Filipinos pretend to have three independent and separate branches of government which check and balance each other, as provided, in theory, by Articles VI, VII and VIII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution.
It is a mirage. An illusion.
An autocratic or authoritarian tyrant (Executive) can easily threaten and corrupt unprincipled men and women in the Legislative and the Judiciary.
This is the historical lesson that the Filipinos have learned from the Dark Ages of the Marcosian Martial Law Regime.
Yes, the very same Dictator Marcos that Duterte blatantly idolizes and praises to the heavens.