Three branches of government The Executive Branch The executive branch is headed by the President, who is elected by a direct

vote of the people. The term of office of the President, as well as the Vice-President, is six (6) years. As head of the Executive Department, the President is the Chief Executive. He represents the government as a whole and sees to it that all laws are enforced by the officials and employees of his department. He has control over the executive department, bureaus and offices. This means that he has the authority to assume directly the functions of the executive department, bureau and office or interfere with the discretion of its officials. Corollary to the power of control, the President also has the duty of supervising the enforcement of laws for the maintenance of general peace and public order. Thus, he is granted administrative power over bureaus and offices under his control to enable him to discharge his duties effectively. Powers of the government the Executive branch President (Article 7) 1. THE POWER TO IMPLEMENT LAWS 2. Administrative Power and control over the agencies of the governments (Section 17) 3. The power to appoint government officials (Section 16) 4. The power to commute sentence, grant pardon, reprieve and amnesty (Section 19) 5. The power to declare martial law (Section 18) 6. The power to suspend the privilege of writ of habeas corpus (Section 18) 7. The power to veto a law (Art. 6, Section 7) 8. The power of supervision and control over the local government (Art. X, Section 4) 9. The power to conduct treaty and international agreement with other states (Section 21)

Under the existing Presidential form of government, the executive and legislative branches are entirely separate, subject only to the mechanisms of checks and balances. There were attempts to amend the Constitution in order to shift to a parliamentary system, but these moves were struck down by the Supreme Court. The most recent petition that reached the Supreme Court isLambino vs. COMELEC.

The Legislative Branch The legislative branch, which has the authority to make, alter or repeal laws (see also the definition of legislative power), is the Congress. Congress is vested with the tremendous power of the purse,

traditionally recognized in the constitutional provision that no money shall be paid out of the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law. It comprehends both the power to generate money by taxation (the power to tax) and the power to spend it (the power to appropriate). The power to appropriate carries with it the power to specify the amount that may be spent and the purpose for which it may be spent. Powers of the government the Legislative branch 1. THE POWER TO ENACT LAWS 2. Police Power 3. Power of Eminent Domain 4. Power of Taxation 5. The power to choose who shall become President in case of tie (Section 4, par.4) 6. The power to impose death penalty (Art. 3, Sec 19) 7. The power to act as a constituent assembly (Art. XVII, section 1) 8. The power to declare the existence of war (Section 23) 9. The power to confirm the appointments of government officials (Section 19) 10. The power to ratify treaty (Art. 7, Section 21) 11. The power to conduct investigation in aid of legislation (Section 21) 12. Immunity from arrest for offenses punishable by not more than six years imprisonment (Section 11) 13. The power to appropriate money (Section 24 & 25) 14. The power to impeach (Art. XI, Sec. 2) The House of Representatives, on the other hand, is composed of not more than two hundred and fifty (250) members, unless otherwise fixed by law, who are elected from legislative districts apportioned among the provinces, cities and the Metropolitan Manila area, and those who are elected through a party-list system of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations. The term of office of members of the House of Representatives, also called Congressmen, is three (3) years.

The Judiciary Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law. The judiciary has the moderating power to determine the proper allocation of powers between the branches of government. When the judiciary mediates to allocate constitutional boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other departments; it does not in reality nullify or invalidate an act of the

legislature, but only asserts the solemn and sacred obligation assigned to it by the Constitution to determine conflicting claims of authority under the Constitution and to establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights which that instrument secures and guarantees to them. In the words of Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno: The Judiciary may not have the power of the sword, may not have the power of the purse, but it has the power to interpret the Constitution, and the unerring lessons of history tell us that rightly wielded, that power can make a difference for good.

Powers of the government the Judicial branch The Supreme Court (Article 8) 1. THE POWER TO INTERPRET LAWS 2. THE POWER OF JUDICIAL REVIEW. a. The power to determine whether there has been a grave abuse of discretion lack or excess of jurisdiction of any branch or instrumentality of the government (Sec. 4, par. 2) 3. ADJUDICATORY POWERS (Section 1, par. 2) a. The power to determine the validity and constitutionality of the laws of the State b. The power to settle actual controversies involving rights which are legally demandable and enforceable 4. Assign temporarily judges of lower courts to other stations as public interest may require 5. Order the change of venue or place of trial to avoid a miscarriage of justice 6. Appoints all officials and employees of the Judiciary in accordance with the Civil Service Law While Congress has the power to define, prescribe and apportion the jurisdiction of the various courts, Congress cannot deprive the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction provided in the Constitution. No law shall also be passed reorganizing the judiciary when it undermines the security of tenure of its members. The Supreme Court also has administrative supervision over all courts and the personnel thereof, having the power to discipline or dismiss judges of lower courts.

Reference: http://jlp-law.com/blog/branches-of-the-philippine-government-separation-of-powers/