling house, the authorities in pursuit may enter into it, only for the purpose of
making an arrest. If a criminal should take refuge in the dwelling house of a foreigner, the consent of a latter
must first be obtained.
Article 11. No Filipino shall be compelled to change his residence or domicile except by virtue of a final
judgment.
Article 12. In no case may correspondence confided to the post office be detained or opened by government
authorities, nor any telegraphic or telephonic message detained. However, by virtue of a competent court,
correspondence may be detained and opened in the presence of the sender.
Article 13. All orders of imprisonment, of search of a dwelling house, or detention of written correspondence,
telegraph or telephone, must be justified. When an order lacks this requisite, or when the grounds on which the
act was founded is proven in court to be unlawful or manifestly insufficient, the person to be detained or
whose imprisonment has not been ratified within the period prescribed in Art. 9, or whose correspondence has
been detained, shall have the right to recover damages.
Article 14. No Filipino shall be prosecuted or sentenced, except by a judge or court of proper jurisdiction and
according to the procedure prescribed by law.
Article 15. Except in the cases provided by the Constitution, all persons detained or imprisoned not in
accordance with legal formalities shall be released upon his own petition or upon petition of another person.
The law shall determine the manner of proceeding summarily in this instance, as well as the personal and
pecuniary penalties which shall be imposed upon the person who ordered, executed or to be executed the
illegal detention or imprisonment.
Article 16. No one shall be temporarily or permanently deprived of rights or dstured in his enjoyment thereof,
except by virtue of judicial sentence. The officials who, under any pretext whatsoever, should violate this
provision, shall be personally liable for the damages caused.
Article 17. No one shall be deprived of his property by expropriation except on grounds of public necessity
and benefit, previously declared and justified by proper authorities, and indemnifying the owner thereof prior
Constitution of the Philippines (1899) 3
to expropriation.
Article 18. No one shall be obliged to pay any public tax which had not been approved by the National
Assembly or by local popular governments legally so authorized, and which is not in the manner prescribed by
the law.
Article 19. No Filipino who is in full enjoyment of his civil or political rights, shall be impeded in the free
exercise of said rights.
Article 20. Neither shall any Filipino be deprived:
1. Of the right to freely express his ideas or opinions, orally or in writing, through the use of
the press or other similar means.
2. Of the right of association for purposes of human life and which are not contrary to
public morals; and lastly
3. Of the right to send petitions to the authorities, individually or collectively.
The right of petition shall not be exercised through any kind of armed force.
Article 21. The exercise of the rights provided for in the preceding article shall be subject to general
provisions regulating the same.
Article 22. Crimes committed on the occasion of the exercise of rights provided for in this title, shall be
punished by the courts in accordance with the laws.
Article 23. Any Filipino may establish and maintain institutions of learning, in accordance with the laws
authorizing them. Public education shall be free and obligatory in all schools of the nation.
Article 24. Foreigners may freely reside in Philippine territory, subject to legal dispositions regulating the
matter; may engage in any occupation or profession for the exercise of which no special license is required by
law to be issued by the national authorities.
Article 25. No Filipino who is in full enjoyment of his political and civil rights shall be impeded in his right to
travel freely abroad or in his right to transfer his residence or possessions to another country, except as to his
obligations to contribute to military service or the maintenance of public taxes.
Article 26. No foreigner who has not been naturalized may exercise in the Philippines any office which carries
with it any authority or jurisdictional powers.
Article 27. All Filipinos are obliged to defend his country with arms when called upon by law, and to
contribute to the expenses of the State in proportion to his means.
Article 28. The enumeration of the rights provided for in this title does not imply the denial of other rights not
mentioned.
Article 29. The prior authorization to prosecute a public official in the ordinary courts is not necessary,
whatever may be the crime committed.
A superior order shall not exempt a public official from liability in the cases which constitute apparent
and clear violations of constitutional precepts. In others, the agents of the law shall only be exempted if
they did not exercise the authority.
Article 30. The guarantees provided for in Articles 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 and paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 20
shall not be suspended, partially or wholly, in any part of the Republic, except temporarily and by authority of
law, when the security of the State in extraordinary circumstances so demands.
When promulgated in any territory where the suspension applies, there shall be a special law which shall
govern during the period of the suspension, according to the circumstances prevailing.
The law of suspension as well as the special law to govern shall be approved by the National Assembly,
and in case the latter is in recess, the Government shall have the power to decree the same jointly with
Constitution of the Philippines (1899) 4
the Permanent Commission, without prejudice to convoking the Assembly without the least delay and
report to it what had been done.
However, any suspension made shall not affect more rights than those mentioned in the first paragraph
of this article nor authorize the Government to banish or deport from the Philippines any Filipino.
Article 31. In the Republic of the Philippines, no one shall be judged by a special law nor by special tribunals.
No person or corporation may enjoy privileges or emoluments which are not in compensation for public
service rendered and authorized by law. War and marine laws shall apply only for crimes and delicts which
have intimate relation to military or naval discipline.
Article 32. No Filipino shall establish laws on primogeniture, nor institutions restrictive of property rights, nor
accept honors, decorations, or honorific titles or nobility from foreign nations without the consent of the
Government.
Neither shall the Government establish in the Republic institutions mentioned in the preceding
paragraph, nor confer honors, decorations, or honorific titles of nobility to any Filipino.
The Nation, however, may reward by special law approved by the Assembly, conspicuous services
rendered by citizens of the country.
Article 42. The sessions of the Assembly shall be public. However, sessions may be held in secret upon
petition of a certain number of its members fixed by the Rules, deciding afterwards by an absolute majority of
votes of the members present if the discussion on the same subject has to continue in public.
Article 43. The President of the Republic shall communicate with the Assembly by means of messages, which
shall be read by a Department Secretary.
The Department Secretaries shall have the right to be heard in the Assembly, upon their request, and
they may be represented in the discussion of certain bills by Commissioners appointed by decrees of the
President of the Republic.
Article 44. The Assembly may constitute itself into a Tribunal of Justice to hear and determine crimes
committed against the security of the State by the President of the Republic and members of the Council of
Government, by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and by the Solicitor General of the Nation, by means
of a decree promulgating it, or by the Permanent Commission, or by the President of the Republic upon
petition of the Solicitor General or Council of Government.
The law shall determine the mode and manner of the accusation, instruction, and disposition of the
proceedings.
Article 45. No member of the Assembly shall be prosecuted nor held accountable for the opinions expressed
by him, nor by the vote taken by him in the discharge of his office.
Article 46. No member of the Assembly shall be prosecuted criminally without authority of the Assembly or
of the Permanent Commission to which an immediate report of the facts shall be made, for its proper action.
The imprisonment, detention, or apprehension of a member of the Assembly shall not be carried out
without the prior authority of the same or by the Permanent Commission. The moment the Assembly is
notified of the order of imprisonment, it shall incur liability if, within two days following the
notification, it does not authorize the imprisonment or give sufficient reason upon which the refusal is
based.
Article 47. The National Assembly shall have the following additional powers:
1. To approve Rules for its internal government.
2. To examine the legality of the elections and the legal qualifications of the elected
members.
3. To elect its President, Vice-Presidents, and Secretaries.
Until the Assembly has been dissolved, the President, Vice-Presidents, and
Secretaries shall continue to exercise their office for the period of four
legislative terms; and
4. To accept the resignations of its members and grant privileges in accordance with the
Rules.
Article 48. No bill shall become law without having been voted on by the Assembly. To approve a bill, the
presence in the Assembly of at least one-fourth of the total number of the members whose elections have been
duly approved and taken the oath of office shall be necessary.
Article 49. No bill shall be approved by the Assembly until after it has been voted upon as a whole and
subsequently article by article.
Article 50. The Assembly shall have the right of censure, and each of the members the right of interpellation.
Article 51. The initiative in the presentation of bills belongs to the President of the Republic and to the
Assembly.
Article 52. Any member of the Assembly who accepts from the Government any pension, employment, or
office with salary, is understood to have renounced his membership. From this shall be excepted the
Constitution of the Philippines (1899) 6
employment as Secretary of the Government of the Republic and other offices provided for by special laws.
Article 53. The office of Representatives shall be for a term of four years, and shall be compensated by a sum
fixed by law, according to the circumstances.
Those who absent themselves during the entire period of the legislative sessions shall not be entitled to
any compensation; but they may be allowed to recover the right to compensation should they attend
subsequently.
Article 61. The President shall promulgate the laws duly approved by him within 20 days following their
transmittal to him by the Assembly.
Article 62. If within this period, the President should fail to promulgate them, he shall return them to the
Assembly with his reasons for the return, in which case the Assembly may reconsider same, and it shall be
presumed by a vote of at least two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present in a quorum. If repassed in
the manner indicated, the Government shall promulgate same within ten days, with a manifestation of its
non-conformity. The obligation is imposed upon the Government if it allows twenty days to elapse without
returning the bill to the Assembly.
Article 63. When the promulgation of a law has been declared urgent by express will of an absolute majority
of votes of the Assembly, the President of the Republic may require the Assembly to re-approve same which
cannot be refused, and if the same bill is repassed, the President shall promulgate it within the legal period,
without prejudice to his making of record his non-conformity with the bill.
Article 64. The promulgation of laws shall be made by publishing them in the official gazette of the Republic,
and shall have the force of law thirty days following such publication.
Article 65. The President of the Republic shall have at his disposal the army and the navy, and may declare
war and make and ratify treaties with the prior consent of the Assembly.
Article 66. Treaties of peace shall not take effect until voted upon by the Assembly.
Article 67. The President of the Republic, in addition to his duty to execute the laws, shall:
1. Supervise civil and military employees in accordance with the laws.
2. Appoint the Secretaries of the Government.
3. Direct the diplomatic and commercial relations with foreign powers.
4. See to it that justice is duly and promptly administered throughout the Philippines.
5. Grant pardon to convicted criminals in accordance with the laws, except any special
provision relating to the Secretaries of the Government.
6. Preside over all national functions and receive ambassadors and accredited
representatives of foreign powers.
Article 68. The President of the Republic may be authorized by special law:
1. To alienate, transfer or exchange any portion of Philippine territory.
2. To incorporate any other territory to the Philippine territory.
3. To admit the stationing of foreign troops in Philippine territory.
4. To ratify of alliance, defensive as well as offensive, special treaties of commerce, those
which stipulate to grant subsidies to a foreign power, and those which may compel Filipinos
to render personal service.
Secret treaties in no case may prevail over the provisions of open treaties or
treaties made publicly.
5. To grant general amnesties and pardons.
6. To coin money.
Article 69. To the President belongs the power to issue regulations for the compliance and application of the
laws in accordance with the requisites prescribed in said laws.
Article 70. The President of the Philippines, with the prior approval by majority vote of the Representatives,
may dissolve the Assembly before the expiration of its legislation term. In this case, new elections shall be
called within three months.
Article 71. The President of the Republic may be held liable only for cases of high treason.
Constitution of the Philippines (1899) 8
Article 72. The salary of the President of the Republic shall be fixed by special law which may not be changed
except after the presidential term has expired.
5. Power of taxation shall be exercised to the end that provincial and municipal taxation do
not come into conflict with the power of taxation of the State.
Transitory Provisions
Article 94. Meanwhile and without prejudice to the provisions of Article 48 and to the acts of the commissions
designated by the Assembly to translate and submit to the same the organic laws in the development and
application of the rights granted to Filipino citizens and for the government of public powers therein
mentioned, the laws of the Republic shall be considered those found existing in these islands before the
emancipation of the same.
The provisions of the Civil Code relating to marriage and civil registry, suspended by the Governor
General of these islands; the Instructions of April 26, 1888 to carry into effect Articles 77, 78, 79, and
82 of said Code; the law on civil registry of June 17, 1870 which refers to Article 332 of the same, and
the Regulation of December 13 following for the enforcement of this law, without prejudice to the
Chiefs of towns continuing to be in charge of inscriptions in the civil registry and intervening in the
celebration of marriage between Catholics, shall also be deemed in force and effect.
Article 95. In the meantime that the laws referred to in the preceding article have not been approved or
enforced, the Spanish laws which said article allows to be enforced provisionally may be amended by special
law.
Article 96. Once the laws approved by the Assembly have been promulgated in accordance with Article 94,
the Government of the Republic shall have the power to issue decrees and regulations necessary for the
immediate organization of the various organs of the State.
Article 97. The present President of the Revolutionary Government shall assume later the title of President of
the Republic and shall discharge the duties of this office until the Assembly when convoked proceeds to the
election of one who shall definitely exercise the duties of the office.
Article 98. The present Congress, composed of members by suffrage or by decree, shall last for four years, or
for the duration of the present legislative term commencing on the 15th of April of next year.
Article 99. Notwithstanding the general rule established in part 2 of Article 4, in the meantime that the country
is fighting for its independence, the Government is empowered to resolve during the closure of the Congress
all questions and difficulties not provided for in the laws, which give rise to unforeseen events, of which the
Permanent Commission shall be duly apprised as well as the Assembly when it meets in accordance with this
Constitution.
Article 100. The execution of Article 5, Title III shall be suspended until the constituent Assembly meets in
session.
In the meantime, municipalities which require spiritual ministry of a Filipino priest may provide for his
necessary maintenance.
Article 101. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 62 and 63, bills returned by the President of the
Republic to the Congress may not be repassed except in the legislature of the following year, this suspension
being under the responsibility of the President and his Council of Government. When these conditions have
been fulfilled, the promulgation of said laws shall be obligatory within ten days, without prejudice to the
President making of record his non-conformity.
If the reapproval is made in subsequent legislative terms, it shall be deemed law approved for the first
time.
Constitution of the Philippines (1899) 11
Additional Article
All the estates, edifices, and other property possessed by the religious corporations in these islands shall be
deemed restored to the Philippine State as of May 24, 1898 when the Dictatorial Government has been
constituted in Cavite.
Final Paragraph
BARASOAIN, the twentieth of January, 1899.
The President of the Congress
Pedro A. Paterno
The Secretaries
Aguedo Velarde
Alberto Barretto
Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista
Antonio Luna
Antonio Feliciano
Arcadio del Rosario
Ariston Bautista
Ariston Gella
Arsenio Cruz-Herrera
Basilio Teodoro
Benito Legarda
Ceferino de Leon
Domingo Samson
Esteban de la Rama
Felipe Buencamino
Felipe Calderon
Felix Bautista
Felix Ferrer Pascual
Fernando Cañon
Graciano Cordero
Gregorio Aguilera
Gregorio Aglipay
Higinio Benitez
Hipolito Magsalin
Hugo Ilagan
Ignacio Villamor
Isidro Torres
Isidro Paredes
Javier Gonzales Salvador
Joaquin Gonzales
Constitution of the Philippines (1899) 12
Joaquin Luna
Jose Basa
Jose Salamanca
Jose R. Infante
Jose F. Oliveros
Jose Tuason
Jose Santiago
Jose M. de la Vina
Jose M. Lerma
Jose Albert
Jose Coronel
Jose Alejandrino
Jose Fernandez
Jose Luna
Juan Nepomuceno
Juan Manday
Juan Tuason
Justo Lucban
Leon Apacible
Leon Guerrero
Lorenzo del Rosario
Lucas Gonzales Maninang
Manuel Xerex Burgos
Manuel Gomez Martinez
Manuel Calleja
Marciano V. del Rosario
Mariano Abella
Mariano Lopez
Mariano Crisostomo
Martin Garcia
Mateo Gutierrez Ubaldo
Mateo del Rosario
Melecio Figueroa
Mena Crisologo
Miguel Zaragoza
Narciso Hidalgo Resurreccion
Pablo Ocampo
Pablo Tecson Roque
Patricio Bailon
Constitution of the Philippines (1899) 13
Pedro A. Paterno
Perfecto Gabriel
Pio del Pilar
Raymundo Alindada
Ricardo Paras
Salvador V. del Rosario
Santiago Barcelona
Santiago Icasiano
Sebastian de Castro
Simplicio del Rosario
Sofio Alandi
Sotero Laurel
Telesforo Chuidian
Teodoro Sandico
Teodoro Gonzales
Tomas Arejola
Tomas G. del Rosario
Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera
Vicente Foz
Vicente Guzman Pagulayan
Vicente Somoza
Vito Belarmino
Presidency of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines.
D. Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy,
President of the Revolutionary Government of the Philippines and Captain General and Commander-in-Chief of its
Army.
Know all Filipino citizens: That the Assembly of Representatives of the nation, by virtue of its sovereign power, has
decreed and I have sanctioned the political Constitution of the state.
Therefore:
I command all the authorities, civil as well as military, of whatever class or rank, to keep it and cause it to be kept,
complied with and executed in all its parts, because it is the sovereign will of the Filipino people.
Done at Malolos, on the twenty-first of January in the year eighteen hundred and ninety-nine.
EMILIO AGUINALDO
This work is in the public domain because it is a work of the Philippine government (see Republic Act No. 8293 or Section 176 of the
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Article Sources and Contributors 14
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