The Government of Philippines - The World Countries

Philippines - Government

Based on the etymolgy of Philippines, it was named in honor of King PHILLIP II of Spain by Spanish explorer Ruy LOPEZ de VILLALOBOS, who visited some of the islands in 1543. The Government system in this country is the presidential republic type and the different Administrative divisions includes:

81 provinces and 38 chartered cities

provinces: Abra, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Aklan, Albay, Antique, Apayao, Aurora, Basilan, Bataan, Batanes, Batangas, Biliran, Benguet, Bohol, Bukidnon, Bulacan, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Camiguin, Capiz, Catanduanes, Cavite, Cebu, Cotabato, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao de Oro, Davao Occidental, Davao Oriental, Dinagat Islands, Eastern Samar, Guimaras, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, Isabela, Kalinga, Laguna, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, La Union, Leyte, Maguindanao, Marinduque, Masbate, Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Mountain, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Northern Samar, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Quirino, Rizal, Romblon, Samar, Sarangani, Siquijor, Sorsogon, South Cotabato, Southern Leyte, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Tarlac, Tawi-Tawi, Zambales, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay;

chartered cities: Angeles, Bacolod, Baguio, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Caloocan, Cebu, Cotabato, Dagupan, Davao, General Santos, Iligan, Iloilo, Lapu-Lapu, Las Pinas, Lucena, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Mandaue, Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Naga, Navotas, Olongapo, Ormoc, Paranaque, Pasay, Pasig, Puerto Princesa, Quezon, San Juan, Santiago, Tacloban, Taguig, Valenzuela, Zamboanga

National symbols

Three stars and sun, Philippine eagle; national colors: red, white, blue, yellow.

The flag

The National flag of Philippines has two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red; a white equilateral triangle is based on the hoist side; the center of the triangle displays a yellow sun with eight primary rays; each corner of the triangle contains a small, yellow, five-pointed star; blue stands for peace and justice, red symbolizes courage, the white equal-sided triangle represents equality; the rays recall the first eight provinces that sought independence from Spain, while the stars represent the three major geographical divisions of the country: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao; the design of the flag dates to 1897.

note: in wartime the flag is flown upside down with the red band at the top

The National Anthem

Title	"Lupang Hinirang" (Chosen Land)
Lyric/music	Jose PALMA (revised by Felipe PADILLA de Leon)/Julian FELIPE

note: music adopted 1898, original Spanish lyrics adopted 1899, Filipino (Tagalog) lyrics adopted 1956; although the original lyrics were written in Spanish, later English and Filipino versions were created; today, only the Filipino version is used

More about the government of Philippines

Constitution
Date of Independence	4 July 1946 (from the US)
National holiday	Independence Day, 12 June (1898); note - 12 June 1898 was date of declaration of independence from Spain; 4 July 1946 was date of independence from the US
Legal system	mixed legal system of civil, common, Islamic (sharia), and customary law
International law organization participation	accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; withdrew from the ICCt in March 2019
History	Several previous; latest ratified 2 February 1987, effective 11 February 1987
Amendments	Proposed by Congress if supported by three fourths of the membership, by a constitutional convention called by Congress, or by public petition; passage by either of the three proposal methods requires a majority vote in a national referendum; note - the constitution has not been amended since its enactment in 1987
Citizenship
Citizenship by birth	no
Citizenship by descent only	at least one parent must be a citizen of the Philippines
Dual citizenship recognized	no
Residency requirement for naturalization	10 years
Executive Branch
Chief of state	President Ferdinand "BongBong" MARCOS, Jr. (since 30 June 2022)
Head of government	President Ferdinand "BongBong" MARCOS, Jr. (since 30 June 2022)
Cabinet	Cabinet appointed by the president with the consent of the Commission of Appointments, an independent body of 25 Congressional members including the Senate president (ex officio chairman), appointed by the president
Elections/appointments	president and vice president directly elected on separate ballots by simple majority popular vote for a single 6-year term; election last held on 9 May 2022 (next to be held on 9 May 2028)
Election results	2022: Ferdinand MARCOS, Jr. elected president; percent of vote - Ferdinand MARCOS, Jr. (PFP) 58.7%, Leni ROBREDO (independent) 27.9%, Manny PACQUIAO (PROMDI) 6.8%, other 6.6%; Sara DUTERTE-Carpio elected vice president; percent of vote Sara DUTERTE-Carpio (Lakas-CMD) 61.5%, Francis PANGILINAN (LP) 17.8%, Tito SOTTO 15.8%, other 4.9% 2016: Rodrigo DUTERTE elected president; percent of vote - Rodrigo DUTERTE (PDP-Laban) 39%, Manuel "Mar" ROXAS (LP) 23.5%, Grace POE (independent) 21.4%, Jejomar BINAY (UNA) 12.7%, Miriam Defensor SANTIAGO (PRP) 3.4%; Leni ROBREDO elected vice president; percent of vote Leni ROBREDO (LP) 35.1%, Bongbong MARCOS (independent) 34.5%, Alan CAYETANO 14.4%, Francis ESCUDERO (independent) 12%, other 4%
Legislative branch
Description	Bicameral Congress or Kongreso consists of: Senate or Senado (24 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by majority vote; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years) House of Representatives or Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan (316 seats; 253 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 63 representing minorities directly elected by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 3-year terms)
Elections	Senate - elections last held on 9 May 2022 (next to be held in May 2025) House of Representatives - elections last held on 9 May 2022 (next to be held in May 2025)
Election results	Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NPC 5, PDP-Laban 5, NP 4, other 5, independent 5; composition - men 17, women 7, percentage women 29.2% House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP-Laban 22.7%, NP 13.7%, NUP 12.6%, NPC 11.7%, Lakas-CMD 9.4%, LP 3.8%, HNP 2.5%, other 19.6%, independent 4%; seats by party - PDP-Laban 66, NP 36, NPC 35, NUP 33, Lakas-CMD 26, LP 10, HNP 6, other 35, independent 6, party-list 63; composition - men 226, women 85, percentage women 27.3%; total Congress percentage women 27.5%
Judicial branch
Highest court(s)	Supreme Court (consists of a chief justice and 14 associate justices)
Judge selection and term of office	Justices are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar Council, a constitutionally created, 6-member body that recommends Supreme Court nominees; justices serve until age 70
Subordinate courts	Court of Appeals; Sandiganbayan (special court for corruption cases of government officials); Court of Tax Appeals; regional, metropolitan, and municipal trial courts; sharia courts
Diplomatic representation in the US
Chief of mission	Ambassador Jose Manuel del Gallego ROMUALDEZ (since 29 November 2017)
Chancery	1600 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
Telephone	[1] (202) 467-9300
FAX	[1] (202) 328-7614
Email address and website	[email protected] The Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Washington D.C. (philippineembassy-dc.org)
Consulate(s) general	Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Tamuning (Guam)
Diplomatic representation from the US
Chief of mission	Ambassador MaryKay Loss CARLSON (since 22 July 2022)
Embassy	1201 Roxas Boulevard, Manila 1000
Mailing address	8600 Manila Place, Washington DC 20521-8600
Telephone	[63] (2) 5301-2000
FAX	[63] (2) 5301-2017
Email address and website	[email protected] https://ph.usembassy.gov/
National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites	6 (3 cultural, 3 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales	Baroque Churches of the Philippines (c); Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (n); Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras (c); Historic Vigan (c); Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park (n); Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (n)