Constitutional System of the Philippines

The 1987 Philippine Constitution is a People Power Constitution: it enshrines a revolutionary model of participatory democracy that culminated in the People Power Revolution, which in 1986 deposed the fourteen-year Marcos dictatorship following four days of peaceable popular protest. It is also a "Never Again!" Constitution: it introduces several novel safeguards designed to prevent a recurrence of dictatorship. Finally, it is a framework constitution: its social justice directives and other open-ended clauses have been entrusted to future generations to build out. These features have enabled the 1987 Constitution to endure, unamended, longer than most constitutions, despite the country's entrenched political dynasties, periodic crises, and lack of strong political parties.