Forms of Government
elected by the people. Everyone who is eligible to vote
The principal forms of government:
1.As to number of persons exercising sovereign powers:
(a) Monarchy- one in which the supreme and final
authority is in the hands of a single person without
regard to the source of his election or the nature or
duration of his tenure. Monarchies are further classified
into:
Explanation: is one
-person ruling in the interest of all. But monarchy
can degenerate into tyranny, the corrupt form,
under which the single ruler exercises power for
the benefit of self.
-A monarchy has a king or queen, who sometimes has
absolute power (supreme authority). Power is passed
along through the family.
*Absolute monarchy or one in which the ruler rules by
divine right
Explanation: it is where the ruler makes hi authority
from God.(With no laws or opposition telling the
monarchy what to do. Basically, an absolute monarch
has total power towards its people and land).
*Limited monarchy or one in which the ruler rules in
accordance with a constitution.
Explanation: A government in which
a monarch agrees to share power with a
parliament (a group of people who are responsible
for making laws in some kinds of government) and
abide by a constitution.
(b) Aristocracy or one in which political power is
exercised by a few privileged class which is known
as an aristocracy or oligarchy
Explanation: is government rule by a few elite (the
richest, most powerful, best-educated, or best-
trained group in a society) citizens.
(c) Democracy or one in which political power is
exercised by a majority of the people. Democratic
governments are further classified into:
Explanation: In a democracy, the government is
- which is a majority of the population - has a chance
to have their say over who runs the country.
*Direct or pure democracy or one in which the will of
the state is formulated or expressed directly and
immediately through the people in a mass meeting or
primary assembly rather than through the medium of
delegates or representatives chosen to act for them.
Explanation: a form of democracy in which the laws
and policies are made directly by the citizens rather
than by representatives.
*Indirect, representative, or republican democracy
or one in which the will of the state is formulated
and expressed through the agency of a relatively
small and select body of persons chosen by the
people to act as their representatives.
Explanation: is when citizens elect representatives
to make laws on their behalf.
"As to extent of powers exercised by the central or
national government:
(a) Unitary government or one in which the control of
national and local affairs is exercised by the central or
national government
Explanation: it controls local authorities and citizens
lives.
(b) Federal government or one in which the powers of
government are divided between two sets of organs,
one for national affairs and the other for local affairs,
each organ being supreme within its own sphere, The
US is a federal government.
Explanation: Why does the United States have a
federal government but not Great Britain? The answer
has to do with size. Federal governments are best
used in large countries where there exists a diverse
group of people with diverse needs but a common
culture that unites them together.
Federal governments help address the wide variety of
needs of a geographically large country. It is no
wonder, then, that federal governments exist in large
countries, like the United States, Mexico, Germany,
Canada, Australia, Brazil, and others.
3. As to relationship between the executive
( The executive branch is responsible for
implementing the laws that are created by the
legislative branch (the Senate and House of
Representatives)) and the legislative branches
(the branch of the government that writes, debates,
and passes laws) of the government.
(a) Parliamentary government or one in which the
state confers upon the legislature the power to
terminate the tenure(the holding of an office) of
office of the real executive. Under this system, the
Cabinet or ministry is immediately or politically
responsible to the electorate (all people are entitled
to vote in an election), while the titular(title without
any real authority.) or nominal executive-The Chief
of State- occupies a position of irresponsibility.
Explanation: is a democratic form of government in
which the political party that wins the most seats in
the legislature or parliament during the federal
election forms the government.
(b) Presidential government or one in which the state
makes the executive constitutionally independent of the
legislature as regards his tenure and to a large extent as
regards his policies and acts, and furnishes him with
sufficient powers to prevent the legislature from
trenching upon the sphere marked out by the
constitution as executive independence and
prerogative.
Explanation: where an executive branch is led by
a president who serves as both head of state and
head of government.
The Government of the Phil. In transition
The pre-spanish government:
1. Unit of government- Prior to the arrival of the
Spaniards, the Phil. Was composed of
settlements or villages, each called barangay
named after balangay, a Malayan word meaning
boat. Every barangay was virtually a state, for
it possessed the four basic elements of
statehood. At times, however, some barangays
joined together as confederations (an
organization that consists of a number of
parties or groups united in an alliance or
league.) mainly for the purpose of mutual
protection against common enemies.
2. Datu. -- Each barangay was ruled by a chief
called datu in some places, and rajah, sultan or
hadji in others. He was its chief executive, law
giver, chief judge, and military head. In the
performance of his duties, however, he was
assisted usually by a council of elders (maginoos)
which served as his advisers. One could be a
datu chiefly by inheritance, wisdom, wealth, or
physical prowess .
In form, the barangay was a monarchy with the
datu as the monarch.
3.Social classes in the barangay- the people of
the barangay were divided into four classes,
namely: the nobility (maharlika), to which the
datu belonged, the freemen (timawaa)(a man
who is not a slave), the serfs (aliping
namamahay)( is a person who is forced to
work on a plot of land), and the slaves (aliping
sagigilid). ( is the legal property of another
and is forced to obey them.)
4. Early Laws- The early Filipinos had both
written and unwritten laws. The written laws
were promulgated (make widely known) by
the datus. The two known written codes in
the pre-Spanish era are the Maragtas
Code( The document claimed that there
were ten Bornean datus (or chieftain) who
arrived in the island of Panay to escape
from the tyranny of a certain Datu
Makatunaw of Borneo.) which was said to
have been written about 1250 A.D. by Datu
Sumakwel of Panay and the Kalantiaw
Code ( was a purported legal code in the
epic history Maragtas) written in 1433 A.D.
by Datu Kalantiaw, also of Panay. The
unwritten laws consisted of customs and
traditions which had been passed down
from generation to generation.

5. Comparison with other ancient

government
-it can be said that the laws of the barangay
were generally fair. The system of
government, although defective was not so
bad considering the conditions in other
lands in the age during which is flourished.
An eminent scholar has written: The
Filipino people, even in the prehistoric times
had already shown high intelligence and
moral virtues; virtues and intelligence clearly
manifested in their legislation, which, taking
into consideration the circumstances and
the epoch in which it was framed, was
clearly wise, as prudent, and as humane, as
that of the nations then at the head of
civilization.