Political Executives: Presidential, Parliamentary and Semi-

Presidential Systems

Presidential System
A form of government which the executive is directly elected by the people for a fixed term of
office. The executive is the head of state and the government. The President is responsible to the
electorate and can be removed only if he becomes disqualified to continue his office or in the difficult
process of impeachment. The United States is an ideal and typical example of the presidential system,
by which the Philippines model is patterned.

Characteristics of Presidential Government

a) The executive and the legislature, unlike in parliamentary, are separately elected, and each is
invested with a range of independent constitutional powers. The president being popularly
elected creates and appoints the cabinet;
b) b. Both the President acting as chief executive and the by the legislative department enjoy fixed
terms of offices. The president can neither dissolve the assembly nor be removed by it;
c) There is no overlapping of membership between the executive and the legislature,
d) The president usually assumes a concurrent role as head of the government and of the state;
and e Cabinet and ministries are appointees by the President who stand as advisers, and are
accountable to the President.

General Features of Presidential System

1. Separation of Powers.
The most important characteristic of presidential system is the principle of separation of powers
and independence in the discharge of government. The three branches of government are by principle
and operation independent from each other and exclusively exercise powers and functions delegated
to them by the Constitution. While they are independent, they must coordinate and cooperate so that
the interests of the people will be promoted. The executive administers laws or policies created by the
legislature while the judiciary interprets or arbitrates laws and policies, and the legislature makes,
repeals or amends laws or policies.

2. Absence of Nominal Head.

The ceremonial head of a state is the head of state but in name only because his powers. in
government are ministerial and not genuine. In presidential system, the president being the chief
executive is both the head of state and the head of the government, and in the discharge of his
functions, he is assisted by acabinet officers he personally selected and appointed. They are
responsible, and serve only at his pleasure.

3. Checks and Balances.

In order to put into practice the principle of separation of powers certain mechanisms of checks
and balances have been institutionalized. The system permits each branch of government to check
upon the other in order to prevent the possible abuses or encroachment of one branch to another. This
is carried out when each branch shares in the exercise of the powers and functions of the others. In
practice, checks and balances in the Philippines occur in the following instances.

a. The legislature checks upon the executive by;

➢ The power of Congress to initiate and decide an impeachment case against the President;
➢ The power of Congress to confirm or deny the appointments made by the President;
➢ The power of revocation by the Congress of the declaration of martial law by the executive head
of any pension of the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus,
➢ The power to reject the budgetary proposals of the President; and
➢ The power to call upon cabinet officers for legislative inquiries

Conversely, the President checks upon the legislature by his veto power which is the power to reject
bills proposed by Congress or to reject any "item or items in an appropriation, revenue, or tariff bill..."

b. The executive checks upon the judiciary by:

➢ The power to counteract courts' judgment or rulings via the exercise of independent judicial
power;
➢ The power of the executive to grant a reprieve, commutation and pardon to convicted criminals;
➢ The power to question judicial decisions and the pressures attendant to such positioning.
On the contrary, the judiciary checks upon the executive by rendering presidential decrees or executive
orders null and void, and the power to nullify the declaration of the President of martial law or the
suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.

c. The legislature checks upon the judiciary by:

➢ The power to conduct legislative inquiry and budget- ary hearings;
➢ The power to withhold, and suspend budgetary proposals of the judiciary, and
➢ The power to reorganize the courts except the Supreme Court On the other hand, the judiciary
may pass upon the constitutionality or legality of any statute passed by the Congress.

4. Cabinet Members are Chosen Outside. Unlike in a parliamentary system where cabinet
officers or ministers came from the ranks of the assembly or parliament, and are accountable to it. In
presidential system, the president basically chooses his cabinet members outside the Congress based
on the trust and confidence he enjoys with appointees, and is politically accountable to the appointing
power of the President.

Parliamentary System
A form of government in which the chief executive is elected or chosen from the assembly
with no fixed term of office. The executive (usually the Prime Minister or Premier or Chancellor) is the
head of the government. The head leads a Council of Ministers that emerges from the assembly. The
chief executive is responsible to the assembly or parliament and can be removed only upon expression
or vote of no confidence by the parliament. An elected president or a monarch is usually the customary
or ceremonial head of state with no actual governmental powers save only those enumerated under
the constitution. Examples are countries in Europe.

Characteristics of Parliamentary Government

a) The office of prime minister is the central link between the executive and parliament bodies, its
holders are chosen from the assembly and are thus accountable to it;
b) The head of the government (Prime Minister, Premier or Chancellor) and the of Ministers can be
dismissed from office through a vote of no confidence by the parliament;
c) The executive is collegial, taking the form of a cabinet in which the Prime Minister is traditionally
just first among equals This plural executive contrasts with the focus in presidential government
on a single chief executive
d) Prime ministerial government reflects the centralization of executive power in the hands of Prime
Minister and the effective subordination of both the cabinet and department minister.

General Features of the Parliamentary

The parliamentary system is the counterpart of the presidential form. It is a government form where the
ultimate seat of governmental power is the legislature called the Parliament, and the executive is
subordinate and accountable to the latter both in respect to his tenure of office and the manner he
exercises the powers of government.

1. Fusion of Power. The Parliament exercises the most important function of government. The
legislative department and the executive are fused together, with the former being supreme over the
latter. The executive is created from the members/ranks of the parliament. Members chosen to
constitute the executive branch become the cabinet, headed by a Prime Minister who is also determined
from the ranks of the parliament. The cabinet leads the assembly in law-making while the latter controls
cabinet's executive functions.

2. The Monarch vis-à-vis the Prime Minister. There exist two chief executives in the parliamentary
system. One is the titular head, a King or a Queen who assumed ceremonial powers as head of the
state or a President chose either directly or indirectly by the electorate. The other chief executive is the
Prime Minister (Chancellor or Premier in other states), the real government head. The titular head
performs only ministerial powers as symbol of national unity and people's loyalty, while the Prime
Minister exercises the power or authority to decide public policies and programs of government.

3. Cabinets are drawn from the Parliament. Unlike in the presidential system where members or
ministers of government are selected from outside the government, cabinet members in the
parliamentary form are chosen from the members of the assembly. This set up is believed to manifest
the supremacy of the parliament. In fact, the parliament can at any given time, is effect, dissolve the
executive department through a vote of no confidence.
4. Vote of No Confidence.
The power of the parliament to dissolve the office of the Prime Minister and the cabinet signifies that
cabinet officials and the Prime Minister himself must always be made accountable to the assembly.
Whenever the executive loses the trust of the parliament, a vote of no confidence may ensue, thereby
dissolving it. After such a vote of no confidence has been issued , the Prime Minister, the leader of the
cabinet, has two choices: resigning voluntarily or dissolving the parliament.

Semi-Presidential System
A semi-presidential system is a form of government which "combines an elected president
performing political tasks with a prime minister who heads a cabinet accountable to parliament. The
Prime Minister is usually appointed by the President and responsible to day-to-day domestic
government but the President retains an oversight role, and responsibility for foreign affairs, and can
usually take emergency powers.

Virtually, all chief executives are assisted by cabinets in any given structure of government
worldwide. A cabinet member heads one of the major executive divisions of government called a
department in the United States headed by a secretary or a ministry in most of the rest of the world
headed by a minister.

Semi-presidential (or semi-parliamentary) government is two- headed system, a hybrid seeking to

combine an elected president with a prime minister and cabinet (Council of Ministers/State Council)
accountable to the parliament. The President in such a system generally has specific responsibility for
foreign affairs and can appoint ministers, including the Prime Minister, initiate a referendum and
dissolve the assembly. A President assumes political leadership regarding international relations while
the assembly or the parliament pursues domestic politics.

Modern political scientists, provided the classical definition of semi-presidential government: "a
political regime is considered semi-presidential if the Constitution which established it combines three
distinct elements: (a) the President of the republic is elected by universal suffrage; (b) he possesses
quite considerable powers; (c) he has opposite him however a Prime Minister who possesses executive
and governmental power and can stay in office only if the Parliament does not show its opposition to
them".

PARLIAMENTARY VS. PRESIDENTIAL

The basic features and differences between a presidential type and a parliamentary system is in order
below, at least in terms of their theoretical foundations, not necessarily on their operational experiences
in most European countries. In a presidential system, the principle of separation of powers is the
hypothetical basis of governance among the Executive, Legislative and Judicial Departments. Each
department performs particular and specific functions. A department is, by the mandate, restricted to
encroach over the jurisdiction of another agency and for purposes of checks and balances one
department can always test out upon the abuses of another. The President is not only the Head of
State but concurrently assumes the role as Head of the Government and the Commander in Chief of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The Law fixed his term of office. He cannot be removed by the
Legislature nor can he be pressured to resign from post except for cause through the exceptional
process of impeachment. The people at large elect the President. Meanwhile, the Legislative
Department is composed of elected Representatives of the people chosen on the basis of geographical
representation, enjoying fixed and constitutionally prescribed terms. The Congress as a direct
repository of the people, the President cannot dissolve or terminate its existence.

In parliamentary system, the principle of fusion of powers is the theoretical mandate of

governance. The Head of Government is the Prime Minister chosen from within the ranks of the elected
Representatives. He stays in power as long as he enjoys the confidence of the Parliament, the law-
making organ. At any time, however, the Prime Minister may be recalled or dismissed from office by a
vote of no confidence from the Parliament.

In conjunction with the Head of State (which is different from the head of the government), the
Prime Minister has the power to dissolve the Parliament and may call for new elections. In this form of
government, there exists a system of mutual dependence between the Parliament and the Executive,
while in the presidential type a system of mutual independence is believed to exist. Moreover, in the
parliamentary form, the Executive is divided into a Prime Minister, who is the Head of the Government,
and the Monarch or the President only acts as Head of State. A President, unlike the Prime Minister,
enjoys fewer powers and assumes only as nominal or ceremonial functions. He may play a mediating
role especially in times of crisis. In presidential type on the other hand, the Executive is undivided since
the Head of the Government is likewise the Head of State.
 In general, it is argued that the separation of powers between the Executive and Legislature
Department has often resulted in delays of law-making, in compromises that weaken the effectiveness
of legislation, or in a deadlock that prevents needed policies and reforms from being adopted. However
in parliamentary form, the cabinet exercises both legislative and executive powers, which can be better
coordinated. The long delays and stalemates in enacting because of differences and conflicts among
the resident, the Senate, and the House will be minimized or prevented under presidential system. The
parliamentary system will be more responsive the people because the government, and the ruling party
or coalition parliament have to get the support of a majority of the members for major legislation or a
vote of confidence in a parliamentary crisis or face dissolution of the government and new election.

The Role of the Executive

1. Popular Political Leadership. The most basic task of political executive is to provide
leadership. Every head of government like the president (the United States), prime minister Japan),
premier (France), or chancellor (Germany) is responsible for making and carrying out decisions. He or
she supervises and controls the bureaucratic machinery at the national level. The chief executive
should mobilize support that ensures the cooperation and compliance of the people. Without support
and consensus from the general public policy execution is rendered difficult. It is a fact to consider that
the lack of legitimacy on the political executive makes impossible popular leadership. Still yet, even
with the question of legitimacy haunting the chief executive, he or she can always legitimize his
acceptance by resorting to authoritarianism, meaning popular compliance may result from deliberate
repression by the chief executive, and to a large extent through ideological maneuvering.

2. Ceremonial Leadership. In some political cases, a head of state or an executive only stands
as the titular head of the state without real governmental powers. He assumes only ministerial functions,
and acts as a symbol of national unity and a magnet of loyalty. This role is largely formal representing
the state only in foreign visits, state occasions, ratification of treaties and attending international
conferences. Thus, he is often a figure of formal significance and fundamentally symbolic. A head of
state is either a monarch or a president, and his power to appoint the head of government (in
parliamentary system) may nevertheless "allow some scope for residual political influence"

3. Chief Legislator. The President or the Prime Minister has considerable law making powers, aside
from the responsibility of implementing laws or policies. In fact in the United States and in the
Philippines, the President is given broad discretionary power in administering and arbitrating laws. In
the Philippines, the President, through the executive body- the cabinet, does it by promulgating rules
and regulations in the implementation of statutes passed by Congress. He may also issue presidential
decrees, executive orders or administrative policies. Also, the President assumes the role of initiating
policy legislation. He or she therefore directs and controls the policy process of the state.

4. Bureaucratic Leadership. The political executive has major administrative and bureaucratic
responsibilities as he or she assumes top managerial control over all the machineries of the government
through senior ministers along departmental lines. The cabinet officials assist in this process. While
most political executives are not bureaucrats by profession since most of them are politicians, they
carry out this bureaucratic function with the aid of government advisers guiding and providing them
knowledge to manage and control bureaucratic machinery effectively. Political executives would
nevertheless be cautious most of the times since bureaucracy as a whole can develop interests that
are separate from those of the political executives, "encouraging it to resist the control of its national
political leaders".

5. Crisis Leadership. When crisis breaks and emergencies occur either in domestic or international
politics, the political executive should stand bold to make decisions and firm to address issues affecting
the states in general, and the people in particular As commander-in-chief he is expected to take charge
over a national distress like rebellion or invasion. During times of crisis, the nation needs a sturdy and
crucial leadership capable of bringing about normalcy or solvency to a given situation. It is sometimes
imperative that Congress or Parliament shou extend the executive emergency powers when confronted
domestic crises such as civil disobedience, energy crisis, natur disasters and terror threats, among
others.
THE ROLE OF A PRIME MINISTER

Great Britain is the home of parliamentary system; it is where its historical roots came. Most of the
political executives in modern politics can be classified as parliamentary executives. It has three
essential characteristics.
1. Since executive power is established from the assembly and closely linked to party politics, a
separate head of state, in the form of a constitutional monarch, executive president is required to fulfill
ceremonial duties and acts as a focus of patriotic loyalty;
2. The political executive is drawn from the assembly, which means that the separation of the personnel
between the legislature and executive is found in presidential system does not occur in parliamentary
system; and
3. The executive is directly responsible to the assembly, or at least to its lower chamber in the sense
that it survives in government only as long as it retains the confidence of the assembly.

Special Features of Presidential Privilege

1. Presidential Residual Power

It should be noted that while the Constitution specifically defined and provided the express powers
of the President, there are also implied powers that the President can exercise. This refers to as
RESIDUAL POWER- the underlying or unstated power of the executive department which may not be
specifically granted by law nevertheless, the Supreme Court is so convinced, integral in the stature of
presidential power that would enable his authority to ascertain the effective discharge of the President's
administrative and executive functions. Residual power aims to protect the general welfare of the
people.

2. Presidential Immunity
To uphold the President's power in the executive department, the President is immune from suit.
As implied under the 1987 Constitution through the interpretation and promulgation of no less the
highest court of the land said in part "the rationale for the grant to the president of the privilege of
immunity from suit is to assure the exercise of Presidential duties and functions free from any hindrance
or distraction, considering that being the chief executive of the government is a job that, aside from
requiring all of the office- holder's time, also demands individual attention". Thus, the Supreme Court
in 1988 confidently preached presidential immunity by his office"

3. Presidential Perks
A former President of the Philippines is likewise entitled to enjoy a lifetime security service of at
least two personnel, aside from a monthly pension as a statesman, courtesy of the Government.
Impliedly, this is a (unwritten) custom of recognition for a previous political icon. As a former president,
he ought to be extended the much respect befitting the office he represented in the recent past, and a
generation of political veneration, regardless of how well he served the country. After all, the President
no matter what had become of him is a part of our history and statehood. Therefore, a President for
that matter, is a larger-than-life hero.

Apart from the general executive and administrative power of the President, the President also
enjoys ceremonial function as symbolic head of the state and the center of ceremony. The powers of
the President are varied and among them are power to appoint and remove; control power; budgetary
power, power to grant pardon, amnesty, parole or clemency; borrowing power; diplomatic power, power
to address the nation at the opening of the Congress; veto power, military power, and also residual
power which are not granted but implied in the very nature of the Executive functions.

THE CABINET
A cabinet is regarded as a committee of senior ministers or secretaries who represent the different
government ministries and departments. The importance of a cabinet shows the administrative and the
political need for collective procedures within the political executive to ensure the effective coordination
of government policy. Likewise, a cabinet helps the executive branch in the formulation of government
policies and implements them under the direction of political executive be it the President or the Prime
Minister.

In parliamentary systems like Great Britain and Germany, ministers are drawn from parliament and
keep their parliamentary seats. They are both legislative and executive. Usually, they have had years
of political experience in winning elections and serving on parliamentary committees. The chair of
Germany's Bundestag defense committee, for example, it could be be a good choice to become
defense ministers. In a presidential ystem like the United States, Brazil, and the Philippines secretaries
or ministers are generally not working politicians, many of them are technocrats (business persons,
lawyers, academicians).
 The type of cabinet system varies from one state to another. So are the sizes range from system
to system. In the United States, the cabinet acts as policy adviser to the President rather than policy
makers. In former USSR, the cabinet is called the Politburo. In France, they call it as Council of
Ministers. The US has about 14 cabinet ministers, while in European states, the size could go as high
as 20 members.