Legislative branch:
bicameral Congress or Kongreso consists of the Senate or Senado (24 seats - one-half elected every three years; members elected at large by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Kapulungan Ng Nga Kinatawan (as a result of May 2007 election it has 240 seats including 218 members representing districts and 22 sectoral party-list members representing special minorities elected on the basis of 1 seat for every 2% of the total vote but limited to 3 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; note - the Constitution prohibits the House of Representatives from having more than 250 members)
elections: Senate - last held on 14 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2010); House of Representatives - elections last held on 14 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2010)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Lakas 4, LP 4, Nacionalista 3, NPC 2, PDP-Laban 2, PMP 2, Kampi 1, LDP 1, PRP 1, independents 3; note - there are 23 rather than 24 sitting senators because one senator was elected mayor of Manila; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Lakas 92, Kampi 54, NPC 25, LP 21, Party-list 22, independents 3, others 26; there are 238 rather than 240 sitting representatives because two died in office
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (15 justices are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial and Bar Council and serve until 70 years of age); Court of Appeals; Sandigan-bayan (special court for hearing corruption cases of government officials)
Political parties and leaders:
Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino or Kampi [Luis VILLAFUERTE]; Laban ng
Demokratikong Pilipino (Struggle of Filipino Democrats) or LDP
[Edgardo ANGARA]; Lakas ng EDSA-Christian Muslim Democrats or
Lakas-CMD [Prospero NOGRALES]; Liberal Party or LP [Manuel ROXAS];
Nacionalista Party or NP [Manuel VILLAR]; Nationalist People's
Coalition or NPC [Frisco SAN JUAN]; PDP-Laban [Aquilino PIMENTEL];
People's Reform Party [Miriam Defensor SANTIAGO]; Puwersa ng Masang
Pilipino (Force of the Philippine Masses) or PMP [Joseph ESTRADA];
United Opposition or UNO [Jejomar BINAY]
note: Lakas-CMD and Kampi merged on 29 May 2009 to form Lakas-Kampi CMD
Political pressure groups and leaders: