Spain, a civil law country, introduced the practice of codification in the Philippines, which it had colonized beginning in the late 16th century.
Judicial precedents of the Philippine Supreme Court were accepted as binding, a practice more attuned to common law jurisdictions.
Eventually, the Philippine legal system emerged in such a way that while the practice of codification remained popular, the courts were not barred from invoking principles developed under the common law,[1] or from employing methods of statutory construction in order to arrive at an interpretation of the codal provisions that would be binding in itself in Philippine law.
The Administrative Code "incorporates in a unified document the major structural, functional and procedural principles and rules of governance."
It is the Administrative Code which establishes the various Cabinet departments and offices falling within the executive branch of government, and under the direct control and supervision of the President.