Statutory Construction

Atty. Ronic Treptor

Law-Making Process
Module 1.2
Procedural Requirements
• Who has the power to enact laws in the Philippines?
• Sec. 1, Art. IV of the 1987 Constitution provides 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.”
Procedural Requirements
• How does the Congress make, amend, repeal, or enact laws?
• Sec. 26 (2), Art. VI of the 1987 Constitution provides: No bill passed by either
House shall become a law unless it has passed three readings on separate
days, and printed copies thereof in its final form have been distributed to its
Members three days before its passage, except when the President certifies
to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or
emergency. Upon the last reading of a bill, no amendment thereto shall be
allowed, and the vote thereon shall be taken immediately thereafter, and the
yeas and nays entered in the Journal.
Procedural Requirements
• What is a bill?
• A bill is a proposed law.

• Who proposes a law?

• Congress may propose a law.

• How many readings are required before a bill becomes a law?

• A bill must past through three readings on separate days
Procedural Requirements
• How many readings are required before a bill becomes a law?
• No bill passed by either House shall become a law unless it has passed three
readings on separate days, and printed copies thereof in its final form have
been distributed to its Members three days before its passage, except when
the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a
public calamity or emergency.

• Note that the exception qualifies the requirement that the three readings be
done on separate days and the requirement that the printed copies of the bill
in its final form have been distributed to its Members three days before its
passage.
Procedural Requirements
• Actual process:
• Preparation of the Bill
• The Member or the Bill Drafting Division of the Reference and Research Bureau prepares
and drafts the bill upon the Member's request.

• First Reading
• The bill is filed with the Bills and Index Service and the same is numbered and
reproduced.
• Three days after its filing, the same is included in the Order of Business for First Reading.
• On First Reading, the Secretary General reads the title and number of the bill. The
Speaker refers the bill to the appropriate Committee/s.
Procedural Requirements
• Actual process:
• Committee Action
• The Committee where the bill was referred to evaluates it to determine the necessity of
conducting public hearings.
• If the Committee finds it necessary to conduct public hearings, it schedules the time thereof,
issues public notices and invites resource persons from the public and private sectors, the
academe and experts on the proposed legislation.
• If the Committee finds that no public hearing is not needed, it schedules the bill for
Committee discussion/s.
• Based on the result of the public hearings or Committee discussions, the Committee may
introduce amendments, consolidate bills on the same subject matter, or propose a
substitute bill. It then prepares the corresponding committee report.
• The Committee approves the Committee Report and formally transmits the same to the
Plenary Affairs Bureau.
Procedural Requirements
• Actual process:
• Second Reading
• The Committee Report is registered and numbered by the Bills and Index Service. It is
included in the Order of Business and referred to the Committee on Rules.
• The Committee on Rules schedules the bill for consideration on Second Reading.
• On Second Reading, the Secretary General reads the number, title and text of the bill and the
following takes place:
• Period of Sponsorship and Debate
• Period of Amendments
• Voting which may be by:
• viva voce
• count by tellers
• division of the House; or
• nominal voting
Procedural Requirements
• Actual process:
• Third Reading
• The amendments, if any, are engrossed and printed copies of the bill are reproduced for
Third Reading.
• The engrossed bill is included in the Calendar of Bills for Third Reading and copies of the
same are distributed to all the Members three days before its Third Reading.
• On Third Reading, the Secretary General reads only the number and title of the bill.
• A roll call or nominal voting is called and a Member, if he desires, is given three minutes
to explain his vote. No amendment on the bill is allowed at this stage.
• The bill is approved by an affirmative vote of a majority of the Members present.
• If the bill is disapproved, the same is transmitted to the Archives.
Procedural Requirements
• Actual process:
• Transmittal of the approved bill to the other House.
• The approved bill is transmitted to the other House for it to undergo the same process.

• Note that the other House can introduce any amendments they want. The other House
can even introduce an entirely new bill covering the same subject matter.
Procedural Requirements
• Actual process:
• Action of the other House.
• If the other House will not introduce any amendments, then the bill will be transmitted
to the President for signing.

• If the other House will introduce amendments, a Conference Committee composed of

Members from each House of Congress will be constituted to settle the disagreements
on any provision of the bill.
• The conferees are not limited to reconciling the differences in the bill but may introduce new
provisions germane to the subject matter or may report out an entirely new bill on the
subject.
• The Conference Committee prepares a report to be signed by all the conferees and the
Chairman.
• The Conference Committee Report is submitted for consideration/approval of both Houses.
No amendment is allowed.
Procedural Requirements
• Actual process:
• Transmittal of the Bill to the President
• Copies of the bill, signed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and certified by both the Secretary of the Senate and the Secretary
General of the House, are transmitted to the President.
President’s Role in the Law-Making Process
• What is the President’s role in the law-making process?
• Sec. 27 (1), Art. VI, of the 1987 Constitution provides: “(1) Every bill passed by the
Congress shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President. If he
approves the same, he shall sign it; otherwise, he shall veto it and return the same
with his objections to the House where it originated, which shall enter the objections
at large in its Journal and proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration, two-
thirds of all the Members of such House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent,
together with the objections, to the other House by which it shall likewise be
reconsidered, and if approved by two-thirds of all the Members of that House, it
shall become a law. In all such cases, the votes of each House shall be determined by
yeas or nays, and the names of the Members voting for or against shall be entered in
its Journal. The President shall communicate his veto of any bill to the House where
it originated within thirty days after the date of receipt thereof; otherwise, it shall
become a law as if he had signed it.”
President’s Role in the Law-Making Process
• What is the president’s role in the law-making process?
• Every bill passed by the Congress shall (mandatory), before it becomes a law,
be presented to the President.

• What can the president do upon the bill transmitted by Congress?

• Sign the bill
• Ignore the bill
• Veto the bill
President’s Role in the Law-Making Process
• What happens if the president signs the bill?
• The bill becomes a law.

• What happens if the president ignores the bill?

• The President shall communicate his veto of any bill to the House where it
originated within thirty days after the date of receipt thereof; otherwise, it
shall become a law as if he had signed it.

• There is no “pocket veto” in the Philippines. If the president ignores the bill
and does nothing, the bill will become a law after the lapse of 30 days from
the receipt of the bill by the president.
Veto and Override of the Veto
• What is the veto power of the president?
• This is the power of the president to refuse to approve a bill passed by
Congress. This means that the bill will not become a law.

• How can the president exercise this power?

• The President shall communicate his veto of any bill to the House where it
originated within thirty days after the date of receipt thereof; otherwise, it
shall become a law as if he had signed it. The president shall inform Congress
of the reasons for the veto.
Veto and Override of the Veto
• What happens if the president will veto the bill?
• The bill will be returned to the House where the bill originated.

• What can the house of origin do with the returned bill?

• The house of origin can consider the objections of the president and amend
the law. The bill will undergo the same law-making process again.

• The house of origin can override the veto.

Veto and Override of the Veto
• How can the Congress override the veto of the president?
• “…If, after such reconsideration, two-thirds of all the Members of such House
shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to
the other House by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by
two-thirds of all the Members of that House, it shall become a law.”
Procedural Requirements
• What are the three ways that a bill can become a law?
• Signed by the president
• Override the veto of the president
• If the president fails to act on the bill within 30 days from date of receipt
Procedural Requirements
• What happens if the law-making process is not followed?
• If the enacted law does not comply with the procedural requirements, then
that law is void. It is unconstitutional.
Procedural Requirements
• Note that under our constitution, there are restrictions when in comes to
law making.
• Ex:
• Sec. 26 (1), Art. VI. Every bill passed by the Congress shall embrace only one subject
which shall be expressed in the title thereof. (log-rolling)

• Sec. 28 (4), Art. VI. No law granting any tax exemption shall be passed without the
concurrence of a majority of all the Members of the Congress.

• Sec. 24. Art. VI. All appropriation, revenue or tariff bills, bills authorizing increase of
the public debt, bills of local application, and private bills shall originate exclusively in
the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with
amendments.
Enrolled Bill vs. Legislative Journals
• What is an enrolled bill?
• An enrolled bill is the bill signed by the Senate President, Speaker of the House, and
the President. This is essentially the bill that is signed by the President into law.

• What is a legislative journal?

• A legislative journal is a record of the proceedings in the Congress.

• Sec. 16 (4), Art. VI. Each House shall keep a Journal of its proceedings, and from time
to time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in its judgment, affect
national security; and the yeas and nays on any question shall, at the request of one-
fifth of the Members present, be entered in the Journal.
Enrolled Bill vs. Legislative Journals
• What is the Enrolled Bill Theory?
• The Enrolled Bill Theory states that the bill that was signed by the Senate
President, by the Speaker of the House, and by the President is binding upon
the courts.
• It is not the duty of the court to determine whether the provisions of the bill
that was signed was actually the one passed by Congress and approved by the
President. As a general rule, the actual bill signed by the Speaker, the Senate
President, and the President is the one considered to be passed as a law. This
is the case because the courts must respect the assurance of the Congress
and the President that the bill they signed actually went through the proper
law-making process.
Enrolled Bill vs. Legislative Journals
• Is the enrolled bill binding upon the courts?
• Yes.

• Are the legislative journals binding upon the courts?

• Yes.

• This means that in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, the contents
of the enrolled bill and the legislative journals are binding upon the courts. If
a person alleges that the enrolled bill is not accurate, or if the journals do not
reflect the correct proceedings in the law-making process, such allegation
must be supported by evidence before the court will entertain it.
Enrolled Bill vs. Legislative Journals
• What happens if there is a conflict between the enrolled bill and the
legislative journals? What will prevail?
• It is settled in this jurisdiction that in case of conflict between the enrolled bill
and the legislative journals, it is the former that should prevail except only as
to matters that the Constitution requires to be entered in the journals.
(Mabanag v. Lopez Vito, 78 Phil. 1).

• The courts cannot go beyond the enrolled bill to discover what really
happened. If this is the case, then it will impair the integrity of the legislative
process. Thus, if there has been any mistake in the printing of the bill before it
was certified by the officer of the assembly and approved by the Chief
Executive, the remedy is by amendment by enacting a curative legislation not
by judicial decree.
Enrolled Bill vs. Legislative Journals
• Is there any exception to the rule that the enrolled bill theory always
prevail over the legislative journals?
• Yes. Read Astorga v. Villegas, G.R. No. L-23475.
Withdrawal of Signatures
• For a bill to be considered an enrolled bill, who must sign such bill?
• The Speaker of the House
• The Senate President
• The President
Withdrawal of Signatures
• Can any of the signatories withdraw their signatures?
• As a general rule, the signatories cannot withdraw their signature. Once they
have signed the bill, the bill becomes a law. If the signatories want to change
something in the law, they have to amend such law, and that process must
comply with the law-making process under the Constitution.

• Are there any exceptions?

• Yes. The Speaker of the House, the Senate President, and the President can
withdraw their signatures if there is discrepancy between the text of the bill
as deliberated and the enrolled bill.
Withdrawal of Signatures
• What is the effect of such withdrawal?
• If there is a valid withdrawal of any of the signatories, the effects are:
• The withdrawal nullifies the bill as an enrolled bill.
• The bill losses its absolute verity.
• The Courts may now consult the legislative journals.
• This is because the bill, is no longer an enrolled bill, and thus the Enrolled Bill Theory which
states that the court should no longer look into the law-making process in determining the
validity of the law is no longer applicable.