At stake in this election:

• 219 seats in the House of Representatives (Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
• Head of Government: President Gloria MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
• Assembly: Philippines has a bicameral Congress (Kongreso) consisting of the Senate (Senado) with 24 seats and the House of Representatives (Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan) with between 205 and 250 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by popular vote to serve a 6-year term.
• In the Senate (Senado) 24 members are elected by popular vote to serve 6-year terms*. In the House of Representatives (Kapulungan Ng Mga Kinatawan) 205 members are elected by popular vote to serve 3-year terms.** Alternatively, voters can choose to vote for a party (closed list) representing a marginalized group (youth, laborers, women, etc.). If these sectoral parties achieve 2% of the vote, they are awarded a seat in the House of Representatives. The party with the most votes receives 1 additional seat per 2% of the vote with a maximum of 3 seats. The other parties receive 1 seat for achieving the threshold and additional seats as per the Panganiban formula. The number of seats filled through this proportional representation tier varies, but it is constitutionally forbidden to exceed 20% of seats.

* One-half of the members are elected every three years.

** The Constitution prohibits the House of Representatives from having more than 250 members.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Alliance: Lakas-National Union of Christian Democrats-Union of Muslim Democrats of the Philippines (Lakas-NUCD-UMDP)*
  • Leader: Jose DE VENECIA, Jr.
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 73
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 111
• Party: Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC)
  • Leader: Emilio ESPINOSA
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 40
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 9
• Party: Struggle/Fight of Democratic Filipinos / Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP)**
  • Leader: Carlos M. PADILLA
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 21
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A
• Party: Liberal Party*
  • Leader: Florencio ABAD
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 19
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 15
• Other Parties
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 44
• Indepedents
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 8

* Belongs to the ruling People Power Coalition.

** Belongs to the opposition Puwersa ng Masa Coalition.

Note: In this election, 11 sectoral parties were allocated a total of 14 seats in the House of Representatives.

Last Legislative election:

• Legislative elections for the Senate and House of Representatives were last held on May 11, 1998.
  Seats decided in the last election to the Senate: 12 · Seats decided in the last election to the House of Representatives: 217

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 79,604,541 (2001)
• Registered Voters: 34,176,376 (2001)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 39,539,902 (2001)

·         Is Philippines a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (15 July 1980)

·         Has Philippines ratified CEDAW: Yes (5 August 1981)

·         Gender Quota: No (there are some political parties that have adopted voluntary gender quotas)

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 38 (House of Representatives); 3 (Senate) following the 2001 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 115 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Philippines a signatory to CRPD: Yes (25 September 2007)

·         Has Philippines ratified CRPD: Yes (15 April 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 11,940,681 (est.)