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 Liberal Party of the Philippines abbreviated as the LP, is a liberal political party in the Philippines.
The Progressive Movement for the Devolution of Initiatives or Probinsya Muna Development Initiative, abbreviated as PROMDI or Abag-Promdi, is a political party in the Philippines based in Cebu.
The Partido Demokratiko Pilipino is a populist political party in the Philippines founded in 1982. It was previously known as Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP–Laban) from 1983 to 2024 as a result of a merger with Lakas ng Bayan (Laban). It was part of the country's ruling party coalition from 1986 to 1992 under the administration of Corazon Aquino and the country's ruling party from 2016 to 2022 under the administration of Rodrigo Duterte.
The Nacionalista Party is a political party in the Philippines and the oldest in the country and in Southeast Asia. It is responsible for leading the country throughout most of the 20th century since its founding in 1907; it was the ruling party from 1935 to 1946, 1953–1961 and 1965–1978.
The 1935 Philippine general election was the first general election of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. This was also the first direct election of the President of the Philippines and Vice President of the Philippines, positions created by the 1935 constitution. Furthermore, members of the National Assembly of the Philippines, that replaced the Philippine Legislature were elected.
Elections for the members of the First National Assembly were held on September 16, 1935, pursuant to the Tydings–McDuffie Act, which established the Commonwealth of the Philippines. The leaders of the ruling Nacionalista Party, Manuel Quezon and Sergio Osmeña reconciled and became running mates in the presidential election but their supporters, the Democraticos and the Democrata Pro-Independencias respectively, effectively were two separate parties at the National Assembly elections.
Elections for the House of Representatives of the Philippines were held on November 11, 1941, with the ruling Nacionalista Party retaining a majority of the seats. Still, the party was prevented a clean sweep when three independents were elected. The elected congressmen were supposed to serve from December 30, 1941, to December 30, 1945, but World War II broke out and Imperial Japan invaded the Philippines on December 8, 1941, setting up a puppet Second Philippine Republic which then organized the National Assembly of the Second Philippine Republic, whose members were elected in 1943.
Presidential, legislative, and local elections were held on November 8, 1949 in the Philippines. Incumbent President Elpidio Quirino won a full term as President of the Philippines after the death of late President Manuel Roxas in 1948. His running mate, Senator Fernando Lopez won as Vice President. Despite factions created in the administration party, Quirino won a satisfactory vote from the public. It was the only time in Philippine history where the duly elected president, vice president and senators all came from the same party, the Liberal Party.
Presidential, legislative and local elections were held on November 12, 1957 in the Philippines. Incumbent President Carlos P. Garcia won his opportunity to get a full term as President of the Philippines after the death of late President Ramon Magsaysay in a plane crash in March 1957. His running mate, Batangas Representative Jose Laurel, Jr. lost to Pampanga Representative Diosdado Macapagal. This was the first time in Philippine electoral history where a president was elected by a plurality and not majority, and in which the president and vice president came from different parties.
Presidential, legislative and local elections were held on November 14, 1961 in the Philippines. Incumbent President Carlos P. Garcia lost his opportunity for a second full term as President of the Philippines to Vice President President Diosdado Macapagal. His running mate, Senator Gil J. Puyat lost to Senator Emmanuel Pelaez. Independent Candidate Cebu City Mayor Sergio Osmeña, Jr. ran for Vice President also lost by a narrow margin. Six candidates ran for president, four of whom were "nuisance" candidates. This was the only election in Philippine electoral history in which a vice-president defeated the incumbent president.
Presidential elections, legislative and local elections were held in the Philippines on May 11, 1998. In the presidential election, Vice President Joseph Estrada won a six-year term as president by a landslide victory. In the vice-presidential race, Senator Gloria Macapagal Arroyo won a six-year term as vice president also by a landslide victory. This was the third election where both president and vice president came from different parties.
Elections for the House of Representatives of the Philippines were held on April 23, 1946. Held on the same day as the presidential election, it was held after the Nacionalista Party had split permanently into two factions: the "conservative" faction headed by president Sergio Osmeña and the "liberal" faction headed by Senate president Manuel Roxas, which later became the Liberal Party. Roxas and the Liberals won the elections, leaving the Nacionalistas with the minority in both houses of Congress.
Elections for the House of Representatives of the Philippines were held on November 8, 1949. Held on the same day as the presidential election, the party of the incumbent president, Elpidio Quirino's Liberal Party, won a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives.
Elections for the House of Representatives of the Philippines were held on November 10, 1953. Held on the same day as the presidential election, the party of the incumbent president, Elpidio Quirino's Liberal Party, won majority of the seats in the House of Representatives. However, Ramon Magsaysay of the opposition Nacionalista Party was elected president, and several elected Liberal Party congressmen defected to the Nacionalista Party, leading to José Laurel, Jr. being elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Elections for the House of Representatives of the Philippines were held on November 12, 1957. Held on the same day as the presidential election, the party of the incumbent president, Carlos P. Garcia's Nacionalista Party, won a majority of the seats in the House of Representatives.
Elections for the House of Representatives of the Philippines were held on November 14, 1961. Held on the same day as the presidential election, the party of the incumbent president, Carlos P. Garcia's Nacionalista Party, won majority of the seats in the House of Representatives. However, Diosdado Macapagal of the opposition Liberal Party won the presidential election, leading to majority of the elected Nacionalista congressmen to defect to the Liberal Party. This led to Cornelio Villareal being elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Mark R. Thompson is an academic whose comparative politics research focuses on Southeast Asia, with particular interest in the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. He is currently studying autocratization and opposition to it, presidentialism, and dynastic leadership. He is chair professor of politics in the Department of Public and International Affairs at the City University of Hong Kong, where he is also director of the Southeast Asia Research Centre (SEARC).
Partido Federal ng Pilipinas is a national political party in the Philippines. It is chaired by Bongbong Marcos, president of the Philippines who won by a landslide in the 2022 election. During the run-up to the 2022 general election, the UniTeam Alliance was formed by the PFP, Lakas–CMD, HNP, and PMP, with guest candidates from other parties.
The Katipunan ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino is a political party in the Philippines. The party was founded in June 19, 2020 by Kerby Salazar, a provincial board member from Cavite, to be a platform for youth empowerment in the national government.
