LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

LEGISLATIVE POWER power to propose, enact, amend and

repeal laws

WHERE VESTED Congress

COMPOSITION OF CONGRESS
SENATE 24 Senators

QUALIFICATIONS 1. natural-born citizen of Philippines;

2. on the day of election, at least 35
years old;
3. able to read and write;
4. registered voter;
5. resident of the Philippines for at least
2 years immediately preceding the day of
HUMSS election
PHILIPPINE POLITICS TERM OF OFFICE  6 years
 No Senator shall serve for more than
3 2 consecutive terms
MR. ARNOLD V. DE CASTRO
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES (HR) not more than 250 members consisting
of district representatives, party-list
representatives, sectoral representatives

QUALIFICATIONS same as Senators except that the age

must be at least 25 years old and the
residence must be at least 1 year

TERM OF OFFICE 3 years

No member of HR shall serve for more
than 3 consecutive terms.

PARTY-LIST SYSTEM Mechanism of proportional

representation in the election of
representatives to the HR from national,
regional and sectoral parties or
organizations

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 POWERS OF CONGRESS 5. QUESTION HOUR POWER  power to obtain information from
1. GENERAL/PLENARY LEGISLATIVE power to propose, enact, amend and other departments through
POWER repeal laws systematic interpellations (asking of
questions) for the purpose of
LIMITATION Bill of Rights appropriate oversight
2. POWER OF APPROPRIATION  a.k.a. “spending power” or “power 6. WAR POWERS  power to declare the existence of
of the purse”
a state of war by a vote of 2/3 of both
 subject to the veto power of the
Senate and HR voting separately
President
It’s the President who proposes the 7. OTHER POWERS  power to act as Board of
budget but the final say on the
Canvassers in Presidential Election
matter of appropriation is lodged in
 power to call a special election for
the Congress
President and Vice President
 The Supreme Court (SC) in the
 power to judge President’s
case of Philippine Constitution
physical fitness to discharge the
Association vs. Enriquez stated that
functions of the Presidency
the power of appropriation carries
power to revoke or extend
with it the power to specify the
suspension of writ of habeas corpus
project to be funded under an
or declaration of martial law
appropriation law.
 power to concur in Presidential
 In the landmark case of Belgica
amnesties
vs. Ochoa, the SC ruled that the
 power to concur in treaties or
2013 PDAF (Pork Barrel) violates,
international agreements
among others, the principle of
 power to confirm certain
separation of powers, because said
appointments/nominations made by
PDAF allowed the legislators to
the President
intervene even in the implementation
 power of impeachment
stage of the law. It should be noted
 power relative to natural resources
that the power and duty to implement
 power to propose amendments to
is for the executive and not to the
the Constitution
legislative.

3. POWER OF TAXATION  power to enact a law imposing a

tax or even an exemptions

4. POWER OF LEGISLATIVE  power to conduct inquiries in aid of

INVESTIGATION legislation


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JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
JUDICIAL POWER  power of courts to settle actual
controversies involving rights which
are legally demandable
 power to determine whether there
has been GAD- grave abuse of
discretion on the part of any branch
of government
WHERE VESTED  Supreme Court (SC) with 14
Associate Justices and 1 Chief
Justice
 Lower courts established by law
like Regional Trial Court (RTC),
Municipal Trial Court (MTC), Court of
Appeals (CA)
JURISDICTION  power to hear and decide a case
 The Congress has the power to
define, prescribe and apportion the
jurisdiction of various lower courts
 among the list of nominees prepared
DELIBERATIVE PROCESS  privilege against disclosure of
PRIVILEGE information or communication, to
enable the members of the Court to
freely discuss the issues without fear
of criticism for holding unpopular
positions
SOME CONSTITUIONAL 1. The SC is a constitutional body
SAFEGUARDS TO INSURE TH and cannot be abolished by the
INDEPENDENCE OF THE Congress.
JUDICIARY 2. The Justices of SC are removable
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only by impeachment.
*Note: the case of Former Chief
Justice Serreno who was removed by
quo warranto
3. The SC has administrative
supervision over all inferior courts
and personnel.
4. The SC has the exclusive power to
discipline judges/justices of lower
courts.
5. The members of judiciary have
security of tenure.
QUALIFICATIONS
SC JUSTICES 1. natural-born citizen of Philippines;
2. at least 40 years old
3. must have been a judge of a lower
court or engaged in the practice of
law for at least 15 years
JUDGES OF LOWER COURTS 1. natural-born citizen of Philippines;
2. member of the Philippine Bar
3. other qualifications prescribed by
Congress
APPOINTMENT The judges and Justices are
appointed by the President from
by the Judicial Bar Council.
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 SOURCES:
ACTIVITIES 1 & 2 FOR QUARTER 2:
OUTLINE/REVIEWER IN POLITICAL LAW, Justice Antonio Eduardo
You are about to make two essays: B. Nachura, 2016.

LawPhil, <https://lawphil.net/consti/cons1987.html>, accessed last

1. Find in the internet a law already made by the Congress which you think is 22 November 2020.
the most beneficial law in the Philippines. Then make an essay composed of at
least 3 paragraphs justifying why it should be considered as the most
beneficial law in the Philippines. Philippine Law Reviewers,
https://lawphilreviewer.wordpress.com/tag/political-law-
2. Make an essay composed of at least 2 paragraphs stating what character/s
constitutional-law-article-vi/, accessed last last 22 November 2020.
should the judges or justices of the Philippines possess in order to greatly
contribute to the administration of justice and briefly explain your reasons. .

Your originality matters. Avoid copy and paste.

You can make these in a Word document in any format with file name
(your Last Name, First Name, Middle Initial) which you may sent to my
email address (arnolddecastro888@gmail.com) or directly to my
Facebook messenger (Arnold Villena De Castro) for confidentiality.

You can also write your outputs manually in a clean sheet of paper, take
a photo/s of said outputs and send the photo/s to the above- mentioned
email address or Facebook messenger.

DEADLINE: ON OR BEFORE 11:59 pm, DECEMBER 18, 2020.

STAY SAFE and GOD BLESS!

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