#172. KIDA V. SENATE, G.R. NO.

196271 (2011)
TOPIC: Legislative Process: aa) Three Readings
DOCTRINE: The President’s certification of the RA 10153 as URGENT exempted both Houses from
having to comply with the 3 separate readings requirement.
FACTS:
RA 9333 was passed to reset the ARMM regional elections to the 2 nd Monday of August 2005 and on the
same date every 3 years thereafter. COMELEC had begun preparations for these elections and had
accepted certificate of candidacies for various regional offices to be elected. But on 30 June 2011, RA
10153 was enacted, resetting the ARMM elections to May 2013 to coincide with the regular national and
local elections of the country. RA 10153 originated in HB 4146, seeking the postponement of ARMM
elections scheduled on August 8, 2011. Later, HRep passed HB No. 4146 and transmitted the same to the
Senate, which adopted its own version, SB No. 2756. HRep concurred with the Senate amendments and
then the President of the Republic sighed RA 10153 into law. With the enactment into law of RA 10153,
COMELEC stopped its preparations for the ARMM elections. This gave rise to the filing of several
petitions against RA 10153’s constitutionality.
ISSUE:
Whether the passage of RA 10153 violates Section 26(2) Art. VI of the Constitution.
RULING:
NO. Section 26(2), Art. VI of Constitution provides that before bills passed by either the House or the
Senate can become laws, they must pass through three readings on separate days. The exception is when
the President certifies to the necessity of the bill's immediate enactment. Here, the President wrote to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives to certify the necessity of the immediate enactment of a law
synchronizing the ARMM elections with the national and local elections. The President’s certification
exempted both Houses from having to comply with the 3 separate readings requirement.
NOTE:
In any case, despite the President's certification, the two-fold purpose that underlies the requirement
for three readings on separate days of every bill must always be observed to enable our legislators and
other parties interested in pending bills to intelligently respond to them.  Specifically, the purpose with
respect to Members of Congress is: (1) to inform the legislators of the matters they shall vote on and (2)
to give them notice that a measure is in progress through the enactment process.