Politics in the Philippines are governed by a three-branch system of government. The country is a democracy, with a president who is directly elected by the people and serves as both the head of state and the head of government. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and is a powerful political figure. A president may only hold office for one six-year term. The bicameral Congress consists of two separate bodies: the Senate, with members elected at-large across the country, and the larger House of Representatives, with members chosen mostly from specific geographic districts. The Congress performs legislative functions. The judiciary is overseen by the Supreme Court of the Philippines and has extensive review jurisdiction over judgments issued by other governmental and administrative institutions.
The president of the Philippines is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The Congress of the Philippines is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of an upper body, the Senate, and a lower body, the House of Representatives, although colloquially, the term "Congress" commonly refers to just the latter. The Senate meets at the GSIS Building in Pasay, while the House of Representatives meets at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, which also hosts joint sessions.
A constitutional commission is a body of commissioners appointed by a government for the purpose of making or revising a constitution. The commissioners are typically experts. However, in a country governed by a military regime, the commissioners may be actual or alleged experts whose political opinions match those of that government, and in other countries there may perceptions or allegations that the commissioners include such persons. The commission may be advisory or preparatory to another body or to a referendum.
Elections in the Philippines are of several types. The president, vice-president, and the senators are elected for a six-year term, while the members of the House of Representatives, governors, vice-governors, members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, mayors, vice-mayors, members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod/members of the Sangguniang Bayan, barangay officials, and the members of the Sangguniang Kabataan are elected to serve for a three-year term.
The Commission on Elections, abbreviated as COMELEC, is one of the three constitutional commissions of the Philippines. Its principal role is to enforce all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of elections in the Philippines.
The prime minister of the Philippines was the official designation of the head of the government of the Philippines from 1978 until the People Power Revolution in 1986. During martial law and the fourth republic, the prime minister served as the head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. A limited version of this office, officially known as the President of the Council of Government, existed temporarily in 1899 during the First Philippine Republic.
The 1981 Philippine presidential election and national referendum was held on June 16, 1981. President Ferdinand E. Marcos of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) defeated retired general and World War II veteran Alejo Santos of the Nacionalista Party in a landslide victory. Most opposition parties boycotted the election as a sign of protest over the 1978 election for the Interim Batasang Pambansa, which they condemned as fraudulent. At the same time, a national referendum was held on the question in holding elections for barangay elections in 1982.
A parliamentary election was held in the Philippines on April 7, 1978, for the election of the 165 regional representatives to the Interim Batasang Pambansa. The leading opposition party, the Lakas ng Bayan (LABAN), ran twenty-one candidates for the Metro Manila area. Their leading candidate was the jailed opposition leader Ninoy Aquino. Marcos regime's party known as the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), which was led by the then-First Lady Imelda Marcos. Ninoy was allowed to run by his fellow partymates under the Liberal Party, who boycotted the election and was not allowed to campaign, and so his family campaigned for him. The night before the election on April 6, 1978, a noise barrage was organized by the supporters of (LABAN) which occurred up to dawn.
Cecilia Arreglado Muñoz-Palma was a Filipino jurist and the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ferdinand Marcos on October 29, 1973, and served until she reached the then-mandatory retirement age of 65.
The Philippine constitutional plebiscite of 1973 occurred from 10 to 15 January which ratified the 1973 Constitution of the Philippines.
A national referendum was called for February 27–28, 1975 where the majority of the barangays voted approved the following:
A national referendum-plebiscite was held on October 16–17, 1976 in the Philippines in which the majority of the barangay voters approved the continuation of martial law and ratified the proposed amendments to the Constitution substituting the Regular Batasang Pambansa with the Interim Batasang Pambansa, pursuant to Presidential Decrees Nos. 991, 1031, and 1032.
The Fourth Philippine Republic, also known as the FourthRepublic of the Philippines, was established after Ferdinand Marcos won the 1981 Philippine presidential election and referendum. Marcos announced the beginning of the Fourth Republic on June 30, during his inauguration speech. On February 25, 1986, due to the People Power Revolution, Marcos went into exile in Hawaii, and Corazon Aquino became the 11th president of the Philippines. The Fourth Republic would come to an end under Aquino's leadership, and the Fifth Republic would commence with the adoption of a new constitution.
The Constitution of the Philippines is the supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Constitutional Commission on October 12, 1986, and ratified by a nationwide plebiscite on February 2, 1987. The Constitution remains unamended to this day.
Martial law in the Philippines refers to the various historical instances in which the Philippine head of state placed all or part of the country under military control—most prominently during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos, but also during the Philippines' colonial period, during the second world war, and more recently on the island of Mindanao during the administrations of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Rodrigo Duterte. The alternative term "martial law era" as applied to the Philippines is typically used to describe the Marcos martial law period specifically.
The 1969 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on November 11, 1969. Incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos won a second full term as President of the Philippines. Marcos was the last president in the entire electoral history of the Philippines who ran for and won a second term. His running mate, incumbent Vice President Fernando Lopez, was also elected to a third full term as Vice President of the Philippines. A total of twelve candidates ran for president, but ten of those got less than 0.01% of the vote.
1973 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 1973.
The Philippine Constitutional Convention of 1971 was called to change the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. The delegates were elected on November 10, 1970, and the convention itself was convened on June 1, 1971. It was marked by controversies, including efforts to uphold term limits for incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos, and a bribery scandal in which 14 people, including First Lady Imelda Marcos, were accused of bribing delegates to favor the Marcoses.
Referendums in the Philippines are occasionally held at a national, regional or local level. Referendums can either by national or local in scope. In the Philippines, "referendums" and "plebiscites" mean different things.
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