The Legislative Branch of

Government - The Philippine Senate

and The House of Representatives
 Essential Features of the Legislative Branch of Philippine Government

As of July 15, 2020, the webpage of 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.
 Essential Features of the Legislative Branch of Philippine Government

• 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

• As of July 15, 2020, according to the webpage of 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:
 Composition of the Philippine Senate
• 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

• 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
• a natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
• at least thirty-five years old;
• is able to read and write
• a registered voter; and
• a resident of the Philippines for not less than two
years before election day.
 Composition of the House of Representatives
• As of July 15, 2020, according to the webpage of The
Official Gazette of the Philippine Government, the
following pertain to the composition of the House of
Representatives as indicated in Article VI of the 1987
Philippine Constitution:
 Composition of the House of Representatives
• Lawmakers composing the House of Representatives are
calledRepresentativesor Congressmen/Congress- women.
• The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more
than two hundred and fifty 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. The party-list representatives shall constitute
twenty per centum of the total number of representatives
including those under the party list.
 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
• a natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
• at least twenty-five years old;
• is able to read and write; and
• 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 as of July 15, 2020, 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.
 Legislative Process
Resolutions convey principles and sentiments of the Senate or the House of
Representatives. 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.
 Legislative Process
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.
 Exclusive Role of Philippine Congress
• 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.