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    |  | General 
      Info |  
 
         
          | Government 
            and Politics |   
          |  |  As suggested 
        by its name, the Republic of the Philippines practices the system of a 
        democratic republican state and a presidential form of government. The 
        government of this island nation is headed by a president that is elected 
        by the voters for a six-year term. At present, Joseph Estrada has been 
        chosen by the Filipinos as the President of the country.  The administration 
        of the Philippines is divided into 16 regions, 77 provinces, 67 officially 
        chartered cities, 1,540 municipalities, and 41,935 barangays. Every province 
        consists of a provincial capital and several municipalities. Municipalities 
        are sub-divided into village communities (barangays), which is the smallest 
        socio-political unit headed by an elected 'barangay captain'. In this 
        country, the legal system is based on Spanish and Anglo-American law. 
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