Legislative

• Legislative power shall be vested in Philippine Congress
• The legislature is composed of the Senate and House of Representatives.
• The legislative branch is a bicameral consisting of two chambers
• By vote of two-thirds of both Houses in joint assembled, voting separately, Philippine Congress shall have the sole power to declare the existence of a state of war
• Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution indicated the essential Features of the Legislative Branch
• 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
• The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective committees may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance with its duly published rules of procedure.
• Philippine Congress confirms or reject Presidential appointments.
• The Senate shall be composed of 24 Senators. .
• Through synchronized elections, 12 senators are elected every 3 years.
• The Senate is composed of 24 senators and lawmakers
• The term of the Senators shall be 6 years and shall commence, unless otherwise provided by law.
• No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms
• The regular election of the Senators shall be held on the 2nd Monday of May
• In case of vacancy in the Senate, a special election may be called to fill such vacancy in the manner prescribed by law, but the Senator thus elected shall serve only for the unexpired term.
• Qualification for Senators:

  1. A natural-born citizen of the Philippines
  2. At least 35 years old
  3. Is able to read and write
  4. A registered voter
  5. A resident of the Philippines for not less than 2 years before election day
• The composition of the House of Representative is indicated on Article VI of the 1987 constitution.
• House of Representatives are called Representatives or Congressmen/Congresswomen.
• The House of Representatives shall be composed of not more than 250 members.
• The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum of the total number of representatives including those under party list.
• A Representative can serve for not more than 3 consecutive terms
• The member of House of Representatives shall be elected for a term of three years.
• No member of the House of Representative shall serve for more than 3 consecutive terms
• The regular election of the members of the House of Representatives shall be held on the 2nd Monday of May
• In case of vacancy in the House of Representatives, special election may be called to fill such vacancy.
• The legislative body comes out with two main documents in order to craft laws; bills and resolutions.
• Legislative Process Elements:

  1. Joint Resolutions
  2. Concurrent Resolutions
  3. Simple Resolutions
• The congress can remove the President, Vice President, the Members of Supreme Court, the members of the Supreme Court, the members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman in their respective position
• Joint resolution is a bill that is passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president.
• Simple resolutions are similar to concurrent resolutions but are specific to either the House of Representatives or the Senate. They do not involve both chambers.
• • A concurrent resolution is a legislative expression of opinion or intent by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Unlike joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions do not have the force of law and do not require the President’s signature.
• Bills are proposed legislation which must be approved by both Houses of Congress and then signed into law by the President.
• 1. A natural-born citizen of the Philippines
  2. At least 25 years old
  3. Is able to read and write
  4. Except the party-list representatives, a registered voter
  5. A resident for at least 1 year in the district where s/he shall be elected.