Forms and Structures of Government CHECKS AND BALANCES: Mechanisms employed by a sovereign state to prevent one individual or group

of individuals to abuse its exercise of power in managing the states affairs. SEPARATION OF POWERS: The principle that prevents the concentration of power in one individual or one group of individuals.
The people in its exercise of sovereignty elect their representatives in the government to serve as their voice. The Legislature (Congress) is responsible in passing laws subject to the limitations enshrined in the Constitution. The Executive Department (Presidency) implements the laws the legislature passed. The Judicial Branch (Supreme Court) interprets and analyzes these laws if they are constitutional or otherwise.

PLATO: THE REPUBLIC A State comes into existence because no individual is self sufficing.

Who should rule? God fashioned people as being composed of: 1. Gold. People who are fit to rule. 2. Silver. People who need to serve as auxiliaries. 3. Iron and Brass. People who need to serve as farmers and craftsmen. The people who should rule must have the right sort of intelligence and ability, and they must look upon the commonwealth as their special concern. THREE WAVES 1. Equality of women. 2. Abolition of the Family. 3. Philosophers must be Kings as they represent wisdom. Only a man who has the taste for every sort of knowledge and throws himself into acquiring it with an insatiable curiosity will deserve to be called philosopher.

ARISTOTLE: THE POLITICS Male and female must unite to reproduce to ensure the survival of our species. Similarly, there must be a union of the naturally ruling element with the element which is naturally ruled. POLIS: The perfect association formed from a number of villages which already reached the height of full selfsufficiency. Three Kinds of Rule: 1. The rule of Master over slaves. 2. Rule over wife and children (Household Management) 3. Rules exercised by political office-holders.

Those constitutions which consider the common interest are right constitutions, judged by the standard of absolute justice. Those which consider only the personal interest of rulers are perversions of the right forms. Right Form Kingship/Monarchy Aristocracy Polity Perversion Tyranny Oligarchy Democracy

1. 2. 3.

The civic body in every polis is the sovereign, and the sovereign must necessary either be one, few or many. Monarchy: Government by a monarch. Aristocracy: Government by the nobility or by a privilege minority or upper class. Polity: Government by the masses (exhibiting military excellence).

Tyranny: A single person government of the political association on the lines of despotism. Oligarchy: Exists where those who have property are the sovereign authority of the constitution. Democracy: Exists where the sovereign authority is composed of the poorer classes and not of the owners of property. : Sovereignty of number. The rich are generally few and the poor are generally numerous. The difference between oligarchy and democracy is poverty and riches and not numbers. Both oligarchs and democrats fail to express the true conception of justice. For Aristotle, the best form is a government ruled by the Middle Class. Good government is attainable in those states where there is large middle classlarge enough if possible to be stronger than both of the other classes, but at any rate large enough to be stronger than either of them.

MODERN DAY DEFINITION OF THE FF CONCEPTS: Polity: Any organized society such as a nation, having one specific form of government. Democracy: Government by the people exercised either directly or through elected representatives.

Is a political system, not an economic one. Rule by the people The way people rule is by election (with secret ballot and is universal) A system of governance in which rulers are held accountable for their actions in the public realm by citizens, acting indirectly through competition and cooperation of their elected representatives (Schmitter and Karl)

Advantages: 1. It is appealing because people tend to believe they are able to participate in creating and running the government. 2. It provides a more peaceful way of processing conflict and effecting change.

AUTHORITARIANISM: A political system in which the power of the authorities is virtually unlimited. TOTALITARIANISM: A political system in which the authorities not only have unlimited power but attempt to exercise it over all domains of life. Forms of Government on the Basis of the number of legislative chambers 1. UNICAMERALISM: A form of government having or consisting only one legislative chamber. 2. BICAMERALISM: A form of government having or consisting two legislative chambers (Upper and Lower Chambers).

Pre-Spanish Government in the Philippine Islands: Datu System: The Datu was the Chief Executive, Legislator, judge and supreme commander of the barangay in times of war. No Legislature or Legislative Body. The primary duty of the Datu was to rule and govern his people and ultimately to promote their welfare and interests. Laws are for the common good and for the welfare of the whole barangay. There are oral laws and written laws. The latter were written by the chieftain in consultation with the elders from time to time and announced publicly by one known as UMALOHOKAN. These ancient laws were embodied in the Code of Kalantiyaw (1433). These were written by Datu Kalantiyaw.

Government During the Spanish Era The Philippines became a Crown Colony of Spain Spain administered the Philippines through the COUNCIL OF THE INDIAS (it is vested with all government powerslegislative, executive and judicial) The government is centralized in structure headed by a governor general. He wielded tremendous military, ecclesiastical and legislative powers. No separate independent legislature during the Spanish time. Government During the Revolutionary Era

There was Provisional Government that exercised control and supervision over all national and local political, social and economic affairs of the Philippines. (Biak na Bato Republic of Aguinaldo)

 During the Malolos Republic, a Congress was called which ratified Philippine Independence from Spain on June 12. The Malolos Constitution was approved on November 29, 1898. This Constitution had a unicameral Legislature. It is unique in the sense that the legislature is superior to either the executive or the judicial branch.
The American Era US started exercising sovereignty over the Philippines after Pres. Mckinleys Benevolent Assimilation Proclamation on Dec 21, 1898. The Americans established the Philippine Commission (Unicameral).

 Jones Law (1916) was the first American formal and official commitment to grant independence to the Philippines. Under this law, the Filipinos control the legislature, but not the executive and judicial branches. It established BICAMERAL form of government with Manuel Quezon as President of the Senate and Sergio Osmena as Speaker of the House of Representatives. March 23, 1935, US President Roosevelt approved the Constitution of the Philippines which paved the way for the establishment of the Philippine commonwealth. The Legislature was reverted back to UNICAMERALISM.
1940, the Constitution was amended and we returned to BICAMERALISM.

The Independent Philippines

The 1973 Constitution. The Parliamentary form of government was established with the Prime Minister as the Head of the Government and the President as the symbolic Head of State. The Legislature was the UNICAMERAL National Assembly. Before this Constitution was fully implemented. An interim Batasang Pambansa was called. It initiated a lot of amendments. President Marcos took also the Prime Minister position making him both the President and Prime Minister. After Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency, in 1986, she established a revolutionary government, abolished the Batasang Pambansa and assumed legislative powers .

 The 1987 Constitution was ratified. The Philippine Legislature is once again BICAMERAL.