Structure of The Philippine Government

Structure of the Philippine Government
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Introduction
The recent structure of the Philippine government is the outcome of the People Power Revolution that took place in 1986. The revolution removed Ferdinand Marcos (longtime dictator) from power, and a democratic constitution was created in 1987 (Edleman, n,d.). According to article 11, section 1 of the Philippine constitution, the country is a Republican and democratic nation. The supreme power and the government authority of the nation emanate from the citizens (GOVPH, 2018).

Source: Balisacan (2018)
The government of Philippine comprises of three interdependent branches, which are executive, legislative and judiciary. More so, it has incorporated the balance of power to prevent the concentration of power in one department or individual. Moreover, the constitution has included the checks and balances system. In this case, each department has certain powers, which may restrain other branches from taking over its authority.
According to Article VI of the 1987 constitution, the legislative is made up of two branches, i.e., the Senate and House of Representative. The Philippines country has 234 legislative branches, and the residents of each legislative district elect one person to represent them in the House of Representatives. The legislative branch endorses the legislation. It also confirms or declines the appointments of the President. The department has the power to declare war. The Senate comprises of 24 members who are elected by all the Philippines citizens.

The judiciary, which is under article VIII of the constitution, is responsible for interpreting and applying the laws to every case, and deciding on whether the presented cases violate the constitution or not. The Supreme Court is in control of the judicial department, and it consists of 15 justices who are appointed by the president. The executive branch, which is under article VII is made up of the executive departments, and they are; the Cabinet, the Vice President, the President, commissions, independent agencies, and the committees. The Philippine president is in charge of the executive branch. The Philippine citizens elect the president, who serves for one term (a term is made up of six years). The department enforces laws (GOVPH, 2018).
The office of the Ombudsman, which is also known as ‘Tanodng Bayan,’ independently monitors the government together with its three branches. Article X, section 9 ascertains that the president selects the Ombudsman and the deputies from a list drafted by the Judicial and bar committee. In response to article X, section 12 of the constitution, the Ombudsman has the authority to investigate and impeach any government official accused of committing crimes such as corruption (Lazo, 2009). Six deputies assist the Ombudsman in its duties, and they include; the overall deputy, the deputies for Visayas, Luzon, the armed forces and Mindanao, and the Special Prosecutor (Eagles News, 2018).
All the democratic states recognize local governments as general purpose units that are established by the national government. They play an integral role in administering public services. In response to article X of the constitution, the local government is subdivided into provinces, municipalities, cities, and barangays. Under the “local government code of 1991,” a province is made up of municipalities and constituent cities. The function of a province is to coordinate the development processes of the nation through the effective incorporation of projects and programs of its sub-localities. Cities are created and administered by RA7160 law. A city coordinates and provides all the regular, essential, and direct services in its purported jurisdiction. Municipalities comprise several barangays. A municipality coordinates and delivers regular, direct and essential services in its jurisdiction. Barangay, which is a government political unit, serves the purpose of planning and implementing government programs, activities and projects. It also acts a forum in which the views of residents in a given community may be brought together and put into consideration (Lazo, 2009).

References
Balisacan, A.M. (2018). The local government structure, 2003. Researchgate.net. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Local-Government-Structure-2003_fig2_5223984
Eagles broadcasting corporation (2018). The office of the Ombudsman: its powers, functions, and duties. Retrieved from http://www.eaglenews.ph/the-office-of-the-ombudsman-its-powers-functions-and-duties/
Edleman, P.R. (n.d.). The Philippine government structure with a focus on the Philippine Barangay. Retrieved from https://www.niu.edu/cseas/_pdf/lesson-plans/fulbright-hays/philippine-political-structure.pdfGOVPH (2018). The constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved from https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/
Lazo, R. S. (2009). Philippine governance and the 1987 constitution, 2nd edition. Manilla, Philippines, Rex Book Store.