Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971
In 1934 the US had approved a ten-year plan for the Philippines' transition from a commonwealth to a fully independent nation-state, based on the Jones Act of 1916.
Expressing opposition to the administration's policies and citing rising discontent over wide inequalities in society,[2] critics of Marcos began campaigning to change a constitution which they said had been written under the dominion of the country's former colonial overlords.
[2]: "130" Once the winners had been determined, the convention was convened on June 1, 1971, at the Manila Hotel[5] and was later transferred in 1972 to the then-newly completed Quezon City Hall.
Other delegates would become influential political figures, including Hilario Davide, Jr., Marcelo Fernan, Sotero Laurel, Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., Teofisto Guingona, Jr., Raul Roco, Edgardo Angara, Richard Gordon, Margarito Teves, and Federico Dela Plana.
Later, the Committee on Suffrage and Election Reforms, chaired by Raul Manglapus, drafted a resolution[2] which read: No person who has served as President of the Philippines shall be eligible to occupy the same office or that of chief minister or chief executive any time in the future, nor shall his spouse or relatives to the second degree by consanguinity or affinity be eligible to occupy the same office during any unexpired portion of his term or in one immediately succeeding term.
[2]Deliberations on these provisions dragged out due to partisan rambling, continuing until Marcos' declaration of martial law in September 1972.
In his speech on the plenary, Quintero accused fellow delegates that were for the moment unnamed of bribing him P11,150 to vote in support of provisions that would prolong the political career of the Marcoses and against those that would hamper it.
Quintero himself was politically indebted to the Marcoses because he was elected with the aid of Imelda Marcos' brother, but he said that he finally wanted "to do the correct thing".
The military units assigned to implement the law were given a list of 400 individuals to arrest, consisting mostly of outspoken critics of Marcos' administration.
)[9]: 39 The longest list the convention delegates were able to piece together listed a total of 32 delegates, identifying Bacalzo, Guingona, Concepcion, Nolledo, and Viterbo who were all arrested, and additionally mentioned "Delima (the only girl), Occeña, Badoy, Sanchez, the Espiritu brothers, Pepe Calderon, Kalaw, Father Ortiz, and Amatong".
[9]: 39 With nearly a dozen of its members in jail and some of its most prominent leaders overseas or in hiding, the "progressive faction" of the convention which spoke against Marcos was no longer able to contribute to the discussion.
[2] In contrast to the slow, contentious deliberations that marked its early days, the Convention moved quickly after Marcos had declared martial law.
Macapagal thus allowed the regular rules of the convention to be suspended so that a 166-member group headed by Marcos-supporting delegate Gilberto Duavit came up with a new draft of the Constitution.
[16] By November 29, 1972, a little over two months after the declaration of martial law, the Convention approved the draft, with Macapagal "reluctantly putting his signature" on a document that would give so much power to Marcos.
[19]: 213 Due to the lack of reportage accompanying the gagging of the Philippine press during martial law, there are no reliable records of how many citizens actually participated in these assemblies.
