PRESENTATION TITLE

1
The Legislative Branch
of Government-The
Philippine Senate and
The House of
Representatives
OBJECTIVES
At the end of discussion the students shall be
able to:
a)identify the features of the Philippine Senate
and House of Representatives in the
government; and
b)discuss the roles and responsibilities of the
Philippine Senate and the House of
Representatives.
THE CONGRESS
Directions: Before we proceed with the lesson,
list eight (8) important characteristics that a
member of the rule-making body should
possess.Each characteristic should start with
each letter in the word CONGRESS.
C
O
N
G
R
E
S
S
 Essential Features
of the Legislative
Branch of Philippine
Government
The Official Gazette of the Philippine Government mentioned the
following essential features of the Legislative Branch or Philippine
Congress as indicated in Article VI of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution:

Legislative power shall be vested in Philippine Congress.

It is a bicameral legislature consisting of two chambers or houses-

the Upper House known as the Senate and the Lower House which is
also called the House of Representatives.
By a vote of two-thirds of both Houses in joint session assembled,
voting separately, Philippine Congress shall have the sole power to
declare the existence of a state of war.

The Senate shall elect its President and the House of

Representatives its Speaker, by a majority vote of all its respective
Members.

The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an

Electoral Tribunal which shall be the sole judge of all contests
relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their
respective Members
The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its
respective committees may conduct inquiries in aid of
legislation in accordance with its duly published rules of
procedure.

Philippine Congress confirms or rejects Presidential

appointments.
Composition of the
Philippine Senate
According to The Official Gazette of the Philippine Government,
the following pertain to the composition of the Philippine Senate
as indicated in Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution:

Lawmakers in the Senate are called Senators.

The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four (24) Senators who

shall be elected at large or nationwide through popular election by
the qualified voters of the Philippines, as may be provided by law.

Through synchronized elections, 12 senators are elected every three

(3) years.
Terms of Office of
Philippine Senators
 Terms of Office of Philippine
Senators
The term of office of the Senators shall be six years and shall commence, unless otherwise
provided by law, at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following their election.

No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms.

The regular election of the Senators shall be held on the second Monday of May. - In case
of vacancy in the Senate, a special election may be called to fill such vacancy in the manner
prescribed by law, but the Senator thus elected shall serve only for the unexpired term.
Qualifications of
Senator
 Qualifications of Senator

a resident of
the
a natural-
at least is able to Philippines
born citizen a registered
thirty-five read and for not less
of the voter; and
years old; write than two
Philippines;
years before
election day.
Composition of The
House of
Representatives
 Composition of The House of
Representatives
Lawmakers The House of Representatives
shall be composed of not more The party-list
composing the than two hundred and fifty representatives
House of members, unless otherwise shall constitute
Representative fixed by law, who shall be twenty per centum
s are called elected from legislative of the total number
Representative districts apportioned among the of representatives
s or provinces, cities, and the including those
Metropolitan Manila area in under the party list.
Congressmen/C accordance with the number of
ongresswomen. their respective inhabitants.
https://www.congress.gov.ph/members/
 Terms of Office of Members
of House of Representatives
• A Representative can serve for not more than
three consecutive terms.
• The Members of the House of
Representatives shall be elected for a term
of three years which shall begin, unless
otherwise provided by law, at noon on the
thirtieth day of June next following their
election.
• No Member of the House of Representatives shall
serve for more than three consecutive terms.
• The regular election of the Members of the House
of Representatives shall be held on the second
Monday of May.
• In case of vacancy in the House of Representatives,
a special election may be called to fill such vacancy in
the manner prescribed by law, but the Member of
the House of Representatives thus elected shall
serve only for the unexpired term.
 Qualifications of Member of the
House of Representatives
1. a natural-born citizen of the Philippines;

2. at least twenty-five years old;

3. is able to read and write; and

4. except the party-list representatives, a registered voter and a resident for at

least one year in the district where s/he shall be elected.
 Legislative Process
According to The Official Gazette of the Philippine Government, the
Philippine Congress is responsible for making enabling laws.

This role is important to ensure that the spirit of the constitution is

upheld in the country and laws are essential in regulating the
interactions of people among themselves and with the government.

The legislative body comes out with two main documents in order to
craft laws: bills and resolutions.
RESOLUTION

• According to Cornell Law School, in the context of a

legislative practice, “resolution” is just a form in which
a legislative body expresses an opinion or a purpose with
respect to a given matter or topic that is temporary in
nature. It denotes the adoption of a motion, the
subject-matter of which does not constitute a statute.
• Resolutions convey principles and sentiments of the
Senate or the House of Representatives. These
resolutions can further be divided into three different
elements:
 These resolutions can further be divided into three
different elements:

Joint Resolutions — require the approval of both chambers of Congress and the signature of the
President, and have the force and effect of a law if approved.

Concurrent Resolutions — used for matters affecting the operations of both chambers of
Congress and must be approved in the same form by both houses, but are not transmitted to the
President for his signature and therefore have no force and effect of a law.

Simple Resolutions — deal with matters entirely within the prerogative of one
chamber of Congress, are not referred to the President for his signature, and
therefore have no force and effect of a law.
BILLS

• Bills are laws in the making.

• They pass into law when they are approved by both
houses and the President of the Philippines.
• A bill may be vetoed by the President, but the
House of Representatives may overturn a
presidential veto by garnering a 2/3rds vote. If
the President does not act on a proposed law
submitted by Congress, it will lapse into law after
30 days of receipt
EXCLUSIVE ROLE OF PHILIPPINE
CONGRESS
• The Philippine Congress has an exclusive and a very important role
concerning the accountability of public officers as indicated in
Article XI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution which can be found
at the webpage of The Official Gazette of the Philippine
Government.
• Specifically, the role pertains to the process of removing the
President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme
Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the
Ombudsman in their respective positions. This process is called
impeachment and shall be grounded on the culpable violation of
the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other
high crimes, or betrayal of public trust by the above-mentioned
public officials.
• All cases of impeachment shall be initiated at the House of
Representatives.
• The Senate tries and shall decide on all cases and if the President
of the Philippines is facing the impeachment case, the Chief
Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court will preside but shall not
vote.
• If the case involves the Vice-President, the Members of the
Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions,
and the Ombudsman, the Senate President shall preside.
• No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-
thirds of all the Members of the Senate.
 LEGISLATIVE
PROCESS - How A Bill
Becomes A Law
LEGISLATIVE PROCESS - How A Bill Becomes A Law

1. PREPARATION OF THE BILL

• The Member or the Bill Drafting Division of the Reference and

Research Bureau prepares and drafts the bill upon the Member's
request.

2. FIRST READING
1. The bill is filed with the Bills and Index Service and the same is numbered and
reproduced.
2.Three days after its filing, the same is included in the Order of Business for First
Reading.
3.On First Reading, the Secretary General reads the title and number of the bill. The
Speaker refers the bill to the appropriate Committee/s.
3. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION/ACTION
1.The Committee where the bill was referred to evaluates it to
determine the necessity of conducting public hearings. If the
Committee finds it necessary to conduct public hearings, it
schedules the time thereof, issues public notices and invites
resource persons from the public and private sectors, the academe
and experts on the proposed legislation. If the Committee finds
that no public hearing is not needed, it schedules the bill for
Committee discussion/s.
2.Based on the result of the public hearings or Committee
discussions, the Committee may introduce amendments, consolidate
bills on the same subject matter, or propose a subsitute bill. It
then prepares the corresponding committee report.
3.The Committee approves the Committee Report and formally
transmits the same to the Plenary Affairs Bureau.
4. SECOND READING

1.The Committee Report is registered and numbered by the Bills and Index
Service. It is included in the Order of Business and referred to the
Committee on Rules.
2.The Committee on Rules schedules the bill for consideration on Second
Reading.
3.On Second Reading, the Secretary General reads the number, title and
text of the bill and the following takes place:
• Period of Sponsorship and Debate
• Period of Amendments
• Voting which may be by:
1.viva voce
2.count by tellers
3.division of the House; or
4.nominal voting
5. THIRD READING
1.The amendments, if any, are engrossed and printed copies of the bill
are reproduced for Third Reading.
2.The engrossed bill is included in the Calendar of Bills for Third
Reading and copies of the same are distributed to all the Members
three days before its Third Reading.
3.On Third Reading, the Secretary General reads only the number and
title of the bill.
4.A roll call or nominal voting is called and a Member, if he desires, is
given three minutes to explain his vote. No amendment on the bill is
allowed at this stage.
a)The bill is approved by an affirmative vote of a majority of the
Members present.
b)If the bill is disapproved, the same is transmitted to the Archives.
6. TRANSMITTAL OF THE APPROVED BILL TO THE
SENATE

• The approved bill is transmitted to the Senate for its concurrence.

7. SENATE ACTION ON APPROVED BILL OF THE

HOUSE

• The bill undergoes the same legislative process in the Senate.

8. CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

1. A Conference Committee is constituted and is composed of Members from

each House of Congress to settle, reconcile or thresh out differences or
disagreements on any provision of the bill.
2.The conferees are not limited to reconciling the differences in the bill but
may introduce new provisions germane to the subject matter or may report
out an entirely new bill on the subject.
3.The Conference Committee prepares a report to be signed by all the
conferees and the Chairman.
4.The Conference Committee Report is submitted for consideration/approval
of both Houses. No amendment is allowed.

9. TRANSMITTAL OF THE BILL TO THE PRESIDENT

• Copies of the bill, signed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives and certified by both the Secretary of the Senate
and the Secretary General of the House, are transmitted to the President.
10. PRESIDENTIAL ACTION ON THE BILL

1. If the bill is approved the President, the same is assigned an RA number and
transmitted to the House where it originated.
2.If the bill is vetoed, the same, together with a message citing the reason for the
veto, is transmitted to the House where the bill originated.

11. ACTION ON APPROVED BILL

• The bill is reproduced and copies are sent to the Official Gasette Office for
publication and distribution to the implementing agencies. It is then included in the
annual compilation of Acts and Resolutions.

12. ACTION ON VETOED BILL

• The message is included in the Order of Business. If the Congress decides to

override the veto, the House and the Senate shall proceed separately to reconsider
the bill or the vetoed items of the bill. If the bill or its vetoed items is passed by a
vote of two-thirds of the Members of each House, such bill or items shall become a
law.
NOTE: A joint resolution having the force and effect of a law goes
through the same process.
 OUTPUT:MY PROPOSED BILL
INSTRUCTION : Suppose you are a legislator in the Philippine Congress.
Propose at least five (5) bills that you would like to be approved into a law.
Use the following format: (SHORT COUPON BOND )

Title of the Bill Purpose

Example: Study Now Pay Later Bill To provide financial assistance to
deserving but poor students for
their education with the condition
that they will serve the country
after finishing their degree.
SOURCES
• https://www.rappler.com/tachyon/r3-
assets/612F469A6EA84F6BAE882D2B94A4B421/img/84CAAED020344338
A3FCCB1540A2BE79/congress-senate-20160724-001.jpg
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/Senate_of_the_Phili
ppines_traditional_photo_19th_Congress.jpg
• https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/resolution
• https://www.congress.gov.ph/legisinfo/