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THE PHILIPPINES
Republika ng Pilipinas (Republic of the Philippines)
I. COUNTRY PROFILE (Civil and Common Law)
The Philippines is a republic comprised of seventy-nine provinces. The provinces
contain 116 chartered cities, which are further subdivided into component districts called
barangays. The Philippines became an independent nation on July 4, 1946. Its official
languages are Filipino and English. The Philippine legal system incorporates both the civil and
common law traditions.
The Philippine Constitution became effective on February 11, 1987. The Constitution
establishes the form of government and protects certain individual rights.
Executive power is vested in the President, who is both head of state and head of the
Government. The President is directly elected by the people to a non-renewable, six-year term.
In addition to the President, the Government includes various Cabinet Ministers, who are
appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission of Appointments.
Legislative power is vested in the bicameral Congress (Kongreso), consisting of the
Senate (Senado) and the House of Representatives (Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan). The
twenty-four Members of the Senate are directly elected by the people to six-year terms. Half of
the Members stand for election every three years. The House of Repesentatives is limited by the
Constitution to 250 Members, although it may be smaller. The majority of Members of the
House of Representatives—212 Members as of 2005—are elected by the people from singlemember
districts. A number of Members—24 as of 2005—represent sectoral parties and are
elected at large.
Judicial power is vested in the courts, which consist of the Supreme Court and such other
courts as may be created by law. The Supreme Court itself is composed of fourteen Associate
Justices and a Chief Justice. All Justices are appointed by the President on the recommendation
of the Judicial and Bar Council, and serve until the age of 70. The Supreme Court is vested with
both appellate and original jurisdiction, depending on the type of case. The Court automatically
reviews criminal cases where the accused is sentenced to death. The Court sits not only en banc,
but also in divisions of seven, five, or three members. Certain cases, however, must be heard by
the Court en banc.
Lower courts, over which the Supreme Court exercises administrative supervision, are
structured as follows: Municipal and Metropolitan Trial Courts, which are trial courts of limited
jurisdiction; Regional Trial Courts, which are trial courts of general jurisdiction and which
exercise appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the Municipal and Metropolitan Trial Courts;
and the Court of Appeals, which has appellate jurisdiction over decisions of the Regional Trial
Courts. Both Municipal and Regional Trial Courts exercise jurisdiction over civil and criminal
cases and are considered courts of law and equity. Special courts of limited jurisdiction include
the Court of Tax Appeals, which decides tax assessments and protests and whose decisions may
be appealed to the Court of Appeals, and the Sandiganbayan, a special criminal tribunal which
hears cases filed against government officials. Finally, several administrative bodies exercise
limited quasi-judicial powers. Their decisions also may be appealed to the Court of Appeals.