CITY OF MALABON UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF TEACHER EDUCATION

POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE

Chapter 7 MODULE 8 – LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

OVERVIEW
This chapter will discuss the role and responsibilities of the
Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives.

OBJECTIVES:

The learners will be able to:

1. Discuss the roles and responsibilities of the Philippine Senate
and House of Representatives.
2. Discuss the performance of the Philippine Congress.
3. Appraise the impact of Congress performance on Philippine
development.
4. Articulate a position or advocacy to a Philippine legislator
through a formal correspondence.

” The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.”

- Tacitus
 Congress President
Legislative Six
Emergency Three
Senator Twenty-four
Tariff Party
Natural-born Referendum
Executive Quorum

PRE-TEST

Filling the blanks. Use a separate paper for your answers. Analyze
carefully the statements or questions before answering. Choose the
best or nearest answer by writing the corresponding word in the
blank.

__________ 1. The legislative branch, which has the authority to

make, alter or repeal laws, is the __________.

__________ 2. __________ is the law-making branch of the

government.

__________ 3. Each Senator shall have a term of _____ years and he

shall serve for not more than two consecutive terms.

__________ 4. The term of office of members of the House of

Representatives, also called “Congressmen,” is _____ years.

__________ 5. The Senate is composed of _____ Senators, who are

elected at large by the qualified voters of the Philippines.
__________ 6. The House of Representatives is composed of “District
Representatives” and “_____ -list Representatives.”

__________ 7. The Congress further delegates its legislative power by

allowing direct legislation by the people in cases of initiative and
_____.

__________ 8. ___________ powers are delegated to the President by

the Congress to effectively solve the problems caused by war or other
crisis which the Congress could not otherwise solve with more
dispatch than the President.

__________ 9. ___________ or as the majority of the body, each house

must meet in order to transact business during its regular or special
sessions.

_________ 10. To be a senator, one must be a “___________” citizen

of the Philippines.
THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The legislative branch, which has the authority to make, alter or
repeal laws, is the Congress. “Congress is vested with the
tremendous power of the purse, traditionally recognized in the
constitutional provision that “no money shall be paid out of the
Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.” It
comprehends both the power to generate money by taxation and the
power to spend it. The power to appropriate carries with it the power
to specify the amount that may be spent and the purpose for which it
may be spent.

Under a bicameral system, the Congress is composed of the

Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of
twenty-four (24) Senators, who are elected at large by the qualified
voters of the Philippines. The term of office of the Senators is six (6)
years.

The house of Representatives, on the other hand, is composed of

not more than two hundred fifty (250) members, unless otherwise
fixed by law, who are elected from legislative districts apportioned
among the provinces, cities and the Metropolitan Manila area, and
those who are elected through a party-list system of registered
national, regional and sectoral parties or organizations. The term of
office of members of the House of Representatives, also called
“Congressmen” is three (3) years.
LEGISLATIVE POWER

1. The word “legislative” is derived from the Latin word “lex”

which means “law.” In general, legislative power refers to the
power to make and unmake laws. Laws are rules or collection of
rules, whether written or unwritten, prescribed under the
authority of a political society for the common good. The
Legislative Department is the law-making branch of the
government.
2. Delegation to the Congress. Fundamentally, legislative power is
an attribute of sovereignty, in that the Constitution itself, the
fundamental law of the State, is a legislation of sovereign
people. However, through the Constitution, the people
“delegated” the legislative power to the Congress of the
Philippines. Section 1, Article VI states that “Legislative power
shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines . . .” The
delegation of power entails a surrender of authority to the
representatives, or in the case of legislative power, to the
Congress. Thus, law-making can only be performed by the
Congress, even if the law it enacts involves the people.
3. Reservation to the People. The Constitution, however, makes a
reservation as to the delegation, in that it explicitly states: “. . .
except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on
initiative and referendum.” In other words, there is no complete
delegation of law-making power to the Congress, as the power is
reserved to the people in cases of initiative and referendum.
Thus, laws are made or unmade, first, by the Congress in the
 form of “statutes,” and second, by the people in initiatives and
referendum; legislative power is exercised by the Congress and
the sovereign Filipino people.
4. Legislative Power as Exercised by Congress. Legislative power
as exercised by Congress manifests itself more specifically in
the Constitution as “power of appropriation,” “power of
taxation,” and “power of occurrence.”
(a) Power of Appropriation. Section 29 (1). Article VI speaks of
the power to appropriate. It states, “No money shall be paid
out of the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation
made by law.” Appropriation means the authorization by law
for the use of a certain sum of the public funds. An
appropriations law is necessary before public funds may be
spent by the government for its projects. The government
needs money in all its activities and projects so that the
power of appropriation, also known as the “power of the
purse,” is said to be the one of the most important
prerogatives of the Congress.
(b) Power of Taxation. The power, which is one of the inherent
powers of the state, us generally exercised by the legislative
department. The Constitution limits such power as follows:
“The rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable. The
Congress shall evolve a progressive system of taxation.” As
was discussed, taxation must be uniform, equitable, and
progressive. Any law passed by the Congress contrary to this
provision is null and void.
 (c) Power of Concurrence. Section 21, Article VII states that “no
treaty or international agreement shall be valid and effective
unless concurred in by at least two-thirds of all the Members
of the Senate.” This refers to the power of concurrence of the
Congress in which no treaty can become binding and
effective as a domestic law without the two-thirds
concurrence of the Members of the Senate.

NON-DELEGATION OF POWERS

1. Meaning and Explanation. The Congress cannot further delegate

the power delegated to it by the people. This is in keeping with
the principle of non-delegation of powers which is applicable to
all the three branches of the government. The rule states that
what has been delegated cannot further be delegated – potestas
delegate non delegari potest. A delegated power must be
discharged directly by the delegate and not through the
delegate’s agent. It is basically an ethical principle which
requires direct performance by the delegate of an entrusted
power. Further delegation therefore constitutes violation of the
trust reposed by the delegator on the delegate. The people,
through the Constitution, delegated lawmaking powers to the
Congress, and as such, it cannot as a rule delegate further the
same to another.
2. Exceptions. In order to address the numerous and complex
demands of legislative function, the Constitution provides
exceptions to the rule. Further delegation is permitted in the
following cases:
(a) Delegation to the People at large. The Congress further
delegates its legislative power by allowing direct legislation
by the people in cases of initiative and referendum;
(b) Delegation of Emergency powers to the President. Section 23
(2), Article VI of the Constitution states that “in times of war
or other national emergency, the Congress, may, by law,
authorize the President, for a limited period and subject to
such restrictions as it may prescribe, to exercise powers
necessary and proper to carry out a declared national policy.”
Emergency powers are delegated to the President by the
Congress to effectively solve the problems caused by war or
other crisis which the Congress could not otherwise solve
with more dispatch than the President.
(c) Delegation of tariff powers to the President. Section 28 (2),
Article VI of the Constitution states that “the Congress may,
by law, authorize the President to fix within specified limits,
and subject to such limitations and restrictions as it may
impose, and other duties or imposts within the framework of
the national development program of the Government.” Tariff
powers are delegated in the President by the Congress to
efficiently and speedily solve economic problems posed by
foreign trade which the Congress could not otherwise
address with more dispatch than the President;
(d) Delegation to Administrative bodies. The Congress delegates
the so called “power of subordinate legislation” to
administrative bodies. Due to the growing complexity of
modern society, it has become necessary to allow specialized
 administrative bodies tom promulgate supplementary rules,
so that they can deal with technical problems with more
expertise and dispatch than the Congress or the courts.
Regulations or supplementary rules passed by the
administrative bodies are intended to fill-in the gaps and
provide details to what is otherwise a broad statute passed
by Congress. For the rules and regulations to be valid and
binding, they must be in accordance with the statute on
which they are based, complete in themselves, and fix
sufficient standards. If any of the requirements is not
satisfied, the regulation will not be allowed to affect private
rights; and
(e)Delegation to the Local governments. This delegation is
based on the principle that the local government is in better
position than the national government to act on purely local
concerns. Legislative power is therefore given to them for
effective local legislation.

BICAMERALISM AND COMPOSITION OF CONGRESS

1. Bicameralism in the Congress. The Constitution prescribes

bicameralism in the Congress. Congress, to whom legislative
power is vested, “shall consist of a Senate and a House of
Representatives. ”Bicameralism is a traditional form of
legislative body consisting of two chambers or houses, one
representing regional interests and the other representing
national interests. The Congress of the Philippines is said to be
 bicameral because it consists of two houses: the House of
Representatives, which is concerned with local issues, and the
Senate, which is concerned with national issues. These two are
co-equal branches and their primary function is law-making.
2. The Senate. The Senate and its members are described in the
Constitution as follows:
(a) Composition. The Senate is “composed of twenty-four
Senators who shall be elected at large by the qualified voters
of the Philippines, as may be provided by law.” It is said to be
the training ground of future Presidents because membership
in the Senate requires national constituency and demands a
broad circumspection of the issues and problems of the
country.
(b)Qualifications of a Senator. To be a senator, one must be a
“natural-born citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the
election, is at least thirty-five years of age, able to read and
write, a registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines for
not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the
election.”
(c) Term. Each Senator shall have a term of six years and he
shall serve for not more than two consecutive terms.

3. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The House and its

members are
Described in the Constitution as follows:
(a) Composition. The House of Representatives is composed of
“District Representatives” and “Party-list Representatives.” On
the other hand, district representatives or congressmen as they
are commonly called, whose number is now fixed by law, are
elected from the “legislative districts” in provinces and cities.
On the other hand, party-list representatives are elected at large
through a party-list system of registered national, regional and
sectoral parties or organizations. Twenty percent of the total
number of all the members of the House of Representatives
constitutes the party-list representatives.
(b) Qualification of a Member. To be a member of the House of
Representatives, one must be “a natural-born citizen of the
Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least twenty-five
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 one year immediately preceding the day of the election.”
(c)Term. Each Member has a term of three years and shall serve for
not more than three consecutive terms.
4. The officers of the Congress are the Senate President, who
heads the sessions in the Senate, and the House Speaker, who
heads the House of Representatives. They are elected by
majority vote of all their respective members. If it deems
necessary, each House can choose other officers.

PARTY-LIST REPRESENTATION
 1. Meaning and Purpose. The party-list system aims at
establishing representation of the underprivileged. It is a
social justice tool designed not just to make the
underprivileged mere beneficiaries of law but to make them
lawmakers themselves. It opens up the political system to the
prejudiced and underrepresented sectors of the society.

Under the present rule, however, party-list representatives need

not represent only the marginalized and the underrepresented;
national political parties can participate through their sectoral
wings provided they are registered separately in the COMELEC.
Party-list representatives after all may represent not just a
marginalized or underrepresented sectors but also “ideologies”
germane to democracy.

2. Parameters for Allocation of Seats. As to the allocation of

seats of party-list representatives in the House of
Representatives, the parameters are:
(a) Twenty percent allocation in the House;
(b) To qualify to a seat, at least two percent of the votes is
casted on the party;
(c) A qualified party is entitled to a maximum of three seats;
and
(d) Proportional representation as to the number of additional
seats vis-à-vis the total number of votes cast.

SESSION AND QUORUM

1. Kinds of Session. The Congress has regular sessions and
special sessions. On the one hand, the regular sessions are
conducted once a year starting on the fourth Monday of July
and continue as long as the Congress deems it necessary
but only until thirty days before the next regular session. On
the other hand, special sessions are conducted anytime upon
the call of the President on subjects he wishes to consider.
This can last for as long as the Congress wants.
2. Quorum. In order to transact during its regular or special
sessions, each House must meet the quorum or majority of
the body. One half of the members plus one is the majority.
No law can be passed or a legislative function discharged
unless the quorum is reached. In determining the quorum,
however, members who are abroad, suspended or otherwise
prevented from participating are not counted. Only those who
are in the Philippines and on whom the Congress has
coercive power to enforce its authority and command are
counted. Foer example, if one of the members of the Senate
is outside the Philippines, the base number is twenty-three
because the Senator abroad is not counted. The quorum is
therefore twelve since it is the majority of twenty-three.
3. Recess. Thirty days before the next regular sessions, the
Congress shall have its compulsory recess or adjournment.
But each House can adjourn for a voluntary recess provided
that the consent of the other House is obtained if the
adjournment is for three days or to any other place than that
to which the two Houses are sitting.
PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITIES

1. Meaning. Parliamentary immunity refers to the privilege given

to Members of the Congress intended to ensure their
effective discharge of legislative functions and maintenance
of representation in the Congress.
2. Two Kinds of Immunity. The Constitution provides two kinds
of immunities: “immunity from arrest” and “privilege of
speech and debate.” Section 11, Article VI states: “A Senator
or Member of the House of Representatives shall, in all
offenses punishable by not more than six years
imprisonment, be privileged from arrest while the Congress
is in session. No Member shall be questioned nor be held
liable in any other place for any speech or debate in the
Congress or in any committee thereof.”
(a) Immunity from arrest refers to the freedom of Senators
and Members of the House of Representatives from arrest
while the Congress is in session, whether regular or
special, from the time it convenes until its final
adjournment. The offense, however, of which the arrest is
made must not be punishable for more than six years of
imprisonment. For example, if Senator Pedro is charged
for the crime of simple theft while the Congress is still in
session, he cannot be arrested because simple theft is not
punishable for more than six years of imprisonment. But if
he is charged for rape, he may be arrested even though
 the Congress is in session because rape is punishable by
more than six years imprisonment.
(b) Privilege of speech and debate refers to the freedom of
Senators and Members of the House of Representatives
from being questioned or held liable in any place for any
speech or debate in the Congress or in any committee
thereof. This is to give leeway to the Members of the
Congress to express their ideas without fear of being held
liable in the courts of justice for the effective discharge of
their duties.

It must be noted, however, that the privilege is effective only in

speeches and debates made in the Congress or in those uttered by
the legislator in his capacity as member of the Congress. Moreover,
although the legislator cannot be held liable before the courts, he
could be held liable in the Congress itself for words or conduct
unbecoming of a member. For example, If Congressman Pedro,
during his speech before the House, uttered unsavory remarks
against a fellow member, he cannot be charged for libel before the
courts but he can be made liable in the House itself for words or
conduct unbecoming of a member of the House.

RESTRICTIONS AND DISQUALIFICATIONS

1. Conflict of Interest. The Constitution demands transparency in

the Congress, particularly in the financial and business interests
of its members, in order for the legislature to be aware of a
“potential conflict of interest.” Potential conflict of interest
happens when a legislator derives financial advantage from a
 law which he legislates or was legislated during his term and the
body was not notified of such conflict.
It constitutes betrayal of public trust in that the personal
interest of the legislator is placed over that of the public. Note
however that the legislator can still propose a law even if there
is a potential conflict of interest for as long as he has notified
the body about it. The purpose therefore of this requirement is
to allow the House to better examine the legislation vis-à-vis the
legislator.
2. Incompatible Office. In keeping with doctrine of separation of
powers, the Constitution provides that “no Senator or Member
of the House of Representatives may hold any other office or
employment in the Government, or any subdivision, agency, or
instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or
controlled corporations or their subsidiaries, during his term
without forfeiting his seat.”
This disqualification refers to the “incompatible office” which
is any other office in the government that if held by a member of
the Congress would result to the forfeiture of his seat in the
Congress. The provision allows a member to hold an
incompatible office but the result is the automatic forfeiture of
his seat. For example, if during the term of Senator Pedro he
becomes the head of a government-owned and controlled
corporation, he will no longer be Senator because of the
automatic forfeiture, the GOCC being an incompatible office.
3. Forbidden Office. Another disqualification involves the so-called
“forbidden offices” or offices which have been created or the
 emoluments of which are increased while the legislator was a
member of the Congress. The purpose of this disqualification is
to prevent legislators to create an office or to increase its
emoluments for personal gain. Pursuant to this disqualification,
a Senator, for example, cannot be appointed to a civil or military
office which was created while he was still a senator. The
disqualification lasts for the entire six-year term even if the
member resigns before the end of his term.

INDEPENDENT BODIES

1. The Constitution crates two independent bodies in the

Congress especially to perform non-legislative functions and
to check the appointing power of the Chief Executive, to wit:
(a)The Electoral Tribunals; and
(b) Commission on Appointments. Although majority of their
members come from the Congress, they considered
independent bodies in that they have the exclusive right to
prescribe their own rules of procedure, they have their
own set of employees who are under their control and
supervision, and they have their own function distinct
from that of the Congress.

ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL

To ensure fairness and impartiality in deciding election contests

involving members of the Congress, each House in the Congress
shall have an Electoral Tribunal: the “Senate Electoral Tribunal” in the
Senate, and “House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal” in the
House of Representatives. Each Electoral Tribunal shall be the sole
judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and
qualifications of their respective Members.

Each shall be composed of nine members, three are Justices of the

Supreme Court, and six are members of the Senate or the House of
Representatives, as the case may be. The Chairman shall be the
senior Justice. While the member Justices are designated by the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the six other legislator members
are chosen on the basis of proportional representation from political
parties and party-list organizations in the Congress.

Thus, if there is an election contest, for instance, involving the

qualifications of Congressman Juan, the case shall be decided by the
House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal which is the sole judge
of election contests involving the Members of the House of
Representatives.

COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS

Another independent body in the Congress is the Commission on

Appointments which was created to check the appointing power of
the President, specifically in appointments to important offices in the
government. It consists of twenty-five members: the Senate
President, as ex-officio Chairman, twelve Senators, and twelve
Members of the House of Representatives.

The Senators and Members of the House are elected by their

respective Houses based on proportional representation from the
political parties and party-list organizations in the Congress. The
function of the Commission is to approve or disapprove the
nominations submitted to it by the President to appointments that
requires its approval. For example, before a Cabinet Member may be
appointed, the President must first submit his nomination for
approval to the Commission on Appointments. With the approval,
there could be no appointment.

PROCEDURE OF HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

1. Bill vs. Statute

Among the most important things studied in Article VI, the
Legislative Department, is the procedure of how a bill becomes
a law. A bill is a proposed law. As such, it is not yet binding nor
does it confer or affect the rights and duties of individuals. It
becomes a law only after it has gone through all the formalities
and solemnities of the legislation process as prescribed in the
Constitution. The law enacted by the Congress is called a
statute.
2. The procedure is as follows:
(a) A bill is introduced by any Member of the Senate or House of
Representatives by filing it with the Office of the Secretary
where it is calendared for the First Reading. Some bills,
however must originate exclusively from the House of
Representatives, such as the appropriation, revenue or tariff
bills, bills authorizing increase of the public debt, bills of
 local application, and private bills, although the Senate may
propose or concur with amendments.
(b) During the first reading the number, title, and name/s of
author/s are read. The subject of the bill is expressed in its
title must only be one in order to avoid hodge-podge or log-
rolling legislation which entails insertion of many unrelated
subjects. The bill is referred to an appropriate committee for
study. Public hearings or consultations may be conducted by
the committee before it recommends the bill for approval,
with or without amendments, or for consolidation with similar
bills, or for disapproval. If it is disapproved, the bill is said to
be “killed.” If approved or reported out, it will be calendared
for the second reading.
(c) During the second reading, which is the start of the most
important stage, the bill is read in its entirety, together with
the amendments introduced by the committee, if there are
any. The bill will thereafter be debated upon and amended if
the members deem it necessary.
(d) The approved bill in the second reading is printed in its final
form and copies of it are furnished to the members three days
before the third reading. During the third reading, only the
title of the bill be read, and immediately after, the Members
will vote thereon and their votes will be entered in the journal.
No further amendments are allowed.
(e)The approved bill is referred to the other house where it also
undergoes three readings on three separate days. If
compromise or reconciliation of conflicting provisions is
 necessary because of the differences in the House Bill and
Senate Bill version, the bill shall be submitted to a joint
bicameral committee.
(f) After the bill has been approved on third reading on both
Houses it shall be submitted to the President for his action.
He approves by signing the bill; he disapproves by vetoing
and returning the bill with his objections to the House of
origin. In order to override the veto of the President, two-
thirds of all the Members of each house voting separately
must agree to pass the bill. If the President will not act on the
bill in thirty days, the bill shall become a law as if signed by
him. “Pocket veto” is not allowed under the laws.
(g)The enrolled bill or bill as printed and approved by the
Congress and the President shall be published in a
newspaper of general circulation or in the Official gazette of
the Government and shall become binding fifteen days
following its publication unless another date is provided
therein.
3. Three Readings on Three Separate Days. What is important to
remember in all these steps is the rule of “three readings on
three separate days” Except when the President certifies to the
necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity
or emergency, no bill can become a law unless it passes three
readings on three separate days in both Houses of the
Congress.

NON-LEGISLATIVE AND OTHER POWERS OF CONGRESS

1. Non-lawmaking Powers. Aside from lawmaking, Congress
performs non-lawmaking functions, such as initiation and
holding of impeachment, acting as a constituent assembly,
declaration of existence of war, approval of Presidential
appointments through the Commission on Appointments, and
deciding election cases involving its members.
2. Power to Declare the Existence of War. Section 23 (1), Article VI
states that “the Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of both
Houses in joint session assembled, voting separately, shall
have the sole power to declare the existence of a state of war.”
This means that when the Philippines is under attack by foreign
invaders, the Congress by means of enacting a law, affirms that
the Philippines is already at war with the enemy. War is not
solely controlled by the President who is the commander-in-
chief of the military; it is likewise controlled by the legislature
because it has power over the money used in the war.
3. Legislative Inquiries. The Congress also conducts legislative
inquiries which power is necessarily implied in its power to
legislate. Legislative inquiry is a process held in the Congress
especially conducted to compulsorily obtain requisite
information from witnesses in aid of legislation. The process
and the require information taken are necessary to legislate
wisely and effectively. The Constitution provides limitations, to
wit:
(1)The inquiries must be in aid of legislation;
(2)It must be in accordance with the duly published rules of
procedure of the Congress; and
 (3)The rights of persons appearing shall be respected.
4. Question Hour. Inquiries may also be conducted to obtain
information from the heads of departments in matters pertaining
to how laws are implemented. This is called the question hour.
The manner of obtaining information, however, is not
compulsory because of the doctrine of separation of powers.
The heads of the departments are alter egos of the President; to
maintain the co-equality of the exe4cutive and legislative
branch, either House of Congress may only request for the
appearance of the department heads. Conversely, the
department heads may appear but the Congress is not obliged
to hear them. Question hour is different from legislative inquiry
in that appearance in the former is not compulsory, while
appearance in the latter is compulsory; information derived in
the former is in exercise of “oversight functions” while
information derived in the latter is in aid of legislation; and the
former is not among the traditional processes of a presidential
government, while the latter is an inherent legislative power
under a presidential government.