1. Lecture on the Legislative
Department of the Republic
of the Philippines
ATTY. HARVE B. ABELLA, ESQ.

2. •UNICAMERALISM
•Malolos Congress
•Taft Commission
•BICAMERALISM
•Philippine Bill of 1902
•Philippine Assembly
•Philippine Commission
•Jones Law
•House of Representatives
•Senate

3. Legislative Power
•Not exclusively vested in Congress
•Sec. 1 ART VI
Non-Legislative Powers
•Canvass of Presidential Elections
•ART VII Sec. 4
•Declaration of the existence of a state of war
•ART VI Sec 23 (2)
•Confirmation of Amnesties
•ART VII Sec 19
•(through the Commission on Appointments) presidential appointments
•ART VII Sec 16
•Amendment or revision of the Constitution
•ART XVII
•Impeachment
•ART XI

4. THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES
COMPOSITION:
“The Senate shall be composed of twenty four
Senators who shall be elected at large by the
qualified voters of the Philippines as may be
provided by law.”
ART VII Sec 2
QUALIFICATIONS:
“No person shall be a Senator unless he is a
natural-born citizen of the Philippines, and, on the
day of the election, is at least 35 years of age,
able to read and write, a registered voter, and a
resident of the Philippines for not less than two
years immediately preceding the day of the
election.”
ART VII Sec 3

5. THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES
TERM OF OFFICE
Sec. 4. The term of office of Senators shall be 6 years
and shall commence, unless otherwise provided by
law, at noon on the 30th day of June next following their
election.
Sec. 2. The Senators, Members of the House of
Representatives, and the local officials first elected
under this Constitution shall serve until June 30, 1992.
Of the Senators elected in the election in 1992, the first
12 obtaining the highest number of votes shall serve for
6 years and the remaining twelve, for 3 years.

6. THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES
No. of Senators Term of Office
24 May 1987 5 years – June 30, 1992
24 May 1992 1st 12 (highest votes) = 6 years – June 30, 1998
2nd 12 = 3 years – June 30, 1995*
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Beginning 1995, 12 Senators shall be elected every 3 years, to
serve a full term of 6 years.
*ONE HALF OF THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE SENATE SHALL
NOT AT ANY TIME BE DISSOLVED. ½ of the membership is
retained as the other half is replaced or reelected every 3 years.
*CONTINUITY
To encourage the maintenance of Senate Policies

7. THE SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES
TERM LIMITATION
ART VI SEC 4 (par. 2)
No Senator shall serve for more than 2 consecutive terms.
Voluntary renunciation of the office for any length of time shall
not be considered as an interruption in the continuity of his
service for the full term for which he was elected.

8. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMPOSITION:
District Representative
•Elected directly and personally, from the territorial unit
he is seeking to represent.
Party-list Representative
•Chosen indirectly, through the party
he represents, which is the one voted
for by the electorate.
•Sec 5. (1)The House of Representatives shall be
composed of not more than 250 members, unless
otherwise fixed by law, who shall be elected from
legislative districts apportioned among provinces,
cities and the Metropolitan Manila area in
accordance with the number of their respective
inhabitants, and who on the basis of a uniform and
progressive ratio, and those who, as provided by
law, shall be elected through a party-list system of
registered national, regional and sectoral

9. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
(2) The party-list representatives shall constitute twenty per centum of
the total membership of the House of Representatives. For three
consecutive terms after the ratification of this Constitution, one-half of
the seats allocated to party-list representatives shall be filled, as
provided by law, by selection or election from the labor, peasant,
urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, women, youth and such
other sectors as may be provided by law, except the religious sector.
(3) Each legislative district shall comprise, as far as practicable,
contiguous, compact and adjacent territory. Each city with a population
of at least two hundred fifty thousand, or each province, shall have at
least one representative.
(4) Within 3 years following the return of every census, the Congress
shall make a reapportionment of legislative districts based on
standards provided in this section.”

10. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Qualifications
ART VI. Sec. 6
No person shall be a Member of the House of Representatives
unless he is a natural born citizen of the Philippines and, on the
day of the election is at least 25 years of age, able to read and
write, and except party-list representatives, a registered voter in
the district in which he shall be elected, and a resident thereof
for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the
day of the election.

11. THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Term of Office:
Sec. 7, ART VI
Three years, commencing at noon the 30th of June next following
their election.
LIMITATION: Shall not serve for more than three
consecutive terms. (total of 9 consecutive years years)
Regular Election Sec 8. ART VI
2nd Monday of May (unless otherwise provided by law)
Special Election
Sec. 9 ART VI / RA 6645: Lozada vs Comelec, 120 SCRA 337
In case of Vacancy in the Senate or in the House of
Representatives, a special election may be called to fill such
vacancy in the manner prescribed by law, but the Senator or
Member of the House of Representatives thus elected shall
serve only for the unexpired term.

12. PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITIES

13. Sec. 11, ART VI
A Senator or a Member of the House of Representatives shall, in all
offenses punishable by not more than six years imprisonment, be
privileged from arrest while the Congress is in session. No member
shall be questioned nor be held liable in any other place for any
speech or debate in the Congress or in any committee thereof.
1. Immunity of Arrest
• Intended to ensure representation of the constituents of the
Member of Congress by preventing attempts to keep him from
attending its sessions
2. Privilege of Speech & Debate
• Enables the legislator to express views bearing upon the public
interest without fear of accountability outside the halls of the
legislature.