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About the Philippines

• The Facts
• History
• Government
• Geography
• Demographics
• Culture

• Region 1 (Ilocos Region)
• Region 2 (Cagayan Valley Region)
• Region 3 (Central Luzon Region)
• Region 4-A (CALABARZON Region)
• Region 4-B (MIMARO Region)
• Region 5 (Bicol Region)
• Region 6 (Western Visayas Region)
• Region 7 (Central Visayas Region)
• Region 8 (Eastern Visayas Region)
• Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula Region)
• Region 10 (Northern Mindanao Region)
• Region 11 (Davao Region)
• Region 12 (SOCCSKSARGEN Region)
• Region 13 (Caraga Region)
• CAR (Cordillera Administrative Region)
• NCR (National Capital Region)
• ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao)

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The Government

The Philippines has a presidential, unitary (with some modification; there is one autonomous region largely free from the national government) form of government, where the President functions as both head of state and head of government, and is commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The president is elected by popular vote to a six-year term, during which they appoint and preside over the cabinet.

The bicameral Congress is composed of a Senate, serving as the upper house whose members are elected nationally to a six-year term, and a House of Representatives serving as the lower house whose members are elected to a three-year term and are elected from legislative districts and through sectoral representation.

The judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, composed of a Chief Justice as its presiding officer and fourteen associate justices, all appointed by the President from nominations submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council.

Attempts to amend the constitution to either a federal, unicameral or parliamentary form of government have repeatedly failed since the Ramos administration.

The Philippines is a founding and active member of the United Nations since its inception on October 24, 1945 and is a founding member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The Philippines is also a member of the East Asia Summit (EAS), an active player in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Latin Union, and a member of the Group of 24. The country is a major non-NATO ally of the U.S. but also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The Philippines is involved in complex dispute over the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal. It also claims the Malaysian state of Sabah, as it was once part of the Sultanate of Sulu.