I85PREP
⌘ K
PN Sailor Initial Test study materials
PN Sailor Initial Test study resources

PN Sailor Initial Test: Philippine History, Constitution, and Civics

PN Sailor Initial Test · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Philippine History, Constitution, and Civics

Philippine History, Constitution, and Civics

This domain checks chronological knowledge of Philippine history, the structure and rights provisions of the 1987 Constitution, and the civic laws every public servant is expected to know.

Historical anchors

1521 - Magellan lands and is defeated at Mactan by Lapu-Lapu; 1872 - Gomburza executed; 1892 - Katipunan founded; 1896 - revolution begins; 12 June 1898 - independence declared at Kawit, Cavite; 10 December 1898 - Treaty of Paris; 1899 - Malolos Constitution and the First Philippine Republic; 1935 - Commonwealth under Quezon; 1942–1945 - Japanese occupation; 4 July 1946 - Republic restored under Roxas; 21 September 1972 - martial law declared; February 1986 - EDSA People Power; 2 February 1987 - present Constitution ratified.

Constitutional structure

  • Executive: President and Vice-President, elected to six-year terms; the President is Commander-in-Chief and may not be re-elected.
  • Legislative: Senate (24, six-year terms) and House of Representatives (not more than 250). Congress alone declares the existence of a state of war, by two-thirds vote in joint session, and concurs in treaties by two-thirds of the Senate.
  • Judiciary: Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and 14 Associate Justices.
  • Bill of Rights: due process and equal protection, protection against unreasonable searches, privacy, rights of persons under investigation, and rights of the accused.
  • Suffrage: 18 years old, resident of the Philippines for one year and of the locality for six months.

Civics laws

RA 6713 sets eight norms of conduct for public officials, including commitment to public interest, professionalism, political neutrality, and simple living. RA 8491 governs the flag: blue over red in peacetime, red over blue in wartime.

Worked example

Who has the power to declare the existence of a state of war? Not the President, who is Commander-in-Chief and commands the armed forces; the Constitution assigns the declaration to Congress, by a two-thirds vote in joint session.

Traps that cost marks

  • Confusing the House (which initiates impeachment) with the Senate (which tries the case).
  • Reversing the peacetime and wartime flag arrangement.
  • Mixing the 1935, 1973 and 1987 constitutions.