Branches of the Philippine Government: Separation of Powers

The Philippines is a democratic and republican state. As a republican state,

sovereignty resides in the People and all government authority emanates
from them !onstitution, Art. """, Sec. #$. %A &epublican form of government
rests on the conviction that sovereignty should reside in the people and that
all government authority must emanate from them. "t abhors the
concentration of power on one or a few, cogni'ant that power, when
absolute, can lead to abuse, but it also shuns a direct and unbridled rule by
the people, a veritable (indling to the passionate )res of anarchy. *ur people
have accepted this notion and decided to delegate the basic state authority
to principally three branches of government + the ,-ecutive, the .egislative,
and the /udiciary 0 each branch being supreme in its own sphere but with
constitutional limits and a )rm tripod of chec(s and balances .1
The Executive Branch
The e-ecutive branch is headed by the President, who is elected by a direct
vote of the people. The term of o2ce of the President, as well as the 3ice4
President, is si- 5$ years. As head of the ,-ecutive 6epartment, the
President is the !hief ,-ecutive. 7e represents the government as a whole
and sees to it that all laws are enforced by the o2cials and employees of his
department. 7e has control over the e-ecutive department, bureaus and
o2ces. This means that he has the authority to assume directly the functions
of the e-ecutive department, bureau and o2ce or interfere with the
discretion of its o2cials. !orollary 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 o2ces under his control to enable him to discharge his
duties e8ectively.
The President e-ercises general supervision over all local government units
and is also the !ommander4in4!hief of the Armed 9orces of the Philippines.
:nder the e-isting Presidential form of government, the e-ecutive and
legislative branches are entirely separate, sub;ect only to the mechanisms of
chec(s and balances. There were attempts to amend the !onstitution in
order to shift to a parliamentary system, but these moves were struc( down
by the Supreme !ourt. The most recent petition that reached the Supreme
!ourt is .ambino vs. !*<,.,!.
The Legislative Branch
The legislative branch, which has the authority to ma(e, alter or repeal laws
see also the de)nition of %legislative power%$, is the !ongress. %!ongress is
vested with the tremendous power of the purse, traditionally recogni'ed in
the constitutional provision that =no money shall be paid out of the Treasury
e-cept in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.> "t comprehends both
the power to generate money by ta-ation the power to ta-$ and the power
to spend it the power to appropriate$. The power to appropriate carries with
it the power to specify the amount that may be spent and the purpose for
which it may be spent.
:nder a bicameral system, the !ongress is composed of the Senate and the
7ouse of &epresentatives.
The Senate is composed of twenty4four ?@$ Senators, who are elected at
large by the Auali)ed voters of the Philippines. The term of o2ce of the
Senators is si- 5$ years.
The 7ouse of &epresentatives, on the other hand, is composed of not more
than two hundred and )fty ?BC$ members, unless otherwise )-ed by law,
who are elected from legislative districts apportioned among the provinces,
cities and the <etropolitan <anila area, and those who are elected through a
party4list system of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or
organi'ations. The term of o2ce of members of the 7ouse of
&epresentatives, also called %!ongressmen,1 is three D$ years.
The Judiciary
/udicial power is vested in the Supreme !ourt and in such lower courts as
may be established by law. The ;udiciary has the EFGmoderating powerEF
to EFGdetermine the proper allocation of powersEF between the branches
of government. Hhen the %;udiciary mediates to allocate constitutional
boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other departmentsI 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 !onstitution to
determine conJicting claims of authority under the !onstitution and to
establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights which that
instrument secures and guarantees to them.1 "n the words of !hief /ustice
&eynato S. Puno: EFGThe /udiciary may not have the power of the sword,
may not have the power of the purse, but it has the power to interpret the
!onstitution, and the unerring lessons of history tell us that rightly wielded,
that power can ma(e a di8erence for good.EF
Hhile !ongress has the power to de)ne, prescribe and apportion
the ;urisdiction of the various courts, !ongress cannot deprive the Supreme
!ourt of its ;urisdiction provided in the !onstitution. Ko law shall also be
passed reorgani'ing the ;udiciary when it undermines the security of tenure
of its members. The Supreme !ourt also has administrative supervision over
all courts and the personnel thereof, having the power to discipline or
dismiss ;udges of lower courts.
The Supreme !ourt is composed of a !hief /ustice and fourteen Associate
/ustices. "t may sit en banc or, in its discretion, in divisions of three, )ve or
seven members. A member of the Supreme !ourt must be a natural4born
citi'en of the Philippines, at least forty @C$ years of age and must have been
for )fteen #B$ years or more a ;udge of a lower court or engaged in the
pratice of law in the Philippines. /ustices hold o2ce during good behavior
until they reach the age of seventy LC$ years or become incapacitated to
discharge the duties of their o2ce.
M Sources: Francisco, Jr. vs. House of Representatives, G.&. Ko. #5C?5#, #C
Kovember ?CCD, main decision and the separate opinions of /ustices 3itug
and !oronaI Ople vs. Torres, G.&. Ko. #?L5NB, ?D /uly #OON.