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Philippines
Women in decision-making positions
29%
Members of local deliberative bodies are women (109,026 elected women)
No woman is Head of State/Government
28%
Parliamentarians are women
17%
Ministers are women

Government organization

Spheres of government

The Philippines is a unitary republic with three spheres of government: central, intermediate (the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region), and local.

One tier of central government, one tier of partial intermediate government and two or three tiers of local government composed of provinces, municipalities or cities and villages or of cities and villages.

  • Head of State: The President is directly elected by voters.
  • Head of Government: The President is the Head of State and the Head of Government.
  • Legislative body: Congress is a bicameral legislature, consisting of an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the House of Representatives). Members of Congress are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet is composed of the President, the Vice-President, and additional cabinet members and their deputies. The President nominates and appoints the additional cabinet members with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.

  • Legislative body: The Bangsamoro Parliament is the unicameral legislature of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region level of government, whose members are directly elected by voters.
  • Executive body: The Cabinet is composed of the Chief Minister, two Deputy Chief Ministers, and additional members. The Chief Minister is elected by the Bangsamoro Parliament. The Deputy Chief Ministers are nominated by the Chief Minister to be elected by Bangsamoro Parliament. The additional members are appointed by the Chief Minister from amongst the Bangsamoro Parliament members.

  • Organization: Local government is organized into two or three tiers. The 38 highly urbanized and independent component cities are organized into two tiers, as they are separate from the provincial-level of government and are further organized into village-level local government units.
  • There are three tiers of local government in all other parts of the Philippines, which consist of: an upper tier of 81 provincial-level local government units, an intermediate tier of 1,489 municipalities and 141 component city-level local government units, and a lower tier of village-level local government units.
  • Competencies: Local government is responsible for possessing local legislative power, adopting a local budget, and levying local taxes.
  • Ministerial oversight: The Department of the Interior and Local Government is responsible for central government oversight on local government.

Overview of local government

Local government composition

Deliberative body: The provincial council (sangguniang panlalawigan) is composed of the provincial vice-governor, the president of the provincial chapter of the league of villages (Liga ng mga Barangay), the president of the provincial chapter of the youth council (sangguniang kabataan), the president of the provincial chapter of the city and municipal council members, sectoral representatives, and 6-10 elected members. The provincial vice-governor presides over the provincial council; the provincial vice-governor is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The provincial governor is the executive at the provincial level of government.

Deliberative body: The city council (sangguniang panlungsod) is composed of the city vice-mayor, the president of the city chapter of the league of villages, the president of the city chapter of the youth council, sectoral representatives, and elected members. The city vice-mayor presides over the city council; the city vice-mayor is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The city mayor is the executive at the city level of government.

Deliberative body: The municipal council (sangguniang bayan) is composed of the municipal vice-mayor (ikalawang alkalde), the president of the municipal chapter of the league of villages, the president of the municipal chapter of the youth council, sectoral representatives, and elected members. The municipal vice-mayor presides over the municipal council; the municipal vice-mayor is not vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The municipal mayor (alcalde) is the executive at the municipal level of government.

Deliberative body: The village council (sangguniang barangay) is composed of the council chairperson (punong barangay), the president of the village chapter of the youth council, and elected members. The council chairperson presides over the village council; the council chairperson is also vested with executive powers.

Executive body: The council chairperson is the executive at the village level of government.

Local government elections

Electoral system: majority/plurality (first-past-the-post)

  • All local executive heads and chairpersons, elected members, and sectoral members of local deliberative bodies are directly elected by voters. The voter choses individual candidates to vote for.
  • The ex-officio representatives of the league of cities, the league of municipalities, the league of villages, and the youth council in each local deliberative body are indirectly elected by and from their respective organizations, according to the same electoral schedule as the village council elections.

Source: Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, 1985 (amended through 1995), sections 181, 195 and 213

Gender quotas: Non-electoral quotas (reserved seats)

  • One out of the three sectoral representatives in a local deliberative body must be a woman.

Additional quotas: Non-electoral quotas for workers, urban poor, indigenous persons, disabled persons

  • The deliberative bodies of local government have three sectoral representatives each, who are elected to represent special interest groups of marginalized and underrepresented persons, including the workers, and one from any of the following sectors: the urban poor, the indigenous cultural communities, disabled persons, or any other sector as may be determined by the respective council.

Source: Local Government Code, 1991 (amended through 2021), sections 41, 446, 457 and 467

  • Term length: 3 years
  • Last local elections: 2018 (villages), 2022 (provinces, cities, municipalities)
  • Next local elections: 2023 (villages, postponed from 2020), 2025 (provinces, cities, municipalities)

Commission on Elections (COMELEC)

National legal framework on local government

  • Constitution of the Government of the Philippines, 1987;
  • Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, 2018;
  • Sangguniang Kabataan Reform Act, 2015 (amended through 2021);
  • Act Creating the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, 1995;
  • Local Government Code, 1991 (amended through 2021);
  • Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines, 1985 (amended through 1995).

There are constitutional provisions that establish local government in the Philippines. According to Article X, Sections 1, 2, and 5 of the Constitution of the Government of the Philippines of 1987, “the territorial and political subdivisions of the Republic of the Philippines are the provinces, cities, municipalities, and villages. The territorial and political subdivisions shall enjoy local autonomy. Each local government unit shall have the power to create its own sources of revenues and to levy taxes, fees, and charges subject to such guidelines and limitations as the Congress may provide, consistent with the basic policy of local autonomy.”

Congress is responsible for establishing the national legal framework on local government. The key piece of legislation which regulates local government is the Local Government Code of 1991 (amended through 2021). According to Section 16 of the Local Government Code, “within their respective territorial jurisdictions, local government units shall ensure and support, among other things, the preservation and enrichment of culture, promote health and safety, enhance the right of the people to a balanced ecology, encourage and support the development of appropriate and self-reliant scientific and technological capabilities, improve public morals, enhance economic prosperity and social justice, promote full employment among their residents, maintain peace and order, and preserve the comfort and convenience of their inhabitants.”

Sources:

1. UN Women: Data on share of women in local government as of 1 January 2025.

2. UN Women: Information on Head of State and Government as of 1 December 2025.

3. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU): Data on share of women in the single/lower chamber of parliament as of 1 January 2025.

4. UN Women: Data on share of women Cabinet ministers as of 1 January 2025.

5. Information on local government organization as of 1 January 2023.