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 House of Representatives is the lower house of Congress,the bicameral legislature of the Philippines,with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The lower house is commonly referred to as Congress,although the term collectively refers to both houses.
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper house of Congress,the bicameral legislature of the Philippines,with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large under a plurality-at-large voting system.
Sergio Osmeña Sr. was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fourth President of the Philippines from 1944 to 1946. He was Vice President under Manuel L. Quezon. Upon Quezon's sudden death in 1944,Osmeña succeeded him at age 65,becoming the oldest person to assume the Philippine presidency until Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016 at age 71. A founder of the Nacionalista Party,Osmeña was also the first Visayan to become president.
The Supreme Court (Filipino:Kataas-taasang Hukuman;colloquially referred to as the Korte Suprema,is the highest court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court was established by the Second Philippine Commission on June 11,1901 through the enactment of its Act No. 136,an Act which abolished the Real Audiencia de Manila,the predecessor of the Supreme Court.
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.
Hilario Gelbolingo Davide Jr. is a Filipino lawyer,professor,diplomat,constitutionalist and former politician,who served as the 20th chief justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines and Permanent Representative of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations. As constitutionalist,Davide led the creation of the Legislative branch,and also wrote the most resolutions and the bulk of the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines,becoming its father and primary author.
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.
Amado Vera Hernandez,was a Filipino writer and labor leader who was known for his criticism of social injustices in the Philippines and was later imprisoned for his involvement in the communist movement. He was the central figure in a landmark legal case that took 13 years to settle.
The government of the Philippines has three interdependent branches:the legislative,executive,and judicial branches. The Philippines is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic constitutional republic in which the president functions as both the head of state and the head of government of the country within a pluriform multi-party system.
Constitutional reform in the Philippines,colloquially known as charter change (cha-cha),refers to the political and legal processes needed to amend the current 1987 Constitution of the Philippines. Under the common interpretation of the Constitution,amendments can be proposed by one of three methods:a people's initiative,a constituent assembly or a constitutional convention.
Renato Tereso Antonio Coronado Corona was a Filipino judge who was the 23rd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines from 2010 to 2012. He served as an associate justice after being appointed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on April 9,2002,and later as Chief Justice on May 12,2010,upon the retirement of Chief Justice Reynato Puno.
A constitutional plebiscite was held in the Philippines on February 2,1987. The plebiscite is pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 3,which was issued on March 25,1986,by President Corazon Aquino. It abolished the Office of the Prime Minister and the Regular Batasang Pambansa. Multi-party elections were held accordingly in 1987.
A senatorial election was held on November 12,1963 in the Philippines. The 1963 elections were known as a midterm election as the date when the elected officials take office falls halfway through President Diosdado Macapagal's four-year term.
Enrique Fausto Medina Fernando Sr. was the 13th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. A noted constitutionalist and law professor,he served in the Supreme Court for 18 years,including 6 years as Chief Justice.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Philippines:
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.
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.
The judiciary of the Philippines consists of the Supreme Court,which is established in the Constitution,and three levels of lower courts,which are established through law by the Congress of the Philippines. The Supreme Court has expansive powers,able to overrule political and administrative decisions,and with the ability to craft rules and law without precedent. It further determines the rules of procedure for lower courts,and its members sit on electoral tribunals.
