The Philippine Government

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 function as both the head of state and the head of government of the country within a pluriform multi-party system.

The government has three interdependent branches: the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. The powers of the branches are vested by the Constitution of the Philippines in the following: Legislative power is vested in the two-chamber Congress of the Philippines—the Senate is the upper chamber and the House of Representatives is the lower chamber.

Executive power is exercised by the government under the leadership of the President. Judicial power is vested in the courts with the Supreme Court of the Philippines as the highest judicial body.

Legislative Branch

The legislative power is vested in the Congress of the Philippines which consists of the Senate of the Philippines Senate and House of Representatives. The upper house is located in Pasay City, while the lower house is located in Quezon City. Both are in Metro Manila. The district and sectoral representatives are elected for a term of three years. They can be re-elected but they may not run for a fourth consecutive term.

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 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 President of the Senate is Aquilino Pimentel III, while the current Speaker of the House of Representatives is Pantaleon Alvarez.

Executive Branch

The executive power is vested in the President of the Philippines. The President is elected by popular vote. The principal workplace of the President is the Malacañang Palace in San Miguel, Manila. The executive branch is currently headed by President Rodrigo Duterte. The President is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, The second highest official is elected separately from the President by popular vote. The Vice President is first in line to succession if the President resigns, is impeached or dies. The Vice President is usually, though not always, 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 the new Vice President. The appointment must then be validated by a three-fourths vote of the Congress.

Judicial 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. The justices are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar Council of the Philippines.[3] The sitting Chief Justice is Maria Lourdes Sereno, the 24th to serve in that position...