|
|
|
|
|
| National Government. The Philippines is a parliamentary republic. The Constitution was approved by plebiscite Feb.1987. It provides for a US style executive president who is elected for a non-renewable six year term and a two-chamber legislature of congress: a 24 member Senate and 250 member House Of Representatives, with similar powers to their conterparts in the US. Senators are elected in national level contest for six-year terms. A maximum of two consecutive terms. Representatives serve three-year terms. Up to a maximum of three consecutive terms, with 200 being directly elected at the district level and up to a further 50 being appointed by the president from a list of "minority groups". The president appoints an executive cabinet who may impose vetoes on congressional bills that can only be overridden by by two thirds majorities in each chamber. There is also a "Bill of Rights" and a 15 member supreme court. |
|
Philippine citizens at least 18 years old may vote in a ntional election if they can read and write in English, Spanish or a natie dialect. However, the Marcos government suspended all national and local elections from 1972 ro 1978. In addition, government restrictions have reduced the activities of most political groups. |
| Local Government. The Philippines is divided into 12 regions, ech governed by a regional council. The regions are divided into a total of 72 provinces. Every province has a governor, a vice governor, and two provincial board members. These officials are elected by the people and serve four year terms. Each of the 60 cities of the Philippines is governed by an elected mayor. The nation has more than 1,400 municipalities (towns), each governed by an elected mayor and a council. In addition, there are about 42,000 barrios (villages), which are governed by barrio captains and councils elected by each community. |
 |
Courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the Philippines. It consists of a chief justice and 14 associate justices. The justices and all other judges in the country are appointed. The Court of Appeals, which reviews decisions made by the lower courts, consists of a presiding judge and 35 associates. Every Philippine city has a court. Each municipality has a judge who serves as the local court. |
| Armed Forces. The Philippine army has abot 65,000 members, all volunteers. A navy of 25,000 persons and an air force of 18,000 also consist of volunteers. The Philippines Constabulary, a national police force with 27,000 members, is part of the armed forces. The constabulary cooperates with local police in maintaining internal security. |
|
The Head of State is President Joseph Estrada. The political system is emergent democracy. The political parties are; PDP-Laban Party and the Liberal Party, centrist pro-Aquino, Nationalist Party, Union For National Action (UNA), and Grand Alliance For Democracy (GAD). Conservative opposition groupings; Mindanao Alliance, island-based decentralist body. |
