• Structure & Functions
• How a Bill Becomes a Law
• Senate Committee Directory (as of January 2002)
• House Committee Directory (as of January 2002)
• Women Legislators

 

UNICAMERAL Malolos Congress (1898-1899)      Bicameral/elected Philippine National Assembly America Regime (1907-1934)      Unicameral National Assembly (independent) Commonwealth Government (1935)  Interrupted by World War II   Bicameral After Liberation (1945-1972)      Unicameral Parliamentary Martial Law Regime (1972-1986)      Bicameral EDSA Revolution (1986-present)

Historical Background  The 12th Philippine Congress marks the ninth period of the Philippine legislature. It started from the American Occupation (1907-1934), followed by the Commonwealth Period (1935-1945), the Republic of the Philippines (1946-1972), the Constitutional Parliamentary Period (1972-1986), the 8th Congress (1987-1992), the 9th Congress (1992-1995), the 10th Congress (1995-1998), the 11th Congress (1998-2001); and the 12th Congress (2001-2004).  The present Congress is the 12th in the series since the first congress was held from 1946 to 1949; the second from 1949 to 1953; the third from 1953 to 1957; the fourth from 1957 to 1961; the fifth from 1961 to 1965; the sixth from1965 to 1969; and the seventh from 1969 to 1972. With the declaration of Martial Law, the Philippine Legislature was referred to as the Interim Batasang Pambansa. Under the Aquino administration, the counting resumed and the legislature was known as the Eight Congress.  The First Congress was officially declared as such in 1946 by virtue of Republic Act No. 6 after the inauguration of the First Philippine Republic. It was at that time that the Philippine Congress adopted the bicameral system which lasted until 1972 when the Philippine Constitution created a unicameral Batasang Pambansa under a semi-parliamentary government. The 1986 Constitution under the Aquino administration, however, restored the bicameral Philippine legislature.

Legislative Structure 

The Philippine Congress is divided into two chambers, namely the Senate and the House of Representatives referred to as the Upper House and the Lower House respectively. They are located in opposite sides of Metropolitan Manila, the Senate at the GSIS Building, Financial Center in Pasay City and the House of Representatives at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City. Each House has its own set of officers and rules to guide its daily proceedings. Each also has its own Journal which is a summary of the plenary session and a Record of Proceedings which is a verbatim output of the day's activities. 

The Senate 

The Senate consists of 24 Senators elected at large. Under synchronized elections, 12 Senators are elected every three (3) years. Each has a term of six years. In 1992, 24 senators were elected. The first 12 have a term of six years and the other twelve had a shorter term of three years which lasted until 1995. Starting with the 1995 elections, the 12 newly elected senators won their seats for six years (1995-2001). Another set of 12 senators was elected in May of 1998 to serve a six year term (1998-2004). 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 office to no more than two (2) consecutive terms. 

The House of Representatives 

The 1987 Constitution provides that 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 and through a party-list system. The Representatives (of legislative districts and party list) shall have a term of three years commencing at noon of the 30th day of June following their election and are limited to serving a maximum of three (3) consecutive terms. The Representatives of legislative districts are elected from the provinces, cities and the Metropoltian Manila area, which are divided into legislative districts. Seats are apportioned according to the number of inhabitants and are reapportioned within three years following the return of every census. 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 the total number of Members, twenty percent (20%) shall come from Party-List (PL) representatives, one-half of which shall be filled by sectoral representatives for the first three terms of Congress (1987-1998). In response to this constitutional provision, the Ninth Congress enacted a party-list law, Republic Act 7941, which provides for a system of proportional representation in the election of Representatives from national,regional, and sectoral parties, organizations or coalitions.* Under the law, parties, organizations, and coalitions shall be entitled to a seat in the House of Representatives in proportion to the total number of votes they receive in the party-list election. The party-list law further provides that each party, organization, or coalition shall be entitled to not more than three (3) seats. The first election under the party-list system was held in May 1998, where every voter was entitled to two (2) votes: the first vote is for a candidate to be a member of the House of Representatives in his/her legislative district, and the second vote is for the party-list representative. In the 10th Congress, 22 sectoral representatives were appointed by the President to fill the posts of party-list representatives until 1998. Among the sectors represented were the peasant, labor, women, cultural communities, urban poor and youth sectors. The 10th Congress of  201 Representatives, 82 were third termers; 70 were second termers; and 47 were first termers. 

Legislative Powers and Functions 

Under Article VI of the Philippine Constitution, the Legislative branch is vested with the following powers and functions: 

•  Propose, review and adopt bills for enactment into law 
• Conduct studies and inquiries in aid of legislation and investigations necessary in the lawmaking process and in the oversight of the execution of laws by the executive 
• Propose appropriations, revenue or tariff bills; bills authorizing increase of the public sector debt; bills of local application and private bills  
• Concur in all treaties and international agreements  
• Exercise the constitutional right and responsibility of advice and consent on certain presidential nominations through the Commission on Appointments  
• Judge the election, returns and qualifications of its members, determine the rules of its proceedings, and punish its members by suspension or expulsion for disorderly behavior  
• Authorize the President to exercise emergency power in times of war or national emergency  
• Propose amendments to the Constitution for ratification by the people  
• Call for a constitutional convention  

Chambers 

Each Chamber of the Legislature elects its own set of officers. In the Senate, there is the President and President Pro-Tempore while in the House of Representatives , the Members elect the Speaker of the House and three (3) Deputy Speakers. They also elect their own Secretary or Secretary-General and Sergeant-at-Arms. 

The Senate President and the Speaker of the House have basically the same functions: (1) preside over the sessions of the chamber; (2) preserve order and decorum during the sessions; (3) decide all questions of order; (4) sign all resolutions, memorials, joint and concurrent resolutions; (5) issue warrants, orders of arrest, subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum; (6) increase or decrease the number of authorized personnel by consolidating or splitting positions. 

The President Pro-Tempore, on the other hand, much like the Deputy Speakers assume the duties and powers of the Senate President/Speaker of the House in case they are absent or otherwise incapacitated. Other officers of each House include the Majority Leader, Assistant Majority Leader, Minority Leader, and Assistant Minority Leader. 

Committees 

Each Congress has its own committees which are expected to study and make recommendations on every prosposed measure before it is presented to the whole chamber for deliberation and voting. Committees thus serve an important role in policy-making, as well as oversight of executive agencies and public education, largely through the hearings they hold. 

At the start of each Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives each determines in the Rules of Procedure, the number of permanent and special committees it will create. Standing or permanent committees are often created on the basis of political, economic, and social policy issues such as environment, banking, social welfare, women, youth, and housing among many others. They continue from Congress to Congress, except in those instances where they are eliminated or new ones created. A standing committee may also create sub-committees as it deems necessary to support its performance or divide its work among its members. 

Special or select committees , on the other hand, are usually temporary panels that cease to exist after the term of the Congress in which they were created. These committees may be created to address priority or special concerns of Congress, e.g. bases conversion, food security, or to accommodate individual concerns of members which in effect attract publicity and enhances their political careers. 

Congress also creates joint congressional committees and commissions as these members deem it necessary to exercise their oversight of executive agencies and their performance in implementing the law. 

The Rules of Procedure of the House also states that any member, who is the author of a bill referred to a committee, is considered a member of the committee insofar as the consideration of said bill is concerned, but s/he has no vote in the committee. 

After several meetings and hearings in which the Senate and House committees gather and consider information from those who will be affected by the proposed measure, they are expected to come out with a committee report. A committee report states the committee's recommendations, and in itself contains any amendments or changes made in the language or content of a bill or bills. In both houses, a committee, which fails to render a report on a bill or resolution referred to it within a prescribed period in the Rules (e.g. 30 session days in the Senate and 50 session days in the House) may be discharged by the chamber to do so through a motion in writing by any member. 

Senate Committees

In the 12th Congress, the Rules of Procedure followed by the Senate provides for the creation of 36 standing committees. The Senate leadership chooses the heads of the committees, who in turn pick their vice-chairpersons. The President Pro-Tempore, Majority and Minority Leaders are ex-officio members of all standing committees. The Senate Rules also provides for the number of members alloted to each committee, which often range from seven (7) to 17 members. 

House Committees 

There are 51 standing committees in the House of Representatives with their respective chairpersons, and seven (13) special committees such as Poverty Alleviation, Export Promotion, Reforestation, Food Security, Northwest Luzon Growth Quadrangle, Overseas Contract Worker, and 20 Priority Provinces. In the 10th Congress, there were as many as 20 special committees. There are several standing committees with at least 15 members, while the largest is the Committee on Appropriations with 145 members. The number of vice chairpersons may vary depending upon the total number of members. Every member of the House may belong to an unlimited number of standing committees but no member can hold a chair in more than one committee. The Speaker, Deputy Speakers and chairpersons, vice chairpersons and ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules have "voice and vote" in all other committees. 
 
 
 

The Electoral Tribunal and the Commission on Appointments 

At the start of each Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives each creates its own Electoral Tribunal to judge all contests relating to the election, returns and qualifications of its members. Each tribunal is composed of nine (9) members, three (3) of whom are Justices of the Supreme Court, and the remaining six (6) are chosen by each chamber. The senior Justice in the tribunal serves as the chairperson. Each chamber also appoints its members to the Commission on Appointments, which acts on all appointments submitted to it by the President of the Philippines. It is composed of the Senate President as ex officio Chair, 12 Senators and 12 Representatives, elected by each chamber on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties or organizations. A member of the Tribunal and of the Commission cannot be a chairperson of any standing committee.

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For more information on 

• 11th Congress Members Profile  
• Legislative Agenda  
• Committee Assignments  
• Directories  
• Advocacy Tips  

Legislators file bills on issue areas of their concern, although bills on international agreements and treaties are tradionally initiated by the Senate, while bills on appropriations and those authorizing increase in public debts originate from the House of Representatives. 

After research and studies have been conducted by the staff and the legislators themselves, the bill goes through the legislative mill. 

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) 

Committe 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 substtitute 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 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 overriden and the bill becomes a law