Marcos in 1986, President Corazon Aquino, using her emergency powers, promulgated a transitory charter known as the "Freedom Constitution" which did not affect the composition and powers of the Supreme Court. The Freedom Charter was replaced by the 1987 Constitution which is the fundamental charter in force in the Philippines at present. Under the current Constitution, it retained and carried the provision in the 1935 and 1973 Constitutions that "judicial power is vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law." However, unlike the previous Constitutions, the current Constitution expanded the Supreme Court's judicial power by defining it in the second paragraph of Section 1, Article VIII as: The definition, in effect, diluted the political question doctrine, that it is best to submit specific questions or issues specific questions to the political wisdom of the people, and thus, as a result, are beyond the review of the courts. Furthermore, the present Constitution provided for safeguards to ensure the independence of the Judiciary. It also provided for the Judicial and Bar Council, a constitutionally-created body that recommends appointees for vacancies that may arise in the composition of the Supreme Court and other lower courts. Overview Qualifications According to the Constitution, for a person to be appointed to the Supreme Court, he must be: a natural-born citizen of the Philippines; at least forty years of age, and have been for fifteen years or more a judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines. An additional constitutional requirement, though less precise in nature, is that a judge "must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and independence." Composition and manner of appointment Pursuant to Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines, the Court is composed of the Chief Justice and of the fourteen Associate Justices, all of whom are appointed by the President from a list of nominees made by the Judicial and Bar Council. An appointment to the Supreme Court needs no confirmation of the Commission on Appointments as the nomination is already vetted by the Judicial and Bar Council, a constitutionally-created body which recommends appointments within the judiciary. Upon a vacancy in the Court, whether for the position of Chief Justice or Associate Justice, the President fills the vacancy by appointing a person from a list of at least 3 nominees prepared by the