Civics, geography, general science, and current events

The other half of General Information is broad "educated-citizen" knowledge. You won't be asked to be an expert: just to hold the basics an officer is expected to know.

Civics: how government works

• Three branches, three jobs: the Legislative makes laws (Congress: Senate + House), the Executive enforces them (President + Cabinet), the Judiciary interprets them (Supreme Court).
• Local government runs from province → city/municipality → barangay, the smallest unit. This structure comes from the Local Government Code (RA 7160).
• A bill becomes a law after both houses pass it and the President signs it (or Congress overrides a veto).
• Rights come with duties: obey the law, pay taxes, and respect others' rights.

Philippine geography

• Three island groups: Luzon (north), Visayas (center), Mindanao (south).
• The country has 7,000+ islands; the capital is Manila; the largest city by population is Quezon City.
• We sit in the Pacific Ring of Fire: hence frequent earthquakes and active volcanoes (Mayon, Taal, Pinatubo).
• Being tropical, the Philippines has a wet and dry season and lies along the typhoon belt.

General science: the facts that repeat

• Respiration: the body takes in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide; cells use oxygen to release energy from food.
• Photosynthesis: plants use sunlight, water, and CO₂ to make food and release oxygen.
• Water cycle: evaporation → condensation → precipitation → collection.
• States of matter: solid, liquid, gas (plus plasma).
• The sun is a star; the Earth rotates (day/night) and revolves (one year).
• Basic body systems: circulatory (heart/blood), respiratory (lungs), digestive, nervous.

Most science items are single facts like these. Don't over-study: recognize the everyday science around you.

Human rights and the officer's role

Officers uphold the Bill of Rights even while enforcing the law: a suspect is presumed innocent, cannot be tortured, and must be informed of the reason for arrest and the right to counsel (the Miranda rights). Knowing this is both an exam point and a professional duty.

Keeping up with current events

You can't predict which events appear, so build a light habit:

1. Skim reputable news a few minutes a day in the weeks before the exam.
2. Note major new laws, big national events (disasters, elections, international agreements), and the government offices involved: the office and its role matter more than the name of whoever currently holds it.
3. Don't memorize trivia: focus on what happened and why it matters.

Exam-day habit

For science and civics, trust the everyday reasoning you already have. Read the question fully: many "hard" items are testing a basic fact wrapped in a long sentence.