Fifth Republic[edit]

Ruling by decree during the early part of her tenure and as a president installed by revolutionary
means, President Corazon Aquino issued Proclamation No. 3 on March 25, 1986 which abrogated
many of the provisions of the then 1973 Constitution, including the provisions associated with the
Marcos regime which gave the president legislative powers, as well as the unicameral legislature
called the Batasang Pambansa (literally National Legislature in Filipino). Often called the "Freedom
Constitution," the proclamation retained only parts of the 1973 Constitution that were essential for a
return to democratic rule, such as the bill of rights. This constitution was superseded on February 2,
1987 by the present constitution.

Other issues[edit]
Both Bonifacio and Aguinaldo might be considered to have been an inaugural president of an
insurgent government. Quezon was the inaugural president of a predecessor state to the current
one, while Aquino, mère, was the inaugural president of the currently-constituted government.
The government considers Aguinaldo to have been the first president of the Philippines, followed by
Quezon and his successors.[16][19] Despite the differences in constitutions and government, the line of
presidents is considered to be continuous. For instance, the current president, Rodrigo R. Duterte, is
considered to be the 16th president.
While the government may consider Aguinaldo as the first president, the First Republic fell under the
United States' jurisdiction due to the 1898 Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish–American War;
the United States thus does not consider his tenure to have been legitimate. [16][20] Manuel L.
Quezon is considered to be the first president by the United States. He is also the first to win a
popular election and a nationwide election.
Laurel's position[edit]

José P. Laurel giving a speech after his inauguration as President of the Second Philippine Republic

As with many other Axis-occupied countries in the Second World War, the Philippines had at one
point two presidents heading two governments. One was Quezon and the
Commonwealth government-in-exile in Washington, D.C., and the other was Manila-based Laurel
heading the Japanese-sponsored Second Republic. Notably, Laurel was himself instructed to remain
in Manila by President Quezon.[citation needed] Laurel was not formally recognized as a president until the
rule of Diosdado Macapagal.[citation needed] His inclusion in the official list coincided with the transfer of the
official date of Independence Day from July 4 (the anniversary of the Philippines' independence from
the United States) to June 12 (the anniversary of the 1898 Declaration of Independence).
The inclusion of Laurel thus causes some problems in determining the order of presidents. It is
inaccurate to call Laurel the successor of Osmeña or vice versa, since Laurel's Second Republic
was formally repudiated after World War II, its actions not considered legal or binding. Quezon,
Osmeña, and Roxas were seen as being in a contiguous line according to the 1935 Constitution,
while Laurel was the only president of the Second Republic, which had a separate charter. Thus,
Laurel had neither predecessor nor successor, while Osmeña succeeded Quezon after the latter's
death, and was in turn succeeded by Roxas as President of the Third Republic.

Powers and roles[edit]

Chief Executive[edit]
The president of the Philippines, being the chief executive, serves as both the head of state and
head of government of the Philippines. The constitution vests the executive power with the president
who consequently heads the government's executive branch, including the Cabinet and all executive
departments.[21]
The president has power to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons, and remit fines and
forfeitures after conviction by final judgment, except in cases of impeachment. The president can
grant amnesty with the concurrence of the majority of all the members of the Congress. [22] The
president has authority to contract or guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the Republic but only with
the prior concurrence of the Monetary Board and subject to such limitations as may be provided by
law.[23]
The president also exercises general supervision over local government units. [24]

Commander-in-Chief[edit]
The president also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. [25] This
includes the power to suspend the writ of habeas corpus and to declare Martial law.[25]

Power of appointment[edit]
With the consent of the Commission on Appointments, the president also appoints the heads of the
executive departments, board of members and its leaders from any national government-related
institutions, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, high-ranking officers of the armed
forces, and other officials.[26] The members of the Supreme Court and lower courts are also
appointed by the president, but only from the list of nominees prepared by the Judicial and Bar
Council. Such appointments do not need the approval of the Commission on Appointments. [27]

Government agencies[edit]
Main article: Office of the President of the Philippines
Some government agencies report to no specific department but are instead under the Office of the
President. These include important agencies such as the National Security Council, Office of the
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Commission on Human Rights, Commission on Higher
Education, Climate Change Commission, Commission on Population, Housing and Land Use
Regulatory Board, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Movie and Television Review and
Classification Board, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, and
many more.[28] The Presidential Security Group, which is composed mostly of members from
the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, is directly under the Office of
the President.
Election process[edit]
Eligibility[edit]
Article 7, Section 2 of the Constitution reads: "No person may be elected President unless he is a
natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty years
of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately
preceding such election." [29] The Constitution also provides term limits where the president is
ineligible for reelection and a person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for
more than four years will be ineligible to be elected for a second term. However, with the case
of Joseph Estrada who was elected president in 1998, deposed in 2001, and again ran for the
presidency in 2010, the Constitution's wording where "[the] President shall not be eligible for any re-
election"[30] remains unclear as his case was never brought to the Supreme Court. It remains unclear
whether the term limit of no re-election applies only to the incumbent president or for any person
who has been elected as President.

Election[edit]
Main article: Philippine presidential election

Home provinces (blue and purple) of the presidents.

The president is elected by direct vote every six years, usually on the second Monday of May. [30]
The returns of every election for President and Vice President, duly certified by the board of
canvassers of each province or city, shall be transmitted to Congress, directed to the president of
the Senate. Upon receipt of the certificates of canvass, the president of the Senate shall open all the
certificates in the presence of a joint public session of Congress not later than 30 days after election
day. Congress then canvasses the votes upon determining that the polls are authentic and were
done in the manner provided by law.
The person with the highest number of votes is declared the winner, but in case two or more have
the highest number of votes, the president is elected by a majority of all members of both Houses,
voting separately on each.
Inauguration[edit]
Main article: Philippine presidential inauguration
Further information: List of Philippine presidential inaugurations

Carlos P. Garcia is sworn in as the 8th president of the Philippines after winning the election of 1957

Rodrigo Duterte during his inauguration

The president of the Philippines usually takes the Oath of Office at noon of June 30 following the
presidential election
Traditionally, the vice president takes the oath first, a little before noon. This is for two reasons: first,
according to protocol, no one follows the president (who is last due to his supremacy), and second,
to establish a constitutionally valid successor before the president-elect accedes. During
the Quezon inauguration, however, the vice president and the Legislature were sworn in after the
president, to symbolise a new start.
As soon as the president takes the Oath of Office, a 21-gun salute is fired to salute the new head of
state, and the Presidential Anthem Mabuhay is played. The president delivers his inaugural address,
and then proceeds to Malacañang Palace to climb the Grand Staircase, a ritual which symbolises
the formal possession of the Palace. The president then inducts the newly formed cabinet into office
in one of the state rooms.
Custom has enshrined three places as the traditional venue for the inauguration
ceremony: Barasoain Church in Malolos City, Bulacan; in front of the old Legislative Building (now
part of the National Museum) in Manila; or at Quirino Grandstand, where most have been held. In
2004, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo delivered her pre-inaugural address at Quirino Grandstand, took the
Oath of Office in Cebu City before Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., and the next day held the first
cabinet meeting in Butuan City. She broke with precedent, reasoning that she wanted to celebrate
her inauguration in each of the three main island groups of the Philippines: Luzon, Visayas,
and Mindanao. Her first inauguration also broke precedent as she was sworn in at the EDSA
Shrine on January 20, 2001, during the EDSA Revolution of 2001 that removed Joseph Estrada from
office.
In the past, elections were held in November and the president's inauguration was held on
December 30 (Rizal Day). This ensured that when the inauguration was usually held at Quirino
Grandstand, the new president could see the Rizal Monument on the anniversary of his
death. Ferdinand Marcos transferred the dates of both the elections and the inauguration to May and
June, respectively, and it remains so to this day.
The dress code at the modern inaugural ceremony is traditional, formal Filipino clot