THE LEGISLATIVE

BRANCH OF THE
PHILIPPINE
GOVERNMENT
Congress As a Respiratory of
Legislative Power
 Article VI, Section 1 of the Constitution states that legislative
power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines, which
shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives. This
constitutional provision clearly points to Congress as vested with
legislative power or the power to make, amend or even repeal
laws. The role of Congress is vital considering that laws are
essential in regulating the relations of people among themselves
and the government. Laws are needed in society for the
following reasons: to protect the lives, rights and property of the
people; to impose taxes for the operation of the government; to
define crimes and punishments for crimes; to create and abolish
government offices; and to regulate human conduct and use of
property for the welfare of society.
The Composition of Philippine
Congress
 Philippine Congress is a
bicameral legislature. It consists
of two chambers, the Upper
House or Senate and the Lower
House or the House of
Representatives.
The Senate
 24 Senators
 12 Senators are elected every three years
 Each has a term of six years
 The term of a senator, as provided for in the
constitution, starts at noon on the 30th day of June
following their election
 The Constitution also limits their stay in the to no
more than two consecutive terms.
The House of Representatives
 Composed of not more than 250 members, unless otherwise
fixed by the law, who shall be elected from legislative districts
and through a party-list system
 Shall have a term of three years
 The Representatives of legislative districts are elected from the
provinces, cities and Metropolitan Manila area
 Article VI of the Constitution specifically allocates one
representative for every city with a population of at least
250,000
 Article VI, Section 5 of the 1987 Constitution provides that out of
total number of Members, 20% shall come from Party-List
representatives, one-half of which shall be filled by sectoral
representatives for the first three terms.
Qualifications of the Members of the
Philippine Congress (Article VI, Sec. 4)

 Must be a natural born Filipino citizen

 At least 35 years old on the day of the election
 Able to read and write
 A registered voter
 A resident of the Philippines for not less than
two years, immediately preceding the election
House of Representatives
 Must be a natural born Filipino citizen
 At least 25 years old on the day of the election
 Able to read and write
 A registered voter in the district for which he
shall be elected, except for party list
representatives
 A resident of the Philippines for not less than
one years, immediately preceding the election
Common Provisions
for Members of
Congress
Parliamentary Immunity
 A senator or any member of the House of
Representatives enjoys freedom of arrest while
Congress is in session to enable him to perform his
work adequately. Thus, no member of Congress can
be questioned or held liable for any speech or debate
in Congress or any of its working committees. This
privilege, however, can be invoked when Congress is
no longer in session and when the offense requiring
arrest is punishable by more than 6 years of
imprisonment.
Common Obligations
 All members of the Senate an the house
of Representatives, upon assumption
into office are required to make a full
disclosure of their assets and liabilities.
They are required to notify the House
concerned of the potential conflict of
interest that may arise from the filing of
a propose legislation of which they are
the author.
Common Prohibitions and Disabilities
 No Senator or Member of the House Representatives
may hold any other office or employment in the
Government, or any subdivision, agency, or
instrumentality thereof, including government-owned
or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries, during
his term, without giving up his seat in Congress. The
fundamental charter also prohibits a member of
Congress to be appointed to any office, which may
have been created or the emoluments increased
during his term for which he was elected.
Sessions
 Congress shall convene once every year on the fourth
Monday of July for its regular session, unless a
different date is fixed by the law, and shall continue in
session for such number of days as it may determine
until 30 days before the opening of its next regular
session. Both chambers also have executive sessions
or sessions in any of their working committees.
Nonetheless, the President may call a special session
at any time when needed owing to crises or
emergencies to address.
Officers
 Both chambers of Congress elect its officers
by a majority vote of all its respective
members. The officers of the Senate are the
following: Senate President Pro-Tempore; the
Majority Leader. On the other hand, the
officers of the House of Representatives are
the following: Speaker of the House; Deputy
Speaker; and the Minority Leader.
Quorum
 A majority of each House constitutes a
quorum to do business. The rule
observed in both houses is one-half plus
one. Thus, 13 senators constitute the
quorum for Senate and 126
congressmen, for the House of
Representatives.
Rules
 Each chamber of Philippine Congress
determines the rules of its proceedings,
discipline members for disorderly
behavior, and with concurrence of two-
thirds of its members suspend or expel a
member. Suspension, however, should
not exceed 60 days.
House Journal and Record
 Each chamber of Congress is required to keep
and publish a journal of its proceedings.
Congress, likewise, obliges the two chambers
to maintain a Record of its proceedings. The
difference between a journal and a record is
that latter presents verbatim the actual
proceedings in both chambers of Congress.
Adjournment
 Senate nor the House of
Representatives during the sessions
of Congress shall without consent of
the other, adjourn for more than
three days, nor to any other place
than that in which the two
chambers are sitting.
POWERS OF
CONGRESS
General Legislative Power
 This power of Congress consists of laws
intended to serve as rule of conduct in
governing relations between individuals
or between individuals and the state.
Examples of these laws are civil laws,
commercial laws, criminal laws, and
political laws.
Implied Powers
 These powers are essential to the
effective exercise of other powers
granted by the Constitution to Congress.
The power to conduct injury in aid of
legislation, through its Blue Ribbon
Committee, is within the ambit of the
implied power of Congress.
Inherent Powers
 These are the powers which though not
expressly given are nonetheless exercised by
the Congress as they are necessary for its
existence such as:
 To determine the rules of proceedings;
 To compel attendance of absent members to obtain
quorum to do business; and
 To keep journal of its proceedings.
Specific Legislative Powers
 Power to appropriate through the passage of the General
Appropriation Act;
 Power to act as constituent assembly or introduce amendments
to the fundamental law by a vote of three-fourths of all its
members;
 Power to impeach, to be initiated by the House of
Representatives;
 Power to confirm treaties by two-thirds vote of all senators;
 Power to declare the existence of war by 2/3 vote from both
houses in joint session voting separately;
 Power to concur amnesty;
 Power to act as board of canvasser for presidential/vice-
presidential votes.
Executive Power
 Appointment of its officers;
 Affirming treaties by two-thirds vote of the
members of senate;
 Confirming presidential appointees through
the Commission on Appointments; and
 Removal power.
Supervisory Power
 To decide the creation of a
department/agency/office;
 To define powers and duties of officers;
 To appropriate funds for governmental
operations; and
 To prescribe rules and procedure to be
followed.
Electoral Power
 Elect its presiding officer/s and other officers
of the House;
 Act as board of canvassers for the canvass of
presidential/vice-presidential votes; and
 Elect the President in case of any electoral tie
to the said post.
Judicial Power
 To expel and suspend its erring members;
 To initiate contempt proceeding in the
Congress;
 To concur and approve amnesty declared by
the President of the Philippines;
 To initiate, prosecute and thereafter decide
cases of impeachment; and
 To decide electoral protests of its members
through the respective electoral Tribunal.
Miscellaneous Powers
 To authorize the Commission on Audit to audit fund
and property;
 To authorize the President of the Philippines to fix
tariff rates, quotas, and dues;
 To authorize the President of the Philippines to
formulate rules and regulations in times of
emergency;
 To reapportion legislative districts based on
established constitutional standards;
 To implement laws on autonomy;
 To establish a national language commission;
Miscellaneous Powers
 To implement free public secondary education;
 To allow small scale utilization of natural
resources;
 To specify the limits of forest lands and
national parks;
 To determine the ownerships and extent of
ancestral domain; and
 To establish independent economic and
planning agency.
The Electoral Tribunal and The
Commission on Appointments
 Each tribunal is composed of 9 members, 3 of whom are the
Justices of the Supreme Court, and the remaining 6 are chosen
by each chamber.
 The senior Justice in the tribunal serves as the chairperson.
 Each member also appoints its members to the Commission on
Appointments.
 It is compose of the Senate President as ex officio Chair, 12
Senators and 12 Representatives.
 A member of the Tribunal and of the Commission cannot be a
chairperson of any standing committee.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
 Lawmakers file bills on issue areas of their concern,
although bills on international agreements and
treaties are traditionally initiated by the Senate.
Nonetheless, bills on appropriations and those
authorizing increase in public debts originate from the
House of Representatives.
 A bill is an outline of a proposed law from the time it is
introduced in either chambers of Congress. After
research and studies have been conducted by the
staff and the legislators themselves, the bill goes
through the legislative mill and has to pass three
readings before it becomes a law.
Introduction of the Bill
 Bills are signed by the author and filed in
four copies; delivered to the secretary of
the Chamber of origin.
 A bill number is assigned by the
Secretariat.
 The bill is calendared for introduction and
first reading. This is done within the first
three session days from the day it is filed.
First Reading

 The Secretary of the Chamber reads the bill, its number, long
title, and its author(s).
Committee Referral and Action
 The presiding officer of the session refers the bill to the
appropriate committee.
 The committee schedules and conducts meetings and public
hearings; reports the consolidated bills on the same subject or
the substitute bill; or gives notice to the author(s) if action is
unfavorable.
Second Reading
 The bill goes through a second reading after which a
committee report on the subject is read.
 On the second reading, the following takes place:
 Period of Debate: Sponsorship Speech; Interpellation; Turno
en Contra
 Period of Amendments: Committee Amendments; Individual
Amendments
 Voting, which may be by viva voce; raising of hands; division
of the house; nominal or roll call.
Third Reading
 The bill on the third reading is subjected
to a viva voce vote.
 The secretary General signs a
certification and sends the bill to the
Secretary of the chamber. The bill is sent
to the other house (the bill goes through
first, second and third readings in the
second chamber.
Conference Committee
 The bill is returned to the chamber of
origin for votes to amendments
recommended by the other chamber.
 The bill is sent for consideration to a
conference committee if the changes
recommended by the other chamber are
not accepted by the chamber where the
bill originated.
Presidential Action
 The bill is sent for Presidential approval if it passes both
chambers after the reconciliation of differences of the different
versions of the bills in the Conference Committee.
 The bill becomes a law after it is signed by the President, or after
30 days from the day of submission for Presidential action and
the President takes no action.
If the President vetoes the bill:
 It is returned to the chamber of origin together with his/her
objections.
 Objections are entered in the Journal and sent back for
reconsideration.
 Two-thirds of the members of the chamber of origin can pass the
bill to the other chamber; if approved by two thirds of the
members of that chamber, the presidential veto is overridden
and the bill becomes a law.
Based on the foregoing discussion, it is clear
that a bill passed by congress can become a law
in three ways:
 Expressed Approval. A bill becomes a law the
moment the President stamps her signature of
approval.
 Approval Through Inaction. If the President fails to
act on the bill within 30 days from its receipt, the bill
automatically becomes a law.
 Overriding the Presidential Veto by Congress. By
two-thirds vote of all members of the Senate and
House of Representatives, Congress can override the
presidential veto of a proposed legislation.
 Thank You 
Credits to the book about the Philippine Government (I forgot the
name of the book, im sorry)