THE FILIPINO PRESIDENT

The President of the Philippines is undeniably the most powerful and most influential person in the Philippines. In him vests a plenitude of authority but awesome responsibilities.

Qualifications.

As prescribed in the Constitution, the following are the qualifications of a President:

1. natural-born Filipino citizen;
2. registered voter;
3. able to read and write;
4. at least 40 years old on the day of the election; and
5. 10-year residency in the Philippines. 

The Vice-President has the same qualifications of a President.

Election and Proclamation

1. All the election returns, duly certified by the board of canvassers of each province or city, are to be transmitted to the Congress, directed to the Senate President.
2. The Senate President shall not later than 30 days upon receipt, open all certificates in the presence of the Congress in joint public session.
3. The Congress determines the authenticity of the certificates and canvass the votes.
4. The person having the highest number of votes shall be proclaimed elected.
5. In case of tie, the Congress voting separately shall choose who shall be elected. 

Term.

The term of the President (and the Vice-President) is under Sec 4, Article VII, 1987 Constitution. It states that the President serves a term of six (6) years only and is not eligible to run for re-election. It starts at the 12th noon of June following the day of the election and ends at noon of the same date six years thereafter. Any person who has succeeded as President and has served for more than four years is also barred for re-election. In the same manner that former President Gloria Arroyo became eligible to run in the highest post of the land because she did not serve therein for more than four years.