The article examines the evolution and legal status of the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Philippines. The paper analyzes the procedures for formation and the competence of this body, as well as examines several of its landmark decisions. The first part briefly reviews models of constitutional review and highlights specific features of the American model as applied to constitutional review bodies in East and Southeast Asia. The second part describes the history and evolution of the Philippine Supreme Court. The third part is devoted to the analysis of several specific types of writs developed by the Philippine Supreme Court: the Philippine variant of the writ of amparo and the writ of kalikasan.