Our government, maintaining three major departments, the Executive, Legislative and the

Judicial Department seeks to act in the best interests of its citizens through the system of check
and balance by means of which one department is allowed to resist encroachment upon its
prerogatives or to rectify mistakes or excesses committed by the other departments. Corollary
to this system is the principle of separation of power which prevents the concentration of
authority in one person or group of persons that might lead to irreversible error or abuse in its
exercise to the detriment of the republic.

The aim of these systems is for the government to better achieve its ends through the exercise
by the different departments of only the powers assigned to them, subject to reversal in proper
cases by those constitutionally authorized.

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

The Executive branch is composed of the President and the Vice President who are elected by
direct popular vote and serve a term of six years. The Constitution grants the President
authority to appoint his Cabinet. These departments form a large portion of the country’s
bureaucracy.

The executive branch carries out and enforces laws. It includes the President, Vice President,
the Cabinet, executive departments, independent agencies, boards, commissions, and
committees.

The President leads the country. He or she is the head of state, leader of the national
government, and Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines.

The Vice President supports the President and when the President is unable to serve, the Vice
President becomes President.

Cabinet members, who are nominated by the President and must be confirmed by the
Commission of Appointments, serve as advisors to the President. They include the Vice
President and the heads of executive departments.

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

The Legislative branch, which is divided into the Senate and the House of Representatives, is
authorized to make laws, alter, and repeal them through the power vested in the Philippine
Congress.
The Legislative Branch enacts legislation, confirms or rejects Presidential appointments, and has
the authority to declare war. The Senate is composed of 24 Senators who are elected at large
by the qualified voters of the Philippines.

The House of Representatives is composed of about 250 members elected from legislative
districts in the provinces, cities, and municipalities, and representatives elected through a
party-list system of registered national, regional, and sectoral parties or organizations.

The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per cent of the total number of
representatives including those under the party list. For three consecutive terms after the
ratification of this Constitution, one-half of the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall
be filled, as provided by law, by selection or election from the labor, peasant, urban poor,
indigenous cultural communities, women, youth, and such other sectors as may be provided by
law, except the religious sector.

THE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

The Judicial branch holds the power to settle controversies involving rights that are legally
demandable and enforceable. This branch determines whether or not there has been a grave
abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction on the part and instrumentality
of the government. It is made up of a Supreme Court and lower courts.

The judicial branch interprets the meaning of laws, applies laws to individual cases, and decides
if laws violate the Constitution. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in
such lower courts as may be established by law.

Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches as follows:

The President can veto laws passed by Congress.

Congress confirms or rejects the President's appointments and can remove the President from
office in exceptional circumstances.

The Justices of the Supreme Court, who can overturn unconstitutional laws, are appointed by
the President and confirmed by the Senate.

The Constitution expressly grants the Supreme Court the power of Judicial Review as the power
to declare a treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree,
proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance or regulation unconstitutional.
Administrative agencies such as Commission on Civil Service, Commission on Election and
Commission on Audit are agencies directly created by the 1987 Constitution. These agencies are
endowed with quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers or both for the purpose of enabling it
to carry out laws entrusted to it for enforcement or execution. Under the doctrine of necessary
implications, all powers necessary for the effective exercise of the powers of these agencies are
impliedly granted.

COMMISSION ON CIVIL SERVICE

The Civil Service Commission, as the central personnel agency of the Government, establishes a
career service and adopts measures to promote morale, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness,
progressiveness, and courtesy in the civil service. It strengthens the merit and rewards system,
integrate all human resources development programs for all levels and ranks, and
institutionalize a management climate conducive to public accountability. It submits to the
President and the Congress an annual report on its personnel programs. [Art. IX—B, Sec. 3]

COMMISSION ON ELECTION

The Commission on Election as an independent tribunal ensures the purity of elections, outside
the influence of political parties, the legislative, executive and judicial departments. It is
composed of a Chairman and six Commissioners.

It is vested by the Constitution with exclusive charge of enforcement of all laws relative to the
conduct of elections. It has exclusive jurisdiction over pre-proclamation controversies arising
from national and local elections.

COMMISSION ON AUDIT

The Commission on Audit, which is composed of one Chairman and two Commissioners, is
vested with the power to examine and audit all forms of government revenue and expenditures
and to settle government accounts. It is also empowered to define the scope and techniques
for its own auditing procedures and to decide administrative cases involving expenditures of
public funds. Jurisprudence dictates that it can decide money claims based on law but if a
money claim is denied by law, COA has no authority to pass judgment on the constitutionality
of the law.