THREE BRANCHES OF THE

GOVERMENT
HOW GOVERNMENT WORKS?
 How the Philippine Government Is Organized

 The Philippines is a republic with a presidential form of

government wherein power is equally divided among its
three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial.
 One basic corollary in a presidential system of
government is the principle of separation of powers
wherein legislation belongs to Congress, execution to the
Executive, and settlement of legal controversies to the
Judiciary.
Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches
as follows:
 The President can veto laws passed by Congress.
 Congress confirms or rejects the President's appointments and
can remove the President from office in exceptional
circumstances.
 The Justices of the Supreme Court, who can overturn
unconstitutional laws, are appointed by the President and
confirmed by the Senate.
 The Philippine government seeks to act in the best interests of its
citizens through this system of checks and balances.
 The Constitution expressly grants the Supreme Court the power
of Judicial Review as the power to declare a treaty, international
or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation,
order, instruction, ordinance or regulation unconstitutional. 
Executive Department

 The Executive branch carries out laws. It is composed of

the President and the Vice President who are elected by
direct popular vote and serve a term of six years. The
Constitution grants the President authority to appoint his
Cabinet. These departments form a large portion of the
country’s bureaucracy.
Key roles of the executive branch include:
 President – The President leads the country. He/she is the head
of state, leader of the national government, and Commander in
Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines. The President serves
a six-year term and cannot be re-elected.
 Vice President – The Vice President supports the President. If the
President is unable to serve, the Vice President becomes
President. He/she serves a six-year term.
 The Cabinet – Cabinet members serve as advisors to the
President. They include the Vice President and the heads
of executive departments. Cabinet members are
nominated by the President and must be confirmed by the
Commission of Appointments.
Legislative Department

 The Legislative Branch enacts legislation, confirms or rejects

Presidential appointments, and has the authority to declare war.
This branch includes Congress (the Senate and House of
Representatives) and several agencies that provide support
services to Congress.
 The Legislative branch is authorized to make laws, alter, and
repeal them through the power vested in the Philippine
Congress. This institution is divided into the Senate and the
House of Representatives.
 Senate –  The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four
Senators who shall be elected at large by the qualified
voters of the Philippines, as may be provided by law.
 House of Representatives – The House of
Representatives shall be composed of not more than
two hundred and fifty members, unless otherwise fixed
by law, who shall be elected from legislative districts and
on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio, and those
who, as provided by law, shall be elected through a party-
list system of registered national, regional, and sectoral
parties or organizations.
Judicial Department

 The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws,

applies laws to individual cases, and decides if laws
violate the Constitution. The judicial power shall be vested
in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may
be established by law.
 This branch determines whether or not there has been a
grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction on the part and instrumentality of the
government. It is made up of a Supreme Court and lower
courts.