Originally adopted to restore democracy following Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship, the 1987 Philippine Constitution’s legitimacy has been questioned amidst the presidential election of his son, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in 2022. The middle class, a critical demographic responsible for ratifying constitutional amendments, has played a pivotal role in the Philippines’ democratic fabric. As another Marcos rules under a constitution that had repudiated his father, the dissertation explores voters’ perspectives to better understand the Constitution beyond the state at a critical juncture in Philippine democracy, writes Amanda Fidelino
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The amendment of constitutions, a legal framework for political organization, is a fundamental component of the democratic process. However, the Philippines’ current constitution has remained unchanged for thirty-seven years, a significant contrast to the global average constitutional life span of nineteen years. Developed as a response to restore democracy following Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship, the 1987 Constitution includes onerous and highly contested amendment processes, such as requiring a national referendum within a stringent 60-to-90-day period following the proposal’s approval by Congress.
The Filipino middle class, comprising 40.2% of the population, represents a crucial segment not only for the national referendum but also for the country’s democratic fabric. Scholars highlight the middle class’s pivotal role in shaping Philippine democracy, most notably in the removal of Marcos Sr. during the 1986 People Power Revolution and the 2016 election of President Rodrigo Duterte, an event described as a “middle-class revolution” (Ota, 2016; Rivera, 2018). The term “People Power” encapsulates the idea that it was the collective strength of ordinary citizens, led by the middle class, that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1986. These protests held on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) led to Corazon Aquino’s presidency, whose administration established the 1987 Constitution or the “EDSA Constitution”. For three decades, the EDSA regime symbolized the Philippines’ commitment to liberal values, reinforcing the values of democracy, good governance, and freedom.
However, the election of presidents Rodrigo Duterte in 2016 and Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022 have been viewed as marking the end of the EDSA narrative’s dominance in Philippine politics. In this post-EDSA normative order, competent leadership, media freedom, and electing moral politicians have become an afterthought in political domains. After decades of being ostracized in Philippine political discourse, the Marcoses were no longer viewed as outsiders. In February 2024, Marcos Jr. allies were linked to a controversial £750,000 advertisement entitled EDSA-Pwera, a play on the Filipino word “excluded”, suggesting that ordinary people had been marginalized from the country’s progress since the 1986 People Power Revolution. Discrediting the EDSA Constitution, the ad suggests that a people’s initiative to amend the Constitution is necessary for systemic change. As the influence of the EDSA People Power narrative wanes, how does the Metro Manila middle class view constitutional change in this new normative order?
With existing research typically focusing on the Constitution’s legal structures and formal constitutional actors (such as politicians and legal experts), the dissertation shifts the attention to societal actors’ perspectives to better understand how the Constitution is seen beyond the state. Blokker (2017) argues that constitutions are socially embedded, with the legitimacy and justification for amendments extending beyond the normative lens of legal rationality. This framework reflects a deeper engagement with constitutional norms, exploring how ordinary Filipinos interpret and contest the application of legal rules within their lived experiences of democracy. Through qualitative interviews with Metro Manila middle-class voters, the dissertation situates their attitudes toward the 1987 Constitution vis-à-vis their democratic lives in the post-EDSA era and the ongoing contestation among political elites.
Leave it to the Experts
The 1987 Constitution’s legitimacy, according to informants, largely stems from a Metro Manila middle class that is generally detached from constitutional issues despite awareness of the contradictions they face in their everyday democratic life. Surveys reveal that three-fourths of Metro Manila residents and the upper- and middle classes claim to have little to no knowledge of the 1987 Constitution, despite a requirement for schools to provide pupils with an introduction to the law. In interviews, informants described their experiences of constitutional education as a superficial exercise in rote memorization rather than a meaningful engagement with the text, indicating a basic grasp of the Constitution even among highly educated informants. This lack of interest, with a sense of apprehension, to engage in constitutional issues leads the public to defer to legal experts. Instead, they choose to participate in voting as their main form of civic engagement. With constitutional literacy playing a critical role in effectively exercising democratic rights and citizenship, many Filipinos are unable to meaningfully contribute to constitutionalism, perpetuating constitutional questions as the domain of the legal and political elite.
Clamor from Above: Politically-Led Amendments
Resistance to constitutional change in the post-EDSA era is characterized by a profound mistrust of political actors and their underlying motives behind these proposed amendments. Politically-led amendments are seen to lack genuine grassroots support, with informants expressing strong concerns that these amendments primarily serve elite interests rather than the Filipino public. Despite multiple “people’s initiatives”, they claim politicians fabricate public clamor to rationalize proposed amendments. Interestingly, they drew parallels between the constitutional amendment initiatives of post-EDSA politicians and Marcos Sr.’s authoritarian strategy of engineering the introduction of the 1973 Constitution to further entrench his power. Although some expressed support for the Marcos family and Martial Law, this support co-existed with the legacy of constitutional manipulation during Martial Law, which remains influential in shaping the middle class’s perceptions of any proposed changes. In addition, their skepticism extends to the broader Filipino electorate, with fears that the uncertain process of constitutional change could be compromised by voter manipulation and vote buying, a belief underpinned by their accounts of flawed representational structures in Philippine democracy. As such, the Metro Manila middle class acquiesces in the preservation of the 1987 Constitution as a familiar framework, despite being aware of its shortcomings.
Flawed Democratic Mechanisms vs. Uncertainty
Finally, informants see a crisis, or the point at which all existing democratic mechanisms have been exhausted, as a potential justification for supporting constitutional amendments. Describing elections, and when necessary, variations of “People Power” or collective action, as operational avenues for exercising political agency, indicates that they value these accessible means of participation in the democratic process. Further, despite widespread democratic ambivalence, the EDSA narrative is increasingly seen as an elite conflict between the Marcoses and the Aquinos rather than a fundamental constitutional issue. Fearing the uncertainty of potential outcomes in constitutional amendment processes, for informants, there is no compelling reason to change a constitution that, despite its flaws, is “still working”. The current legal framework’s predictability and validity reinforce the resistance of the middle class to drastic reforms. This cautious approach also reflects individualism within the middle class, with informants exercising their citizenship periodically through elections, viewing this as an accessible and convenient way to address their concerns. They choose to engage with constitutional issues only when directly necessary, reinforcing a tendency to preserve the status quo. Consequently, they are able to compartmentalize the political landscape from cracks in the 1987 Constitution, viewing it as a predictable framework to preserve the economic, political, and civic rights they value.
Inclusive Constitutionalism
In the literature on constitutional change in the Philippines, legal texts and elite actors in politics and law have remained in focus. This dissertation has highlighted accounts of ordinary middle-class Filipinos, emphasizing their key role in constitutional contestation. The dissertation reveals that while political elites may have the resources and power to advocate for amendments to the 1987 Constitution, social actors are equally complex and maintain current arrangements for nuanced reasons. Although the study does not claim to predict a specific moment for amending the 1987 Constitution, it notably provides richer insights into the Philippines’ constitutional endurance from below, adding a sociological lens to understandings of the Constitution beyond legal circles and market surveys.
In addition, the dissertation constitutes the first research to explore the experiences of constitutional literacy among ordinary Filipinos. A lack of engagement with the 1987 Constitution, even among educated voters, points to weaknesses in democratic participation and citizenship in the Philippines. The dissertation argues that policymakers should first address these gaps by developing participatory and inclusive approaches to civic education, promoting a critical understanding of constitutional principles as originally underscored in the 1987 Constitution.
Finally, adopting a postcolonial perspective may offer further insights into the preference for elite dominance in constitutionalism. While scholars attribute Filipinos’ tendency towards elite control of the powerful executive branch to colonial legacies, this perspective has not yet been applied to contemporary constitutionalism in the Philippines. Integrating this approach could help to deepen our understanding of the dynamics of constitutionalism in other postcolonial contexts.
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*Banner photo by Sam Balye on Unsplash
*About the research: This blog is based on the Author’s dissertation for her LSE MSc Political Sociology, for which the Author was awarded SEAC’s Dissertation Fieldwork Grant.
*The views expressed in the blog are those of the authors alone. They do not reflect the position of the Saw Swee Hock Southeast Asia Centre, nor that of the London School of Economics and Political Science.