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 | |
| Jurisdiction | First Philippine Republic |
| Ratified | January 21, 1899 |
| System | Parliamentary republic |
| Chambers | Malolos Congress (National Assembly) |
| Location | Malolos, Bulacan |
| Author(s) | Felipe Calderón y Roca and Felipe Buencamino |
| Signatories | Malolos Congress |
| Full text | |
| Constitution of the Philippines (1899) at Wikisource | |
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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.
The constitution placed limitations on unsupervised freedom of action by the chief executive which would have hampered rapid decision making. As it was created during the fight for Philippine independence from Spain, however, its Article 99 allowed unhampered executive freedom of action during wartime. Unsupervised executive governance continued throughout the Philippine–American War which erupted soon after proclamation.