Next CSE-PPT: 14 March 2027 · Professional & Subprofessional
Civil Service Exam reviewer on Article I (national territory), maritime zones, Article XVI (general provisions such as the flag, state immunity, the armed forces, the police and mass media) and Article XVII (amendments).
Article I of the 1987 Constitution defines the national territory, and laws such as the Archipelagic Baselines Law and the Philippine Maritime Zones Act apply it at sea. Article XVI contains general provisions on the flag, state immunity, the armed forces, the police and the mass media, while Article XVII explains how the Constitution itself may be amended or revised.
Learn the three ways to propose amendments and the vote each one needs, and the key maritime distances under international law: 12, 24 and 200 nautical miles.
Correct answer: D. Rivers, lakes and other inland waters
Terrestrial refers to land, fluvial to waters such as rivers and lakes, and aerial to airspace. Article I also includes the territorial sea, the seabed, the subsoil, the insular shelves and other submarine areas.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Internal waters of the Philippines
Article I adopts the archipelagic doctrine: these waters form part of the internal waters of the Philippines. The archipelago is treated as one unit of land and water.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. 200 nautical miles
The EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles from the baselines. In it, the coastal state has sovereign rights to explore and exploit natural resources. The territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles and the contiguous zone up to 24.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. 12 nautical miles
Under UNCLOS, a state's territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles from its baselines. Beyond it lies the contiguous zone, up to 24 nautical miles, where the state may enforce customs, immigration, fiscal and sanitary laws.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Philippine Archipelagic Baselines Law
RA 9522 amended RA 3046 (as amended by RA 5446) and defined the archipelagic baselines of the Philippines in line with UNCLOS. The Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality in Magallona v. Ermita (2011).
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Philippine Maritime Zones Act (RA 12064)
RA 12064, the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, was signed in November 2024 together with RA 12065, the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act. It declares the maritime zones under Philippine sovereignty and jurisdiction.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. 12 July 2016
The award of 12 July 2016 ruled, among other points, that China's claim to historic rights within the "nine-dash line" has no legal basis under UNCLOS. The Philippines began the arbitration on 22 January 2013.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Retirees of both the government and the private sectors
Section 8 directs the State to periodically review and increase the pensions and other benefits of retirees in both the government and private sectors, recognising that inflation reduces the value of fixed pensions over time.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Ratification by the people in a national referendum
Section 2 requires any law adopting a new name, national anthem or national seal to be ratified by the people in a national referendum. Symbols of the nation belong to the people.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. State immunity from suit
State immunity means the government cannot be sued unless it consents, expressly through a law or impliedly, for example when it enters into certain contracts. It prevents disruption of public services by lawsuits.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. National in scope and civilian in character
Section 6 requires one police force, national in scope and civilian in character, administered and controlled by a national police commission. RA 6975 of 1990 created the Philippine National Police under the DILG.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Shall not be appointed or designated in any capacity to a civilian position in the Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations
Section 5(4) bars active members of the AFP from civilian positions, including in GOCCs and their subsidiaries. Section 5(3) also prohibits them from engaging in partisan political activity except to vote, which keeps the military professional and civilian authority supreme.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. In times of war or other national emergency declared by the Congress, when the President may extend it
Section 5(7) limits the Chief of Staff's tour of duty to three years, but in times of war or other national emergency declared by Congress, the President may extend it. Laws on the AFP have since set fixed terms for senior officers.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Citizens of the Philippines or corporations wholly owned and managed by such citizens
Section 11(1) requires mass media to be wholly owned and managed by Filipino citizens or by corporations, cooperatives or associations wholly owned and managed by them. It is stricter than the 60–40 rule for public utilities.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. 70 percent
Section 11(2) limits the advertising industry to Filipino citizens or corporations at least seventy per centum Filipino-owned, and requires all their executive and managing officers to be Filipino citizens.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Three-fourths of all its Members
Section 1 provides that amendments or a revision may be proposed by Congress upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members, or by a constitutional convention. Section 2 adds amendments directly proposed by the people through initiative.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Two-thirds of all its Members
Section 3 allows Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of all its Members, to call a constitutional convention, or by a majority vote of all its Members, to submit to the electorate the question of calling such a convention.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Not earlier than 60 days nor later than 90 days after their approval
Section 4 sets the plebiscite between sixty and ninety days after the approval of the amendment or revision, giving voters time to study the changes. For amendments by people's initiative, the period counts from the certification of the petition's sufficiency.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Once every five years thereafter
Section 2 limits people's initiative to once every five years thereafter, and it may propose amendments, not a revision. Congress was asked to provide for its implementation, which it did through RA 6735.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. A treaty duly concurred in by the Senate and, when Congress so requires, ratified by a majority of votes cast in a national referendum
Section 25 requires a treaty concurred in by the Senate, ratified by the people in a referendum when Congress requires it, and recognised as a treaty by the other contracting state. The Senate rejected a new bases treaty in September 1991.
Read details