A.

Legislative Power

The legislative power is the power to enact or create laws and the power to repeal them.
This power is vestsed in the Philippine Congress and it is reserved to the people in
cases of initiative and referendum. Section 1, Article VI, of the 1987 Constitution states
that:

. . .the legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines

which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to
the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and
referendum.

B. Bicameral Legislation

The current 1987 Constitution replaced the unicameral or one-house legislature

under the 1973 Marcos Constitution and restored the bicameral system of the 1935
Constitution. For the Philippines, a bicameral legislature means that Congress, the
legislature, is made of two houses: the Upper House which is the Senate and the Lower
House which is the House of Representatives.

C. Functions and Powers of the Philippine Congress

The Philippine Congress performs various legislative functions for the good of the
country. Among these include (1) definition of the rights and duties of citizens, (2)
imposition of taxes to defray expenses of government, (3) appropriation of public funds,
(4) definition and punishment of crimes, (5) creations and abolition of government
offices including the determination of their jurisdictions and functions, and (6) regulation
of human conduct and the use of property for the promotion of the common good.

To fulfill its duty, the Constitution provides the Philippine Congress the following
powers:

a) General Legislative Power. Congress has the general powers to create laws which
include the power to change or abolish the law.

b) Specific Legislative Powers. These are powers expressly conferred by the

Constitution to Congress. These include the power of appropriation or determining the
national budget of the government, the power of taxation or to enact tax laws, or the
power of expropriation or to pass laws appropriating private property for public use upon
payment of just compensation.

c) Non-Legislative Powers. These powers do not directly relate to enactment of laws

but nevertheless are performed by Congress as part of its obligations under the
Constitution. These include (1) the power to propose amendments to the constitution
such as calling a Constitutional convention for the revision of the Charter; (2) the power
to impeach impeachable officials such as the President, Vice-President, the
Ombudsman, the Chief Justice and Commissioners of the constitutional bodies such as
the COMELEC; (3) the power to canvas votes for the President and Vice-President; and
(4) the power to declare the existence of a state of war when our country is invaded by
another country.
d) Implied Powers. These are powers which are not expressly given by the
Constitution to Congress but which are implied from those expressly granted. These
include the power to (1) punish or declare a person in contempt during or in the course
of legislative investigation, and (2) issue summons and notices in connection with
legislative inquiry or investigation. Without these powers, Congress cannot punish
people who disregard summons or notices or disrupt legislative inquiry or investigation
in aid of legislation. Contempt powers include the power to imprison witnesses who
directly and indirectly show disrespect for legislative proceedings of Congress.

e) Inherent Powers. These powers are inherent to the exercise of legislative powers by
Congress. To be able to perform its functions orderly, Congress has the power to
determine the rules of its proceedings. In case of impeachment proceedings, the House
of Representatives and the Senate have enacted specific rules on how to investigate
and decide on how to remove impeachable officials. The Constitution has expressly
given Congress the power to determine its own internal rules.

D. Constitutional Prohibitions on the Powers of Congress

Although Congress is conferred with legislative authority by the Constitution, its

lawmaking power has limitations and restrictions. Congress cannot pass the following
type of laws as imposed by the Constitution:

a) No ex post facto law shall be passed. An ex post facto law changes the
punishment & inflicts a greater punishment than what the law appropriated to the crime
when committed. This type of law is prohibited as this is prejudicial to the rights of the
accused. If allowed, the accused suffers more punishment for a crime which becomes
more serious than at the time it was committed.

b) No bill of attainder shall be passed. A prejudicial to the rights of the accused, a bill
of attainder is not allowed in Congress as it will inflict punishment without a judicial trial.

c) No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed. Congress cannot

interfere with private contracts entered into by private individuals or groups. A contract
is a meeting of minds between 2 parties and a law that governs its agreement.

d) No law granting a title of royalty or nobility shall be passed. The Philippines is a

republican and democratic government and not a monarchy. The conferment of royalty
and nobility is only appropriate for absolute or constitutional monarchies but not for the
Philippines. This prohibition prevents the creation of a privileged class who may transmit
their status by inheritance to their children.
e) No law shall be passed increasing the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme
Court without its advice and concurrence. Congress cannot reduce the original and
appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as provided in the Constitution. But it can
increase its jurisdiction by assigning to it additional cases for adjudication.

Table 1. Legislative Officers in The Philippines By Territorial Jurisdiction And Rank

TERRITORIAL LEGISLATIVE OFFICER

JURISDICTION

NATIONAL Senate President

Senators

DISTRICT Speaker of the House

TYPE OF CONGRESSMAN

DISTRICT District Congressmen/women

SECTORAL Party-List Congressmen/women

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

PROVINCE Board Members (Sangguniang

Panglalawigan)

CITY City Councilors (Sangguniang

Panglunsod)

MUNICIPALITY Municipal Councilors (Sangguniang

Bayan)

BARANGAY Barangay Councilors (Kagawads)

E. Distinctions between Senators and Representatives

 REPRESENTATIVES
CATEGORY SENATORS

DISTRICT PARTY-LIST

INSTITUTION Senate (GSIS House of Representatives (Batasang

building) Pambansa Building)

COMPOSITION (as of 24 230 56

2012, 15th Congress)

MANNER OF Within the top 12 Highest vote by At least 3% of

ELECTION candidates district nationwide votes
garnering the to get one seat
highest votes
nationwide

TERM OF OFFICE 6 years per term Limited to 3 years Limited to 3

with reelection, but per term, but more consecutive terms
limited to 2 than 3 consecutive
consecutive terms terms

QUALIFICATIONS

Citizenship Natural-Born Natural-Born Natural-Born

Minimum Education Able to Read & Able to Read & Able to Read &
Write Write Write

Minimum Age 35 years old on 25 years old on the 25 years old on the
the day of election day of election day of election

Voter Status A registered voter A registered voter A registered voter

in district in which
he shall be elected
 Residency* At least 2 years At least 1 year At least 1 year
immediately immediately immediately
preceding the day preceding the day preceding the day
of election of election of election

IMMUNITIES Cannot be Cannot be arrested Cannot be

arrested while while Congress is arrested while
Congress is in in session if crime Congress is in
session if crime committed is session if crime
committed is punishable by 6 committed is
punishable by 6 years or less punishable by 6
years or less years or less

*Residence is “the place where one habitually resides and to which, when he is absent,
he has the intention of returning” (Evangelista vs. Santos, 86 Phil. 837)

F. How Congress Make Laws or Statutes

Since the Constitution adopted a bicameral legislature which consists of a Senate

and a House of Representatives, it is expected that the steps and processes would be
more complex than the unicameral legislature. The major steps can be categorized into
3 phases: the Preliminary, Formal, and Final stages.

Preliminary Stage

This is the initial stage of the lawmaking. This is where the lawmakers
attempt to understand the legal needs of the people by conducting public hearings
and consultations. When an area of concern is identified, the lawmaker prepares a
draft of the bill and consults experts before filing it with the Senate or House of
Representatives as the case may be. When the draft becomes final, the lawmaker
sponsors it alone or with co-lawmakers as authors and files it in the Bill Section of
the Senate/House of Representatives in order to be calendared for the First
Reading, which will be the next stage.

Formal Stage

Every bill undergoes 3 readings both in the Senate and in the House of Representatives
as required in a bicameral legislature. The following are some important steps followed
during this stage:
 The First Reading

The bill is formally introduced in the session hall in the Senate/House of

Representatives. What will be highlighted and read during this step is only the
number and title of the bill. Thereafter the Senate President or Speaker refers the
bill to the appropriate Senate/House Committee for further investigation.

Second Reading
This is the crucial stage of the bill. During this stage, the bill is examined,
debated, or amended by members of the respective committees. If
approved by a majority of its members, the bill is printed in its final form
and copies are distributed to senators or congressmen/women at least 3
days before the third reading. If disapproved, the sponsor has to re-file it
perhaps in a more acceptable way to committee members; otherwise, it is
considered “dead”.

Third Reading
At this stage, the bill is now presented to the members of the
Senate/House of Representatives in a plenary session for approval.
Legislators cast their votes for the bill. If approved by the required votes,
the bill is sent to the other chamber for the required readings – if the bill
originates in the Senate, it is sent to the House of Representatives and
vice versa.

Reconciliation of Two Bills

If the approved bills of the same nature or topic by the Senate and by the
House of Representative are very different, a reconciliation process would
be done by a selected group of senators and representatives called as the
Bicameral Committee. This group is called as the “Third Chamber” as
members are authorized by Congress to finalize the two(2) bills and come
out with a unified.

Enrollment of the Bill

A bill is enrolled when it is approved by both Houses. It will be sent to the
President for consideration and signature.

Final Stage

This stage include the signature or approval of the President for the bill and
publication of the new law to make it effective and made known to the public.

Signature or Veto of the President

An enrolled bill automatically becomes a law or statute in any of the

following manner:
 (1) When the President signs it;
(2) When the veto or disapproval of the President is overridden by 2/3
votes of all members of each House; or
(3) When the President does not act on the bill within 30 days after
presentation.

Publication of the New Law

If the bill is signed, it automatically becomes a new law or statute.

However, it must be communicated to people who are subject of the new
law. Thus, the publication of the new law is required. The publication is
usually done on the Official Gazette, the official publication of government
for new laws by the National Printing Office, or in newspapers of national
circulation. A new law usually becomes enforceable 15 days after its
publication date.