EXPULSION OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

Section 16(3), Article VI of the Constitution provides the manner in which members of the Senate
may be disciplined, suspended or expelled. It provides as follows:

Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its Members for disorderly
behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its Members, suspend or expel a Member.
A penalty of suspension, when imposed, shall not exceed sixty days.

Inhibitions and Disqualifications

The Constitution provides in Section 14, Article VI the grounds of inhibitions and disqualifications
for members of Congress.

It provides as follows:

No Senator or member of the House of Representatives may personally appear as counsel before
any court of justice or before the Electoral Tribunals, or quasi-judicial and other administrative
bodies. Neither shall he, directly or indirectly, be interested financially in any contract with, or in
any franchise or special privilege granted by the Government, or any subdivision, agency, or
instrumentality thereof, including any government-owned or controlled corporation, or its
subsidiary, during his term of office. He shall not intervene in any matter before any office of the
Government for his pecuniary benefit or where he may be called upon to act on account of his
office.

Conflict of Interests

The provisions in Section 12, Article VI of the Constitution are intended to ensure the probity and
objectivity of the members of Congress.

There are some persons who may be tempted to run for Congress not because of a desire to
serve the people but precisely for the protection or even enhancement of their own interests. By
requiring them to make known at the outset their financial and business connections or
investments, it is hoped that their potential for self-aggrandizement will be reduced and they will
be prevented from using their official positions for ulterior purposes. In some countries,
businessmen are required to unload their stockholdings as these might affect their official acts or
at least lead to suspicion of chicanery or impropriety in the discharge of their duties in the
government.

Incompatible and Forbidden Offices

Under Section 13, Article VI of the Constitution, it states some other disqualifications by which a
member of Congress may hold office, to wit:

Sec. 13. No Senator or Member of the House of Representatives may hold any other office or
employment in the Government, or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including
government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries, during his term without
forfeiting his seat. Neither shall he be appointed to any office which may have been created or
the emoluments thereof increased during the term for which he was elected.

The first part of this section refers to what are known as incompatible offices, which may not be
held by the legislator during his tenure in Congress. The purpose is to prevent him from owing
loyalty to another branch of the government, to the detriment of the independence of the
legislature and the doctrine of separation of powers.
 POWER OF DECLARATION OF WAR

(1) The Congress, by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses in joint session assembled, voting
separately, shall have the sole power to declare the existence of a state of war. (2) In times of
war or other national emergency, the Congress may, by law, authorize the President, for a limited
period and subject to such restrictions as it may prescribe, to exercise powers necessary and
proper to carry out a declared national policy. Unless sooner withdrawn by resolution of the
Congress, such powers shall cease upon the next adjournment thereof.

The power to declare as a state of war (or emergency) belongs to the Congress. Before they could
exercise this power, the concurrence of the two thirds of both Houses in joint session
assembled, voting separately, not jointly, is required. Section 23 (2) however, provides that said
power (also called as emergency power) of the Congress may be delegated to the President.
Because of the impracticability and impossibility of Congress to meet instantly during
emergencies (by its nature are abrupt), the Constitution allows the Congress to grant this
legislative power to the President, subject to these certain conditions: 1) It may be granted by
law only in times of war (whether declared or not) or other national emergency (rebellion,
invasion, war); 2) It must be exercised only during a limited period of time; 3) It must be exercised
subject to restrictions to be prescribed by the Congress; 4) It must be exercised to carry out
national policy; and 5) It shall automatically cease upon the next adjournment of the Congress,
unless sooner withdrawn. It is only the Congress that can determine whether there is a war or a
state of emergency. . If later on in its opinion that the emergency has ceased, the declaration can
be withdrawn through a resolution.
 PARDONING POWER OF THE PRESIDENT

The pardoning power of the President cannot be limited by legislative action. The 1987
Constitution, specifically Section 19 of Article VII and Section 5 of Article IX-C, provides that the
President of the Philippines possesses the power to grant pardons, along with other acts of
executive clemency, to wit: Section 19. Except in cases of impeachment, or as otherwise provided
in this Constitution, the President may grant reprieves, commutations, and pardons, and remit
fines and forfeitures, after conviction by final judgment. He shall also have the power to grant
amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the Members of the Congress.

It is apparent from the foregoing constitutional provisions that the only instances in which the
President may not extend pardon remain to be in: (1) impeachment cases; (2) cases that have
not yet resulted in a final conviction; and (3) cases involving violations of election laws, rules and
regulations in which there was no favorable recommendation coming from the COMELEC.
Therefore, it can be argued that any act of Congress by way of statute cannot operate to delimit
the pardoning power of the President.