Politics of the Philippines

The Politics of the Philippines takes place in an organized framework of a presidential, representative, and democratic republic whereby the president is both the head of state and the head of government within a pluriform multi-party system. This system revolves around three separate and sovereign yet interdependent branches: the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. Executive power is exercised by the government under the leadership of the president. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two-chamber congress—the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Judicial power is vested in the courts with the Supreme Court of the Philippines as the highest judicial body.

Government of the Philippines

Executive branch

The current executive branch is headed by President Benigno S. Aquino III of the Liberal Party, whose functions are as both the head of state and as the head of government. The President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and is elected by popular vote to a term of six years. The president then appoints his or her cabinet members over whom he or she presides. The executive seat of government is administered officially from Malacañang Palace in Manila. The president may not run for re-election unless he or she had become president through constitutional succession and had served for no more than four years.

The president was assisted by his or her Cabinet that is made up of different departments and is headed by a secretary. The president appoints the secretary with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.

The second highest official, Vice-President Jejomar Binay of the PDP-Laban party is also elected by popular vote. The Vice-President is first in line to succession if the President resigns, is impeached or dies. The Vice-President usually, though not always, is a member of the president's cabinet. If there is a vacancy in the position of vice-president, the President will appoint any member of Congress (usually a party member) as new vice-president. The appointment must then be validated by a three-fourths vote of Congress.

Legislative branch

The remainder of the house seats are designated for sectoral representatives elected at large through a complex system, which depends on the party receiving at least 2% to 6% of the total national vote. The upper house is located in Pasay City, while the lower house is located in Quezon City. The district and sectoral representatives are elected fro a term of three years. They can be re-elected but they may not run for a fourth consecutive term. The senators are elected to a term of six years. They can be re-elected but may not run for a third consecutive term. The House of Representatives may opt to pass a resolution for a vacancy of a legislative seat, which leads to a special election. The winner of the special election will serve the unfinished term of the previous district representative, and will be considered as one elective term. The same rule also applies in the senate, however it only applies if the seat was vacated before a regular legislative election.

The current Senate President is Juan Ponce Enrile, while the current Speaker of the House of Representatives is Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.

Judicial branch

The judiciary branch of the government is headed by the Supreme Court, which has a Chief Justice as its head and 14 Associate Justices. The justices serve until the age of 70. The justices are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar Council.^[1]

Other court types of courts, of varying jurisdiction around the archipelago, are the: Lower Collegiate Courts:

• Court of Appeals
• Court of Tax Appeals
• Sandiganbayan

Regular Courts:

• Regional Trial Courts
• Metropolitan Trial Courts
• Municipal Trial Courts
• Municipal Trial Courts in Cities
• Municipal Circuit Trial Courts

Muslim Courts

• Sharia District Courts
• Sharia Circuit Courts

Office of the Ombudsman

The government and all three of its branches are independently monitored by the office of the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is given the mandate to investigate and prosecute any government official allegedly guilty of crimes, especially Graft and Corruption. The Ombudsman, or otherwise called as Tanodbayan, is assisted by six deputies, namely the Overall Deputy, the Deputy for Luzon, the Deputy for Visayas, the Deputy for Mindanao, the Deputy for the Armed Forces, and the Special Prosecutor.

Political parties and elections

*Vetallano Acosta (KBL) was disqualified after the ballots were printed. All of his votes are considered spoilt

1. ^ Binay is Joseph Estrada's (PMP) guest candidate for vice president.
2. ^ Legarda is Manny Villar's (Nacionalista) guest candidate for vice president.

During the American occupation, the Nacionalista Party was the dominant party. However, during the Japanese occupation in World War II, a new party, the Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas (KALIBAPI), was formed, and was the only party allowed to operate during the occupation.

After the war, KALIBAPI was abolished and the Nacionalistas returned to power. A new party, the Liberal Party, was formed after a Nacionalistas led by Jose P. Laurel and Camilo Osias split from KALIBAPI. This two-party system remained until 1972.

However, when Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law, he formed his own party, the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL, New Society Movement) composed mainly of Nacionalistas and Liberals, as well as some other parties. Most of Marcos' political opponents were jailed, tortured or killed. In 1978, Marcos called an election to the interim Batasang Pambansa. An opposition party was formed known as LABAN. Among the candidates then were Benigno Aquino, Ernesto Maceda and Alex Bongcayao. During that election, no opposition candidate was elected. Some groups also sprang up including the National Union for Liberation led by John Osmena and Diosdado Macapagal, the Mindanao Alliance, the Muslim Federal Party, the Pusyon Bisaya, and the Young Philippines.

In 1984, other opposition parties sprang up. Among them were PDP-LABAN (different from the original LABAN party) of Aquilino Pimentel and the UNIDO, or the United Nationalist Democratic Organization of Salvador Laurel. The UNIDO would later be an umbrella coalition for opposition against Ferdinand Marcos.

The Liberal Party-Salonga Wing, the remaining US-based political figures, and the Left boycotted the elections.

When Marcos was overthrown in the People Power Revolution, other parties appeared, such as Partido Nacionalista ng Pilipinas, the Lakas ng Bansa, the National Union of Christian Democrats, the Philippine Democratic Socialist Party, and BANDILA.

In 1987, the opposition parties who wanted to distance both from Marcos & Aquino formed the Grand Alliance for Democracy (GAD) headed by Juan Ponce Enrile and Francisco Tatad. The parties taking part in the GAD were the Nacionalista Party (Jose Roy Wing), a faction of the legislators from Kilusang Bagong Lipunan that distanced from Marcos headed by Arturo Tolentino, the pre-1986 leaders that defected from the ruling coalition such as Eva Estrada-Kalaw, the Partido Nacionalista ng Pilipinas headed by Blas Ople, the Mindanao Alliance, the Muslim Federal Party and the Christian Socialist Democratic Party.

Another segment of KBL who are still Marcos loyalists joined forces with the Union for Peace & Progress or UPP.

The Left created the Partido ng Bayan or PnB that led by labor leader Rolando Olalia, son of Bert Olalia as chairman. They put up 7 senatorial bets in the 1987 elections such as peasant leader Jaime Tadeo and Atty. Romeo Capulong.

In 1988 the Lakas ng Bansa headed by Ramon Mitra and PDP-LABAN (Cojuangco Wing) joined to form the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino or the LDP, causing a split in the ruling coalition and the unification of the Nacionalista Party.

In 1989, anti-Aquino elements reunited at PICC into the Unification of the Nacionalista Party. Political leaders from both of the parties who opposed the current regime appointed Former House Speaker Jose B. Laurel Jr. as Interim President in a Manifesto.

In 1992 elections, the LDP was split in half. Fidel V. Ramos formed his own party, the Partido Lakas ng Tao, which coalesced with the National Union of Christian Democrats. Their union was later known as the Lakas-NUCD, but is now known as the Lakas-Christian and Muslim Democrats. The LDP was headed by Ramon Mitra. During these elections, the Nacionalista Party also split into two. The Nacionalistas were led by Salvador Laurel while the splinter group, led by Danding Cojuangco, was known as the Nationalist People's Coalition or NPC.

In the 1998 general elections, three new political parties formed: the Partido ng Masang Pilipino by Joseph Estrada, the Aksyon Demokratiko (Democratic Action) by Raul Roco, and the Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (KAMPI) by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

There were other regional parties, including Panaghiusa (precursor of the Osmeñas' BO-PK), and the Mindanao Alliance in Mindanao, though many of them are now defunct.

Administrative subdivisions

The Philippines is divided into a hierarchy of local government units (LGUs) with the province as the primary unit. As of 2007, there are 81 provinces in the country. Provinces are further subdivided into cities and municipalities, which are in turn, composed of barangays. The barangay is the smallest local government unit. A Philippine province is headed by a Governor. A Provincial Council (Sangguniang Panlalawigan) is composed of a Vice Governor (Presiding Officer) and Provincial Board Members. A Philippine city or municipality is headed by a Mayor. a City Council (Sangguniang Panlungsod) or Municipal Council (Sangguniang Bayan) is composed of a Vice Mayor (Presiding Officer) and City or Municipal Councillors. A barangay is headed by a Barangay Captain, who is also the presiding officer of the Barangay council (Sangguniang Barangay). The Barangay Council is composed of seven Barangay Kagawads. A similar unit called a Youth Council (Sangguniang Kabataan) is headed by an SK Chairperson with a similar rank to a Barangay KAGAWAD. The council is composed of SK Members.

The term of office for all local elected officials is three years, starting from noon of June 30 of an election year. No local elective official may serve for more than three consecutive terms in the same position. Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time is not considered as an interruption in the continuity of service for the full term for which the elective official concerned was elected. Barangay and SK officials are elected to a term of five years, starting from noon of the date as prescribed by law. The current barangay organic law sets the date of November 12, 2007 as the effective date. Current barangay and SK officials started terms August 15, 2002. The next barangay and SK election will be on October 29, 2007.

All provinces are grouped into 17 regions for administrative convenience. Most government offices establish regional offices to serve the constituent provinces. The regions themselves do not possess a separate local government, with the exception of the Muslim Mindanao region, which is autonomous. The Cordillera Administrative Region will become an autonomous region and will receive the setup granted to Muslim Mindanao if voters would approve an organic law that would create a Cordillera Autonomous Region.

International organization participation

The Philippines is a founding and active member of the United Nations since its inception on October 24, 1945 and is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Philippines is also a member of the East Asia Summit (EAS), an active player in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Latin Union and a member of the Group of 24. The country is a major non-NATO ally of the U.S., and also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.

See also

• Senate of the Philippines
• Regions of the Philippines
• Provinces of the Philippines
• Cities of the Philippines
• Philippine municipality
• Barangay
• Political dynasties in the Philippines
• Timeline of Philippine sovereignty
• Sovereignty of the Philippines

References