Philippine Geography and Government Overview

Philippine Geography and History

• The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,641 islands, covering over 300,000 square kilometers, in Southeast Asia.
• It's divided into three main regions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
• Named after Prince Philip (later King Philip II) by Ruy López de Villalobos during an expedition (1542-1546).
• It declared independence from Spain on June 12, 1898, following the Philippine Revolution.

Philippine Government Structure

• A unitary presidential constitutional republic.
• The President is both head of state and head of government.
• A founding member of the UN and ASEAN, with diplomatic relations in 62 countries.
• The current structure results from the 1986 People Power Revolution, ousting Ferdinand Marcos.
• The 1987 Constitution established a democratic republic, modeled after the U.S. system.

Executive Branch

• The President, directly elected by Filipinos, serves a six-year term and cannot be re-elected.
• Appoints the cabinet to advise.
• Cabinet includes the Vice President and heads of executive departments.
• The Vice President carries out presidential duties if the President is unable.
• Cabinet nominees must be confirmed by the Commission of Appointments.

Legislative Branch

• Holds power to create, amend, and repeal laws through the Philippine Congress.
• Consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
• Senate has 24 senators elected nationwide.
• House of Representatives has approximately 250 members elected from districts, with additional party-list members.
• Congress also confirms/rejects Presidential appointments and has the power to declare war.

Judicial Branch

• Responsible for resolving disputes and determining legal abuse of power.
• Includes the Supreme Court (15 justices appointed by the President with JBC recommendations), Court of Appeals (1 presiding justice, 68 associate justices), Sandiganbayan (anti-corruption court with 15 justices).
• Also includes specialized and lower courts.
• A parallel system of Shari’a courts exists for the Muslim population.

Philippine Local Government Units (LGUs)

• Organized into 18 regions, though not direct political divisions.
• Includes provinces (minimum 250,000 residents), highly urbanized cities (minimum 200,000 residents), municipalities, and barangays(minimum 2,000 residents) -Barangays (smallest) fall under municipalities, then provinces, and ultimately the national government.
• LGUs have rights and responsibilities, subordinate to higher government levels.
• Barangays have existed for centuries and are the smallest administrative, and originally kinship-based.
• The 1987 Constitution and 1991 Local Government Code decentralized authority to LGUs.
• Terms are 3 years for local officials, with no more than 3 consecutive terms.