14. Power to Propose Amendments to the Constitution

Two Steps in Amendatory Process

• Proposal or the adoption of the suggested change in the Constitution. A proposed amendment may come from:
• Congress – (as a Constituent Assembly) by vote of 3/4 of all its members;
• Constitutional Convention - either by vote of 2/3 of all the members of Congress or by a majority vote of all members of Congress with a question of whether to call or not to call a convention to be resolved by the people in a plebiscite; or
• People’s Initiative - at least 12% of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least 3% of the registered voters therein. Limitation is once every five (5) years. NOTE: No amendment in this manner shall be authorized:
• within five (5) years following the ratification of the 1987 Constitution; nor
• more often than once every five (5) years. (Sec. 2, Art. XVII, 1987 Constitution) NOTE: Constitutional provisions on amendments via People’s Initiative are not self-executory. (Defensor-Santiago v. COMELEC, G.R. No. 127325, 19 Mar. 1997)
• Ratification of the proposed amendment through:
• A majority of votes cast in a plebiscite held not earlier 60 days nor later than 90 days after the approval of the proposal by Congress or the Constitutional Convention; or
• A majority of votes cast in a plebiscite held not earlier than 60 days nor later than 90 days after the certification of the Commission on elections of the sufficiency of the petition for initiative under Sec. 2, Art. XVII, 1987 Constitution.