COMPARATIVE POLITICAL SYSTEM

AND STRUCTURE

The Political System and Structure of

Philippines and Malaysia

Prepared by:
Donalyn M. Bergado
PHILIPPINES
THE EVOLUTION OF PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION
Constitutional history of

Philippines
Introduction
The Republic of the Philippines sits on an archipelago in Southeast Asia and consists of 7,107 islands
with a total area of 300,000 square kilometers. It is located at the intersection of several bodies
of water: it is bounded by the Pacific Ocean in the north, the South China Sea in the west, the Sulu
and Celebes Seas in the south, and the Philippine Sea in the east. Over 90 million people live on
the islands, some 12 million of whom live in the capital region, Metro Manila. Most of the people
on the islands are of the same racial stock as the Malays and the Indonesians, but a Chinese
minority (around 1.5%) make up an influential part of the Philippine economy. There are eight
major languages and close to a hundred dialects.

Constitutional history

The Philippines had long been used as a trading port in Asia, and this led to their colonization by
the Spanish and later by the Americans. The Spanish converted most of the population to
Catholicism and the religion remains the dominant one in the country. During the later part of
more than 300 years of Spanish rule, nationalist sentiment began to grow among groups of Indios
(which was how the Spanish referred to the Filipinos), fuelled in large measure by the writings of
national hero Jose Rizal (later executed by the Spanish authorities) and other ilustrados (the
Filipino intellegensia). A revolution was launched against Spain and the revolutionaries declared
Philippine independence in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898. What became known as the Malolos
Congress was convened on September 15, 1898 and the first Philippine Constitution, called the
Malolos Constitution, was approved on January 20, 1899, ushering what is called the First
Philippine Republic. In the Spanish-American War of 1898, the revolutionaries sided with the
Americans, hoping that, with the defeat of Spain, independence would be granted by the US to the
Philippines. This, however, did not happen. After Spain ceded (or sold) the islands to the United
States in the Treaty of Paris, the US immediately proceeded to brutally suppress the Philippine
independence movement.

In 1916, the US passed the Jones Act which specified that independence would only be granted
upon the formation of a stable democratic government modelled on the American model, not the
French model as the previous constitution had been. The US approved a ten-year transition plan
in 1934 and drafted a new constitution in 1935. World War II and the Japanese invasion on
December 8, 1941, however, interrupted that plan. After heroic Filipino resistance against
overwhelming odds finally ended with the fall of Bataan and Corregidor in 1942, a Japanese
“republic” was established, in reality, a period of military rule by the Japanese Imperial Army. A
new constitution was ratified in 1943 by Filipino collaborators who were called the Kapisanan sa
Paglilingkod ng Bagong Pilipinas (Kalibapi). An active guerilla movement continued to resist the
Japanese occupation. The Japanese forces were finally defeated by the Allies in 1944 and this
sorry chapter came to a close.

Philippine independence was eventually achieved on July 4, 1946. The 1935 Constitution, which
featured a political system virtually identical to the American one, became operative. The system
called for a President to be elected at large for a 4-year term (subject to one re-election), a
bicameral Congress, and an independent Judiciary.
Independence to martial law
From the moment of independence, Filipino politics have been plagued by the twin demons of
corruption and scandal. Notwithstanding, Presidents Ramon Magsaysay (1953-57), Carlos Garcia
(1957-61), and Diosdado Macapagal (1961-65) managed to stabilize the country, implement
domestic reforms, diversify the economy, and build Philippine ties not only to the United States,
but also to its Asian neighbours.

Ferdinand Marcos was elected president in 1965 and was re-elected in 1969, the first president
to be so re-elected. Desirous of remaining in power beyond his legal tenure, he declared martial
law in 1972, just before the end of his second and last term, citing a growing communist
insurgency as its justification. He then manipulated an ongoing Constitutional Convention and
caused the drafting of a new constitution – the 1973 Constitution – which allowed him to rule by
decree until 1978 when the presidential system of the 1935 Constitution was replaced with a
parliamentary one. Under this new system, Marcos held on to power and continued to govern by
decree, suppressing democratic institutions and restricting civil freedoms. In 1981, martial law
was officially lifted, but Marcos continued to rule by the expedient of being “re-elected” in a farce
of an election to a new 6-year term. He continued to suppress dissent and thousands of vocal
objectors to his rule either mysteriously disappeared or were incarcerated. Despite economic
decline, corruption allowed Marcos and his wife Imelda to live extravagantly, causing resentment
domestically and criticism internationally.

The people’s choice

When opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated upon returning from exile in 1983,
widespread outrage forced Marcos to hold “snap” elections a year early. The election was marked
by fraud on the part of Marcos and his supporters but Marcos had himself declared the winner
constitutionally, amidst international condemnation and nationwide domestic protests. A small
band of military rebels tried to mount a coup, which failed because of its discovery, but this
triggered what became internationally celebrated as the “People Power” revolution, when droves
of people spilled out onto the streets to protect the rebels, eventually numbering well over a
million. Under pressure from the United States, Marcos and his family fled into exile. His election
opponent, Benigno Aquino Jr.’s widow Corazon, was installed as president on February 25, 1986.
Political Structure
Philippine Government Administrative Divisions and Its Purposes

The Philippines is composed of different government administrative divisions aside from its 3
equally supreme branches known as the Executive Branch, Legislative Branch and the Judiciary
Branch. The Philippine Administrative divisions are commonly known as the
Local Government Units (LGU). The Local Government Units are further categorized into
Autonomous Region, Provinces, Municipalities or Cities and Barangays. The president only
exercises General Supervision on the Administrative divisions. The local government units can
only enjoy local autonomy. It aids the government in carrying out its purpose and functions so
Administrative Divisions only have authority limited to Administrative functions like collection
of taxes, implementing policies and the like but there are always exceptions to this rule just like
provinces having their own legislative bodies.

Government Administrative Division Levels

Autonomous Region

• Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is the only autonomous region here in
the Philippines. This region is given a special privilege of having additional power. They
technically have higher powers than the other LGUs.

Provinces

• Apart from the special Autonomous Region, Provinces have the highest level of political
power among the administrative divisions of the Philippines. However, provinces also
form part of the regular regions of the Philippines. Provinces are headed by Governors
and they have their own legislative department known as the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
The province’s legislature is responsible for making Ordinances and Resolutions for the
benefit of their respective provinces. Its powers and duties are governed by the Local
Government Code of 1991.
 • The Sangguniang Panlalawigan is responsible for maintaining peace and order in the
whole province as well as reviewing the city ordinances passed by the Sangguniang
Panlungsod.

• They also have the power to impose fines on violators of provincial ordinances and other
fines deemed necessary to promote common good and peace and order in the community.

Cities & Municipalities

• Provinces are composed of the different towns and cities within them. A city is headed by
the City Mayor and his subordinates. The city is considered a corporate entity so it has the
power to purchase, take, receive, acquire and dispose assets for the benefit of the public.
They are even entitled to the power of Eminent Domain where they can seize a private
property for public use.

• Cities having a population of at least 250,000 are entitled to have one representative in
the Congress or the House of Representatives.

• Cities are also categorized into three types and they are as follows: Highly Urbanized
Cities, Independent Component Cities and Component Cities. A city can only be classified
as highly urbanized if its population exceeds 200,000 residents as verified by the National
Statistics office and should have its latest yearly income of P500,000,000.00. As for
Independent Cities, it must have at least 150,000 residents and an annual income of at
least P350,000,000.00. Cities not having these qualifications are considered component
cities.

Barangay

• This is the smallest Local Government Unit in the Philippines. It is headed by a Barangay
Captain together with Barangay Councilors. Their function is to promote peace and order
in a smaller scope. They are entitled to have their own risk reduction team that will cater
to the needs of their residents.

• They assist the City Officials in implementing ordinances and resolutions. Barangays have
a great role in the successful implementation of ordinances because it is relatively small
in scope thus it can be more controllable than that of the higher levels of LGUs.

Source: www.gov.ph
THE PHILIPPINE POLITICAL STRUCTURE

Political structure is a commonly used in political science. In a general sense, it refers to

institutions or groups and their relations to each other, their patterns of9interaction within
political systems and to political regulations, laws and the norms present in political systems in
such a way that they constitute the political landscape of the political entity. In the social domain,
its counterpart is social structure. Political structure also refers to the way in which a government
is run. Elections are administered by an independent Commission on Elections every three years
starting1992. Held every second Monday of May, the winners in the elections take office on the
following June 30. Jomarie Rola, the general founder of the Philippine politics believes that the
occurrence of local government is produced by local government units from the provinces, cities,
municipalities and barangays. While most regions do not have political power, and exist merely
for administration purposes, autonomous regions have expanded powers, more than the other
local government units. While local government units enjoy autonomy, much of their budget is
derived from allocations from the national government, putting their true autonomy in doubt.
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Philippines a "hybrid regime" in 2018.The Government of
the Philippines (Filipino: Pamahalaan ng Pilipinas) is the national government of the Philippines.
It is governed as unitary state under a presidential representative and democratic and a
constitutional republic where the
President functions as both the
head of state and the head of
government of the country within
a pluriform multi-party system.

CURRENT POLITICAL CONTEXT

POLITICAL OUTLINE
Current Political Leaders
President: Ferdinand "BongBong" MARCOS, Jr (since 30 June 2022)
Vice-President: Sara DUTERTE-Carpio (since 30 June 2022)
Next Election Dates
Presidential: May 2028
Senate: May 2025
House of Representatives: May 2025
Current Political Context
In June 2022, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr, the son of a former long-serving
president, succeeded Rodrigo Duterte as president, and Duterte’s daughter, Sara Duterte-
Carpio became Vice-President. As an ideological ally of former President Duterte,
President Marcos is expected to continue the policy course pursued by the Duterte
administration.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte had launched an intense campaign against drug crime,
had distanced the Philippines from the U.S. to strengthen relations with China (even
though some tensions linger with relation to territorial disputes in the South China Sea),
and had established closer ties with neighboring Indonesia and Malaysia. As a result of
their tightening relations, the Chinese government was looking into to financing some
infrastructure projects in the Philippines, with an overall equivalent to USD 24 billion in
form of soft loans and direct investments. Still, most of these projects have yet to be
approved. Combating maritime piracy and terrorist groups were other priorities, as well
as the introduction of universal health-care (currently 93%) and free education from pre-
school up to a basic university degree level. However, the pandemic slowed his agenda,
notably in infrastructure. The incoming government will have to contend with rising
inflation and the relatively slow uptake of vaccinations.

Main Political Parties

The Philippines has a multi-party system and political parties usually have diverse
ideologies. As a result, parties generally work together to form coalition governments. The
largest political parties in the country are:
- Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban): centre-left, democratic
socialism, populism
- Nationalist Party (NP): centre-right, conservatism, populism. Oldest party in the
country and historically dominated the political arena
- Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC): centre-right, social and liberal conservatism
- Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-Kampi-CMD): centre to centre-right,
conservative political party with religious overtones
- Liberal Party (LP): centre to centre-left, liberal, endeavours to tackle poverty and
promote economic growth
- United Nationalist Alliance (UNA): centre-right, Filipino nationalism, conservatism
Other notable parties include:
National Unity Party (NUP), Aksyon Demokratiko (Democratic Action), Pwersa ng
Masang Pilipino (Force of the Filipino Masses PMP), Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino
(LDP), Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement KBL), Lapiang Manggagawa
(Philippine Labour and Peasant Party)

Official name
Republic of the Philippines
Form of state
Under the 1987 constitution, the government is based on a separation of powers between
the executive presidency, a bicameral legislature and an independent judiciary
Type of State
The Philippines is a multi-party presidential republic whereby the president is both the
Head of State and of Government.
WHAT IS THE POLITICAL SYSTEM USED IN THE PHILIPPINES?
The Philippines political system takes place in an organized structure of a presidential,
representative, and democratic republic wherein the president is both the head of
government and the head of state within a multi-party system. This system has three co-
dependent branches: the executive branch (the law-enforcing body), the legislative
branch (the law-making body), and the judicial branch (the law-interpreting body).

GOVERNMENT BRANCHES
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
The Executive Branch is composed of the President, who serves as the Chief of State and
head of government, and is assisted by the Vice-President. The Cabinet is composed of
Secretaries who are appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on
Appointments.
Executive Branch of Government. Article VII, Section 1, of the 1987 Constitution vests
executive power on the President of the Philippines. The President is the Head of State
and Head of Government, and functions as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces
of the Philippines.
 LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Congress consists of the Senate (the upper house, with 24 members at present) and the
House of Representatives (the lower house, which currently has 311 members, of whom
80% are directly elected and 20% are selected from party lists). Senators are elected for
six‑year terms and representatives for three-year terms.
The only officers of Congress required by the 1987 Constitution are the President of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Both the Senate President and
the House Speaker are elected by a majority vote of all the members of their respective
Houses.
JUDICIARY BRANCH
The judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court of
the Philippines and lower courts established by law.
The Supreme Court, which has a chief justice as its
head and 14 associate justices, occupies the highest
tier of the judiciary. The justices serve until the age
of 70.
MALAYSIA
Here are some key facts about Malaysia’s political history:
INDEPENDENCE:
* Malaya, the 11 states in the Malay Peninsula that formed the southern-most tip of
mainland Asia, gained independence from Britain on August 31, 1957. It was then a
leading producer of commodities such as tin and rubber.
* Led by the Tunku Abdul Rahman, an affable prince from Kedah state, Malaya prospered.
It merged with the Borneo states of Sarawak and Sabah and Singapore to form Malaysia
on September 16, 1963.
TURBULENT SIXTIES:
* Politics and a personality clash between Tunku Abdul Rahman and Singapore’s then
leader, Lee Kuan Yew, saw the island state separate from Malaysia in August 1965.
* Tunku Abdul Rahman’s ruling Alliance coalition suffered major setbacks in the May 12,
1969 elections, leading to racial riots a day later.
No precise fatality figures have ever been given for the riots between ethnic Malay and
Chinese communities, which caused parliament to be suspended for nearly two years as
Malaysia was governed by emergency decree.
Tunku Abdul Rahman, who once described himself as “the happiest prime minister in the
world”, resigned a year later, giving way to deputy Abdul Razak Hussein.
COALITION CONSOLIDATES POWER:
* Abdul Razak expanded the original Alliance coalition of three parties to include others
such as the Islamist Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) to contest the 1974 general elections.
* The new-look coalition, known as the Barisan Nasional or National Front, won, and
Abdul Razak embarked on an agricultural drive, emphasizing oil palm estates.
* Abdul Razak died of leukemia while still in office in January 1976. His deputy, Hussein
Onn, became Malaysia’s third prime minister.
* PAS left the expanded coalition as Hussein’s United Malays National Organisation
(UMNO) made inroads into Kelantan, its stronghold state. The National Front trounced
PAS in Kelantan in the 1978 elections, but PAS regained control of the state in 1990.
THE RISE OF MAHATHIR:
* Hussein resigned for health reasons in July 1981 and his deputy, Mahathir Mohamad,
who was once sacked from UMNO for criticizing Tunku Abdul Rahman in his book, “The
Malay Dilemma”, became prime minister.
* During Mahathir’s 22-year term, the longest by a Malaysian prime minister, he
modernized the commodities-dependent economy that he inherited with industries
ranging from electronics to vehicle manufacturing. He also built extensive infrastructure
such as roads, ports, airports and the world’s tallest twin towers, the Petronas Twin
Towers.
ASIAN CRISIS AND BEYOND:
* The 1997 Asian economic crisis put a damper on break-neck development, but
Mahathir’s controversial capital controls paid off, and Malaysia made a stronger recovery
than some neighbors.
* Mahathir retired on October 31, 2003 in favor of his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Despite poor health he continues to be an outspoken political presence, sniping at his
successor.
* Abdullah won the last elections in March 2004 by a landslide. Barisan Nasional took 12
of the country’s 13 states, and more than 90 percent of seats in parliament, though with
63.8 percent of the vote.
* In April 2006 he unveiled the Ninth Malaysia Plan, an economic blueprint for 2006-
2010.
Sources: Reuters

Malaysia politics and Malaysian political system

Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy largely
influenced by the British parliamentary system. The country consists of 13 states and 2
federal territories. The heads of 9 of the states are hereditary rulers, and the heads of the
remaining 4 states are governors appointed by the sovereign, on the advice of the federal
parliament. One of the unique features of the political system in Malaysia is that the
sovereign (Paramount Ruler or Yang di-Pertuan Agang in Malay) is elected every 5 years
by and from the 9 hereditary rulers of 9 states of Peninsular Malaysia. The sovereign is
the supreme head of Malaysia and supreme commander of the armed forces, but his
power significantly diminished in the 1990s due to the constitutional changes initiated
by the parliament; at present he plays a visible but mostly ceremonial role in the political
process in the country. The prime minister, who has considerable executive power, must
be a member of the 192-seat House of Representatives, and he chooses the cabinet with
approval from the sovereign.
Administrative division of Malaysia:
Malaysia consists of (13) states as follows:
• nine states ruled by sultans, which are:
Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu, Kedah, Kelantan, Ipoh, Perak, Johor, Negeri Sembilan.
• other four States ruled by governors appointed by the king with a
recommendation from the Prime Minister.
Malacca, Sabah, Sarawak and Penang.
• In addition, there are federal that don’t belong to any state:
Kuala Lumpur, the federal capital
Petra Jaya, the administrative capital
Labuan Island, a free trade zone.
People and Politics
Several political parties are Working in the Malaysian political scene in accordance with
a democratic system written within the constitution, the most important parties,
according to their political allegiances are the following:
First: the government parties:
• United Malays National Organization (UMNO): a party that leads the power in the
country and consists of Malays only, which is the largest political parties in the
country.
• Malaysian Chinese Association: It is the second largest party in the country and
consists of Chinese only.
• Malaysian Indian Congress: The party is in third class in terms of size and shape,
it consists of Malaysian Indians only.
The three above mentioned parties, in addition to other smaller parties, formed the
National Front (Barisan) which is leading the country since its independence.
Second: the opposition parties:
The opposition parties in Malaysia formed an alliance under the name (People's pact):
• Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party
• Democratic Action Party
• People's Justice Party
Third: The Parliament
Malaysian Parliament consists of 222 members, while the number of seats obtained by
each of the two alliances in the last legislative elections in 2013 are as follows:
• Ruling National Front 133 seats.
• People’s pact 89 seats.
What are the political structures of Malaysia?
Malaysia practices parliamentary democracy with constitutional monarchy.
His Majesty the King is the head of state. Parliament is the most important
institution in a country which practices the principles of democracy.
One of the unique features of the political system in Malaysia is that the
sovereign (Paramount Ruler or Yang di-Pertuan Agang in Malay) is elected
every 5 years by and from the 9 hereditary rulers of 9 states of Peninsular
Malaysia. The sovereign is the supreme head of Malaysia and supreme
commander of the armed forces, but his power significantly diminished in
the 1990s due to the constitutional changes initiated by the parliament; at
present he plays a visible but mostly ceremonial role in the political process
in the country. The prime minister, who has considerable executive power,
must be a member of the 192-seat House of Representatives, and he chooses
the cabinet with approval from the sovereign.
Constitution:
Adopted: 1957; Establishes the Federation as a constitutional monarchy
with the role of Yang di-Pertuan Agong (Head of State) being largely
ceremonial. It also provides for the establishment and the organization of
three branches of the government: the bicameral legislative branch
(Parliament) which consists of the House of Representatives (Dewan
Rakyat) and the Senate (Dewan Negara); the executive branch led by the
Prime Minister and Cabinet Ministers; and the judicial branch.
Government Type:
Constitutional Monarchy

Government & Prime Minister

The government has the Executive power. It is conducted by the premier (from 2009 and
on: Najib Tun Razak, and before that, for 6 years Abdullah Ahmad Badawi). The Congress
exists of two Houses: the senate (Dewan Negara) and the House of Commons (dewan
Rakyat). The Malaysian constitution states that the premier has to be elected from the
House of Commons, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (king) eventually picks the new prime
minister.
The Government is composed of members from both Houses of the Congress, and
accounts to them. Early 2004, the government moved to the newly build Putrajaya. All 69
members of the senate have a 6 years term of office; 36 are elected by the 13 state
meetings, and 42 are appointed by the king. The representatives of the House are chosen
from districts with a member by ways of general voting. The 193 members of the House
of Representatives are elected for a maximum term of office of 5 years. The legislature is
divided between the federal law departments and those of the state.
The legislature in Malaysia is bicameral. The parliament consists of the Senate (the
upper house) with 70 seats, out of which 40 are appointed by the Paramount Ruler and
26 are appointed by the 13 state assemblies, to serve six-year terms; and the House of
Representatives (the lower house) with 222 seats, its members elected by popular vote
to serve five-year terms. The King can dissolve parliament if he wishes, but usually only
does so upon the advice of the Prime Minister. In general, more power is vested in the
executive branch of government than in the legislative branch. Legislative power is
divided between federal and state legislatures. Each state has its own Government, a
cabinet with executive authority, and a legislature that deals with matters not reserved
for the federal parliament.

The structure of the country’s government and administration is divided into two
levels.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT- Administer the whole of Malaysian Federation that was
formed on 16 September 1963 through the power embodied in the Constitution of the
Federation of Malaysia.

STATE GOVERNMENT- Empowered to rule

and manage the administration at the state level
with power invested by or based on the Federal
Constitution as the highest law of land.
Functioning of Government
Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives
determine the policies of the government?
While elected officials determine and implement government policy, the unfair electoral
framework has historically weakened their legitimacy. Decision-making power has
typically been concentrated in the hands of the prime minister and his close advisers.

Structure of Parliament of Malaysia

Parliament of Malaysia represents the democratic structure of the government and
reflects the people's aspiration through the elected representatives. It is the highest
legislative body of the country that consists of three main components:

1. His Majesty The King

2. Senate
3. House of Representatives

Following the first general election after Independence, the First Meeting of the First
Parliament of Malay Federation was held on 11 September 1959 at Tunku Abdul
Rahman Hall, Kuala Lumpur. On that day, the Senate and House of Representatives
met concurrently for the first time. The first Order of the day was the appointment of
the President and Speaker of both Houses, followed by oath-taking ceremony by 38
Senators and 104 elected representatives.
First Parliament of Federation of Malaya located at Tunku Abdul Rahman
Hall, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

On 16 September 1963, Malaysia was formed when Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore
agreed to be part of Malaysia. Since then, the Parliament of the Federation of Malaya
is known as Parliament of Malaysia. The date also marked another historical event
when the Parliament session was held in its own new building on the 16.2 hectares
land near to Lake Perdana.

Parliament Complex completed in 1963.

Today, the Members of 12th Parliament has increased to 70 Senators and 222
Members for House of Representatives. Parliament of Malaysia will continue to be the
institution upheld by the people and the symbol of constitutional democracy.
REFERENCES:
https://constitutionnet.org/country/philippines
https://www.mauritiustrade.mu/en/market-survey/philippines/political-
outline
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-election-overview-
idUSSP15530720080308
Read more: https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Asia-and-the-
Pacific/Malaysia-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT-AND-TAXATION.html#ixzz7scnaDTU0
https://kuala-lumpur.embassy.qa/en/republic-of-korea/political-system
https://freedomhouse.org/country/malaysia/freedom-world/2021
https://www.tradeclub.standardbank.com/portal/en/market-
potential/malaysia/political-context#
https://www.parlimen.gov.my/pengenalan.html?uweb=web&