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ARTICLE VI
THE CONGRESS
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The Philippine government has three branches:

1. Legislative Department
2. Executive Department
3. Judicial Department

 The three branches of the government are considered

as the greatest and common and the common
denominator of democracy (ruled by many), because
they are said to be co-equal.
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 The Legislative branch, in Latin term “Legis”

meaning Law. The Legislative branch serves as the
law making body of the government. This branch of
the government has the authority to make, alter and
to repeal the laws. The law makers deliberates the
laws, legal matters and conduct debates pertaining to
issues and concerns of the Philippine government.
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There are two basic structures for
legislative branches of government:

 Unicameral – Form of government as being consist of one

chamber was being applied and implemented the national
assembly under the 1973 constitution during the time of
President Ferdinand Marcos. When president Corazon Aquino
succeeded, she changed the 1973 constitution (authoritarian
constitution) into the 1987 constitution (freedom constitution).
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Bicameral – It consist of two house legislature -
1. The Senate (Upper house)
2. The House of Representatives (Lower house)

1. Senate of the Philippines

A. Composition

The Senate of the Philippine government is composed of 24 senators whom

they are elected at large by the qualified voters. This means that all senators in
the Philippines are being elected in a national election.
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B. Qualifications

1. Natural-born citizen of the Philippines

2. At least 35 years of age
3. Able to read and write
4. A registered voter
5. A resident of the Philippines for not less than 2 years
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 C. Term of office

The term of office of senators is 6 years which shall begin unless

otherwise provided by law at noon on the 30th day of June after the
election. Term of office which refers to the period fixed by
law/constitution during which a member of congress or an elective
official will hold office, should be distinguished from tenure of office
which speak of the actual number of years during which the official
holds the office. It follows that term of office is generally longer than
tenure.

 No senator shall serve for more than 2 consecutive terms and since
the term of office is 6 years, then what is prohibited under the
constitution is more than 12 successive years.
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2. House of Representatives

 The house of representatives consists of men and women who

are the elected representatives of the Filipino people. We expect
the members of the house to represent our needs and
aspirations and to carry out our desires on matters of rational
concerns.
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House of Representatives
A. Composition
The House of Representatives is composed of 10 times larger than the
membership in the senate. It is composed of not more than 250
members unless otherwise fixed by law. It consists of two kinds of
members namely:
1. District Representatives – Elected from Legislative districts
apportioned among the provinces, cities and the Metropolitan
Manila area. They constitute the majority of members of the House
of Representatives.
2. Party-list Representatives – Elected through the party-system of
registered national, regional, and sectoral parties or organization.
They shall constitute twenty percent of the total number of
representatives.
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B. Qualifications
Qualifications for District Representatives:

1. Natural-born citizen of the Philippines

2. At least 25 years of age
3. Able to read and write
4. A registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected
5. A resident of the district in which he shall be elected for not less
than one year
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Qualifications for Party-list Representatives:

 The qualifications for the party-list representatives are the same

as that of the district representatives except a registered voter
and resident of the district. For party-list representatives, the
place of registration to vote and residence can be anywhere in
the Philippines. This is because party-list does not represent a
district in the House of Representatives.
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C. Term of Office

 In the 1935 Constitution, the term of office of the members of the

House of Representatives was 4 years and 6 years for
Mambabatas in the Batasang Pambansa under 1973
constitution. Under the present constitution, the term of office of
the congressman is reduced to 3 years and like a senator . Shall
commence at noon at the 30th day of June unless otherwise
fixed by law next following their election.

They can only be elected for three consecutive years or a

continuous service for 9 years,
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Congressional Election

1. Regular Election is the regular election of both the members

of the Senate and House of Representatives and shall be held
on the second Monday of May.
2. Special Election is an election called for to fill a vacant
position in two chambers of congress in a manner provided by
law. In case a senator or a congressman is elected in a special
election to fill a vacant seat, it shall only serve for the
unexpected term.
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Salaries and Privileges
 Salaries – the constitution fixed initially the annual salary of
senators and congressmen to two hundred four thousand each.
These are subject to change by law. But when the members of
congress passed and approved an increased in their
compensation, it shall take effect only after the expiration of the
full term of all the members of the Senate and the House of
Representatives approving such increase.
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POWERS OF THE CONGRESS

 The congress plays an important role in the Philippines political

system. The congress control major decisions on measures to help
solve substantive problems, national budget, taxes, trade policy and
even appointees to cabinet posts which are all crucial to the
workings of our republican government.

The principal function of the congress is lawmaking, that is,

enactment of laws serving as binding rules for all Filipinos.
However, the constitutions also grants certain non-legislative
functions to the congress such the power to declare the existence
of war, the power to remove the president and other high officials
through impeachmen
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Classifications of the Powers of Congress
 We can classify the power of the congress into those that are
specifically granted under the constitution, those which the
congress enjoys as necessary and proper to the exercise of those
expressly granted and those that are inherent in the congress.

a) Enumerated Powers – Refer to those specifically or expressly

conferred to the congress by the constitution.

b) Implied Powers – Refer to such other powers as are necessarily

implied from the given powers (Government of the Philippine
Island vs Springer, 50 Phil. 259 [1927]).

c) Inherent Powers – Are those that are neither granted not implied
their from, but rather they refer to those that grow out from the
very existence of congress.
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The General Legislative Powers

 The general legislative power of the congress refer to its lawmaking

powers. Specifically these refers to the authority of the congress to enact.
These powers carry with it right to amend and repeal them. This is
considered the important congressional function. It was mentioned in the
early part of the previous chapter that this power of the congress is plenary,
subject only to those provided under the constitutions. However, it must be
noted that the manner of enacting legislation. It demonstrates the system of
checks and faces through the participation of the president in the
lawmaking process. Under the constitution, before a bill is approved by the
Senate and the House comes a law, it shall be presented to the president
for his approval. Laws used by the congress are called statutes or Republic
Acts. An understanding of the lawmaking powers of the congress requires
knowledge on the limitations and the elaborate process of how laws are
made.
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LIMITATIONS

 Although it would appear from the grant of plenary

power that the congress exercise powers, like the
boundaries of the ocean, are unlimited, the authority
of the congress, however, in make laws is subject to
certain limitations. The following are the limitations on
the law making powers of the congress:
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1. Substantive Limitations – these refer to the

content or subject matter of the low passed
by the congress.
a) Expressed Limitations – these are limitations that are expressly
provided under the constitution like the provision in the bill of
rights on non-passage of laws abridging the freedom of speech,
of expression, or of the press, non-impairment of the obligators
and contract, non passage of ex post facto law and bill o
attainer.
z b) Implied Limitations – Those that can be implied from the nature
and character of a legislative power under our system of
government such as the passage irrepealable laws and the
non-delegation of legislative power.
However, delegation of legislative powers are permissible in five
instances:
1. Delegation of emergency powers to the president
2. Delegation to tariff powers to the president
3. Delegation of administrative bodies
4. Delegation to local government
5. Delegation directly to the people
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2. Procedural Limitation – These refer in the process or
manner of passing law.

The following are the procedural limitations provided under the

constitution:
 Every bill passed by the congress shall embrace only one subject which
shall be expressed in the tittle thereof. The purpose of the constitutional
directive that the subject of a bill should be embraces in its tittle is to
apprise the legislators of the purposes, the nature and scope of its
provisions, and prevent the enactment into law of matters, which have
not received the notice, actions, and study of the legislators or of the
public
 No bill passed by either House shall become a law unless its has
passed three readings on separate days, and printed copies thereof in
its final form have been distributed to its members 3 days before its
passage, except when the president certifies to the necessity of its
immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency.
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B. Law Making Process

 The basic procedure in enacting laws is not provided

under the constitution in detail. The particular
procedure now adopted by our congress is quite
similar to those observed in the US congress and at
the same time the result of parliamentary usage and
custom.
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The following are the basic steps in the
process of lawmaking:

 ORIGIN OF BILLS
The first step in lawmaking process is the creation and
introduction of the bill. A bill is a draft of a proposed statute or
law submitted to the legislature for enactment. A bill is
introduced by a member of the House of Representatives for
senate except to those which the constitution requires
exclusively in the senate.