Government of the Philippines

The Government of the Philippines is similar to the Government of the United States of America. The President of the Philippines works as the head of state, the head of government, and the commander in chief of the Military of the Philippines and the armed forces. The president is elected by direct election just as in America. He stays as the president for six years. He is the leader of the cabinet. The president and vice president are directly elected separately by national popular vote for a term of six years. While the vice president may be re-elected once, the president cannot.

The bicameral Philippine legislature, the Congress of the Philippines, consists of the Senate of the Philippines and the House of Representatives of the Philippines. Members of both are elected by popular vote. There are 24 senators serving six years in the Senate. The House of Representatives consists of no more than 250 congressmen each serving three-year terms.

The judiciary branch of the government is headed by the Supreme Court of the Philippines, which has a Chief Justice as its head and 14 Associate Justices, all appointed by the president.

The Philippines is a founding and prominent member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). It is also an active participant of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a member of the Group of 24 and one of the 51 founding members of the United Nations on October 24, 1945.