Philippine Politics

and Governance

Module No. 6

First
Semester
First Quarter
4 hours

James Jay G. Llerin

Module Writer
Laguindingan National High
School (LaNHS-SHS)
 What I Need To Know

Module Content:

To ensure the effectivity of the Government and to secure the citizen’s right,
Government is divided into three branches in where each branch has different role and
power possesses. The three branches of Government are (1) Executive, (2) Legislative,
and (3) Judiciary.

Module 6 focuses the first branch of Government which is the Executive Branch.
In this module, you will be able to:

 explore the roles and power of a President (HUMSS PG12-Ih 24),

 analyze how the contemporary Philippine presidents exercised their powers
(HUMSS PG 12-Ih 25),
 critique the Philippine President’s exercise of power (HUMSS PG 12 – Ih 26).

For the Learners:

Mabuhay Pilipinas! Philippine Politics and Governance is one of the specialized subjects to
all learners who commit themselves in the strand of Humanities and Social Sciences. In this
subject, we will be exploring the different ideologies in the world of Politics and how we
come up with our own Government in the present day here in Philippines. We will explore
our own country in the perspective of our governing body and to our leaders.

In this module, we will broaden our understanding how Philippine Government works—the
how’s and what’s in its content. Further, this module will challenge us to critique,
understand, and evaluate the Government, especially in the Executive Branch.

2
 What I Know (Pretest)

This activity will enable you to assess your prior knowledge from the topic that will
be discussed in this lesson.

Directions: Choose the letter of the correct answer and write the CAPITAL LETTER of
your answer in the space provided.
1. Among the three branches of the government, its task is to carry out and
enforces laws. What branch is this?
A. Executive
B. Legislative
C. Judiciary
2. Which of the following is NOT part of the Executive Branch of the Government?

A. Local Government
B. The Cabinet
C. Senators
3. Besides the constitution, the powers of the President of the Philippines are
specifically outlined in what Executive order?
A. Executive Order No. 292, s. 1987
B. Executive Order No. 156, s. 1989
C. Executive Order No. 464, s. 2005
4. In what Article and section in 1987 Philippine Constitution states that the
executive power shall be vested in the President of the Philippines?
A. Article VII Section I
B. Article VIII Section I
C. Article IX Section I
5. Which of the following is not a role of a President in the Republic of the
Philippines?

A. Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines

B. Chief Executive of all executive departments, bureaus and offices.
C. Chief Justice of the Philippine Judicial Academy

3
 MODULE 6

Learning The Roles and Power of a President

Competency (HUMSS PG12-Ih 24)

What I need to know:

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

 Enumerate the different roles and powers of a Philippine President.

 Explain the importance of the Executive Branch of the Government.
 Create strategic plan (platforms) as a Philippine President of the Republic of the
Philippines on how to elevate the general living of all Filipino Citizens using a
video campaign.

What’s New

Activity 1. What have you done, Mr. President?

Direction: List all the things that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has done for our country
as a Philippine President. Example: Mocha Uson has been appointed Deputy Executive Director V of
the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)

Photo Source:
https://www.curiosauro.it/39883/coronavir
4
us-presidente-filippine-sparare-quarantena

5
Guide Questions:

1. How do you find the activity?

2. What are the roles and powers of a Philippine President?
3. Out of the list that you enumerated, which one is your favorite and why?

What Is It

Photo Source: https://files.pia.gov.ph/source/2018/09/05/branches-of-govt.jpg

Philippines is a democratic and a republican country with a presidential form

of Government wherein power and roles are all equally divided into different
branches, namely; (1) Executive, (2) Legislative, and (3) Judiciary. Under the
1987 Philippine Constitution, the Three Branches of Government were made to
ensure that the government is effective, and citizens’ rights are protected.
Further, Separation of Powers is a doctrine of constitutional law which the
different branches are kept separate. Each branch has separate powers, and
generally each branch is not allowed to exercise the powers of other branches.
Each branch of government can change acts of the other branches as follows:

6
  The President can veto laws passed by Congress.
 Congress confirms or rejects the President's appointments and can remove the
President from office in exceptional circumstances.
 The Justices of the Supreme Court, who can overturn unconstitutional laws, are
appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

The Philippine government seeks to act in the best interests of its citizens through this system of
checks and balances.

The Constitution expressly grants the Supreme Court the power of Judicial Review as the power to
declare a treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation,
order, instruction, ordinance or regulation unconstitutional.

Source: https://pia.gov.ph/branches-of-govt

Photo Source:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/j9vbiomSIzbA0ZAIEJRxiPTCmoo4O8l5G_PXM1wTSr1ZNypNI6
qGpVqgLENUHA4EdHvXsmpm7e4t1Gb4ee8Mbr1pC5N0m1xBdVoSmDm2tA

7
Executive Branch

Among the three branches of government, the Legislative’s main function is to

craft laws and the interpretation of these laws are in Judiciary’s functionality while the
Executive Branch with its Executive power is to execute these laws and make sure
these are properly implemented.

Executive branch is composed of the President, Vice-President, the Cabinet and,

Local Government (LGU) which is headed by the Philippine President. Article VII of
1987 Philippine Constitution articulates the roles and powers of the Executive Branch.
According to the constitution the Philippine President will serve as;

(1) the Head of State and Head of Government

(2) Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(3) Chief Executive of all executive departments, bureaus and offices.

In Article VII Section I states that the executive power shall be vested in the
President of the Philippines Being the Head of State and the Head of Government,
President of the Philippines have the biggest responsibility in the country. It takes to be
a great person to become a President but what are the qualifications to become one?
Article VII section 2 of 1987 Constitution outline the qualifications and Section 4 of the
same constitution speaks the manner of election and term of office.

Section 2: No person may be elected President unless he is a (1) natural-born citizen

of the Philippines, a (2) registered voter, able to read and write, (3) at
least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a (4) resident of
the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such
election.

Section 3: There shall be a Vice-President who shall have the same qualifications and
term of office and be elected with and in the same manner as the
President. He may be removed from office in the same manner as the
President.

The Vice-President may be appointed as a Member of the Cabinet. Such

appointment requires no confirmation.

Section4 (Paragraph 1): The President and the Vice-President shall be elected by
direct vote of the people for a term of six years which shall begin at noon
on the thirtieth day of June next following the day of the election and shall
end at noon of the same date six years thereafter. The President shall not be
eligible for any reelection. No person who has succeeded as President and
has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to
the same office at any time.
8
Powers of the President:

Besides the constitution, the powers of the President of the Philippines are specifically
outlined in Executive Order No. 292, s. 1987, otherwise known as the Administrative
Code of 1987. The following powers are:

1. Power of control over the executive branch

The President of the Philippines has the mandate of control over all the executive
departments, bureaus, and offices. This includes restructuring, reconfiguring, and
appointments of their respective officials. The Administrative Code also provides for the
President to be responsible for the abovementioned offices’ strict implementation of
laws.

2. Power ordinance power

The President of the Philippines has the power to give executive issuances, which are
means to streamline the policy and programs of an administration. There are six
issuances that the President may issue. They are the following as defined in the
Administrative Code of 1987:

Executive orders — Acts of the President providing for rules of a general or permanent
character in implementation or execution of constitutional or statutory powers shall be
promulgated in executive orders.

Administrative orders — Acts of the President which relate to particular aspects of

governmental operations in pursuance of his duties as the administrative head shall be
promulgated in administrative orders.

Proclamations — Acts of the President fixing a date or declaring a status or condition of

public moment or interest, upon the existence of which the operation of a specific law or
regulation is made to depend, shall be promulgated in proclamations which shall have
the force of an executive order.

Memorandum orders — Acts of the President on matters of administrative detail, or of

subordinate or temporary interest which only concern a particular officer or government
office shall be embodied in memorandum orders.

Memorandum circulars — Acts of the President on matters relating to internal

administration, which the President desires to bring to the attention of all or some of the
departments, agencies, bureaus, or offices of the government, for information or
compliance, shall be embodied in memorandum circulars.

General or special orders — Acts and commands of the President in his capacity as
commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines shall be issued as general
or special orders.

9
It is important to note that during the term of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, he used
executive issuances known as presidential decrees as a form of legislation. These
decrees have the full force and effect of laws because at the time the legislature did not
exist and, when the 1973 Constitution was put into full force and effect, it gave the
power to the President to do as such. This continued until the first year of President
Corazon C. Aquino’s term. However, President Aquino opted to used executive orders
instead of presidential decrees. President Aquino’s executive orders, however, still had
the full force and effect of laws until the ratification of the 1987 Constitution.

3. Power over aliens

The President of the Philippines has certain powers over non-Filipinos in the
Philippines. The powers he may exercise over foreigners in the country are as follows:

 The chief executive may have an alien in the Philippines deported from the
country after due process.
 The President may change the status of a foreigner, as prescribed by law, from a
non-immigrant status to a permanent resident status without necessity of visa.
 The President may choose to overrule the Board of Commissioners of the
Bureau of Immigration before their decision becomes final and executory (after
30 days of the issuance of the decision). The Board of Commissioners of the
Bureau of Immigration has jurisdiction over all deportation cases.
 The president is also mandated by the Administrative Code of 1987 to exercise
powers as recognized by the generally accepted principles of international law.

4. Powers of eminent domain, escheat, land reservation and recovery of ill-gotten wealth

The President of the Philippines has the authority to exercise the power of eminent
domain. The power of eminent domains means the state has the power to seize or
authorize the seizure of private property for public use with just compensation. There
are two constitutional provisions, however, that limit the exercise of such power: Article
III, Section 9 (1) of the Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of his/her
life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Furthermore, Article III, Section 9 (2),
provides that private property shall not be taken for public use without just
compensation.

Once the aforementioned conditions are met, the President may exercise the power of
eminent domain which are as follows:

Power of eminent domain — The President shall determine when it is necessary or

advantageous to exercise the power of eminent domain in behalf of the national
government, and direct the solicitor general, whenever he deems the action advisable,
to institute expropriation proceedings in the proper court.

Power to direct escheat or reversion proceedings — The President shall direct the
solicitor general to institute escheat or reversion proceedings over all lands transferred

10
or assigned to persons disqualified under the constitution to acquire land.

11
Power to reserve lands of the public and private domain of the government —

(1) The president shall have the power to reserve for settlement or public use, and for
specific public purposes, any of the lands of the public domain, the use of which is not
otherwise directed by law. The reserved land shall thereafter remain subject to the
specific public purpose indicated until otherwise provided by law or proclamation.

(2) He shall also have the power to reserve from sale or other disposition and for
specific public uses or purposes, any land belonging to the private domain of the
government, or any of the friar lands, the use of which is not otherwise directed by law,
and thereafter such land shall be used for the purposes specified by such proclamation
until otherwise provided by law.

Power over ill-gotten wealth — The President shall direct the solicitor general to institute
proceedings to recover properties unlawfully acquired by public officials or employees,
from them or from their nominees or transferees.

Within the period fixed in, or any extension thereof authorized by, the constitution, the
President shall have the authority to recover ill-gotten properties amassed by the
leaders and supporters of the previous regime, and protect the interest of the people
through orders of sequestration or freezing of assets or accounts.

5. Power of appointment

The President may appoint officials of the Philippine government as provided by the
constitution and laws of the Philippines. Some of these appointments, however, may
need the approval of the Committee on Appointments (a committee composed of
members from the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines).

6. Power of general supervision over local governments

The President of the Philippines, as chief executive, has the mandate to supervise local
governments in the Philippines, despite their autonomous status as provided by
Republic Act No. 7160 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of 1991.

Traditionally, this is done by the Department of the Interior and Local Government,
headed by a cabinet secretary—an alter ego of the President.

7. Other powers

Aside from the aforementioned powers of the President of the Philippines, he can also
exercise powers enumerated in the constitution, and powers given to him by law.

Source: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/about/gov/exec/

12
 What’s More
Activity 2: Time Travel

Going back to your answers in ACTIVITY 1, Identify each item if what role and power of
a President is being practiced or exercised. Write your answer in the column below.

Things that have done by

Role of a President Power of a President
the President
(Based from Activity 1)
Example:

Mocha Uson has been

appointed as assistant secretary Chief Executive of all
of executive Power of Appointment
the Presidential Communications departments, bureaus
Operations Office. She will be and offices.
handling the social media
department of the PCOO.

13
Process Questions:

1. How do you find the activity?

2. Based from your answers in the Activity, how does the decision of the President
affects the state of our country?
3. What are the importance of the Executive branch?

Activity 3 The World of What Ifs

Direction: The game of what ifs. Read the different Scenarios and
answer the different What Ifs.

1. What if the Executive Branch will not perform its role and
power? What will happen to our country?
2. What if there are no qualifications needed to become the
President or Vice President? What will happen to our country?
3. What if you are the President of the Philippines? How will you
perform as the Head of the Executive Branch?

Activity 4: What Have I Learned So Far?

Directions: Write a reflection learned from the discussion. In writing your reflection, you
have to complete the sentence below in the space provided.

I learned that _
_
_
_
_

I realized that _
_ _
_
_
_

If given a chance
_
_
__ _
_

14
 What I Can Do

Direction: Taking advantage of knowing the different roles and powers as a President
(Head of the Executive Branch), you are hereby asked to create a video campaign
emphasizing your platforms if you will be the next President of the Republic of the
Philippines. Your video Campaign should be in 3 to 5 minutes’ time frame. The criteria
for grading as shown in the table:

Criterion Description Points

Creativity Creativity includes the effects and transitions used in the 40 points
video. The total appearance of the video showcases the
attractiveness of the campaign ad.
Content The platforms mentioned are aligned with the roles and 60 points
powers under the Executive Branch of the Government.
TOTAL 100 points

Post Test
Directions: Choose the letter of the correct answer and write the CAPITAL LETTER of your
answer in the space provided
__1. Which of the following is NOT part of the Executive Branch of the Government?
A. Local Government B. Cabinet members C. Senators

__2. In what Article and section in 1987 Philippine Constitution states that the
executive power shall be vested in the President of the Philippines?
A. Article VII Section I B. Article VIII Sect I C. Article IX Sect I

__3. Among the three branches of the government, its task is to carry out and
enforces laws. What branch is this?
A. Executive B. Legislative C. Judiciary
__4. Besides the constitution, the powers of the President of the Philippines are
specifically outlined in what Executive order?
A. Executive Order No. 292, s. 1987
B. Executive Order No. 156, s. 1989
C. Executive Order No. 464, s. 2005

__5. Which of the following is not a role of a President in the Republic of the
Philippines?
A.Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines
B.Chief Executive of all executive departments, bureaus and offices.
C. Chief Justice of the Philippine Judicial Academy

15
 What I Learned

The Philippine Government is organized in a way that the roles and powers are
divided into three branches in order to ensure that the government is effective, and
citizens’ rights are protected. These branches are Executive, Legislative and
Judicial. The Legislative branch is authorized to make laws, alter, and repeal them
through the power vested in the Philippine Congress. The Executive branch carries out
laws. Securing and maintaining the peace and order of the country through executing
laws. Lastly, the Judicial branch evaluates laws. It holds the power to settle
controversies involving rights that are legally demandable and enforceable.

Under the Executive Branch, the President of the Philippines is vested as the
head of state and the head of government (1987 Phil. Constitution, Article VII Section
1). The President will also serve as the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines and Chief Executive of all executive departments, bureaus and offices.

In terms with powers of the President, He/she has the (1) Power of control over
the executive branch, (2) Give ordinance order, (3) Power over aliens, (4) Powers of
eminent domain, escheat, land reservation and recovery of ill-gotten wealth, (5) Power
of Appointment, and (6) other powers enumerated in the constitution, and powers given
to him by law.

You are amazing! You just completed the Module 6! By completing this
module, it means that you just mastered the different roles and powers of a
Philippine President under the Executive Branch of the Government!

Keep your learning in this module as you proceed to the next modules. Your
learning here will become handy as you move deeper in understanding
Philippine Politics and Governance.

16
 5.
C
4.
AA 3
A .2
1. .
PostC
Test
Learners’ Answers may vary (Essay) ·
Activity 4: What Have I learned So Far?

Learners’ Answers may vary (Essay) ·

Activity 3: The World of What ifs

Learners’ Answers may vary

Activity 2: Time
Travel
Learners’ Answers may vary
Activity 1: What have you done, Mr. President?

5.
C
4.
AA 3
2. .
C
1.
A
Pre Test (Multiple
Choice)
Module 6 Answer
Key:
17
 REFERENCES

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/about/gov/exec/
Accessed: July 11, 2020

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/
Accessed: July 11, 2020

https://pia.gov.ph/branches-of- govt#:~:text=The%20executive%20branch%20carries
%20out%20and%20enforces%20l aws.,The%20President%20leads%20the%20country.
Accessed: July 11, 2020

18