THE president implements the laws made by Congress and when controversy arises, the courts interpret these laws. Within Congress, there are two houses checking each other before a bill becomes a law. This is the very core of our democracy, a system where power is checked and balanced.

There are also three independent constitutional commissions that operate outside the trifecta of the traditional branches of government. These are the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Commission on Audit (CoA) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec).