Government and politics

Main articles: Politics of the Philippines and Government of the Philippines

See also: Political history of the Philippines

Malacañang Palace is the president's official residence.

The Philippines has a democratic government, a constitutional republic with a presidential system.
[264]
The president is head of state and head of government,[265] and is the commander-in-chief of
the armed forces.[264] The president is elected through direct election by the citizens of the
Philippines for a six-year term.[266] The president appoints and presides over the cabinet and officials
of various national government agencies and institutions.[267]: 213–214 The bicameral Congress is
composed of the Senate (the upper house, with members elected to a six-year term) and the House
of Representatives, the lower house, with members elected to a three-year term.[268] Philippine politics
tends to be dominated by well-known families, such as political dynasties or celebrities.[269][270]

Senators are elected at-large,[268] and representatives are elected from legislative districts and party
lists.[267]: 162–163 Judicial authority is vested in the Supreme Court, composed of a chief justice and
fourteen associate justices,[271] who are appointed by the president from nominations submitted by
the Judicial and Bar Council.[264]

Attempts to change the government to a federal, unicameral, or parliamentary government have

been made since the Ramos administration.[272] Corruption is significant,[273][274][275] attributed by some
historians to the Spanish colonial period's padrino system.[276][277] The Roman Catholic church exerts
considerable but waning[278] influence in political affairs, although a constitutional provision for
the separation of Church and State exists.[279]

Foreign relations
Main article: Foreign relations of the Philippines

Philippine diplomatic missions worldwide

A founding and active member of the United Nations,[131]: 37–38 the Philippines has been a non-
permanent member of the Security Council.[280] The country participates in peacekeeping missions,
particularly in East Timor.[281][282] The Philippines is a founding and active member
of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)[283][284] and a member of the East Asia Summit,
[285]
the Group of 24,[286] and the Non-Aligned Movement.[287] The country has sought to obtain observer
status in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation since 2003,[288][289] and was a member of SEATO.[290]
[291]
Over 10 million Filipinos live and work in 200 countries,[292][293] giving the Philippines soft power.[154]:
207

During the 1990s, the Philippines began to seek economic liberalization and free trade[294]: 7–8 to help
spur foreign direct investment.[295] It is a member of the World Trade Organization[294]: 8 and the Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation.[296] The Philippines entered into the ASEAN Trade in Goods
Agreement in 2010[297] and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership free trade
agreement (FTA) in 2023.[298][299] Through ASEAN, the Philippines has signed FTAs with China, India,
Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.[294]: 15 The country has bilateral FTAs with Japan,
South Korea,[300] and four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.[294]: 9–10, 15

The Philippines has a long relationship with the United States, involving economics, security, and
interpersonal relations.[301] The Philippines' location serves an important role in the United
States' island chain strategy in the West Pacific;[302][303] a Mutual Defense Treaty between the two
countries was signed in 1951, and was supplemented with the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement and
the 2016 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.[304] The country supported American policies
during the Cold War and participated in the Korean and Vietnam wars.[305][306] In 2003, the Philippines
was designated a major non-NATO ally.[307] Under President Duterte, ties with the United States
weakened in favor of improved relations with China and Russia.[308][309][310] The Philippines relies heavily
on the United States for its external defense;[176]: 11 the U.S. has made regular assurances to defend
the Philippines,[311] including the South China Sea.[312]

Since 1975, the Philippines has valued its relations with China[313]—its top trading partner,[314] and
cooperates significantly with the country.[315][308] Japan is the biggest bilateral contributor of official
development assistance to the Philippines;[316][317] although some tension exists because of World War
II, much animosity has faded.[76]: 93 Historical and cultural ties continue to affect relations with Spain.[318]
[319]
Relations with Middle Eastern countries are shaped by the high number of Filipinos working in
those countries,[320] and by issues related to the Muslim minority in the Philippines;[321] concerns have
been raised about domestic abuse and war affecting[322] the approximately 2.5 million overseas
Filipino workers in the region.[323]

The Philippines has claims in the Spratly Islands which overlap with claims by China, Malaysia,
Taiwan, and Vietnam.[324] The largest of its controlled islands is Thitu Island, which contains
the Philippines' smallest town.[325] The 2012 Scarborough Shoal standoff, after China seized the shoal
from the Philippines, led to an international arbitration case[326] which the Philippines eventually won;
[327]
China rejected the result,[328] and made the shoal a prominent symbol of the broader dispute.[329]

Military
Main article: Armed Forces of the Philippines

BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) is the lead ship of her class of Philippine
Navy guided missile frigates.
The volunteer Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) consist of three branches: the Philippine Air
Force, the Philippine Army, and the Philippine Navy.[330][331] Civilian security is handled by
the Philippine National Police under the Department of the Interior and Local Government.[332] The
AFP had a total manpower of around 280,000 as of 2022, of which 130,000 were active military
personnel, 100,000 were reserves, and 50,000 were paramilitaries.[333]

In 2021, $4,090,500,000 (1.04 percent of GDP) was spent on the Philippine military. [334][335] Most of the
country's defense spending is on the Philippine Army, which leads operations against internal threats
such as communist and Muslim separatist insurgencies; its preoccupation with internal security
contributed to the decline of Philippine naval capability which began during the 1970s.[336] A military
modernization program began in 1995[337] and expanded in 2012 to build a more capable defense
system.[338]

The Philippines has long struggled against local insurgencies, separatism, and terrorism.[339][340]
[341]
Bangsamoro's largest separatist organizations, the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front, signed final peace agreements with the government
in 1996 and 2014 respectively.[342][343] Other, more-militant groups such as Abu
Sayyaf and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters[344] have kidnapped foreigners for ransom,
particularly in the Sulu Archipelago[345][346] and Maguindanao,[344] but their presence has been reduced.
[347][348]
The Communist Party of the Philippines and its military wing, the New People's Army, have
been waging guerrilla warfare against the government since the 1970s and, although shrinking
militarily and politically after the return of democracy in 1986,[340][349] have engaged in ambushes,
bombings, and assassinations of government officials and security forces.[350]

Administrative divisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of the Philippines

The Philippines' regions and provinces

The Philippines is divided into 17 regions, 82 provinces, 146 cities, 1,488 municipalities, and
42,036 barangays.[351] Regions other than Bangsamoro are divided for administrative convenience.
[352]
Calabarzon was the region with the greatest population as of 2020, and the National Capital
Region (NCR) was the most densely populated.[353]

The Philippines is a unitary state, with the exception of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in
Muslim Mindanao (BARMM),[354] although there have been steps towards decentralization;[355][356] a
1991 law devolved some powers to local governments.[357]