Feb 02 2008
The Philippine Government
This site caters to everyone, Filipinos and foreigners alike. There are topics, such as this one, that would seem weird to Filipinos because they’re supposed to know all about the Philippines. Still, this site is also intended for foreigners to get to know, and visit, the Philippines. This is the reason why, aside from the usual travel updates, we post articles to help foreigners to better understand Philippine culture and society. This time, let’s discuss the basic structure of the Philippine government.
The Philippines is a democratic and republican state. There are three branches of government — the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary — each branch being supreme in its own sphere but with constitutional limits and a firm tripod of checks and balances .
The Executive Branch
It is headed by the President, who is elected for a six-year term, just like the Vice-President. The President is the Chief Executive and exercises general supervision over all local government units (LGU), which are basically the political subdivisions. He (or, she, in the case of former President Corazon Aquino and incumbent President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). There were attempts to amend the Philippine Constitution in order to shift to a parliamentary system, which would have merged the executive and legislative branches of government, but these moves were struck down by the head of the third branch — Supreme Court.
The Legislative Branch
The legislative branch, which has the authority to make, alter or repeal laws, is the Congress. Under a bicameral system, the Congress is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 24 Senators, who are elected at large by the qualified voters of the Philippines, with each Senator having a term of 6 years. The House of Representatives, on the other hand, is composed of not more than 250 members, who are elected from legislative districts apportioned among the provinces, cities and the Metropolitan Manila area, and those who are elected through a party-list system of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations. The term of office of members of the House of Representatives, also called “Congressmen,” is 3 years.
The Judiciary
Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law. The Supreme Court is composed of a Chief Justice and 14 Associate Justices. Read more details here.
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