The Philippines is a democratic and republican state. As a republican state, sovereignty resides in the People and all government authority emanates from them (Constitution, Art. III, Sec. 1). A Republican form of government rests on the conviction that sovereignty should reside in the people and that all government authority must emanate from them. It abhors the concentration of power on one or a few, cognizant that power, when absolute, can lead to abuse, but it also shuns a direct and unbridled rule by the people, a veritable kindling to the passionate fires of anarchy. Our people have accepted this notion and decided to delegate the basic state authority to principally three branches of government the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary each branch being supreme in its own sphere but with constitutional limits and a firm tripod ofchecks and balances.The Executive BranchThe executive branch is headed by the President, who is elected by a direct vote of the people. The term of office of the President, as well as the Vice-President, is six (6) years. As head of the Executive Department, the President is the Chief Executive. He represents the government as a whole and sees to it that all laws are enforced by the officials and employees of his department. He has control over the executive department, bureaus and offices. This means that he has the authority to assume directly the functions of the executive department, bureau and office or interfere with the discretion of its officials. Corollary to the power of control, the President also has the duty of supervising the enforcement of laws for the maintenance of general peace and public order. Thus, he is granted administrative power over bureaus and offices under his control to enable him to discharge his duties effectively.The President exercises general supervision over all local government units and is also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.Under the existing Presidential form of government, the executive and legislative branches are entirely separate, subject only to the mechanisms of checks and balances. There were attempts to amend the Constitution in order to shift to a parliamentary system, but these moves were struck down by the Supreme Court. The most recent petition that reached the Supreme Court is Lambino vs. COMELEC.The Legislative BranchThe legislative branch, which has the authority to make, alter or repeal laws (see also the definition of legislative power), is the Congress. Congress is vested with the tremendous power of the purse, traditionally recognized in the constitutional provision that no money shall be paid out of the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law. It comprehends both the power to generate money by taxation (the power to tax) and the power to spend it (the power to appropriate). The power to appropriate carries with it the power to specify the amount that may be spent and the purpose for which it may be spent.Under a bicameral system, the Congress is composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives.The Senate is composed of twenty-four (24) Senators, who are elected at large by the qualified voters of the Philippines. The term of office of the Senators is six (6) years.The House of Representatives, on the other hand, is composed of not more than two hundred and fifty (250) members, unless otherwise fixed by law, who are elected from legislative districts apportioned among the provinces, cities and the Metropolitan Manila area, and those who are elected through a party-list system of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations. The term of office of members of the House of Representatives, also called Congressmen, is three (3) years.The JudiciaryJudicial poweris vested in the Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law. The judiciary has the moderating power to determine the proper allocation of powers between the branches of government. When the judiciary mediates to allocate constitutional boundaries, it does not assert any superiority over the other departments; it does not in reality nullify or invalidate an act of the legislature, but only asserts the solemn and sacred obligation assigned to it by the Constitution to determine conflicting claims of authority under the Constitution and to establish for the parties in an actual controversy the rights which that instrument secures and guarantees to them. In the words of Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno: The Judiciary may not have the power of the sword, may not have the power of the purse, but it has the power to interpret the Constitution, and the unerring lessons of history tell us that rightly wielded, that power can make a difference for good.While Congress has the power to define, prescribe and apportion thejurisdictionof the various courts, Congress cannot deprive the Supreme Court of its jurisdiction provided in the Constitution. No law shall also be passed reorganizing the judiciary when it undermines the security of tenure of its members. The Supreme Court also has administrative supervision over all courts and the personnel thereof, having the power to discipline or dismiss judges of lower courts.The Supreme Court is composed of a Chief Justice and fourteen Associate Justices. It may siten bancor, in its discretion, in divisions of three, five or seven members. A member of the Supreme Court must be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, at least forty (40) years of age and must have been for fifteen (15) years or more a judge of a lower court or engaged in the pratice of law in the Philippines. Justices hold office during good behavior until they reach the age of seventy (70) years or become incapacitated to discharge the duties of their office.* Sources:Francisco, Jr. vs. House of Representatives, G.R. No. 160261, 10 November 2003, main decision and the separate opinions of Justices Vitug and Corona;Ople vs. Torres, G.R. No. 127685, 23 July 1998.What is the basis the power of inquiry in aid of legislation?The Congressional power of inquiry is expressly recognized inSection 21 of Article VIof theConstitution:SECTION 21. The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective committees may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance with its duly published rules of procedure. The rights of persons appearing in or affected by such inquiries shall be respected.Even without this express Constitutional provision, the power of inquiry is inherent in the power to legislate. The power of inquiry, with process to enforce it, is grounded on the necessity of information in the legislative process. If the information possessed by executive officials on the operation of their offices is necessary for wise legislation on that subject, by parity of reasoning, Congress has the right to that information and the power to compel the disclosure thereof.Why is inquiry in aid of legislation important under the separation of powers?Under the separation of powers, Congress has the right to obtain information from any source even from officials of departments and agencies in the executive branch. It is this very separation that makes the congressional right to obtain information from the executive so essential, if the functions of the Congress as the elected representatives of the people are adequately to be carried out.SECTION 55. Veto Power of the Local Chief Executive. - (a) The local chief executive mayveto any ordinance of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Sangguniang Panlungsod, or Sangguniangbayan on the ground that it is ultra vires or prejudicial to the public welfare, stating his reasonstherefor in writing.(b) The local chief executive, except the Punong Barangay, shall have the power to veto anyparticular item or items of an appropriations ordinance, an ordinance or resolution adoptinga local development plan and public investment program, or an ordinance directing thepayment of money or creating liability. In such a case, the veto shall not affect the item oritems which are not objected to. The vetoed item or items shall not take effect unless theSanggunian overrides the veto in the manner herein provided; otherwise, the item or itemsin the appropriations ordinance of the previous year corresponding to those vetoed, if any,shall be deemed reenacted.(c) The local chief executive may veto an ordinance or resolution only once. The Sanggunianmay override the veto of the local chief executive concerned by two-thirds (2/3) vote of allits members, thereby making the ordinance effective even without the approval of the localchief executive concernedIf the House-approved version is compatible with that of the Senates, the final versions enrolled form is printed. If there are certain differences, a Bicameral Conference Committee is called to reconcile conflicting provisions of both versions of the Senate and of the House of Representatives. Conference committee submits report on the reconciled version of the bill, duly approved by both chambers. The Senate prints the reconciled version in its enrolled form.REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7055 AN ACT STRENGTHENING CIVILIAN SUPREMACY OVER THE MILITARY BY RETURNING TO THE CIVIL COURTS THE JURISDICTION OVER CERTAIN OFFENSES INVOLVING MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES, OTHER PERSONS SUBJECT TO MILITARY LAW, AND THE MEMBERS OF THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL OFFICE, REPEALING FOR THE PURPOSE CERTAIN PRESIDENTIAL DECREESA writ ofhabeas corpus, also known as thegreat writ, is a summons with the force of acourt order; it is addressed to the custodian (a prison official for example) and demands that a prisoner be taken before the court, and that the custodian present proof of authority, allowing the court to determine whether the custodian has lawful authority to detain the prisoner. If the custodian is acting beyond his or her authority, then the prisoner must be released. Any prisoner, or another person acting on his or her behalf, may petition the court, or a judge, for a writ ofhabeas corpus. One reason for the writ to be sought by a person other than the prisoner is that the detainee might be heldincommunicado. Mostcivil lawjurisdictions provide a similar remedy for those unlawfully detained, but this is not always calledhabeas corpus.[1]For example, in some Spanish-speaking nations, the equivalent remedy for unlawful imprisonment is theamparo de libertad('protection of freedom').ThePresidentialandVice-Presidentialelections held on 7 February 1986 in thePhilippinesweresnap elections, and are popularly known asthe Snap Elections, that followed the end ofMartial Lawand brought about thePeople Power Revolution, the downfall ofPresidentFerdinand E. Marcos, and the accession ofCorazon C. Aquinoas President.The 1986 Snap Elections is one of the most controversial elections in the history of the Philippines. This election is pursuant to the declaration of President Ferdinand E. Marcos to conduct a Snap Election which he announced through an interview by the American Broadcasting Company political affairs programThis Week with David Brinkleyin November 1985.President Marcos believed his earlyre-electionwould solidify United States support, silence his critics in the Philippines and the United States, and perhaps banish the ghost of Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. The Snap Elections was set on February 7, 1986.The results of the election according to the Commission on Elections which was chaired by Ramon Felipe are as follows:Ferdinand E. Marcos: 10, 807, 197 votes (53.62%)Corazon C. Aquino: 9, 291, 761 votes (46.10%)

The results showed that Ferdinand Marcos won the elections against Corazon C. Aquino with a margin of1, 515, 436 votes. This massive election fraud by the Marcos Government which was condemned by the majority of the Filipino populace caused the mass walk-out of computer analysts and tabulators from the PICC. The tabulation of votes was not finished because of this incident. The official tabulator of votes and has the power to proclaim the winners of the Snap Elections is the Batasan Pambansa which is also dominated by Marcos loyalists. They declared Marcos and Tolentino as the victors of the elections. This has caused massive uproar from all sides of the political and social spectrum since the election results are very questionable.http://manilastanUnicameralism vs. Bicameralism in 1986 Constitutional Commission (Philippines) Unicameral Bicameral More economical & 2nd chamber direct efficient representatives of over-all Would be more open to interest of the people the pressure of people Healthy check agains power hastily passed legislations Greater role of media as a Check against abuse of partner in politics power Importance of national figures; thus, anti- parochialdardtoday.com/2014/09/23/bicameralism-is-useless-in-the-philippines/Explain the differences between unicameral and bicameral legislatures. What are their virtues and vices?

A bicameral legislature is composed of two houses, namely the lower house and the upper house. The lower house is usually elected by the general public and represent the ordinary people. The upper house is usually selected and reflect political subdivisions, such as the House of Senate of US, or represent certain class, such as the House of Lords of Britain. On the contrary, a unicameral legislature is composed of only one body, representing all people in the community. This system usually exists in more culturally and ideologically homogenous countries.

The virtues of the bicameral system

Firstly, the two houses of the bicameral legislature represent two different groups of people in the community. For example, in the British legislature, the House of Lords acts as the upper house and represent the aristocrats whereas the House of Commons acts as the lower house and represent ordinary public. This way, the interest and views of people form different groups can be equally heard in the legislature without any domination of either party.

Secondly, with the existence of two houses, both of them can have the effect of check and balance against each other. This can form an effective self-monitoring system within the legislature, any mistake or false is easily to be discovered and exposed to the knowledge of the public. Such system helps the prevention of the passage of flawed or unfair legislation that favours any groups of people in the community.

Thirdly, a legislature formed by two houses can act as a stronger and more effective monitor over the executive branch of the government. As a duty of the legislature, the legislators representing the public should help the people to check the executive branch of the government in order to prevent abuse of power within the government. With two legislative bodies, the check and balance of the executive...Theseven deadly sins, also known as thecapital vicesorcardinal sins, is a classification ofvices(part ofChristian ethics) that has been used sinceearly Christiantimes to educate and instruct Christians concerningfallenhumanity's tendency tosin. In the currently recognized version, the sins are usually given aswrath,greed,sloth,pride,lust,envy, andgluttony. Each is a form of Idolatry-of-Self wherein the subjective reigns over the objective.TheCatholic Churchdivides sin into two categories:venial sins, in which guilt is relatively minor, and the more severemortal sins. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a mortal or deadly sin is believed to destroy the life ofgraceandcharitywithin a person and thus creates the threat of eternaldamnation. "Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us that is, charity necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of thesacrament of reconciliation."[1]According to Catholic moral thought, the seven deadly sins are not discrete from other sins, but are instead the origin ("capital" comes from the Latincaput, head) of the others. Vices can be either venial or mortal, depending on the situation, but "are called 'capital' because they engender other sins, other vices".[2]TheCommonwealth of the Philippines(Tagalog:Komonwelt ng Pilipinas;Spanish:Mancomunidad de Filipinas)[1]was the administrative body that governed thePhilippinesfrom 1935 to 1946, aside from aperiod of exilein theSecond World Warfrom 1942 to 1945 whenJapan occupied the country. It replaced theInsular Government, aUnited States territorialgovernment, and was established by theTydingsMcDuffie Act. The Commonwealth was designed as a transitional administration in preparation for the country's full achievement of independence.[10]During its more than a decade of existence, the Commonwealth had a strongexecutiveand a Supreme Court. Its legislature, dominated by theNacionalista Party, was at first unicameral, but later bicameral. In 1937, the government selectedTagalogthe language ofManilaand its surrounding provincesas the basis of thenational language, although it would be many years before its usage became general.Women's suffragewas adopted and theeconomyrecovered to its pre-Depressionlevel before the Japanese occupation in 1942.The Commonwealth government went into exile from 1942 to 1945, when the Philippines was under Japanese occupation. In 1946, the Commonwealth ended and the Philippines reclaimed full sovereignty as provided for in Article XVIII of the1935 Constitution.