UNIT VII

THE LEGISLATIVE

LESSON 1:
THE ROLES AND
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE
PHILIPPINE SENATE AND THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 THE LEGISLASTIVE

According to the 1987 Constitution,

legislative power shall be vested in
the Congress of the Philippines,
which shall consist of a Senate and a
House of Representatives.
THE CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES

 The Congress of the Philippines is the

national legislature of the Philippines. It is
a bicameral body consisting of the Senate
(upper chamber), and the House of
Representatives (lower chamber) although
commonly in the Philippines the term
congress refers to the latter.
 THE SENATE

The Senate is composed of 24

senators half of which are elected
every three years. Each senator,
therefore, serves a total of six years.
The senators are elected by the whole
electorate and do not represent any
geographical district.
 THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House of Representatives is

currently composed of 297
congressmen. Sec. 5 Art. VI of the
Constitution states that the House
"shall be composed of not more than
250 members, unless otherwise fixed
by law..."
THE DISTRICT CONGRESSMEN

 There are two types of congressmen: the

district and the sectoral representatives.
The district congressmen represent a
particular geographical district of the
country. All provinces in the country are
composed of at least one congressional
district. Several cities also have their own
congressional districts, with some
composed of two or more representatives.
THE SECTORAL CONGRESSMEN

 The sectoral congressmen represent the

minority sectors of the population. This
enables these minority groups to be
represented in the Congress, when they
would otherwise not be represented
properly through district representation.
Also known as party-list representatives,
sectoral congressmen represent labor
unions, rights groups, and other
organizations.
 ARTICLE VI – THE LEGISLATIVE
DEPARTMENT
 The legislative power shall be
Section 1:
vested in the Congress of the Philippines
which shall consist of a Senate and a
House of Representatives, except to the
extent reserved to the people by the
provision on initiative and referendum.
 LEGISLATIVE POWER:

Legislative Power is the authority

under the constitution to make
laws and to alter or repeal them.
 SENATE: COMPOSITION AND
QUALIFICATION
 Sections 2. The Senate shall be composed of
twenty-four Senators who shall be elected at large by
the qualified voters of the Philippines, as may be
provided for by law.
 Section 3. No person shall be a Senator unless he is a
natural-born citizen of the Philippines, and, on the day
of the election, is at least 35 years of age, able to read
and write, a registered voter, and a resident of the
Philippines for not less than 2 years immediately
preceding the day of the election.
THE TERM OF OFFICE OF THE SENATORS

Section 4. The term of office of the Senators

shall be six years and shall commence, unless
otherwise provided by law, at noon on the 30th
day of June next following their election.
No Senator shall serve for more than two
consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation of the
office for any length of time shall not be
considered as an interruption in the continuity of
his service for the full term for which he was
elected.
 HOR: COMPOSITION AND TYPES

 Section 5. The House of representatives shall be

composed of not more than 250 members, unless
otherwise fixed by law, who shall be elected from
legislative districts apportioned among the provinces,
cities, and the Metropolitan Manila area in accordance
with the number of their respective inhabitants, and
on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio, and
those who, as provided by law, shall be elected
through a party-list system of registered national,
regional and sectoral parties or organizations.
 HOR: QUALIFICATIONS

 Section 6. No person shall be a member of the House

of Representatives unless he is a natural born citizen of
the Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at
least 25 years of age, able to read and write, and
except the party-list representatives, a registered voter
in the district in which he shall be elected, and a
resident thereof for a period of not less than 1 year
immediately preceding the day of the election.
 HOR: TERM OF OFFICE
 Section 7. The members of the House of Representatives shall
be elected for a term of 3 years which shall begin, unless
otherwise provided by law, at noon on the 30th day of June next
following their election.
 No member of the House of Representative shall serve for a
period of more than 3 consecutive terms. Voluntary
renunciation of the office for any length of time shall not be
considered as an interruption in the continuity of his service for
the full term for which he was elected.
POWERS OF
CONGRESS
A. GENERAL LEGISLATIVE
It consists of the enactment of laws
intended as a rule of conduct to
govern the relation between
individuals (i.e., civil laws,
commercial laws, etc.) or between
individuals and the state (i.e., criminal
law, political law, etc.)
 B.IMPLIED POWERS

It is essential to the effective

exercise of other powers
expressly granted to the assembly.
 C.INHERENT POWERS

These are the powers which though not

expressly given are nevertheless 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;
to keep journal of its proceedings; etc.
 D. SPECIFIC LEGISLATIVE POWERS

Ithas reference to powers which the

Constitution expressly and
specifically directs to perform or
execute.
 IT INCLUDES THE FF.
CATEGORIES:
 Power to appropriate;
 Power to act as constituent assembly; (The Senate
and the House of Representatives must convene and
vote on joint or separate session to do this.
 Power to impeach; (to initiate all cases of
impeachment is the power of the House of
Representatives; To try all cases of impeachment is
the power of the Senate.)
 Power to confirm treaties; (Only the Senate is
authorized to use this power.)
Power to declare the existence of war;
(The Senate and the House of
Representatives must convene in joint
session to do this.)
Power to concur amnesty; and
Power to act as board of canvasser for
presidential/vice-presidential votes. (By
creating a joint congressional committee
to do the canvassing.)
Power to contempt
Blending of power
Delegation of power
Budgetary power
Power to taxation
 E. EXECUTIVE POWERS

Powers of the Congress that are

executive in nature are:
Appointment of its officers;
Affirming treaties;
Confirming presidential appointees
through the Commission on
Appointments;
Removal power; etc.
 F. SUPERVISORY POWERS

The Congress of the Philippines exercises

considerable control and supervision over the
administrative branch - e.g.:
To decide the creation of a
department/agency/office;
To define powers and duties of officers;
To appropriate funds for governmental operations;
To prescribe rules and procedure to be followed;
etc.
 G. ELECTORAL POWERS

Considered as electoral power of the Congress

of the Philippines is the Congress’ power to:
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.
 H. JUDICIAL POWERS
 Constitutionally, each house has judicial powers:
 To punish its Members for disorderly behavior,
and, with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its
Members, suspend or expel a Member
 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.
 I. MISCELLANEOUS POWERS
 The other powers of Congress mandated by the
Constitution are as follows:
 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;
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.
LAWMAKING
PROCESS
 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.
 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.
 COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION /
ACTION
 1. The Committee where the bill was referred
to evaluates it to determine the necessity of
conducting public hearings.
 2. 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.
 3. If the Committee determines that public hearing is
not needed, it schedules the bill for Committee
discussion/s.
 a. 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 substitute bill. It then prepares the
corresponding committee report.
 b. The Committee approves the Committee Report
and formally transmits the same to the Plenary Affairs
Bureau.
 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

 a. viva voce

 b. count by tellers

 c. division of the House

 d. nominal voting
 THIRD READING
 a. The amendments, if any, are engrossed and printed copies of
the bill are reproduced for Third Reading.
 b. 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.
 c. On Third Reading, the Secretary General reads only the
number and title of the bill.
 d. 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.
 The bill is approved by an affirmative vote of a majority of the
Members present.
 If the bill is disapproved, the same is transmitted to the Archives.
 TRANSMITTAL OF THE APPROVED
BILL TO THE SENATE
 Theapproved bill is transmitted to the Senate for its
concurrence.

 Senate Action on Approved Bill of the House

 The bill undergoes the same legislative process in the
Senate.
 CONFERENCE COMMITTEE
 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. 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. The Conference Committee prepares a report to be
signed by all the conferees and the Chairman. The
Conference Committee Report is submitted for
consideration/approval of both Houses. No amendment is
allowed.
 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.
PRESIDENTIAL ACTION ON THE BILL

If the bill is approved by the

President, it is assigned an RA
number and transmitted to the
House where it originated.
 ACTION ON APPROVED BILL

The bill is reproduced and copies are

sent to the Official Gazette Office for
publication and distribution to the
implementing agencies. It is then
included in the annual compilation of
Acts and Resolutions.
 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.
 ACTIVITY 1
THE PHILIPPINE LEGISLATURE
CHAMBER QUALIFICATIONS HEAD
 ACTIVITY 2
24 Senators of the Philippines
1 13
2 14
3 15
4 16
5 17
6 18
7 19
8 20
9 21
10 22
11 23
12 24