LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

SENATE VS HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE

 RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT
• Residence — physical presence of a person in
a given area, community or country
• Domicile — place of habitual residence
• A man must have a domicile somewhere, once
established, it remains until a new one is
acquired
• Residence for election purposes is used
synonymously with domicile
 Senate
• The Senate of each Congress acts separately and
independently of the Senate of the Congress before it.
Due to the termination of the business of the Senate
during the expiration of one (1) Congress, all pending
matters and proceedings, such as unpassed bills and even
legislative investigations, of the Senate are considered
terminated upon the expiration of that Congress and it is
merely optional on the Senate of the succeeding Congress
to take up such unfinished matters, not in the same
status, but as if presented for the first time.[Balag v.
Senate of the Philippines, G.R. 234608, July 3, 2018].
 House of Representatives
• a. District Representatives and Questions of
Apportionment

District Representatives — Elected from

legislative districts apportioned among the
provinces, cities, and Metro Manila area.
 Rules on Apportionment of Legislative
Districts
• 1. Apportionment of legislative districts must be by law
which could be a:
a. General Apportionment Law; or
b. Special Law (i.e. creation of new provinces)
2. Proportional representation based on number of
inhabitants:
a. Each city with a population of at least 250,000 shall
have at least 1 representative.
b. Each province, irrespective of the number of
inhabitants, shall have at least 1 representative.
• 3. Each legislative district shall comprise,
as far as practicable, contiguous,
compact, and adjacent territory. (N.B.
Anti gerrymandering provision)
• 4. Re-apportionment by Congress within
3 years after the return of each census.
 Party-List System
• Party-List Representatives
They shall constitute 20% of the total number of representatives,
elected through a party-list system of registered national,
regional, and sectoral parties or organizations.

• Sectoral Representatives
For 3 consecutive terms from 2 February 1987, 1⁄2 of the party-list
seats shall be allotted to sectoral representatives to be chosen by
appointment or election, as may be provided by law. Until a law is
passed, they are appointed by the President from a list of
nominees by the respective sectors [Sec. 7, Art. XVIII].
 Atong Paglaum Guidelines
• 1. Three different parties or organizations may
participate in the party-list system:
a. National;
b. Regional;
c. or sectoral;
• 2. National and regional parties or orgs do not
need to (a) organize along sectoral lines, or (b)
represent any “marginalized or
underrepresented” sector;
• 3. Political parties may participate in the party-list
system provided:
a. they register under the party-list system;
b. they do not field candidates in legislative district
elections.
i. A party that participates in the legislative district
elections may still participate in the party-list
through a sectoral wing.
• ii. The sectoral wing can be part of the political
party’s coalition, but the former must be registered
independently in the party-list system.
• 4. Sectoral parties or orgs may either be (a)
“marginalized or underrepresented” (e.g. labor,
peasant, fisherfolk); or (b) “lacking in well-defined
political constituencies” (e.g. professionals,
women, elderly, youth)
• 5. The nominees of sectoral parties or orgs, of
either type, must (a) belong to their respective
sectors, or (b) have a track record of advocacy for
their respective sectors. Majority of the members
of a sectoral party, of either type, must belong to
the sector they represent.
• 6. National, regional, or sectoral parties
or orgs shall not be disqualified if some
of their nominees are disqualified,
provided they have at least 1 nominee
who remains qualified [AtongPaglaum,
supra]
 DISQUALIFICATIONS AND
QUALIFICATIONS
• Disqualified Parties:
• 1. Religious sects
• 2. Foreign organizations
• 3. Advocating violence or unlawful
means
• 4. Receiving support from any foreign
government, foreign political party, •
• foundation, organization, whether
directly or through any of its officers
or members or indirectly through
third parties for partisan election
purposes.
• 5. Violating or failing to comply with
laws, rules or regulations relating to
elections;
• 6. Declaring untruthful statements in
its petition;
• 7. Ceased to exist for at least one (1)
year; or
8. Failing to participate in the last two
(2) preceding elections or fails to
obtain at least 2 per centum of the
votes cast under
• the party-list system in the two (2)
preceding elections for the
constituency in which it has
registered.
 Qualified Sectors
• 1. Labor • 8. Women
• 2. Peasant • 9. Youth
• 3. Fisherfolk • 10. Veterans
• 4. Urban Poor • 11. Overseas Workers
• 5. Indigenous Cultural • 12. Professionals
Communities
• 6. Elderly
• 7. Handicapped
 LEGISLATIVE PRIVILEGES:
• a. Salaries
• b. Freedom from Arrest
• c. Speech and Debate Clause
 SALARIES
• Section 10, Art. VI. The salaries of Senators
and Members of the House of Representatives
shall be determined by law. No increase in
said compensation shall take effect until after
the expiration of the full term of all the
Members of the Senate and the House of
Representatives approving such increase.
 PHILCONSA v. Mathay, G.R. No. L25554
(1966)
• “Expiration of the full term of all Members of the
Senate and the House of Representatives” is
singular and means that the increase may only take
effect upon the expiration of the terms of both
houses who passed the law increasing said salary.
This means that even if the House of
Representatives term has already expired but the
senate has not, the salary increase cannot yet take
effect even if the increase is different for each
house
 Freedom from Arrest
• 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 [...] [Sec. 11, Art. VI]. Regardless of the
whereabouts of a Senator or Member of the House,
freedom from arrest holds, so long as Congress is in
session. Freedom from arrest applies only to
offenses punishable by not more than six years
imprisonment
 Speech and Debate Clause
• 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 [Sec. 11, Art. VI]. This means
the Senator or Member of the House can still be
questioned and held liable in Congress. (outside plenary)
• To come under the guarantee, the speech or debate
must be one made "in Congress or in any committee
thereof." Publication of an allegedly libelous letter is not
covered by the privilege [Jimenez v. Cabangbang, G.R.
No. L- 15905 (1966)].
 What is covered under this provision?
• Anything a member of Congress says in line with his legislative
functions (Jimenez v. Cabangbang, supra)
• a. Speeches
• b. Utterances
• c. Bills signed
• d. Votes passed
While the immunity of a Member of Congress is absolute and
thus even the Supreme Court cannot discipline a lawyer-senator
for remarks made against the court, it does not shield said
member from the authority of Congress to discipline its own
members [Defensor-Santiago v. Pobre, A.C. No. 7399 (2009)].
 Inhibitions and Disqualifications
• a. May not hold any other office or employment in
the government during his term without forfeiting his
seat [Sec. 13, Art. VI]

• Incompatible Office — The forfeiture of the seat in

Congress shall be automatic upon a member’s
assumption of such office deemed incompatible. Thus,
when a governor-elect ran for the Batasang Pambansa
and won, he could not hold both offices [Adaza v.
Pacana, G.R. No. L-68159 (1985)]
• b. May not be appointed to any office created
or whose emoluments were increased during
the term for which he was elected [Sec. 13,
Art. VI]
• Forbidden Office — One to which a member
cannot be appointed even if he is willing to
give up his seat in Congress. The effect of his
resignation from the Congress is the loss of his
seat therein but his disqualification for the
forbidden office nevertheless remains.
• c. Shall not be financially interested, directly
or indirectly, in any contract with, or
franchise or special privilege granted by the
government during his term of office [Sec. 14,
Art. VI]
• d. Shall not intervene in any matter before
any office of the government when it is for
his pecuniary benefit or where he may be
called upon to act on account of his office
[Sec. 14, Art. VI]
• The Pork Barrel System “runs afoul” of Sec. 14,
Art. VI, because in “allowing legislators to
intervene in the various phases of project
implementation – a matter before another
office of government – [Pork Barrel] renders
them susceptible to taking undue advantage
of their own office” [Belgica, supra].
• e. Cannot personally appear as counsel before any
court, electoral tribunal, quasi judicial and
administrative bodies during his term of office
[Sec. 14, Art. VI]

• This prohibition is absolute. Thus, when an

assemblyman acting as counsel for one group in an
internal dispute in a company was denied leave to
intervene, the court held that his action of buying
10 stocks in order to be able to intervene in the
company’s dispute as a