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extracted text: Page 4 THE MANILA GUARDIAN March, 1950 I THE PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION ( By MANUEL V. MORAN Chief Justice, Supreme Court The Philippine Lawyers' Association deserves sincere commendation for having sponsored the idea of a reunion for members of the Bar on Constitution Day, which is celebrated throughout the country to emphasize the importance and significance of the Constitution and to dwell upon its influence on our individual Jive~ and the nation· al fortunes. . Frankly, I could not find it in me to decline the invitation to address this gathering of members of our craft because, considering it the civic duty of every Filipino to cherish the Constitution as the fundamental law of the land, I deem it a sacred obligation .:mccially of the Bench and of the Bar to pay public homage to it and willingly to contribute to that stream of thought and information on Constitutionalism that, fertilizing the fields of freedom and justice, makes for the happiness and prosperity of a people pursuing its destiny under a regime of democracy, liberty and sound government. In these years when despotic rulers have arisen in nation after nation to challenge the principles of republican government, when the hordes of lawlessness and rebellion are rampant, when peace and order is seriously threatened, it behooves those who believe and thrive in orderly procedure and con:;titutional safeguards to study the development and application of those basic principles that are the foundations of true liberty and democracy so that, knowing them, they shall all the more appreciate the blessings of a constitutional regime, and dedicate their efforts to the preservation and dissemination the1eof, for, in the matter of rights as in the matter of news, a well-informed public is the greatest security of the nation. This reminds me that this occasion could be availed of formally to bid those recalcitrant elements in the field to return to the fold of normalcy with the assurance that their safety and well-being are amply guaranteed by the provisions of the Constitution within the frame of which they may redress their grievances and obtain the remedies they so valiantly, but misguidedl,y; seek. I would define a Constitution as t.hat instrument whereby the people entrust to their government the authority to regulate their lives, their honor and their property, defining such authority and setting limits thereb. Any exe1·cise of governmental power beyond those limitations is the assumption of "power without right" and a repetition of such usurpation will eventually establish tyranny or a totalitarian state. I regard the Constitution as a solemn compact whereby the majority of the people promise to the minority or to the individual, that in the exercise of political sovereignty, they shall not transgress certain well-defined boundaries or will follow specified l'Ules ')f conduct. It is essentially the shield and the protection of the minority and of the individual citizen. And it is a product of the wisdom of the ages, because experience has shown that although Governments aL·e avowedly intended to promote and preserve society and its components, they have exhihited irresistible tendencies to extend their powers expanding their authority to the detriment and prejudice of their constituents. Wherefore, curbs are set forth the Constitution to protect those who should hap o lbe, for the moment, at odds with theit· gove1 t. No wonder it is the minority people that are t 1e: most ~rdent votaries in the august temple of the Constitution often pleading with the persons commissioned to officiate there, that the arm of the law be extended to restrain the majority on occasions when the latter would seize or wiefd undelegated prerogatives. Fifteen years ago today, pursuant to authority given by the Tydings-McDuffie Act of the United States Con- gress, our Constitution, the greatest instrument ever drawn by Filipino hands, was finally adopted by a Constitutional Convention composed of men select'!d by the people because of their talent, learning and deep patriotism. Some of the distinguished members of said Cor.stitutional Convention with tht'ir worthy President, Mr. Justice Recto, are here now ·with us, and there is every reason for the people to be grateful to them. Approved later by the President of the United States, our Constitution was overwhelmingly ratified by the. people in ::i plebiscite held in May, 1935. The makers of our Constitution, m.,stiy lawyers, were, of course, familiar with American Constitutional L!'tw, what with McKinley's Instructions, the Philippine Bill, the Jones Law and the Federal institutions-not to mention the Malolos Constitution which was drawn by liberal Spanishspeaking Filipino jurists. Unsurprisingly therefore our Fundamental Charter exhibited a blending of American d:ictrines with Filipino ideals and a few Spanish principles. It was in fact a revised edition of American Constitutions-undoubtedly an improved edition. Being the outcome of peaceful negotiations for the liberation of one subject people-not of war or revolution, as was the American-our Constitution contained an express renunciation of war as an instrument of state policy-even as it prescribed several principles of zealous national character to conserve the patrimony of the realm. Having been framed by a people not entirely free from outside influence, it w:is inevitable that the Constitution should carry certain restrictions, which had to be accepted because imposed by the enabfing Act, like the trade relations with the United States and the prese1·vation of the rights of American citizens. But as a product of the times, reflecting the political sagacity of the conveni:ionis;ts, the Constitution presents evolutionary accretions, liberal principles found to be consistent with the traditions and necessities of the Philip11ine commonweal, like the consecration of social justice ardently advocated by our beloved Manuel L. Quezon, the nationalization of natural resources, the expropriation of landed estates, the right of the Government to operate pri\'atc industries and means of transportation, the . duty of the estate to afford protection to labor and the assurar..ce that access to the comts shall not be denied by reason of poverty. I mention some of the highlights. But. I must not for~et to include the creation of the Electora~ Tribunrtl;; nnd the Commission 011 Ekdion;;, new instrumentnlitie~ March, 1950 THE MANILA GUARDIAN Page 5 designed to insure the untrammeled exprei;sion of the popular will. Assembled during that period when the admin!stration of Franklin D. Roosevelt had proclaimed the necessity of Presidential leadership in the struggle against serious <!COnomic depression-, at a time when the enemies of the New Deal opposed the numerous administrative regulations implementing congressional legislation upon the ground that they violated the principle outlawing delegation of legislative powers, the delegates perceived the possibilit.Y tl-at i:;ome day the Philippine people might encountff grave national emergencies requiring swift remedial action of the Executive. Hence the framers foresightedly adopted the modernized constitutional doctrine permitting delegation of legislative powers to the Chief Executive in certain crises. There is no gl'ound to suspect that the p1 ovision wa~ calculated to win the good graces ·of President Roosevelt, and to insure approval __ cp- the draft. Anyway the last world conflagration has..,.~ply justified the invocation, l•rrnu~;(' it enabled the Commonwealth to fun('tion during the war emer~ncy and even ;..fter J:'beration, by executive orde1·s and proclamations. Possibly the pre-war opinion of some eminent jurists was vindicated about the feasibility of establishing here as constitutional dictatorship in a modern democracy. I suppose it does not escape thP perspicacity of political scientists and legal scholars that the Executive Department admittedly the strongest in the Republic could, become considerably stronger and result in a virtual dictatorship, a consummation never to 'be devoutly wished in times of relative normalcy, because a dictatorship is still a dictatorship even if disguised as a constitntional dictatorship. In connection. with the modernization or revision of our basic legal system, the Constitution's treatment of judicial review may be scrutinzed. Most of my hearers will recall that the Constitution of the United States did not clearly invest its SU.preme Couit with jurisdiction to pess on the constitutionality of Congressional legislation. It was Chief Justice Marshall who, in the famous case of Marbury v. Madison spelled out the Court's power to measure Congressional laws against the pattern of the Constitution and its duty in case of conflict to declare the latte1 as paramount, and to ennui the Congressional enactment. Such was the formula that gradually evclved into what was subsequently claimed as the principle of Judi<"ial S.ipremacy, which is really a misnomer, because it is no assertion of superiority over the. other departments but only the exercise of the unavoidable obl_ignti'On to interpret the Constitution and to apply it in -proper cases. True that the performance of such obligation has given rise to reports of "judicial oligarchy",· or ~·government by the judiciary" or to the statement by Governor Hu~hes that thf' "constitution is what the judges say it is" or to that. other of President Wilson that "The Supreme Court is ·a coni:itu .. tional Convention in continuous session,'' but those were probably due to differences in perspective or to the color of the glasses of the speaker or writer. It should properly be called the power of judicial interpretation or review. Now, as such powe1· to inti!rpret and apply was not granted expressly in the Constitution of the United States, regulations for its exercise wei-P naturally not to be found therein. This indefiniteness becam':! the sour<"<' of controversies over its extent, and c0nflicting philosophies appeared between those whc maintainPd unlimited power of judicial revision and those who contended that the court should itself fix the boundar,y adopting the policy not to lightly overrule legislative measures presumably bearing the approval of the whole people, because enacted by their representatives in Cong1·ess. The last mentioned school of thought furthermore criticized thote five-to-four decisions annulling congressional laws, sti·aining its argument to the point of asse1ting that in those cases the law had actually been overthrown "by half a vote." Well, our Constitutional Convention, alive to the currents of juridical doctrine, endeavored to avoid that controversy by recognizing the authority of the Supreme Court to declare statutes as unconstitutional, but hedging judicial intervention with the requirement that two-thirds of th" memberships shall so declare---otherwise the law shall stand. Some have advanced the belief and prediction t~iat the two-third requirement ultimately enhances legislative prepoderanC€ even as it weakens the authority of the Judicature. I refused to share that view. The power to annul is vested in the court. And there it is. The number of votes required may prevent the po~sibility of .iudicial excesses and will, for that reason, make the pronouncements of the Couit stronger and more authoritative. And, furthermore, there is no doubt that in proper cases the great majority of the Justices will not fail to pE:rceive as unconstitutional what really infringes the directives of the Constitution. I make this statement without forgetting that our Constitution is intended "to endure for ages to come and, consequently, to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs" and to the varying needs of human life and accord. ingly· Justices must be responsive to the necessities of changing conditions calling for vision and judicial statesmanship. And I also have in mind that in the area of constitutional affairs, there is much unce1tainty as to particulars of future litigations. The expanding demands of society and civilization and the fields of governmental activit;y newl,y opened by the Constitution, ·will require riew types of legislative commands and prohib\tions to solve the multiple problems of commerce, indu~try a111).· agriculture, of labor .and capital, and the necessities in ge11~ral of the common welfare. Unprecendented complication on a national scale will happen, novel controversies will be joined and submitted to the men on the Bench, troubling their mind, testing their mettle. Yet it is reasona.lile to expect that as in the past the official inierpreters of the Constitution will perform their function, with all diJ.igence and impartiality, unswayed 'by storms of partisan strife, unmindful of pe1·sonal advantage, with an eye single to the meaning and words of the fundamental Charter to give effect to the ~~e0~hna;n:;~:.;;ed0~t:tsAf~;~;:~k~~; :~1: t~~ \~'~1~i~i~lt~:p~:.~= ment, I say, that is our firm purpoSe, om· .<;olemn pledge.. In our task for the attainment of our high objective, I am happy to say that we can alw"ays count on the cooperation of our good Bar. Indeed, any accomplishment of the court in the past is due, to a great extent, to the assistance and devotion to duty of our able lawyers. There is truth in the saying that with a good Bar there can be no bad Bench. Our lawyers in the Philippines may be compared, not unfavorably_y-With an,y Bar in the world today, specially in point of capacity, integrity and kr..owledge. There are many of them who are indeed true leaders in Juridical Science and are conscious that the life of ~he law is not logic alone but experience also, and thus they seek mature legal wisdom not only from books but from l'eal life as well. One of my joys !n court is to observe with pride how our good lawyers, specially the young ones argue their cases with such brilliance, conviction and wonderful capacity that 1 cannot help but raise my ":yes to God and thank Him, for the assurance that in the future we will have wo1thy successors in court. These years of our Republic, and the many more years to come, are crucial for us. The things we do now \Vil! make their mark upon the ¥ears to come. We are building upon the foundation of our future, much of which has already been laid. We have a form of governmed, which· history (Continued on page 11 J Mareh, 1950 THE MANILA GUARDIAN Page 11 to be effective, must be in \Vashington sometime next month. The campaign however is not totally confined in Congress. Other American leaders whose friendship to Filipinos has been demonstrated time and again have been asked to help in the cause. These include Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt and Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright. The help of these two particularly has been solicited following reports recently to the effect that both have co-sponsored a $2,000,000 drive to aid Philippine civilian and military war casualties. Separate letters thanking them fol' their benevolence and ::'.Sking them to help in the approval of the Cavalcante bill were written by I\fr. Brillantes. There are others in \Vashington who are unselfishly doing their bit for the cause. There is Atty. Vicente Villamin, still considered one of the most influential Filipinos in the United States who is making contacts with his Amel'ican friends in Congress regarding the measure. Ultimately adjudication of claims will have to be made by the \Var Claims Commission composed of Daniel Francis Cleary, chairman and Mrs. Georgia L. Lusk and David N. Lewis, members. The membership howeYer has been reduced to two with the untimely (kath in an airplane crash recently of l\Ir. Lewis. No successor to his office has yet been announced in "'ashington. Chairman Cleary is well-prepared for the job. As senior attol'ney in the Office of Legislation of the VetQrans' Administration, it was his work to analyze and report Qn legislative proposals affecting veterans. One of these proposals became the \Var Claims Act of 1948. As Chairman of the Commission it will be up to him to determine who is and who is not eligible for the benefits under the act. The months he spent analyzing the law as it passed through the Yarious stages of the legislative process will pro\·e to be beneficial to him in carrring out his duties. Claims b.v Americans and Filipinos who were former members of the USAFFE are now being JWOCl'ssed br the Commission. It is the hope of the PEPPA that before long, the War Claims Act ~hall have been amended to as to include former Filipino ciYilian internees among its beneficiaries. The Philippines: ... (Continued from page 5) has shown to be the besL We have :nerpetuated that g('vc•1 nm1"11t i11 a sacrer\ document, our Constitution. In no otlwr time in t!IC' past and perhaps in no other time in our futurt' as a nation and as a people, have we ever and will ,,.(, l'\"l'l' frp] the importance and the need of a Conditutinn <li' in thNw yeai·s of our political, social and economic ~ulol1•scp11:·(•, Our ciestination will be at the end of the path which we are now blazing. Our acts today will be precedents of the future. Even our sins and abuses now may be assimilated into the background and perpetuated Compliments Of PHILIPPINE CHINESE WINE MANUFACTURERS ASS'N Mr. Gonzalo Gaw Hok President 197 Juan I.una, 3rd Floor - Association Addres~ • Members: La Verdad, Inc. California Distillery Destileria Lim Tuaco Destileria La Copa Destileria La Fuerza Destileria La Corona Destileria La Refineria Destileria La Fortuna, Inc. Destil-eria Gonzalo, Inc. Destileria La Tondeiia, Inc. United Wines Merchant Gonzalo Gaw Hok, Inc. (Dollar Distillery) Hamilton Distillery Dcstileria La Estrella Through the maze of the IMPORT CONTROL ..... . THE MANILA GUARDIAN forges ahead to serve its readers into customs. The generations of tomorrow shall look back upon the march that we have begun and which we now lead and I fervently hope that they shall not fir.d a tortuous, dusty and bloody trail that we may leave behind as our meagre, miserable contribution to a proud and glorious lineage. Today on this occasion, I thank Divine Providence that, having implored His aid, we have a great Constitution which embodies our ideals and gu'di.::s us '.o secure to ourselves and our posterity the "blessings of independence under a regime of justice, liberty, and democracy". racy". --,Spee.ch delive1·ed before the Philippine Lr11r:1r 1.~· Association on Constitution Day, Feb. 8, J!J.~0.
Date: 1950
Rights