Next CSE-PPT: 14 March 2027 · Professional & Subprofessional
Civil Service Exam reviewer on the 1987 Philippine Constitution: Congress, the President, the Supreme Court, the constitutional commissions, accountability of public officers and amendments.
The Philippine Constitution is the first item in the General Information part of both levels of the Civil Service Exam. This set covers how the 1987 Constitution was made and ratified, the composition and terms of the Senate and the House, the qualifications and terms of the President and Vice-President, martial law limits, the Supreme Court, the three constitutional commissions, impeachment and the ways to amend the Constitution.
Most questions turn on a number: an age, a term, a percentage or a number of days. Learn each one with the office it belongs to, as the explanations show, and you will be able to rule out options that borrow a number from a different office.
Correct answer: A. 2 February 1987
The Constitution drafted by the 1986 Constitutional Commission was ratified by the people in the plebiscite of 2 February 1987. The Commission had approved the draft on 12 October 1986 and signed it on 15 October 1986.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Cecilia Muñoz-Palma
Former Supreme Court Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma was elected president of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, whose members were appointed by President Corazon Aquino after the EDSA People Power Revolution.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. 18
The 1987 Constitution has a Preamble and 18 Articles. Article I covers the National Territory and Article XVIII, the last, contains the Transitory Provisions.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Article III
Article III is the Bill of Rights, beginning with the guarantee that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law. Article II contains the Declaration of Principles and State Policies.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. 24
Article VI, Section 2 provides for twenty-four senators elected at large by the qualified voters of the whole country. Because terms are staggered, twelve seats are contested in each regular election.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Two consecutive terms
Article VI, Section 4 sets the senator's term at six years and provides that no senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of office does not interrupt the continuity of service.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. 35 years
Article VI, Section 3 requires a senator to be at least thirty-five years old on the day of the election. A member of the House needs to be only twenty-five, and the President forty.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Three consecutive terms
Article VI, Section 7 gives members of the House a three-year term and limits them to three consecutive terms, or nine years in a row, while senators may serve two consecutive six-year terms.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. 20 percent
Article VI, Section 5(2) states that party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum of the total number of representatives, including those under the party list. The system was put into law by RA 7941.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Ten years
Article VII, Section 2 requires ten years' residence in the Philippines immediately preceding the election. The President serves a single six-year term and is not eligible for any re-election.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Two successive terms
Article VII, Section 4 gives the Vice-President a six-year term and provides that no Vice-President shall serve for more than two successive terms. The President, by contrast, cannot be re-elected at all.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. 60 days
Under Article VII, Section 18, the President may declare martial law for a period not exceeding sixty days, must report to Congress within forty-eight hours, and Congress may revoke it by a majority vote of all its members voting jointly.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Fourteen
Article VIII, Section 4 provides for a Chief Justice and fourteen Associate Justices, fifteen members in all. Members hold office during good behaviour until they reach the age of seventy.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Commission on Human Rights
Article IX names three Constitutional Commissions: the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Elections and the Commission on Audit. The Commission on Human Rights is an independent office created by Article XIII, Section 17.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. A Chairman and two Commissioners
Article IX-B, Section 1 provides for a Chairman and two Commissioners, appointed for seven-year terms without reappointment. The COMELEC, by comparison, has a Chairman and six Commissioners.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Article XI – Accountability of Public Officers
Article XI, Section 1 declares that public office is a public trust and that public officers must be accountable to the people and serve them with responsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. A Senator
Article XI, Section 2 lists the impeachable officers: the President, the Vice-President, members of the Supreme Court, members of the Constitutional Commissions and the Ombudsman. Senators are not impeachable; each house of Congress may discipline its own members.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Two-thirds of all senators
The House of Representatives has the exclusive power to initiate impeachment, and the Senate has the sole power to try and decide. Under Article XI, Section 3(6), no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members of the Senate.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Filipino
Article XIV, Section 6 states that the national language of the Philippines is Filipino, which shall be further developed and enriched on the basis of existing Philippine and other languages. Filipino and English are the official languages.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. 12 percent
Article XVII, Section 2 requires at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, every legislative district being represented by at least three per centum. Such an initiative may be exercised only once every five years.
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