LEGISLATIVE

PROCESS
Source: Legal Research and Bibliography by Peter Ng, Philip Po, and Pepito Po

LEGAL RESEARCH Tues 7:30-9:30

Atty. Patricia Gail Cayco-Magbanua
HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW

■ Preparation of the bill

■ First Reading
■ Committee Consideration and Action
■ Second Reading
■ Third Reading
■ Transmittal of the approved bill to the Senate
■ Senate action on approved bill of the House
■ Conference Committee
■ Transmittal of the bill to the President
■ Presidential Action on the bill
■ Action on approved bill
■ Action on vetoed bill
Preparation of the Bill

■ The Member or the Bill Drafting Division of the Reference and Research Bureau
prepares and drafts the bill upon the Member’s request.
■ A bill may be introduced in the House of Representatives or the Senate
■ It must related to only one subject matter which must be expressed in the title.
First Reading

■ The bill is filed with the Bills and Index Service and the same is numbered and
reproduced.
■ The same will be included in the Order of Business for First Reading three days after its
filing.
■ On the first reading, the Secretary General will read the title and number of the bill.
■ The Speaker will then refer the bill to the appropriate Committee.
Committee Consideration or Action

■ The Committee where the bill was referred to evaluates it to determine the necessity of
conducting public hearings. If said hearing is necessary, the Committee will schedule it,
issue public notices and inivites resource persons and experts on the proposed legislation.
■ If a public hearing is not necessary, it will schedule the bill for further discussion.
■ A Committee Report will then be prepared. It will be read in open session. The bill and
the report will then be referred to the Rules Committee.
■ The Rules Committee will place the bill in the 2nd Reading Calendar or in the Calendar of
Unassigned Business.
■ A Committee will only prepare a report for a bill that it decides to recommend for
approval by the House.
■ The Committee may introduce amendments, consolidate bills on the same subject
matter, or propose a substitute bill.
■ The Committee approves the Committee Report and transmits it to the Plenary Affairs
Bureau.
Second Reading

■ The Committee Report is registered and numbered by the Bills and Index Service. It is
included in the Order of Business and referred to the Committee on Rules. The Committee on
Rules will now schedule the bill for second reading.
■ On Second Reading, the bill is subject to debate and amendments before being placed in the
3rd reading calendar for final passage.
■ The Secretary General will read the number, and text of the Bill and the following takes
place:
■ Period of Sponsorship and Debate
■ Period of Amendments
■ Voting
– Viva Voce, count by tellers, division of the House, or nominal voting
Third Reading

■ A bill must undergo 3 readings on 3 separate days except when the President certifies a bill as urgent
to meet a public calamity or national emergency.
■ The amendments, if any, are engrossed and printed copied of the bill are reproduced for third reading.
■ The engrossed bill is included in the Calendar of Bills and copies are distributed to all the Members
three days before its Third Reading.
■ The Secretary General reads only the number and title of the Bill.
■ A roll call or nominal voting is called and a Member may explain his vote for three minutes.
■ No amendment of the Bill is allowed at this stage.
■ The bill is approved by an affirmative vote of a majority of the Members present.
■ If the bill is disapproved, the same is transmitted to the Archives.
Transmittal of the Approved Bill to the
Senate
■ The approved bill is transmitted to the Senate for its concurrence.
■ After its passage by one house, the bills goes through the same process in the other
house.
■ If amendments are made in one house, the other house must concur. If a house has a
counterpart bill to a bill passed by the other house and these bills have conflicting
provisions, a conference committee composed of representatives of each house is
formed to harmonize conflicting provisions.
■ If the conflicting provisions are harmonized, a conference committee report is prepared
for ratification or approval by both houses.
Senate Action on Approved Bill of the
House
■ The bill undergoes the same legislative process in the Senate.
Bicameral Conference Committee

■ A Conference Committee is constituted and is composed of Members from each House

of Congress to settle, reconcile, or thresh out differences or disagreement on any
provision of the bill.
■ New provisions germane to the subject matter or may report out an entirely new bill on
the subject.
■ The Conference Committee Report is submitted for consideration and approval of both
houses. No amendment is allowed.
■ When the bill is passed by both houses, it is signed by their respective leaders and send
to the President for approval.
Transmittal of the Bill to the President

■ Copies of the bill, signed by the Senate President and Speaker of the House of
Representatives and certified by both the Secretary of the Senate and the Secretary
General of the House, are transmitted to the President.
Presidential Action on the Bill

■ If the bill is approved by the President, the same is assigned an R.A. number and
transmitted to the House where in originated.
■ If the bill is vetoed, the same, together with a message citing the reason for the veto is
transmitted to the House where the bill originated.
■ The President may sign the bill into a law, or veto all or part of it.
■ The bill becomes a law if, within 30 days after receiving it, the President fails to sign or
veto the bill.
■ The vetoed bill may still become a law if the Congress overrides the veto by a 2/3 vote
of all its Members.
Action on the Approved Bill

■ The bill is reproduced ad copies are sent to the Official Gazette for publication and
distribution to the implementing agencies.
Action on the Vetoed Bill

■ The message in included in the Order of Business.

■ If the Congress decides to override the veto, the House and Senate shall proceed
separately to reconsider the bill or vetoed items of the bill.
■ If the bill or the vetoed items is passed by a vote of two-thirds of the Members of each
house such bill or items shall become a law.
END