John Daryl C.

Rosario
JD – 1F
Constitutional Law 1
Finals Coverage

Assignment:

SECTION 27. (1)

Every bill passed by the Congress shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President.

Every bill passed by Congress, before it becomes a law must be presented to the President for approval.

If the President approves – sign the bill into law.

If the President denies – veto
President: communicate his veto within 30 days after the receipt of notice.
Return to the House where it originated.
Enter the objections at large in its Journal and proceed to reconsider it.
If 2/3 of the Members agreed to pass the bill, sent to other House for
reconsideration.
If approved by two-thirds of all the Members of that House, it shall become a
law.

Voting: determined by yeas and nays

: names of the Members voting for or against shall be entered in its Journal.

If he approves the same, he shall sign it; otherwise, he shall veto it and return the same with his objections to the
House where it originated, which shall enter the objections at large in its Journal and proceed to reconsider it.

If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the Members of such House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be
sent, together with the objections, to the other House by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved
by two-thirds of all the Members of that House, it shall become a law. In all such cases, the votes of each House
shall be determined by yeas or nays, and the names of the Members voting for or against shall be entered in its
Journal.

The President shall communicate his veto of any bill to the House where it originated within thirty days after the
date of receipt thereof; otherwise, it shall become a law as if he had signed it.

(2) The President shall have the power to veto any particular item or items in an appropriation, revenue, or tariff
bill, but the veto shall not affect the item or items to which he does not object

1. Electoral Tribunal
Section 17, Article 6
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. Each
electoral tribunal shall be composed of nine members, three of whom shall be Justices of the Supreme Court
to be designated by the Chief Justice, and the remaining six shall be members of the Senate or the House of
Representatives, as the case may be, who shall be chosen on the basis of proportional representation from the
political parties and the parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented therein.
The senior justice in the Electoral tribunal shall be its Chairman.

a. Two Electoral Tribunals.

The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an Electoral Tribunal

b. Composition of ET
Each electoral tribunal shall be composed of 9 members. 3 from the SC (to be designated by the CJ)
and 6 from the respective House.

c. Why create an electoral tribunal independent from Congress?

It is believed that this system tends to secure decisions rendered with a greater degree of impartiality
and fairness to all parties. It also enables Congress to devote its full time to the performance of its
proper function, which is legislation, rather than spend part of its time acting as judge of election
contests.

Proportional Representation. The congressmen who will compose the electoral tribunal
shall be chosen on the basis of proportional representation from the political and party-list parties.

Reason for Mixed Membership. The presence of justices of the Supreme Court in the Electoral Tribunal
neutralizes the effects of partisan influences in its deliberations and invests its action with that measure of
judicial temper which is greatly responsible for the respect and confidence people have in courts.

Chairman. The senior Justice in the electoral tribunal shall be its Chairman.

SET cannot legally function absent its entire membership of senators, and no amendment of its rules can
confer on the 3 remaining justice-members alone, the power of valid adjudication of senatorial election
contest. (Abbas v. SET)

4. Independence. The Congress may not regulate the actions of the electoral tribunals even in procedural
matters. The tribunal is an independent constitutional body. (Angara v. Electoral Commission)

5. Security of Tenure. Members of ET have security of tenure. Disloyalty to the party is not a ground for
termination. (Bondoc v. Pineda) (2002 Bar Question)

6. Power. The Electoral Tribunal shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and
qualifications of their respective members.
QUESTION HOUR
In the context of a parliamentary system of government, the question hour is a period of
confrontation initiated by Parliament to hold the Prime Minister and the other ministers accountable
for their acts and the operation of the government, corresponding to what is known in Britain as the
question period. The framers of the 1987 Constitution removed the mandatory nature of such
appearance during the question hour in the present Constitution so as to conform more fully to a
system of separation of powers. This is provided in Article VI, Section 22 of the Constitution:

SECTION 22. The heads of departments may upon their own initiative, with the consent of the
President, or upon the request of either House, as the rules of each House shall provide, appear
before and be heard by such House on any matter pertaining to their departments. Written questions
shall be submitted to the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives at
least three days before their scheduled appearance. Interpellations shall not be limited to written
questions, but may cover matters related thereto. When the security of the State or the public
interest so requires and the President so states in writing, the appearance shall be conducted in
executive session.

QUESTION HOUR VS. INQUIRY IN AID OF LEGISLATION

No. Section 21 (inquiry in aid of legislation) and Section 22 (question hour) of Article VI of the
Constitution are closely related and complementary to each other, but they do not pertain to the
same power of Congress. One specifically relates to the power to conduct inquiries in aid of
legislation, the aim of which is to elicit information that may be used for legislation, while the other
pertains to the power to conduct a question hour, the objective of which is to obtain information in
pursuit of the oversight function of Congress. While attendance was meant to be discretionary in the
question hour, it was compulsory in inquiries in aid of legislation.

Powers of Impeachment

ARTICLE XI
ACCOUNTABILITY OF PUBLIC OFFICERS

Section 2. The President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the

Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office on impeachment for, and

conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high

crimes, or betrayal of public trust. All other public officers and employees may be removed from office as

provided by law, but not by impeachment.

Section 3. (1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases of

impeachment.
(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of Representatives or

by any citizen upon a resolution or endorsement by any Member thereof, which shall be included in the

Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the proper Committee within three session

days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing, and by a majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its

report to the House within sixty session days from such referral, together with the corresponding

resolution. The resolution shall be calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days

from receipt thereof.

(3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a

favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override its contrary

resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded.

(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the

Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate

shall forthwith proceed.

(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a

period of one year.

(6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. When sitting for

that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the Philippines is on

trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, but shall not vote. No person shall be convicted

without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.

(7) Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office and

disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines, but the party convicted shall

nevertheless be liable and subject to prosecution, trial, and punishment, according to law.

(8) The Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the purpose of this

section.