Proclamation No. 1595 (Marcos)

by Ferdinand Marcos

Layout 2

MALACAÑANG
RESIDENCE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
MANILA

PROCLAMATION No. 1595

By virtue of the powers vested in me by law, I hereby proclaim all the amendments embodied in this certificate as duly ratified by the Filipino people in the referendum-plebiscite held on Oct. 16–17, 1976 and are therefore effective and in full force and effect as of this date.

By the President:

---

Republic of the Philippines
COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
Manila

PROCLAMATION No. 1595

CERTIFICATE OF CANVASS OF THE VOTES CAST
IN THE
NATIONAL REFERENDUM-PLEBISCITE
HELD ON
OCTOBER 16–17, 1976
AND PROCLAMATION OF THE RESULTS THEREOF

The Commission on Elections, sitting EN BANC as the national board of canvassers for the October 16–17, 1976 referendum-plebiscite hereby certify:

I.
The Questions

The following questions were submitted for the resolution of the barangay voters in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 1033, dated September 22, 1976:

"1. Do you want Martial Law to be continued?

"2. Whether or not you want Martial Law to be continued, do you approve the following amendments to the Constitution? For the purpose of the second question, the referendum shall have the effect of a plebiscite within the contemplation of Section 2 of Article XVI of the Constitution.

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS:

"1. There shall be, in lieu of the interim National Assembly, an Interim Batasang Pambansa. Members of the Interim Batasang Pambansa which shall not be more than 120, unless otherwise provided by law, shall include the incumbent President of the Philippines, representatives elected from the different regions of the nation, those who shall not be less than eighteen years of age elected by their respective sectors, and those chosen by the incumbent President from the members of the cabinet. Regional representatives shall be apportioned among the regions in accordance with the number of their respective inhabitants and on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio while the sectors shall be determined by law. The number of representatives from each region or sector and the manner of their election shall be prescribed and regulated by law.

"2. The Interim Batasang Pambansa shall have the same powers and its members shall have the same functions, responsibilities, rights, privileges and disqualifications as the Interim National Assembly and the regular national assembly and the members thereof. However, it shall not exercise the powers provided in Article VIII, Section 14(1) of the Constitution.

"3. The incumbent President of the Philippines shall within 30 days from the election and selection of the members, convene the Interim Batasang Pambansa and preside over its session until the speaker shall have been elected. The incumbent President of the Philippines shall be the Prime Minister and he shall continue to exercise all his powers even after the Interim Batasang Pambansa is organized and ready to discharge its functions and likewise he shall continue to exercise his powers and prerogatives under the 1935 Constitution and the powers vested in the President and the Prime Minister under this Constitution.

"4. The President (Prime Minister) and his cabinet shall exercise all the powers and functions, and discharge the responsibilities of the regular President (Prime Minister) and his cabinet, and shall be subject only to such disqualifications as the President (Prime Minister) may prescribe. The President (Prime Minister) if he so desires may appoint a Deputy Prime Minister or as many Deputy Prime Ministers as he may deem necessary.

"5. The incumbent President shall continue to exercise legislative powers until martial law shall have been lifted.

"6. Whenever in the judgment of the President (Prime Minister), there exists a grave emergency or a threat or imminence thereof, or whenever the Interim Batasang Pambansa or the regular National Assembly fails or is unable to act adequately on any matter for any reason that in his judgment requires immediate action, he may, in order to meet the exigency, issue the necessary decrees, orders or letters of instruction, which shall form part of the law of the land.

"7. The Barangays and Sanggunians shall continue as presently constituted but their functions, powers, and composition may altered by law.

Referenda conducted through the barangays and under the supervision of the Commission on Elections may be called at any time the government deems it necessary to ascertain the will of the people regarding any important matter whether of national or local interest.

"8. All provisions of this Constitution not inconsistent with any of these amendments shall continue in full force and effect.

"9. These amendments shall take effect after the incumbent President shall have proclaimed that they have been ratified by a majority of the votes cast in the referendum plebiscite."

II.
The Canvass

That the Commission on Elections canvassed the returns from 66,786 referendum-plebiscite centers throughout the country involving twenty-three million seven hundred forty thousand one hundred seven (23,740,107) votes cast.

That on the basis of the canvass made by this Commission the results thereof are as follows:

On the Referendum Question:

Age Group	Affirmative Votes	Negative Votes	Abstentions
15 years of age and under 18 years	2,415,970	206,719	49,436
18 years of age and above	18,962,925	1,660,607	444,450
TOTAL	21,378,895 (90.05%)	1,867,326 (7.86%)	493,886 (2.09%)

On the Plebiscite Question:

Age Group	Affirmative Votes	Negative Votes	Abstentions
15 years of age and under 18 years	2,325,539	267,676	78,910
18 years of age and above	18,466,349	2,011,609	590,024
TOTAL	20,791,888 (87.58%)	2,279,285 (9.60%)	668,934 (2.82%)

Attached hereto and forming part hereof is a list by provinces, cities, municipalities and municipal districts of the votes cast in said referendum-plebiscite.

Proclamation of Results

In view of the above results, we hereby proclaim that a majority of the members of the barangay who cast their votes approved the following:

Referendum Question:

1. That Martial Law be continued.

Plebiscite Question:

2. That the proposed amendments to the Constitution be ratified.

In witness whereof, the members of the Commission on Elections hereby sign these presents in the City of Manila, Republic of the Philippines, at noon this 27th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-six.

Leonardo B. Perez
Chairman

Venancio S. Duque
Commissioner

Casimiro R. Madarang, Jr.
Commissioner

Flores A. Bayot
Commissioner

Venancio L. Yaneza
Commissioner