Last week, we tackled about the Legislative Department of the Philippines which is composed of the bicameral house of Congress: (a) the Senate; and (2) the House of Representatives. Its primary power and function is to enact, amend and repeal law.
In this week’s edition, the center of our discussion is another independent and co-equal branch of the government – the Executive. Its primary function and duty is to enforce ours laws. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Romualdez Marcos Jr is the 17th President of the Republic of the Philippines.
The 1987 Constitution, particularly, Article VII, Section 1, explicitly vests executive power in the President of the Philippines. Under a presidential system of government, the President is the head of government, head of state and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. In addition to that, the latter exercises control over all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices.
There shall also be a Vice-President who possesses the same qualifications and term of office as the President. The Vice- President is elected with and in the same manner as the President, the former may also be removed from office in the same manner as the latter. The Vice-President is the only person who may be appointed as a Member of the Cabinet or Cabinet Secretary without the confirmation of the Commission on Appointments. No person may serve as Vice President for more than two (2) consecutive terms.
Under Section 2, Article VII, No person may be elected as President/Vice President unless he is a natural born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty (40) years of age at the day of the election and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten (10) years immediately preceding such election. The aforementioned official shall be elected by direct vote of the people for a term of six (6) 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.
Unless otherwise provided by law, their election is held on the second Monday of May every six years. The elected President shall not be eligible for any reelection. On the other hand, no person who has succeeded as president for more than four (4) years may qualify for election to the same office at any time.
Aside from the President and the Vice President, the Executive Department is composed of Cabinet Members or Secretaries which head the 22 executive departments such as the Department of Health, Department of Justice, Department of Social Welfare and Development and Department of Finance. These cabinet members are nominated by the President whose appointments need the confirmation of the Commission of Appointment. Their primary duty is to advise the incumbent President on matters pertaining to, and related to, their respective departments.
Under the doctrine of qualified political agency, the heads of the various executive departments are considered the alter egos of the President. Corollarily, the actions taken by such heads in the performance of their official duties are deemed the acts of the President unless the President himself should disprove such acts. This doctrine is in recognition of the fact that in our presidential form of government, all executive organizations are adjuncts of a single Chief Executive; that the heads of the Executive Departments are assistants and agents of the Chief Executive; and that the multiple executive functions of the President as the Chief Executive are performed through the Executive Departments. The doctrine has been adopted here out of practical necessity, considering that the President cannot be expected to personally perform the multifarious functions of the executive office.¹
Article VII, Section 8 of the Constitution set forth the line of succession in case of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation of the President. In the instance that one of the aforementioned happened, the Vice-President shall become the President to serve the unexpired term. In case of death, permanent disability, removal from office, or resignation of both the President and Vice-President, the President of the Senate or, in case of his inability, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, shall then act as President until the President or Vice-President shall have been elected and qualified.
The Congress shall, by law, provide who shall serve as President in case of death, permanent disability, or resignation of the Acting President. He shall serve until the President or the Vice-President shall have been elected and qualified, and be subject to the same restrictions of powers and disqualifications as the Acting President.
In case the vacancy occurred in the Office of the Vice-President, the President shall nominate a Vice-President from among the Members of the Senate and the House of Representatives who shall assume office upon confirmation by a majority vote of all the Members of both Houses of the Congress, voting separately.
¹G.R. No. 212022. August 20, 2019