| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of the Philippines conventional short form: Philippines local long form: Republika ng Pilipinas local short form: Pilipinas etymology: named in honor of King PHILLIP II of Spain by Spanish explorer Ruy LOPEZ de VILLALOBOS, who visited some of the islands in 1543 |
| Government type | presidential republic |
| Capital | name: Manila geographic coordinates: 14 36 N, 120 58 E time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: derives from the Tagalog "may-nila" meaning "where there is indigo" and refers to the presence of indigo-yielding plants growing in the area surrounding the original settlement |
| Administrative divisions | 81 provinces and 38 chartered cities provinces: Abra, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Aklan, Albay, Antique, Apayao, Aurora, Basilan, Bataan, Batanes, Batangas, Biliran, Benguet, Bohol, Bukidnon, Bulacan, Cagayan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Camiguin, Capiz, Catanduanes, Cavite, Cebu, Cotabato, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao de Oro, Davao Occidental, Davao Oriental, Dinagat Islands, Eastern Samar, Guimaras, Ifugao, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, Isabela, Kalinga, Laguna, Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, La Union, Leyte, Maguindanao, Marinduque, Masbate, Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Mountain, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Northern Samar, Nueva Ecija, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Quirino, Rizal, Romblon, Samar, Sarangani, Siquijor, Sorsogon, South Cotabato, Southern Leyte, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Tarlac, Tawi-Tawi, Zambales, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay; chartered cities: Angeles, Bacolod, Baguio, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Caloocan, Cebu, Cotabato, Dagupan, Davao, General Santos, Iligan, Iloilo, Lapu-Lapu, Las Pinas, Lucena, Makati, Malabon, Mandaluyong, Mandaue, Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Naga, Navotas, Olongapo, Ormoc, Paranaque, Pasay, Pasig, Puerto Princesa, Quezon, San Juan, Santiago, Tacloban, Taguig, Valenzuela, Zamboanga |
| Independence | 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 | history: several previous; latest ratified 2 February 1987, effective 11 February 1987 amendments: proposed by Congress if supported by three fourths of the membership, by a constitutional convention called by Congress, or by public petition; passage by either of the three proposal methods requires a majority vote in a national referendum; note - the constitution has not been amended since its enactment in 1987 |
| Legal system | mixed legal system of civil, common, Islamic (sharia), and customary law |
| International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; withdrew from the ICCt in March 2019 |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of the Philippines dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Rodrigo DUTERTE (since 30 June 2016); Vice President Leni ROBREDO (since 30 June 2016); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government head of government: President Rodrigo DUTERTE (since 30 June 2016); Vice President Leni ROBREDO (since 30 June 2016) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with the consent of the Commission of Appointments, an independent body of 25 Congressional members including the Senate president (ex officio chairman), appointed by the president elections/appointments: president and vice president directly elected on separate ballots by simple majority popular vote for a single 6-year term; election last held on 9 May 2016 (next to be held in May 2022) election results: Rodrigo DUTERTE elected president; percent of vote - Rodrigo DUTERTE (PDP-Laban) 39%, Manuel "Mar" ROXAS (LP) 23.5%, Grace POE (independent) 21.4%, Jejomar BINAY (UNA) 12.7%, Miriam Defensor SANTIAGO (PRP) 3.4%; Leni ROBREDO elected vice president; percent of vote Leni ROBREDO (LP) 35.1%, Bongbong MARCOS (independent) 34.5%, Alan CAYETANO 14.4%, Francis ESCUDERO (independent) 12%, Antonio TRILLANES (independent) 2.1%, Gregorio HONASAN (UNA) 1.9% |
| Legislative branch | description: bicameral Congress or Kongreso consists of: Senate or Senado (24 seats; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by majority vote; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years) House of Representatives or Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan (297 seats; 238 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 59 representing minorities directly elected by party-list proportional representation vote; members serve 3-year terms) elections: Senate - elections last held on 9 May 2016 (next to be held on 13 May 2019) House of Representatives - elections last held on 9 May 2016 (next to be held on 13 May 2019) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - LP 31.3%, NPC 10.1%, UNA 7.6%, Akbayan 5.0%, other 30.9%, independent 15.1%; seats by party - LP 6, NPC 3, UNA 4, Akbayan 1, other 10; composition - men 18, women 6, percent of women 25% House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - LP 41.7%, NPC 17.0%, UNA 6.6%, NUP 9.7%, NP 9.4%, independent 6.0%, others 10.1%; seats by party - LP 115, NPC 42, NUP 23, NP 24, UNA 11, other 19, independent 4, party-list 59; composition - men 210, women 87, percent of women 29.8%; note - total Congress percent of women 29.4% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: 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 | Akbayon [Machris CABREROS] Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (Struggle of Filipino Democrats) or LDP [Edgardo ANGARA] Lakas ng EDSA-Christian Muslim Democrats or Lakas-CMD [Ferdinand Martin ROMUALDEZ] Liberal Party or LP [Francis PANGILINAN] Nacionalista Party or NP [Manuel "Manny" VILLAR] Nationalist People's Coalition or NPC [Eduardo COJUNGCO, Jr.] National Unity Party or NUP [Albert GARCIA] PDP-Laban [Aquilino PIMENTEL III] People's Reform Party or PRP [Narcisco SANTIAGO] Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino (Force of the Philippine Masses) or PMP [Joseph ESTRADA] United Nationalist Alliance or UNA |
| International organization participation | ADB, APEC, ARF, ASEAN, BIS, CD, CICA (observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, 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, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jose Manuel del Gallego ROMUALDEZ (since 29 November 2017) chancery: 1600 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 467-9300 FAX: [1] (202) 328-7614 email address and website: washington.pe@dfa.gov.ph; consular@phembassy-us.org consulate(s) general: Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York, Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands), San Francisco, Tamuning (Guam) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires John C. LAW (since 4 October 2020) embassy: 1201 Roxas Boulevard, Manila 1000 mailing address: 8600 Manila Place, Washington DC 20521-8600 telephone: [63] (2) 5301-2000 FAX: [63] (2) 5301-2017 email address and website: acsinfomanila@state.gov https://ph.usembassy.gov/ |
| 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 note: in wartime the flag is flown upside down with the red band at the top |
| 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 |
| National symbol(s) | three stars and sun, Philippine eagle; national colors: red, white, blue, yellow |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
