 Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of the Philippines conventional short form:Philippines local long form:Republika ng Pilipinas local short form:Pilipinas
Government type:
republic
Capital:
name:Manilageographic coordinates:14 36 N, 120 58 E time difference:UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
80 provinces and 39 chartered cities
Independence:
12 June 1898 (independence proclaimed from Spain); 4 July 1946 (from the US)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 12 June (1898); note - 12 June 1898 was date of declaration of independence from Spain; 4 July 1946 was date of independence from the US
Constitution:
several previous; latest ratified 2 February 1987, effective 11 February 1987 (2013)
Legal system:
mixed legal system of civil, common, Islamic, and customary law
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:President Benigno AQUINO (since 30 June 2010); Vice President Jejomar BINAY (since 30 June 2010); note - president is both chief of state and head of governmenthead of government:President Benigno AQUINO (since 30 June 2010) cabinet:Cabinet appointed by the president with consent of Commission of Appointments elections:president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for a single six-year term; election last held on 10 May 2010 (next to be held in May 2016) election results:Benigno AQUINO elected president; percent of vote - Benigno AQUINO 42.1%, Joseph ESTRADA 26.3%, seven others 31.6%; Jejomar BINAY elected vice president; percent of vote Jejomar BINAY 41.6%, Manuel ROXAS 39.6%, six others 18.8%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Congress or Kongreso consists of the Senate or Senado (24 seats - one-half elected every three years; members elected at large by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Kapulungan Ng Nga Kinatawan (287 seats - 230 members in one tier representing districts and 57 sectoral party-list members in a second tier representing special minorities elected on the basis of one seat for every 2% of the total vote but with each party limited to three seats); a party represented in one tier may not hold seats in the other tier; all House members are elected by popular vote to serve three-year termsnote:the constitution limits the House of Representatives to 250 members; the number of members allowed was increased, however, through legislation when in April 2009 the Philippine Supreme Court ruled that additional party members could sit in the House of Representatives if they received the required number of votes elections:Senate - elections last held on 13 May 2013 (next to be held in May 2016); House of Representatives - elections last held on 13 May 2013 (next to be held in May 2016) election results:Senate - percent of vote by party for 2013 election - UNA 26.94%, NP 15.3%, LP 11.32%, NPC 10.15%, LDP 5.38%, PDP-Laban 4.95%, others 9.72%, independents 16.24%; seats by party after 2013 election - UNA 5, NP 5, LP 4, Lakas 2, NPC 2, LDP 1, PDP-Laban 1, PRP 1, independents 3; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LP 38.3%, NPC 17.4%, UNA 11.4%, NUP 8.7%, NP 8.5%, Lakas 5.3%, independents 6.0%, others 4.4%; seats by party - LP 110, NPC 43, NUP 24, NP 17, Lakas 14, UNA 8, independents 6, others 12; party-list 57
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):Supreme Court (consists of a chief justice and 14 associate justices)judge selection and term of office:justices are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar Council, a constitutionally-created, 6-member body that recommends Supreme Court nominees; justices serve until age 70 subordinate courts:Court of Appeals; Sandiganbayan (special court for corruption cases of government officials); Court of Tax Appeals; regional, metropolitan, and municipal trial courts; sharia courts
| | Political parties and leaders:
Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (Struggle of Filipino Democrats) or LDP [Edgardo ANGARA]Lakas ng EDSA-Christian Muslim Democrats or Lakas-CMD [Manuel 'Mar' ROXAS] Liberal Party or LP [Manuel ROXAS] Nacionalista Party or NP [Manuel 'Manny' VILLAR] Nationalist People's Coalition or NPC [Frisco SAN JUAN] PDP-Laban [Aquilino PIMENTEL] People's Reform Party [Miriam Defensor SANTIAGO] Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (Force of the Philippine Masses) or PMP [Joseph ESTRADA] note:United Nationalist Alliance or [UNA] - PDP-Laban and PMP coalition for the 2013 election
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Black and White Movement [Vicente ROMANO]
International organization participation:
ADB, APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, CD, CICA (observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINUSTAH, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNMIT, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:Ambassador Jose L. CUISIA Jr. (since 7 April 2011)chancery:1600 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone:[1] (202) 467-9300 FAX:[1] (202) 467-9417 consulate(s) general:Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Tamuning (Guam)
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:Ambassador Philip S. GOLDBERG (since 21 November 2013)embassy:1201 Roxas Boulevard, Manila 1000 mailing address:PSC 500, FPO AP 96515-1000 telephone:[63] (2) 301-2000 FAX:[63] (2) 301-2017
Flag description:
two equal horizontal bands of blue (top) and red; a white equilateral triangle is based on the hoist side; the center of the triangle displays a yellow sun with eight primary rays; each corner of the triangle contains a small, yellow, five-pointed star; blue stands for peace and justice, red symbolizes courage, the white equal-sided triangle represents equality; the rays recall the first eight provinces that sought independence from Spain, while the stars represent the three major geographical divisions of the country: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao; the design of the flag dates to 1897
National symbol(s):
Philippine eagle
National anthem:
name:'Lupang Hinirang' (Chosen Land)
lyrics/music:Jose PALMA (revised by Felipe PADILLA de Leon)/Julian FELIPE note:music adopted 1898, original Spanish lyrics adopted 1899, Filipino (Tagalog) lyrics adopted 1956; although the original lyrics were written in Spanish, later English and Filipino versions were created; today, only the Filipino version is used |