Philippine politics and governance are governed by a three-branch system of government, with the country being a democracy. The president is directly elected by the people and serves as both the head of state and the head of government. The president serves as the leader of the executive branch and is a powerful political figure. A president may only hold office for one six-year term.

The Philippine military remains somewhat politicized, but since 1992 it has been reluctant to directly intervene in politics. Beginning in 1986, substantial deregulation and privatization, as well as economic integration, set the stage for strong growth in the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) over most of the past decade.

Philippine governance has three legs: economic governance, political governance, and administrative governance. Participation is one of the strengths of Philippine governance, and the 1987 Philippine Constitution is replete with provisions dealing with relational and inter-sectoral governance. The Local Government Act of 1989 was borne out of the need for decentralization in Philippine governance. Legal frameworks should be fair and enforced impartially, and democracy is essentially the rule of law.

The Philippine government system has a winner-take-all electoral system, and the presidency exercises huge power over budgets and appointments. The behavior of presidents and other powerful political and economic elites has heavily influenced the quality of the country’s democratic politics and governance.

The Philippine government structure has a focus on the smallest unit of Philippine governance, the barangay.

Faculty and students of political science can download the full text of Philippine Politics and Governance books for free. The books were published by the UP Department of Political Science in collaboration with the Philippine Commission on Higher Education.