Referendums in the Philippines are occasionally held at a national, regional or local level.
A plebiscite, on the other hand, is "the electoral process by which an initiative on the Constitution is approved or rejected by the people.
[2] Just like any other electoral exercise, referendums and plebiscites are administered by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC).
In 1599, King Philip II of Spain ordered a referendum in several areas to confirm Spanish sovereignty in the islands.
These were amendments to the constitution that restored the bicameral Congress, allowed the re-election of the president, and created the Commission on Elections.
733, the local version of the Bell Trade Act passed by the United States Congress, which include parity rights for both Filipino and American citizens to exploit Philippine natural resources.
[6] As this meant amending the constitution, a plebiscite was called after it was passed by the Philippine Congress by much difficulty.
[5] Marcos was overthrown after the People Power Revolution, where he was alleged to have cheated during the 1986 presidential election.
[5] Local plebiscites have mostly been for the creation, inclusion to, or division of new autonomous regions, provinces, cities, municipalities, and barangays.
In the Cordillera, two plebiscites have failed, the latest in 1998, and it is still treated as a regular administrative region.
A "highly urbanized city" is politically, administratively, and fiscally independent from a province.
In 2014, the People's Initiative against pork barrel had 10,000 signatures submitted to the Commission on Elections, but a referendum did not push through.
In 2020, it was theorized that it could be used to grant ABS-CBN a new franchise, but it was seen by lawyer Emil Marañon "as legally problematic and practically impossible to hold.