Senior High School

Philippine Politics
and Governance
Quarter 3 – Module 7:
The Legislative Branch of
Government - The Philippine Senate
and The House of Representatives
 What I Need to Know

This module will help you understand the

important features of the the Legislative Branch of
Philippine Government. It also aims to introduce
to you the roles and responsibilities of the
Philippine Senate and House of Representatives in
the government.

The module has one lesson, namely:

• Lesson 1 – The Legislative Branch of

Government-The Philippine Senate and
House of Representatives
After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. identify the features of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives

in the government; and
2. discuss the roles and responsibilities of the Philippine Senate and the House
of Representatives.
 What I Know

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Read the following items carefully. Write the letter of the correct
answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. What is the primary role of the Legislative Branch of Philippine government?
a. Adjudication of laws
b. Implementation of laws
c. Interpretation of laws
d. Making of laws

2. As a bicameral legislature, what are the two chambers that comprise the
Philippine Congress?
a. Philippine President and House of Representatives
b. House of Representatives and Supreme Court
c. Senate and House of Representatives
d. Senate and Supreme Court

3. A Senator of the Philippines shall serve a term of .

a. 3 years
b. 6 years
c. 9 years
d. 12 years

4. According to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, what is the minimum age

requirement (at the day of the election) to become a member of the House of
Representatives in Philippine Congress?
a. 20 years
b. 25 years
c. 35 years
d. 40 years

5. Members of Philippine Senate are elected through .

a. Nationwide popular vote
b. Provincial popular vote
c. Party list system
d. Plebiscite

6. A member of the House of Representatives can serve for a maximum of

.
a. one (1) term
b. two (2) consecutive terms
c. three (3) consecutive terms
d. four (4) consecutive terms
7. What is the legal basis for the exclusive power of the Philippine Congress to
initiate and conduct an impeachment trial?
a. Article VI of Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees
b. Article XI of Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees
c. Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution
d. Article XI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution

8. What is the minimum age requirement (at the day of the election) to become
a Senator as stated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution?
a. 20 years
b. 25 years
c. 35 years
d. 40 years

9. How many Senators are regularly elected every three (3) years?
a. eight (8)
b. ten (10)
c. twelve (12)
d. twenty-four (24)

10. When shall be the start of terms of offices of members of Philippine

Congress?
a. twentieth (20th) day of June next following their election for Senators and
thirtieth (30th) day of June next following their election for Members of
House of Representatives
b. thirtieth (30th) day of June next following their election for Senators and
twentieth (20th) day of June next following their election for Members of
House of Representatives
c. twentieth (20th) day of June next following their election for Senators and
Members of House of Representatives
d. thirtieth (30th) day of June next following their election for Senators and
Members of House of Representatives

FILL IN THE BLANKS. Fill in the blanks to complete the statements. Write your
answers on a separate sheet of paper.

11. The Senate shall elect its and the House of Representatives
its Speaker, by a majority vote of all its respective Members.
12. The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an
which shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the
election, returns, and qualifications of their respective Members.
13. The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective
committees may conduct inquiries in aid of .
14. The shall preside if the impeachment case involves
impeachable officials aside from the Philippine President.
15. Bills pass into law when they are approved by both houses of
and the President of the Philippines.
 The Legislative Branch of
Lesson Government-The Philippine
1 Senate and The House of
Representatives

What’s In

As you learned from the previous module, the government of a country has three
major functions: rule-making, rule-implementation and rule adjudication or rule
interpretation. You learned in Module 6 the role and powers of the President of the
Philippines or the country’s chief executive. In this module, you will learn the
features of another branch of government in charge with the making of laws - the
legislative.

What is It

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.
- 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:

- 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
1. a natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
2. at least thirty-five years old;
3. is able to read and write
4. a registered voter; and
5. 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:

- Lawmakers composing the

House of Representatives are
called Representatives or
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

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 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.

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.

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.
 Assessment

MODIFIED TRUE OR FALSE. Read the following statements. Write TRUE if the
statement is correct. Write FALSE and change the underlined word or phrase if it
is incorrect. Write your answer on a separate answer sheet.

1. Members of Philippine Senate are elected through nationwide popular vote.

2. 40 years of age is the minimum requirement (at the day of the election) to
become a Senator as stated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution

3. As a unicameral legislature, the two chambers that comprise the Philippine

Congress are the Senate and House of Representatives

4. Making of laws is the primary role of the Legislative Branch of Philippine

government.

5. A member of Philippine Senate can serve for a maximum of four (3)

consecutive terms.
6. According to Article XI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Philippine
Congress has the exclusive power to initiate and conduct an impeachment
trial.

7. Bills are laws in the making and they pass into law when they are approved
by both houses and the President of the Philippines.

8. 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.

9. If the President does not act on a proposed law submitted by Philippine

Congress, it will lapse into law after 30 days of receipt.

10.A Senator and a Member of House of Representatives must be a natural-born

citizen of the Philippines.

11. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall preside the impeachment
trial involving impeachable officials aside from the Philippine President.

12. The House of Representatives and the Executive Branch of government 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.

13. Terms of offices of members of Philippine Congress shall be on the twentieth

(20th) day of May next following their election for Senators and Members of
House of Representatives.
14. The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective committees
may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation.

15. The Senate shall elect its President and the House of Representatives its
Speaker, by a majority vote of all its respective Members.