LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT
Article VI
Election (Section 9)
 There would be a special election in case
there’s a vacancy in the Senate or House
of Representatives
 But the one elected will serve only the
unexpired term
 Such special election will not be
necessary if the vacancy pertained to a
seat occupied by a party-list
representative which will be filled by the
next representative from the list
submitted to COMELEC by the SAME
party, organization or coalition who shall
serve the unexpired term
 If the list is exhausted, submit
additional nominees
Salaries (Section 10 & Section 20)
 There is no prohibition against receipt of
allowances by members of Congress
unlike in the Commonwealth
Constitution
 Each legislator’s itemized expenditure,
including allowances, shall be published
annually for the information of the people
(s.20)
 Reduction to salaries of the members of
the Congress is not prohibited by the
Constitution
 If any increase is to be made, the
same cannot be effective during the
term of the members of the
Congress, including the Senators,
who have apporved such increase.
 In Philippine Constitution Association v.
Gimenez: Republic Act 3836 which
provides the immediate availment of
retirement benefits to Senators and Reps
upon its approval is unconstitutional
because it did not await for the expiration
of the full term of ALL the members of
the Senate and HOR approving such
increase.
Parliamentary Immunities
(Section 11)
Two Kinds of Immunities:
1. Immunity from arrest
 Ensures the representation of the
constituents of the member of the Congress
by preventing attempts to keep him from
attending sessions.
2. The privilege of speech and debate
 Enables the legislator to express
views bearing upon public interest without
fear of accountability outside the halls of the
legislature for his inability to support his
statements with the usual evidence required in
the court of justice.
Privilege from Arrest
 Covers not only civil arrests but also
arrests for criminal offenses punishable
by not more than 6 years imprisonment
 May not be invoked if the crime is
murder but is available in slight physical
injuries
 The immunity applies while the Congress
is in session
 Session- does not refer to the day to
day meetings of the legislature but
nto the entire period from its initial
convening until its final adjournment
Privilege of Speech and Debate
 Two requisites in order for a member of
the Congress to avail this privelege:
a) The remarks must be made
while in the legislature or the legislative
committee is functioning (in session)
b) That they must be made in
connection with the discharge of official
duties
Coffin v. Coffin: The privilege was denied to
a legislator who uttered slanderous remarks in
the course of a private conversation with a
constituent during a lull in the session
Jimenez c. Cabangbang: The privilege could
not be invoked by a legislator who allegedly
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Article VI
maligned the plaintiff in an open letter to the
President of the Philippines coursed through
and published in the newspapers
 He had written the letter at a time
when the Congress was in recess and
in his private capacity only.
 This privilege is not absolute
 The legislator may not be questioned
in “any other place “; therefore, he
may be called to account for his
remarks by his own colleagues in the
Congress itself and, when warranted,
punished for “disorderly behavior “
 Osmena v. Pendatun: The President
of the Philippines who had been
vilified by the petitioner could not
file civil or criminal action against
him because of his immunity BUT
the majority of the members of the
House of Reps in which the
questioned speech was delivered
declared Osmena guilty of disorderly
behavior amd suspending him in the
exercise of their disciplinary power
under Article 16(3)
 Pobre v. Defensor-Santiago: Even
Parliamentary Immunity must not be
allowed to be used as a vehicle to
ridicule, demean and destroy the
reputation of the Court and its
magistrates, nor as armor for
personal wrath and disgust.
 Parliamentary immunity is
not an individual privelege
accorded to the individual
members of the Parliament
or Congress for their
personal benefit, but rather a
privilege for the benefit of
the people and the
institution that represents
them
 The parliamentary non-
accountability is not to
protect them against
prosecutions for their own
benefit but to enable them,
as the people’s
representatives, to perform
the functions of their office
without fear of being made
responsible before the courts
or other forums outside the
congressional hall.
Conflict of Interest (Section 12)
 Reason: There are some persons who
may be tempted to run for Congress not
because of a desire to serve the people
but precisely for the protection or even
enhancement of their own interests.
 They will be prevented from using their
official positions for ulterior purposes or
self-aggrandizement by requiring them to
make at the outset of their financial and
business conncections or investments
Incompatible and Forbidden
Offices (Section 13)
Incompatible Office
 Holding any other office or employment
in the Government, or any subdivision,
agency, or instrumentality thereof,
including government-owned and
controlled corporations or subsidiaries
 Reason: To prevent member from owing
loyalty to another branch of government,
to the detriment of the independence of
the legislature and the doctine of
separation of powers
 Not an absolute rule: what is not allowed
is the simultaneous holding of that office
and the seat in the Congress.
 Any legislator may hold another
office or employment in the
government provided he forfeits his
position in Congress.
 Forfeiture of the legislator’s seat or
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Article VI
cessation of his tenure shall be
automatic upon the holding of the
incompatible office.
 Example: A congressman who was
elected provincial governor was
deemed to have automatically
forfeited his seat in the House of
Representatives when he took his
oath for the provincial office; no
resolution is required
 Term- time during which the officer may
claim to hold the office as of right, and
fixes the interval after which several
incumbents shall succeed one another
 Tenure- represents the period during
which the incumbent actually holds the
office
NOTE: Not every other office or
employment is to be regarded as incompatible
with the legislative position
 Example: membership in the
Electoral Tribunals is permitted by the
Constitution
 Moreover, if the holding of the
second office is shown as an extension of the
legislative position or is in aid of legislative
duties, the holding thereof will not result in
the loss of the legislator’s seat.
Forbidden Office
 Any office in the government that has
been created or the emoluments thereof
have been increased during his term.
 Purpose: to prevent trafficking in public
office
 Without this rule, certain legislators
especially those not sure of re-election
might arrange for their appointment in
order to provide for their future security
at the expense of public service.
 This provision does not apply to elective
offices which are filled by the voters
NOTE: The appointment of the member of
the Congress to the forbidden office is not
allowed only during the term for which he
was elected, when such office was created or
its emoluments were increased. After ssuch
term, and even if the legislator is re-elected,
the disqualification no longer supplies and he
may therefore be appointed to the office.
Inhibitions and Disqualifications
(Section 14)
 Appearance of the legislator is now
barred before all courts of justice,
regardless of rank, composition, or
jurisdiction.
 The disqualification also applies to the
revived Electoral Tribunals and to all
administrative bodies like, the Securities
and Exchange Commissionand the
National Labor Relations Commission.
 Courts martial and military tribunals
being administrative agencies are
included.
 Purpose of disqualification: to prevent
the legislator from exerting undue
influence, deliberately or not, upon the
body where he is appearing.
NOTE: The appearance is enough to reward
or punish a judge deciding his case or, in the
case of the Electoral Tribunals, his close
association with its members
NOTE: A lawyer-legislator may still engage
in the practice of his profession except that
when it comes to trials and hearings before
the bodies above-mentioned, appearance may
be made not by him but by some other
member of his law office.
 Legislators are prohibited from being
financially interested in any contract with
the government or any subdivision,
agency or instrumentality thereof,
including government-owned or
controlled corporations, or any franchise
or special privilege granted by any of
these during their term of office.
 Purpose: to prevent the influence
they can easily exercise in obtaining
these concessions
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Article VI
NOTE: Not every transaction with the
government is barred by this provision. The
contracts referred to here are those involving
“financial interest “(contracts from which the
legislator expects to derive some profit at the
expense of government)
Example: a contract for public works or
the sale of office equipment or supplies to the
governemnt.
Sessions (Section 15)
 A mandatory recess is prescribed for the
30-day period before the opening of the
next regular session, excluding
Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays
 This is the minimum period of recess
and may be lengthened by the
Congress in its discretion
 It may be called in special session at
any time by the president
 The President’s call is not necessary in
some instances, as when the Congress
meets to canvass the presidential
elections or to call a special election
when both the Presidency and Vice
Presidency are vacated, or when it
decides to exercise the power of
impeachment, particularly where the
respondent is the President himself.
 Araneta v. Dinglasan: In a special
session, the Congress may consider
general legislation or only subjects as the
President may designate. In a regular
session, the power of the Congress is not
circumscribed except by limitations
imposed by organic law.
Officers (Section 16 par. 1)
 The President of the Senate and the
Speaker of the House of Reps do not
have a fixed term and may be replaced at
any time at the pleasure of a majority of
all its members of their respective
chambers
 The legislative heads in a Presidential
system are highly political officers whose
continued incumbency will depend upon
the partisan alignments of their collegues.
 Other officers chosen:
 Senate President pro tempore
 Speaker pro tempore
 Majority and minority floor leaders
 Chairmen of the various stainding
and special committees
 Secretary and sergeant-at-arms (Non-
members of the legislature)
Quorum (Section 16 paragraph 2)
 Quorum is defined as any number
sufficient to transact business which may
be less than the majority of the
membership
 In the 1987 constitution, it is required
that the quorum be a majority of each
House.
 Within a quorum, a vote of majority is
generally sufficient to enact laws or
approve acts.
Discipline of Members (Section
16 paragraph 3)
 Rules of proceedings are needed for the
orderly conduct of the sessions of the
Congress.
 Unless such rulesviolate fundamental or
individual rights, they are within the
exclusive discretion of each House to
formulate and interpret and may not be
judicially reversed.
 The authority to discipline members of
the House is an inherent power with a
concurrence of only a majority vote.
NOTE: The Courts may annul any expulsion
or suspension of a member that is not
concurred in by at least 2/3 of the entire body
or any suspension meted out by the
legislature, even with the required 2/3 vote, as
to any period in exceess of the 60-day
maximum duration. (These are justiciable
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Article VI
matters)
 The definition of the term “disorderly
behavior “ is the prerogative of the
Congress and cannot as a rule be
judicially reviewed.
 This matter comes in the category of
a political question
 Other disciplinary measures:
 Expulsion
 Supension
 Deletion of unparliamentary remarks
from the record
 Fine
 Imprisonment
 Censure / soft impeachment
Journals (Section 16, Paragraph 4)
 Journals are a record of what is done and
past in a legislative assembly
 Useful in:
 Authenticating proceedings
 Interpretation of laws through study
of debates
 Informing the people of the official
conduct of respective legislators
 The constitution requires that journals be
published from time to time excepting
such parts as may affect national security,
which ought to be divulged to the public
in general.
 What is required to be entered in Journal:
 Votes with respect to the
consideration of bills on the third
reading
 Recording of the objections of the
President when he vetoes the bill as
well as the votes cast by the
Members of each house in their
reconsideration of a bill veteod by
the President
 Vote of each member of HOR
regarding the Articles of
Impeachment proposed by its
committee which hears an impeach
complaint.
 At the request of at least 1/5 of the
members present, the yeas and nays on
any question shall be entered in the
journal.
 In case of conflict, the contents of the
enrolled bill shall prevail over those of
the journal.
 Enrolled bill- one which has been
duly introduced, finally passed by
both houses, signed by the proper
officers of each, approved by the
President and filed by the secretary
of the state.
 An enrolled copy of a bill is
conclusive not only of its provisions
but also its due enactment.
 The Journal is only a resume or the
minutes of what transpired during a
legislative session. The record is the
word-for-word transcript of the
proceedings taken during the session
(Astroga v. Villegas)
Adjournment (Section 16,
paragraph 5)
 Bicameralism: collaboration and
coordination between the two chambers
 It is necessary that there be prior
agreement before either of the bodies
decide to adjourn for more than three
days
 One House should not adjourn to a place
other than where both chambers are
sitting, without the consent of the other.
 “Place “-refers not to the building but to
the political unit where the two houses
may be sitting
The Electoral Tribunals (Section
17)
 9 Members (3 Justices of SC to be
designated by Chief Justice and 6 shall be
members of the Senate or House of
Representatives)
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Article VI
 The seats in the electoral tribunals are
apportioned among all the parties
represented in each chamber including
the party-list members.
 This favors the multi-party system as
against two-party system which the
original rule sought to
institutionalize
 Although the Electoral Tribunals are
predominantly legislative in membership
and the provision creating them is found
in Article VI on the legislative
department, it is not correct to say that
they are mere adjuncts of the Congress
 In fact they are independent of the
legislature in the discharge of their
constitutional duties
 Angara v. Electoral Commission: the
respondent body has the exclusive
right to prescribe its own rules of
procedure as against earlier adopted
by the legislature itself
 Moreno v. Bocar: The decisions
rendered by the Electoral Tribunals
in the contests mentioned in this
section, of which they are the sole
judge, are not appealable to the
Supreme Court except in cases where
there is a clear showing of a grave
abuse of discretion.
 Duenas v. HRET: Grave abuse of
discretion must be clearly shown, the
fact that the three Supreme Court
Justices did not took part in its
decisions cannot be taken as proof of
grave abuse of discretion
Independence of Electoral Tribunals:
Bondoc v. Pineda: As judges, the members of
the Tribunal must be non-partisan. They must
discharge their functions with complete
detachment, impartiality and independence-
even independence from the political party to
which they belong.
NOTE: The decisions of the COMELEC,
HRET and SET are still subject to judicial
review-via petiotion for certiorari filed by the
proper party-if there is a clear showing that
the decision was rendered with grave abuse of
discretion tantamount to lack or excess of
jurisdiction (Macalintal v. Presidential
Electoral Tribunal)
Jurisdiction of Electoral Tribunal:
Limkaichong v. COMELEC:
 The jurisdiction of an Electoral Tribunal
begins once a winning candidate has been
proclaimed, taken his oath, and asumed
office, for it is only after the occurence of
these events that a candidate can be
considered as either a Member of HOR
or a Senator.
Reyes v. Commission on Elections
 The jurisdiciton of HRET begins only
after the candidate is considered a
Member of the House of Representatives.
 To be considered a Member of the House
of Representatives, there must be a
concurrence of the following requisites:
a) A valid proclamation
b) A proper oath
c) Assumption of office
NOTE: Proper oath can only be taken by a
new Member of the House of Representatives
only once it convenes, which would be on the
fourth Monday of July, because that is the
only time that Congress may meet in Open
session.
NOTE: The oath and assumption of office of
a proclaimed candidate cannot be done prior
to the thirtieth day of June next following
their election as the terms of their
predecessors would, before said time and date
had not yet expired.
HOWEVER: To adhere to the rules laid
down in the Reyes case would necessarily
entail the revision by the HRET of its rules
prescribing the deadlines for the filing of
election protests and petitions for quo
warranto before it.
 At present, said rules require the
filing of such election protests and
petitions for quo warranto withing 15
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Article VI
days from the proclamation of the  The provision is based on the need to
winning candidates. enable the President to exercise his
 Said 15 days would well expire appointing power with dispatch in
before noon of the thirtieth day of coordination with the Commission on
June next following their election Appointments
 On this basis, the HRET can be said  The rule that the Comm. On
to possess jurisdiction over Appointments can meet only during the
candidates for the HOR who have sessions of the Congress is the reason
been proclaimed as winners upon why ad interim appointments are
their proclamation, without need for permitted under the Constitution.
them to first take their oaths and  Unless it is organized, no appointment
actually assume office. can be made by the President in the
NOTE: The HRET would obviosuly not have meantime.
jursidiction over the qualifications of
candidates who have not been proclaimed as
winners, including nominees of winning
parties in party-list elections who have not
qualified to represent the same in view of the
maximum number of representatives assigned
for each of the parties.
 Niether would it have jurisdiction
over the parties themselves
 It would only be the COMELEC
which may entertain petitions for
disqualification of said national,
regional or sectoral parties,
organizations or coalitions or for the
cancellation of registration.

The Commission on
Appointments (Section 18)
 Consists of Senate President as ex officio
member, 12 senators, 12 members of the
house of reps, elected by each House.
 All appointments submitted to the
Commission must be acted upon within
thrity session days from their submission.
 NOTE: Ad Interim appointments not
acted upon at the time of the adjournment
of the Congress, even if the thrity-day
period has not yet expired, are deemed
by-passed.

Organization (Section 19)