Article VII, Section 1, of the 1987 Constitution vests executive power on the President of the Philippines. The President is the Head of State and Head of Government, and functions as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. As chief executive, the President exercises control over all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
The President of the Philippines is elected by direct vote by the people for a term of six years. He may only serve for one term, and is ineligible for reelection. The term of the President of the Philippines starts at noon of the 30th day of June after the election.
QUALIFICATIONS
The qualifications for an individual aspiring to become the President of the Philippines are outlined in Article VII, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution. According to the constitution, an individual may become President provided he meets the following criteria:
- natural born Filipino;
- a registered voter;
- must be able to read and write;
- 40 years of age at the day of the election; and
- must have resided in the Philippines ten years before the election is held.
HISTORY
The President of the Philippines is elected by direct vote of the people, and has a term of six years with no provision for reelection.
There have been 15 Presidents of the Philippines from the establishment of the office on January 23, 1899, in the Malolos Republic. President Emilio Aguinaldo is the inaugural holder of the office and held the position until March 23, 1901, when he was captured by the Americans during the Philippine-American War.
The Office of the President of the Philippines was abolished after the capture of Aguinaldo, and ceased to exist until the inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth in 1935.
After the first national elections were held on September 16, 1935, Manuel L. Quezon was elected as the second President of the Philippines and the first President of the Philippine Commonwealth. Originally elected to a six-year term, President Quezon would stay in office until 1944, because the 1935 Constitution was amended in 1940 to allow reelection, but shortened the term of the President to four years. Quezon was elected again in 1941—however, due to constitutional limitations, he would have not served the full four years—his term started on November 15, 1935, and thus would end on November 15, 1943. In 1943, however, President Quezon had to take an emergency oath of office, extending his term, because of the outbreak of World War II.
When World War II forced the Philippine Commonwealth into exile, a different government would be installed in the Philippines, which would later to be known as the Second Republic of the Philippines. Jose P. Laurel would lead this government as the third President of the Philippines and the only President of the Second Republic. Laurel stayed in office from 1943 to 1944 when the Second Republic was abolished. At this point, the President of the Second Republic would overlap with the President of the Commonwealth. On September 17, 1945, however, the laws of the Second Republic were declared null and void by the Supreme.
The Philippine Commonwealth would be reestablished in Philippine soil in 1945 with President Sergio Osmeña as the second President of the Commonwealth and the fourth President of the Philippines. Osmeña took his oath of office in the United States after the demise of President Quezon. Osmeña would run in the first post-war presidential elections held in 1946, but lose to Senate President Manuel Roxas.
President Roxas was elected in 1946 as the third President of the Philippine Commonwealth, first President of the independent Republic of the Philippines, and the fifth President of the Philippines. He would usher in the end of the Philippine Commonwealth on July 4, 1946, and the birth of the Third Republic. Roxas would be followed by Presidents Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay, Carlos P. Garcia, and Diosdado Macapagal as the second, third, fourth, and fifth President of the Third Republic and the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth President of the Philippines, respectively.
President Ferdinand E. Marcos became the last President of the Third Republic when he declared martial law in 1972, while the 1973 Constitution suspended the 1935 Constitution, he only formally proclaims the “New Republic”—the Fourth—in 1981. Marcos became the first President of the Fourth Republic and the tenth President of the Philippines overall. Marcos stayed in office for 20 years—the longest serving President of the Philippines.
In 1986, the EDSA Revolution successfully installed Corazon C. Aquino as the new President of the Philippines—the 11th in the country’s history. President Aquino served as the second and last President of the Fourth Republic at the beginning of her term. A transitional, Freedom Constitution was put into effect in the same year. When the 1987 Constitution was put into full force and effect, the Fourth Republic was ended and the Fifth Republic inaugurated. Thus, President Aquino became the first President of the Fifth Republic. She would be followed by Presidents Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Benigno S. Aquino III as the second, third, fourth, and fifth President of the Fifth Republic and 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th President of the Philippines, respectively.
The current President, Rodrigo Roa Duterte, is the sixth President of the Fifth Republic and the 16th President of the Philippines.
POWERS OF THE PRESIDENT
Besides the constitution, the powers of the President of the Philippines are specifically outlined in Executive Order No. 292, s. 1987, otherwise known as the Administrative Code of 1987. The following powers are:
1. Power of control over the executive branch
The President of the Philippines has the mandate of control over all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices. This includes restructuring, reconfiguring, and appointments of their respective officials. The Administrative Code also provides for the President to be responsible for the abovementioned offices’ strict implementation of laws.
2. Power ordinance power
The President of the Philippines has the power to give executive issuances, which are means to streamline the policy and programs of an administration. There are six issuances that the President may issue. They are the following as defined in the Administrative Code of 1987:
Executive orders — Acts of the President providing for rules of a general or permanent character in implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory powers shall be promulgated in executive orders.
Administrative orders — Acts of the President which relate to particular aspects of governmental operations in pursuance of his duties as the administrative head shall be promulgated in administrative orders.
Proclamations — Acts of the President fixing a date or declaring a status or condition of public moment or interest, upon the existence of which the operation of a specific law or regulation is made to depend, shall be promulgated in proclamations which shall have the force of an executive order.
Memorandum orders — Acts of the President on matters of administrative detail, or of subordinate or temporary interest which only concern a particular officer or government office shall be embodied in memorandum orders.
Memorandum circulars — Acts of the President on matters relating to internal administration, which the President desires to bring to the attention of all or some of the departments, agencies, bureaus, or offices of the government, for information or compliance, shall be embodied in memorandum circulars.
General or special orders — Acts and commands of the President in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall be issued as general or special orders.
It is important to note that during the term of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, he used executive issuances known as presidential decrees as a form of legislation. These decrees have the full force and effect of laws because at the time the legislature did not exist and, when the 1973 Constitution was put into full force and effect, it gave the power to the President to do as such. This continued until the first year of President Corazon C. Aquino’s term. However, President Aquino opted to used executive orders instead of presidential decrees. President Aquino’s executive orders, however, still had the full force and effect of laws until the ratification of the 1987 Constitution.
3. Power over aliens
The President of the Philippines has certain powers over non-Filipinos in the Philippines. The powers he may exercise over foreigners in the country are as follows:
- The chief executive may have an alien in the Philippines deported from the country after due process.
- The President may change the status of a foreigner, as prescribed by law, from a non-immigrant status to a permanent resident status without necessity of visa.
- The President may choose to overrule the Board of Commissioners of the Bureau of Immigration before their decision becomes final and executory (after 30 days of the issuance of the decision). The Board of Commissioners of the Bureau of Immigration has jurisdiction over all deportation cases.
- The president is also mandated by the Administrative Code of 1987 to exercise powers as recognized by the generally accepted principles of international law.
4. Powers of eminent domain, escheat, land reservation and recovery of ill-gotten wealth
The President of the Philippines has the authority to exercise the power of eminent domain. The power of eminent domains means the state has the power to seize or authorize the seizure of private property for public use with just compensation. There are two constitutional provisions, however, that limit the exercise of such power: Article III, Section 9 (1) of the Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of his/her life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Furthermore, Article III, Section 9 (2), provides that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.
Once the aforementioned conditions are met, the President may exercise the power of eminent domain which are as follows:
Power of eminent domain — The President shall determine when it is necessary or advantageous to exercise the power of eminent domain in behalf of the national government, and direct the solicitor general, whenever he deems the action advisable, to institute expropriation proceedings in the proper court.
Power to direct escheat or reversion proceedings — The President shall direct the solicitor general to institute escheat or reversion proceedings over all lands transferred or assigned to persons disqualified under the constitution to acquire land.
Power to reserve lands of the public and private domain of the government —
(1) The president shall have the power to reserve for settlement or public use, and for specific public purposes, any of the lands of the public domain, the use of which is not otherwise directed by law. The reserved land shall thereafter remain subject to the specific public purpose indicated until otherwise provided by law or proclamation.
(2) He shall also have the power to reserve from sale or other disposition and for specific public uses or purposes, any land belonging to the private domain of the government, or any of the friar lands, the use of which is not otherwise directed by law, and thereafter such land shall be used for the purposes specified by such proclamation until otherwise provided by law.
Power over ill-gotten wealth — The President shall direct the solicitor general to institute proceedings to recover properties unlawfully acquired by public officials or employees, from them or from their nominees or transferees.
Within the period fixed in, or any extension thereof authorized by, the constitution, the President shall have the authority to recover ill-gotten properties amassed by the leaders and supporters of the previous regime, and protect the interest of the people through orders of sequestration or freezing of assets or accounts.
5. Power of appointment
The President may appoint officials of the Philippine government as provided by the constitution and laws of the Philippines. Some of these appointments, however, may need the approval of the Committee on Appointments (a committee composed of members from the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines).
6. Power of general supervision over local governments
The President of the Philippines, as chief executive, has the mandate to supervise local governments in the Philippines, despite their autonomous status as provided by Republic Act No. 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991.
Traditionally, this is done by the Department of the Interior and Local Government, headed by a cabinet secretary—an alter ego of the President.
7. Other powers
Aside from the aforementioned powers of the President of the Philippines, he can also exercise powers enumerated in the constitution, and powers given to him by law.
The Vice President of the Philippines is elected by direct vote by the people for a term of six years, and may run for reelection once. The term of the Vice President of the Philippines starts at noon of the 30th day of June after a regular election is held.
QUALIFICATIONS
The qualifications for aspirants to the Office of the Vice President is outlined in Article VII, Section 3. According to the constitution, the qualifications for the President is the same for the Vice President.
HISTORY
The Vice President of the Philippines is elected via a direct vote of the people for a term of six years, with a possibility of reelection. According to the constitution, the vice president may take on a cabinet portfolio in concurrent capacity, if the President chooses.
The first constitution of the Philippines, the Malolos Constitution, did not provide for a Vice President of the Philippines. It only had provisions for a president and a prime minister. The first legal basis for the existence of the office came in 1935 upon the inauguration of the Commonwealth government.
There have been 12 people who have held the Office of the Vice President from its establishment in 1935. Vice President Sergio Osmeña is the inaugural holder of the position, and served until 1944. He first took his oath after the 1935 elections under the Philippine Commonwealth, and once again, after being reelected again in 1941, before the Philippine government went into exile. His third oath taking happened in the United States when the terms the officials of the Philippine government-in-exile expired and were extended.
The Philippines’ second vice president was elected in 1946 under the Commonwealth of the Philippines. Vice President Elpidio Quirino was elected under the Commonwealth government, but transitioned into the Third Republic on July 4, 1946. Quirino was followed by Fernando Lopez, Carlos P. Garcia, and Emmanuel Pelaez. Fernando Lopez would once again be elected in 1965 when he ran with Ferdinand Marcos. Lopez was elected for two terms until the abolition of the Office of the Vice President on September 23, 1972, when martial law was declared.
The original 1973 Constitution did not provide for a vice president of the Philippines. The position remained abolished until constitutional amendments were made in 1978. The position was filled in 1986 by Arturo Tolentino, the running mate of President Ferdinand Marcos during the 1986 Snap Elections. On February 15, 1986, the Batasang Pambansa certified the COMELEC results, proclaiming the Marcos-Tolentino ticket as winners of the election. Arturo Tolentino took his oath as Vice President on February 16, 1986; his term lasted days before the EDSA Revolution installed new leadership.
When the 1987 Constitution was ratified, the position of Vice President of the Philippines would remain with Salvador Laurel Jr. as its inaugural holder. Since the institution of the 1987 Constitution, the Fifth Republic has had six vice presidents with five being elected (Laurel, Joseph Ejercito Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Noli De Castro, and Jejomar Binay), and one being appointed and confirmed by Congress (Teofisto Guingona Jr.).
DUTIES OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
According to the constitution, the vice president may concurrently assume a cabinet position should the President of the Philippines offer the former one. The vice president will become a secretary concurrent to the position of vice president.
Aside from the cabinet post, the vice president is mandated to assume the presidency in case of the death, disability, or resignation of the incumbent President.
The provincial governor, as the chief executive of the provincial government, shall exercise and perform the following powers and duties:
- Exercise general supervision and control over all programs, projects, services, and activities of the provincial government:
- determine the guidelines of municipal policies and be responsible to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for the program of government;
- direct the formulation of the provincial development plan;
- at the opening of the regular session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, present the program of government and propose policies and projects for consideration;
- initiate and propose legislative measures to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan;
- represent the province in all its business transactions and sign on its behalf all bonds, contracts, and obligations, upon authorization by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan;
- carry out emergency measures as may be necessary during and in the aftermath of man-made and natural disasters;
- examine the books, records and other documents of all offices, officials, agents or employees of the province;
- furnish copies of executive orders issued by him to the Office of the President within 72 hours after their issuance;
- visit component cities and municipalities at least once every six months;
- represent the province in inter-provincial or regional sports councils or committees, and coordinate the efforts of component cities or municipalities in the regional or national palaro or sports development activities;
- conduct an annual palarong panlalawigan; and
- submit to the Office of the President an annual report on the administration and development of the province, and supplemental reports when unexpected events and situations such as calamities arise.
- Enforce all laws and ordinances, and implement all approved policies, programs, projects, services and activities of the province:
- issue executive orders as are necessary for the proper enforcement and execution of laws and ordinances;
- call conventions, seminars or meetings of any elective and appointive officials of the province;
- in coordination with the component cities and municipalities, and the National Police Commission, formulate and implement the peace and order plan of the province; and
- call upon the appropriate law enforcement agencies to suppress disorder, riot, lawless violence, rebellion or sedition or to apprehend violators of the law.
- Initiate and maximize the generation of resources and revenues, to be used for the implementation of development plans, program objectives and priorities:
- prepare and submit to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for approval the annual executive and supplemental budgets of the province;
- ensure that all taxes and other revenues of the province are collected;
- issue, suspend or revoke licenses and permits;
- adopt measures to safeguard and conserve land, mineral, marine, forest, and other resources of the province;
- provide efficient and effective property and supply management in the province; and protect the funds, credits, rights and other properties of the province; and
- institute or cause to be instituted administrative or judicial proceedings for violation of ordinances in the collection of taxes, fees or charges, and for the recovery of funds and property.
- Ensure the delivery of basic services and the provision of adequate facilities as provided for under Section 17 of the Local Government Code.
The municipal mayor and city mayor, as the chief executive of the municipal government and city government, respectively, shall exercise and perform the following powers and functions:
- Exercise general supervision and control over all programs, projects, services, and activities of the municipal or city government:
- determine the guidelines of municipal policies and be responsible to the Sangguniang Bayan or Panlungsod for the program of government;
- direct the formulation of the municipal or city development plan;
- at the opening of the regular session of the Sangguniang Bayan or Panlungsod, present the program of government and propose policies and projects for consideration;
- initiate and propose legislative measures to the Sangguniang Bayan or Panlungsod;
- represent the municipality or city in all its business transactions and sign on its behalf all bonds, contracts, and obligations, upon authorization by the Sangguniang Bayan;
- carry out emergency measures as may be necessary during and in the aftermath of man-made and natural disasters;
- examine the books, records and other documents of all offices, officials, agents or employees of the municipality or city;
- visit component barangays of the municipality or city at least once every six months;
- solemnize marriages, any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding;
- conduct a palarong bayan or panlungsod; and
- submit to the provincial governor an annual report on the administration of the municipality or city, and supplemental reports when unexpected events and situations such as calamities arise.
- Enforce all laws and ordinances, and implement all approved policies, programs, projects, services and activities of the municipality or city:
- issue executive orders as are necessary for the proper enforcement and execution of laws and ordinances;
- call conventions, seminars or meetings of any elective and appointive officials of the municipality or city;
- formulate and implement the peace and order plan of the municipality or city; and
- call upon the appropriate law enforcement agencies to suppress disorder, riot, lawless violence, rebellion or sedition or to apprehend violators of the law.
- Initiate and maximize the generation of resources and revenues, to be used for the implementation of development plans, program objectives and priorities:
- prepare and submit to the Sangguniang Bayan or Panlungsod for approval the annual executive and supplemental budgets of the municipality or city;
- ensure that all taxes and other revenues of the municipality or city are collected;
- issue, suspend or revoke licenses and permits;
- adopt measures to safeguard and conserve land, mineral, marine, forest, and other resources of the municipality or city;
- provide efficient and effective property and supply management in the municipality or city; and protect the funds, credits, rights and other properties of the municipality or city; and
- institute or cause to be instituted administrative or judicial proceedings for violation of ordinances in the collection of taxes, fees or charges, and for the recovery of funds and property.
- Ensure the delivery of basic services and the provision of adequate facilities as provided for under Section 17 of the Local Government Code.
The punong barangay, as the chief executive of the barangay government, shall exercise and perform the following powers and functions:
- enforce all laws and ordinances which are applicable within the barangay;
- negotiate, enter into, and sign contracts for and in behalf of the barangay, upon authorization of the Sangguniang Barangay;
- maintain public order in the barangay;
- call and preside over the sessions of the Sangguniang Barangay and the Barangay Assembly;
- appoint or replace the barangay treasurer, the barangay secretary, and other appointive barangay officials;
- organize and lead an emergency group for the maintenance of peace and order or on occasions of emergency or calamity within the barangay;
- prepare the annual executive and supplemental budgets of the barangay, in coordination with the Barangay Development Council;
- approve vouchers relating to the disbursement of barangay funds;
- enforce laws and regulations relating to pollution control and protection of the environment;
- administer the operation of the Katarungang Pambarangay;
- exercise general supervision over the activities of the Sangguniang Kabataan;
- ensure the delivery of basic social services and access to facilities;
- conduct an annual palarong barangay which shall feature traditional sports and disciplines included in national and international games; and
- promote the general welfare of the barangay.
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