Philippines
Country in SE Asia, on an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands W
of the Pacific Ocean and S of the SE Asian mainland.
Government
The constitution was approved by plebiscite Feb 1987. It provides for
a US-style executive president who is elected for a nonrenewable
six-year term and a two-chamber legislature or congress: a 24-member
Senate and 250-member House of Representatives, with similar respective
powers to their counterparts in the USA. Senators are elected
in national-level contests initially for a five-year term, but
thereafter for six-year terms (a maximum of two consecutive terms).
Representatives serve three-year terms (a maximum of three consecutive
terms), with 204 being directly elected at the district level
and up to a further 46 being appointed by the president from lists
of `minority groups´. The president appoints an executive cabinet,
but, as in the USA, while being unable directly to introduce legislation,
may impose vetoes on congressional bills that can only be overridden
by two- thirds majorities in each chamber. The vice president,
also elected for a nonrenewable six-year term, automatically assumes
the presidency for the remainder of the unexpired term in the
case of the president's death or resignation. There is also a
` Bill of Rights´ and a 15-member Supreme Court.
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