THE VICE-GOVERNOR.—The Vice-Governor is also appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the Senate. He acts at the same time as the Secretary of Public Instruction and may be assigned such other executive duties as the Governor-General may designate. In case of vacancy in the office of the Governor-General, the Vice-Governor acts.

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS.—There are six executive departments. At the head of each is a department secretary, who, with the exception of the Secretary of Public Instruction, must be a citizen of the Philippine Islands. As Secretary he is assisted by an under-secretary who temporarily performs the duties of department secretary in case of vacancy. The executive departments and bureaus, offices, and boards pertaining to each are given below:

The Executive Bureau and the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, both of which are under the Department of the Interior, exercise supervision over the provincial and municipal governments. The Executive Bureau has charge of the so-called regular provinces, and the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes of those inhabited by the backward inhabitants of the Philippines including the Moros in Mindanao and the Igorotes of the mountain regions of Luzon. The functions of these two bureaus are practically identical, the difference lying only in the degree of civilization of the inhabitants over whom they have supervision.

THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.—The legislative branch of the Philippine government is vested in the Philippine legislature. It is made up of two separate coördinate bodies, the Senate and the House of Representatives. All the senators and representatives are elected by direct popular suffrage with the exception of the representatives and senators from the Mountain Province, the Province of Nueva Vizcaya, and the provinces in Mindanao and Sulu who are appointed by the Governor-General with no restriction as to residence or length of office. The elective representatives hold their office for terms of three years and the senators for terms of six years.

Laws dealing with certain special subjects such as the tariff and the mining laws require the approval of the President of the United States.

The Senate has twenty-four members consisting of two senators from each of the twelve senatorial districts. The lower house has ninety members, determined by the population of each province. Appropriation bills originate by custom in the House of Representatives.

THE JUDICIARY.—An independent judiciary system completes the governmental structure. The administration of justice is entrusted to the Supreme Court, the Courts of First Instance, the Municipal Court of the City of Manila, and the courts of justices of the peace in each municipality.

The Supreme Court is the highest legal entity in the judiciary system. It has an appellate jurisdiction in all actions and special proceedings brought to it from the Courts of First Instance and from other inferior tribunals from whose decision appeals to the Supreme Court are allowed. The justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President of the United States with the consent of the United States Senate and serve during good behavior. It is made up of nine justices, the chief justice and eight associate justices. The chief justice has always been a Filipino. It seats in banc to transact business. It also seats in divisions for the same purpose, and when it so sits, four justices constitute a quorum so that two divisions may sit at the same time.

Appeals to the Supreme Court of the United States are allowed in certain cases only.