Philippine Readings and History

1. Attemps to Amend or Change
the 1987 Constitution

2. 1987 Constitution
•The 1987 constitution provided for three
methods by which the Constitution can be
amended, all requiring ratification by a majority
vote in a national referendum. These
methods were Constituent Assembly,
Constitutional Convention, and People’s
Initiative.

3. •Using these modes, there were efforts to amend or
change the 1987 Constitution, starting with the
presidency of Fidel V. Ramos.

4. First Attempt
•The first attempt was in 1995, when the Secretary of
National Security Council Jose Almonte drafted a
constitution, but it was exposed to a media and it
never prospered.

5. Second effort
•Happened in 1997, when a group called PIRMA hoped
to gather signatures from voters to change the
constitution through people’s initiative. Many are
against this, including Senator Miriam Defensor
Santiago, who brought the issue to court and won—
with Supreme Court judging that a people’s initiative
cannot push through without an enabling law.