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The Republic of the Philippines is a constitutional
democracy, with the President as head of state. The
president and vice president are elected by the people
for six-year terms. The national government has three
coequal branches that exercise a system of checks and
balances: executive, legislative, and judicial.
The executive branch consists of the President and his
Cabinet. The Senate and the House of Representatives
make up the bicameral legislature. The Supreme Court
heads the systems of courts under the judicial branch.
Congress consists of a 24-member Senate and a 250-member
House of Representatives. The voters of the entire
nation elect senators to six-year terms. Voters from
different districts elect 200 of the representatives to
three-year terms. The remaining 50 representatives are
selected from lists drawn up by the political parties to
ensure representation of women, ethnic minorities, and
certain economic and occupational groups. The number
selected from each party's list is about one-fourth of
the number of the party's elected representatives. All
Philippine citizens who are at least 18 years old may
vote.
The Philippine Constitution is the fundamental basis of
the laws of the land. The country has had several
Constitutions, but the current one was adopted through a
nationwide plebiscite in 1987. It is supported by other
laws, such as the Civil Code, the Labor Code, the
Omnibus Investments Code, and the National Internal
Revenue Code, as well as by rules and regulations passed
by government bodies. The latter include rulings,
letters of instruction, circulars, memoranda,
administrative orders, judicial orders, and
pronouncements, as well as laws adopted by local
government within the scope of the Constitution.
Early Filipinos System of Government
The society during our ancestors' period had two kinds
of government: the Barangay and the Sultanate
Government. A datu or raja was the leader of a barangay.
He could make laws and implemented them so that peace
and order would prevail in their community. The members
of his community helped and participated in the
realization of the projects in the barangay. There were
two kinds of barangay laws: written and oral. The
Sultanate Government was formed because of the presence
of the Islam Religion in the Philippines. This was
headed by a sultan. Aside from maintaining peace and
order, it was the sultan's responsibility to let the
Islam religion and Muslim tradition remain in the lives
of his constituents. The laws of the sultanate
government did not change because it was based on the
Koran which is the Muslim Bible and the Sunnah which are
Mohammed's traditions.
The Early Oral and Written Laws
The Maragtas Code which was written by Datu Sumaktel of
Panay in 1250 in an example of a written law. This is
the first law ever written which focuses on the penalty
for those who are lazy. The code of Kalantiaw is another
law written by Datu Kalantiaw in 1433. This code speaks
of death penalty, exposure to ant bites for those who
have been proen to be murderers, theives abd those who
marry women who are under age and those who would rebel
against elders.
Islam Influence on the Political System
Islam has a great influence on the political system of
the natives in the Southern Philippines. The sultan of
the Muslim community is still the sultan of Muslim
provinces. The effect of Islam religion and their
interaction with the people behind it, the Muslims have
acquired a better perception of their religion and the
laws. The political organizations and their livelihood
progressed. Because of this, they were not easily swayed
by colonizers.
System of Government in the Spanish Period
Spain introduced the Centralized form of government. It
was divided into two units: the Central government and
the Local government. The King entrusted the colony to
the governor-general, who had the highest position in
the government. The Royal Audiencia was the Supreme
Court of the Philippines. The Residencia and the
Visitador were the special courts that investigated on
the conduct of the governor-general and other
high-ranking Spanish officials. The Local Government was
responsible for the following: the provinces, cities,
towns and barrios. The provinces were divided into two:
the alcaldia which recognized Spain's possession over
the land and the corregimiento where the people had not
succumbed to its ruling power. Ayuntamiento or the city
government was the center of the society, religion,
culture and business. The pueblo was governed by the
gobernadorcillo, the highest position for Filipino
politicians. The Cabeza de Barangay governed the
barrios.
Frailocracia
During the Spanish regime, there was union of church and
state. The governor-general had power over the church.
The friars, on the other hand, played a very important
role in the government.
The governor-general being the most powerful in the
Philippines, had the power to take the law into his
hands. He was more powerful than the archbishop. The
Archbishop was only the most powerful in the church.
However, it seemed that the church exercised more power
than the government and because of this, the government
in the Philippines was called "Frailocracia," a
government controlled by the friars.
System of Government in the American Period
The Filipinos who continued their protest against the
reign of the Americans were called "irreconcilables".
The Brigandage Act intended to divide the support of the
people against those who fight the Americans. The
Sedition Law prohibited any persuasion in achieving
independence be it through peaceful or violent means.
The Flag Law, prohibited the public display of anything
particularly the Philippine flag and KKK that would
serve as reminder of freedom. The Filipinos acted and
took steps towards independence by forming political
parties, writing and painting of nationalistic
materials, the staging of plays and by sending
independence missions to the U.S. Congress. The Cooper
Law, Jones Law, Hare-Hawes-Cutting Law, and Tydings-McDuffie
Law were laws passed by the U.S. Congress for the
independence of the Philippines. The members of the
Philippine Assembly, which is the first law-making ,
committee, consisted of Filipinos. The Tydings-McDuffie
Law provided the necessary steps that the Filipinos
should take in order to prepare for the coming
independence. Filipino representatives made the
Constitution during the Constitutional Convention. The
Representatives in the Constitutional Convention signed
the 1935 Constitution on February 19, 1935. It was
approved by U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt on March
23, 1935 and was ratified by the Filipino people on May
14, 1935. The plebiscite on May 14, 1935 became a very
important event for women because they were allowed to
vote for the first time. The Commonwealth was
established under the 1935 Constitution. Manuel Quezon
was elected President of the Commonwealth while Sergio
Osmena was elected Vice-President.
Japanese Government in the Philippines
When Japanese captured Manila, the Japanese High Command
established the Philippine Executive Commission in
January 1942. Jose B. Vargas headed the Commission,
which was also known as the Central Government of the
Philippines. The commission formed seven departments
each of which had a Filipino secretary and each
secretary had a Japanese adviser. This was to determine
the loyalty of their service.
Jose P. Laurel became the president of the 2nd Republic
on Oct. 14, 1943 in front of the Congress building. The
people did not accept the second republic because they
knew that the president did not have the power to run
the government. This was the reason why the second
republic was called a fake or a Puppet Republic. |
