The Never Ending Democratization of the Philippines 129 component of this partnership. A coalition of government officials and functionaries who support the agenda of reform is needed. Leaders of Congress and the judiciary should lead this public component of the partnership. There are also the constitutional bodies like the Ombudsman, Commission on Audit, Civil Commission and the Commission on Human Rights who are the natural allies of civil society in the private-public partnership for institutional reform towards the attainment of our country's substantive democracy. The active leadership of reform-oriented political leaders and civil servants are imperative. Conclusion In theory, the separation of powers and system of checks and balances of the Presidential form of government aim at preventing the abuse of power and the protection of the rights of the people. The co-equal and coordinate branches of government are meant to ensure such goals of a democratic polity. However, the actual practice of the Presidential form of government in the Philippines deviates from this theoretical perspectives. The President, in accordance with the 1935 Constitution, had abolished Congress and controlled the Supreme Court under his military power. He has also encroached, under the 1987 Constitution, on the legislative power of the purse. He enjoys immunity from suits and is very difficult to remove from office by impeachment. All of these powers and privileges virtually made him above the law. Hence, instead of a system of checks and balances, the vast powers of the President have allowed him to dominate the legislature, judiciary, and constitutional bodies. It is this executive hegemony which has undermined and weakened the legislature, judiciary and constitutional bodies and has stalled the democratization of our country. These vast powers of the President enable him to employ delegative authority that benefits him, his relatives, friends and political allies. Weak horizontal accountability, corruption, and clientelism go together in the Philippine presidential government. It has prevented the government from effectively dealing with the country's chronic economic and social problems. Indicators of the quality of life (longevity, knowledge, and standard of living) have shown no marked improvement for most of the Filipinos. From the institutional perspective, the agenda for reforms might be pursued grandly or incrementally. Grand reforms are in the form of systemic change through the revision of the constitution. Incremental reforms are in the form of more modest amendment or revision of statutes. Grand reforms like the