FALSE: Ferdinand Marcos wrote the 1973 Constitution

At a glance

Claim: Former president Ferdinand Marcos wrote the 1973 Constitution.
Rating: FALSE
The facts: It was the 1971 Constitutional Convention, composed of 320 delegates elected from all around the country, that drafted the 1973 Constitution.
Why we fact-checked this: The claim can be found in a post made on January 18 by the Facebook page “Filipino Future,” with about 1,000 reactions, 94 comments, and 75 shares as of writing.

Complete details

Facebook page “Filipino Future” posted a claim on January 18 that former president Ferdinand Marcos wrote the 1973 Constitution.

The post reads: “FYI. Ang 90% ng nilalaman ng 1987 Constitution ay galing lang din sa 1973 Constitution na sinulat ni Marcos, kasama ang Bill of Rights. Ang dapat lang tanggalin dyan ay yong ilang binago ng mga alipores ni Cory.”

(FYI. 90% of the contents of the 1987 Constitution just came from the 1973 Constitution that Marcos wrote, including the Bill of Rights. What should be removed are the few changes by the minions of Cory.)

As of writing, the post had about 1,000 reactions, 94 comments, and 75 shares.

The claim that Marcos wrote the 1973 Constitution is false.

It was not Marcos himself who wrote the 1973 Constitution. Instead, it was drafted by the 1971 Constitutional Convention. It was composed of 320 delegates elected on November 10, 1970 from all around the country, and assembled on June 1, 1971.

The Constitutional Convention adopted the final draft of the Constitution on November 29, 1972. It was then presented to Marcos on December 1, 1972.

After that, citizens assemblies were formed by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 86 signed on December 31, 1972. Through Presidential Decree No. 86-A, these citizens assemblies held a referendum from January 10 to 15, 1973 for the ratification of the Constitution. On January 17, 1973, Proclamation No. 1102 deemed the 1973 Constitution ratified, despite much opposition.

Differences between the 1973 Constitution and the 1987 Constitution (along with a draft of a proposed 2018 Federal Constitution) can be seen in a table uploaded on the website of Arangkada Philippines. The table compares counterpart sections between each Constitution, although there are articles and sections in the 1973 Constitution with no discernible counterpart in the 1987 Constitution and vice versa.

Some readily seen differences in the 1973 and 1987 Constitutions include: the use of “Divine Providence” in the Preamble of the 1973 Constitution and “Almighty God” in the 1987 Constitution, the minimum age on the day of the election to be elected president, which is 50 in the 1973 Constitution and 40 in the 1987 Constitution, and the lawmaking body, which is the unicameral National Assembly in the 1973 Constitution and the bicameral Congress in the 1987 Constitution.

Rappler has fact-checked “Filipino Future” many times before, especially for posting false claims mentioning the Marcoses. Rappler has also fact-checked the similar claim that Marcos wrote 90% of the 1987 Constitution.

Moreover, the Constitution has been mentioned in several claims debunked in Rappler fact-checks before, such as the following:

– Percival Bueser/Rappler.com

Percival Bueser is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

Add a comment