National and Administrative Structure

The Philippines is a republic with a unitary presidential system.

 Unitary state is a sovereign state governed as one single unit in which the central government is
supreme and any administrative divisions (sub-national units) exercises only powers that the
central government chooses to delegate.
 Federal states, by contrast, states or other sub-national units share sovereignty with the central
government, and the states comprising the federation have an existence and power functions
that cannot be unilaterally changed by the central government.

3 Branches of Government
 The national government has 3 coequal branches.
 The Executive Branch – consists of the President, Vice-President, 26 cabinet secretariat and
equivalent ranks in specialized agencies, the national bureaucracy and the military, of which the
President is Commander in Chief.

Philippine Government Organizational Chart

The Executive
 Biak naBato Constitution (1897) – Inaugurated in November 1897 represents the first attempt by
Filipinos to establish a constitutional government. It provided for a supreme council composed of
a president, a vice-president, and 4 deparment secretaries. The President was seen to be a Filipino
 version of the Spanish Governor-General. Aguinaldo betrayed the revolution when he left for
Hongkong and agreed to assist the Spanish Government in pacifying the Filipinos in exchange for
P400,000 that was deposited in his account in a Hong Kong bank. (Constantino, 1975:v196-203)
 The Constitution of Makabulos – was adopted by the Central Government of Luzon after the
dissolution of the Biak na Bato Constitution. It was similar to the previous constitution in form. It
had a general executive committee with a president, vice-president and 3 department secretaries.
 Ponce Constitution – made by Mariano Ponce at the request of Aguinaldo provided for a president
and a supreme council of government.
 Apolinario Mabini – also contributed his share at constitutionalizing the presidency: His proposal
provided for a president and vice-president elected by provincial delegates.
 May 1898, Aguinaldo returned from exile and proclaimed himself dictator for the duration of the
war of independence. He later transformed his government into a revolutionary one with himself
as president. Which he described as the personification of the Filipino People clothed with almost
absolute power. Malolos Constitution actually provided for a president elected by the national
assembly. It was a more responsible president with the assembly effectively checking the powers
of the president.
 Tydings-McDuffie Law (1934) – It enabled the Philippine Legislature to call a Constitutional
Convention to draft a government for the Commonwealth of the Philippines. The 1935
constitution was the result.
 1935 Constitution – initially provided that executive power shall be vested in a president of the
Philippines. It provided for a non-consecutive six-year presidential term. Amended in 1939
providing for the president whose term of office was to be 4 years, with one re-election, or a
maximum of 8 consecutive years.
 Basic features of the presidency in 1935 constitution.
o The President is both the head of government and head of state,
o His term is for 4 years, may be re-elected only once,
o He is suppose to be co-equal with the Legislature and the Judiciary.
 Manuel Luis Quezon – 1st President of the 1935 constitution.
 “I prefer a government run like hell by Filipinos than a government run like heaven by Americans!”
 The 1973 constitution – adopted a parliamentary form of government. As such, executive powers
was vested in the prime minister who was to be the head of government. He was, among other
things, the Chief Executive, and the Chief Legislator, and the Commander in Chief of the AFP. The
proclamation of Martial Law in 1972 effectively suspended the operation of this constitution.
 The powers of the Philippine President as provided for under the proposed 1986 constitution are
much more circumscribed than those under the 1935 and 1973 constitutions. The term of office
is 6 years, without re-election. There is an anti-dynasty provisions, his power to negotiate a loan
must also be with the concurrence of the monetary board, his CIC powers are largely qualified:
martial law may be imposed only for a period of 60 days, the Congress must be convened within
48 hours after imposing martial law; the supreme court must review the legal bases for the
imposition of martial law or the suspension of the writ after 30 days.

3 Branches of Government
 The Legislative Branch or Congress – is a two-chamber legislature. There are 24 senators in the
Philippine Senate, while there are 220 Congressmen or House Representatives.
 Legislative Structure – The Philippine Congress is divided into two chambers, namely the Senate
and the House of Representatives referred to as the Upper House and the Lower House
respectively. They are located in opposite sides of Metropolitan Manila, the Senate at the GSIS
Building, Financial Center in Pasay City and the House of Representatives at the Batasan Complex
 in Quezon City. Each House has its own set of officers and rules to guide its daily proceedings.
Each also has its own Journal which is a summary of the plenary session and a Record of
Proceedings which is a verbatim output of the day's activities.
 The Senate – The Senate consists of 24 Senators elected at large. Under synchronized elections,
12 Senators are elected every three (3) years. Each has a term of six years. In 1992, 24 senators
were elected. The first 12 have a term of six years and the other twelve had a shorter term of
three years which lasted until 1995. Starting with the 1995 elections, the 12 newly elected
senators won their seats for six years (1995-2001). Another set of 12 senators was elected in May
of 1998 to serve a six year term (1998-2004). The term of a senator, as provided for in the
Constitution, starts at noon on the 30th day of June following their election. The Constitution also
limits their stay in office to no more than two (2) consecutive terms.
 The House of Representatives – The 1987 Constitution provides that the House of Representatives
shall be composed of not more than 250 members, unless otherwise fixed by law, who shall be
elected from legislative districts and through a party-list system. The Representatives (of
legislative districts and party list) shall have a term of three years commencing at noon of the 30th
day of June following their election and are limited to serving a maximum of three (3) consecutive
terms. The Representatives of legislative districts are elected from the provinces, cities and the
Metropolitan Manila area, which are divided into legislative districts. Seats are apportioned
according to the number of inhabitants and are reapportioned within three years following the
return of every census. Article VI of the Constitution specifically allocates one representative for
every city with a population of at least 250,000. Article VI, Section 5 of the 1987 Constitution
provides that out of the total number of Members, twenty percent (20%) shall come from Party-
List (PL) representatives, one-half of which shall be filled by sectoral representatives for the first
three terms of Congress (1987-1998). In response to this constitutional provision, the Ninth
Congress enacted a party-list law, Republic Act 7941, which provides for a system of proportional
representation in the election of Representatives from national, regional, and sectoral parties,
organizations or coalitions.* Under the law, parties, organizations, and coalitions shall be entitled
to a seat in the House of Representatives in proportion to the total number of votes they receive
in the party-list election.
 The party-list law further provides that each party, organization, or coalition shall be entitled to
not more than three (3) seats. The first election under the party-list system was held in May 1998,
where every voter was entitled to two (2) votes: the first vote is for a candidate to be a member
of the House of Representatives in his/her legislative district, and the second vote is for the party-
list representative. In the 10th Congress, 22 sectoral representatives were appointed by the
President to fill the posts of party-list representatives until 1998. Among the sectors represented
were the peasant, labor, women, cultural communities, urban poor and youth sectors. The 10th
Congress of 201 Representatives, 82 were third termers; 70 were second termers; and 47 were
first termers.
 Legislative Powers and Functions
o Under Article VI of the Philippine Constitution, the Legislative branch is vested with the
following powers and functions:
o Propose, review and adopt bills for enactment into law
o Conduct studies and inquiries in aid of legislation and investigations necessary in the
lawmaking process and in the oversight of the execution of laws by the executive
o Propose appropriations, revenue or tariff bills; bills authorizing increase of the public
sector debt; bills of local application and private bills
o Concur in all treaties and international agreements
 o Exercise the constitutional right and responsibility of advice and consent on certain
presidential nominations through the Commission on Appointments
o Judge the election, returns and qualifications of its members, determine the rules of its
proceedings, and punish its members by suspension or expulsion for disorderly behavior
o Authorize the President to exercise emergency power in times of war or national
emergency
o Propose amendments to the Constitution for ratification by the people
o Call for a constitutional convention
o The power to ratify treaties belongs exclusively to the Senate while bills on
appropriations, revenue or tariff bills, bills authorizing increase of public debt, bills of local
application, and private bills originate from the House of Representatives. The
Constitution also provides substantive and procedural limitations on the legislative power
enjoyed by Congress.
 Chambers
o Each Chamber of the Legislature elects its own set of officers. In the Senate, there is the
President and President Pro-Tempore while in the House of Representatives, the
Members elect the Speaker of the House and three (3) Deputy Speakers. They also elect
their own Secretary or Secretary-General and Sergeant-at-Arms.
o The Senate President and the Speaker of the House have basically the same functions: (1)
preside over the sessions of the chamber; (2) preserve order and decorum during the
sessions; (3) decide all questions of order; (4) sign all resolutions, memorials, joint and
concurrent resolutions; (5) issue warrants, orders of arrest, subpoenas and subpoenas
ducestecum; (6) increase or decrease the number of authorized personnel by
consolidating or splitting positions.
o The President Pro-Tempore, on the other hand, much like the Deputy Speakers assume
the duties and powers of the Senate President/Speaker of the House in case they are
absent or otherwise incapacitated. Other officers of each House include the Majority
Leader, Assistant Majority Leader, Minority Leader, and Assistant Minority Leader.
 Committees
o Each Congress has its own committees which are expected to study and make
recommendations on every proposed measure before it is presented to the whole
chamber for deliberation and voting. Committees thus serve an important role in policy-
making, as well as oversight of executive agencies and public education, largely through
the hearings they hold.
o At the start of each Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives each
determines in the Rules of Procedure, the number of permanent and special committees
it will create. Standing or permanent committees are often created on the basis of
political, economic, and social policy issues such as environment, banking, social welfare,
women, youth, and housing among many others. They continue from Congress to
Congress, except in those instances where they are eliminated or new ones created. A
standing committee may also create sub-committees as it deems necessary to support its
performance or divide its work among its members.
o Special or select committees, on the other hand, are usually temporary panels that cease
to exist after the term of the Congress in which they were created. These committees may
be created to address priority or special concerns of Congress, e.g. bases conversion, food
security, or to accommodate individual concerns of members which in effect attract
publicity and enhances their political careers.
 o Congress also creates joint congressional committees and commissions as these members
deem it necessary to exercise their oversight of executive agencies and their performance
in implementing the law.
o The Rules of Procedure of the House also states that any member, who is the author of a
bill referred to a committee, is considered a member of the committee insofar as the
consideration of said bill is concerned, but s/he has no vote in the committee.
o After several meetings and hearings in which the Senate and House committees gather
and consider information from those who will be affected by the proposed measure, they
are expected to come out with a committee report. A committee report states the
committee's recommendations, and in itself contains any amendments or changes made
in the language or content of a bill or bills. In both houses, a committee, which fails to
render a report on a bill or resolution referred to it within a prescribed period in the Rules
(e.g. 30 session days in the Senate and 50 session days in the House) may be discharged
by the chamber to do so through a motion in writing by any member.
 Senate Committees
o In the 12th Congress, the Rules of Procedure followed by the Senate provides for the
creation of 36 standing committees. The Senate leadership chooses the heads of the
committees, who in turn pick their vice-chairpersons. The President Pro-Tempore,
Majority and Minority Leaders are ex-officio members of all standing committees. The
Senate Rules also provides for the number of members alloted to each committee, which
often range from seven (7) to 17 members.
 House Committees
o There are 51 standing committees in the House of Representatives with their respective
chairpersons, and seven (13) special committees such as Poverty Alleviation, Export
Promotion, Reforestation, Food Security, Northwest Luzon Growth Quadrangle, Overseas
Contract Worker, and 20 Priority Provinces. In the 10th Congress, there were as many as
20 special committees. There are several standing committees with at least 15 members,
while the largest is the Committee on Appropriations with 145 members. The number of
vice chairpersons may vary depending upon the total number of members. Every member
of the House may belong to an unlimited number of standing committees but no member
can hold a chair in more than one committee. The Speaker, Deputy Speakers and
chairpersons, vice chairpersons and ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules
have "voice and vote" in all other committees.
 The Electoral Tribunal and the Commission on Appointments
o At the start of each Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives each creates
its own Electoral Tribunal to judge all contests relating to the election, returns and
qualifications of its members. Each tribunal is composed of nine (9) members, three (3)
of whom are Justices of the Supreme Court, and the remaining six (6) are chosen by each
chamber. The senior Justice in the tribunal serves as the chairperson. Each chamber also
appoints its members to the Commission on Appointments, which acts on all
appointments submitted to it by the President of the Philippines. It is composed of the
Senate President as ex officio Chair, 12 Senators and 12 Representatives, elected by each
chamber on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties or
organizations. A member of the Tribunal and of the Commission cannot be a chairperson
of any standing committee.
 The Judicial Branch – consists of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, Regional Trial Courts
and other special courts (i.e. juvenile, family or sharing courts).
 The Constitution
o The Constitution of the Philippines ordains that judicial power shall be vested in one
Supreme Court and such lower courts as may be established by law. [Section 1, Art. VIII,
1987 Constitution).
The Law
o Under Philippine laws [Judiciary Reorganization Act of 1980 (Batas PambansaBilang 129)
which took effect on January 18, 1983 and other laws] the Philippine judicial system
consists of the following courts:
I. Lower Courts
o I. Municipal Trial Courts and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts
o Every municipality in the Philippines has its own Municipal Trial Court. It is referred to as
such if it covers only one municipality; otherwise, it is called Municipal Circuit Trial Court
if it covers two or more municipalities.
II. Metropolitan Trial Courts and Municipal Trial Courts in Cities
o Municipal Trial Courts in the towns and cities in the Metropolitan Manila area, as
distinguished from the other political subdivisions in the Philippines, are referred to as
Metropolitan Trial Courts.
o In cities outside Metropolitan Manila, the equivalent of the Municipal Trial Courts are
referred to as Municipal Trial Courts in Cities.
IV. Shari'a Courts
o Equivalent to the Regional Trial Courts in rank are the Shari'a District Courts which were
established in certain specified provinces in Mindanao where the Muslim Code on
Personal Laws is being enforced.
o Equivalent to the Municipal Circuit Trial Courts are the Shari'a Circuit Courts which were
established in certain municipalities in Mindanao.
o There are five Shari'a District Courts and fifty one Shari'a Circuit Courts in existence.
V. Court of Tax Appeals
o A special court, the Court of Tax Appeals, composed of a Presiding Judge and two
Associate Judges, is vested with the exclusive appellate jurisdiction over appeals from the
decisions of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and the Commissioner of Customs on
certain specific issues.
VI. Sandiganbayan
o A special court, the Sandiganbayan, composed of a Presiding Justice and eight Associate
Justices, has exclusive jurisdiction over violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices
Act [Republic Act No. 3019], the Unexplained Wealth Act [Republic Act No. 1379] and
other crimes or felonies committed by public officials and employees in relation to their
office, including those employees in government-owned or controlled corporations.
VII. Court of Appeals
o The Court of Appeals, composed of one Presiding Justice and sixty eight Associate Justices
is vested with jurisdiction over appeals from the decisions of the Regional Trial Courts and
certain quasi-judicial agencies, boards or commissions.
The Highest Court - Supreme Court
o The Supreme Court is the highest Court in the Philippines. There is only one Supreme
Court composed of one Chief Justice and fourteen Associate Justices. It is the final arbiter
of any and all judicial issues. When so deciding, it may sit en banc or in divisions of three,
five or seven members.
Constitutional Commissions
 The Philippine Constitution of 1987 also provides for the creation of the following constitutional
commissions:
 Civil Service Commission;
 Commission on Audit;
 Commission on Elections; and
 Ombudsperson

Multiparty Democracy
 The Philippines has a multiparty democracy. It has a multiparty system with numerous political
parties, in which no one party often has a chance of gaining power alone, and parties must work
with each other to form coalition governments. There are two types of parties in the Philippines
and these are: Major parties, who correspond typically to traditional political parties, and minor
parties or party-list organizations, who rely on the party-list system to win Congressional seats.

Evolution of Philippine Parties

Parties represented in the present government

Administrative Regions
 For the purpose of administration and development planning, the Philippines is divided into 18
administrative regions. In each regional capital, the 26 departments of the national government
have their regional offices.
 GOVERNMENT CHART

SUBMITTED TO: Mr. David Egan Labitad

01 Political Science Teacher

SUBMITTED BY: Shania P. Camallere

HUMSS B Grade 12

MARCH 5, 2018, MONDAY