CHAPTER 34

THE NEW CONGRESS

Legislative Power is the power to make laws that are legal and binding. According to the 1986
Constitution, the legislative power is vested in two ways:
1. The new Congress of the Philippines make the laws of the Republic.
2. The people may also directly propose and enact laws or approve and reject them by means
of initiative and referendum.

Members of the new Congress the Congress is the legislative body. It is composed of two houses
the Senate or upper House and the House of Representatives or the lower House.
The Senate or upper House is composed of 24 Senators who are elected nationwide. To be a
Senator, a person must be natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, able to read and write, a registered
voter, and a resident of the Philippines for at least two years before the election. The term for Senators
is six years, with a possible reelection for two consecutive terms. In the 1992 elections, the first twelve
Senators with the highest number of votes serve for six years, and the remaining twelve for three years.
The House of Representatives or lower House shall be composed of not more than 250
members. Most of these shall be elected from legislative districts (provinces and cities) according to the
Ordinance appended to the Constitution. Twenty percent of the members shall come from party-list
representatives. One-half of the seats for party-list members shall come by election or selection from
various sectors, except the religious sector (e.g. labor, farmers, urban poor, youth, women and cultural
minorities). The sectorial representation shall continue for three consecutive terms after the approval of
the Constitution.
To be a Congressman, a person must be a natural-born citizen, at least 25 years old, and able to
read and write. Except for party-list members, he must be a registered voter in the legislative district
and a resident of it for at least one year before the elections. The term of a Congressman is three years,
with a possible reelection for three consecutive terms.
Before assuming office, all members of the New Congress are required to submit a statement of
their financial and business interests. This is to prevent any of them from enriching themselves in office.

Bicameral Congress under the 1986 Constitution, the lawmaking body is composed of a bicameral
(two-house) instead of a unicameral (one-house) legislature. Previously, the country had a unicameral
legislature called the Batasang Pambansa (or Batasan) under the 1973 amended charter.
The reasons of a bicameral Congress are as follows:
1. Historically, the Philippines had a bicameral Congress under the Third Republic (1964-1972).
2. A second chamber is needed to guard against hasty legislation.
3. A legislative of two houses cannot easily be controlled by selfish interest.
4. A Senate elected by the whole nation would balance the narrow interests of the House of
Representatives whose members came from districts and sectors.
5. There would be a larger training ground for leaders of the country.

Disqualification of Members of Congress the following are the limitations on the members of
Congress:
1. They cannot hold office or employment in another branch of the government. For example,
a senator cannot be a Cabinet member, a judge, or an active member of the Armed Forces.
2. They cannot be financially interested in any government contract, franchise or special
interest of the government.
3. They cannot appear as lawyers before any court, electoral tribunal, or semi-judicial body.

Officers of Congress the chief officers of Congress are the Senate President and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives.

Congressional Immunity any member of the Congress can speak freely to the house without fear of
being questioned or held liable for his statements. This is called the privilege of free speech in Congress.
Secondly, a member also enjoys freedom from arrest during his attendance at the session, except for
crimes involving at least six years imprisonment. These are called congressional privileges and
immunities.

Salaries and Funds the Senate President and House Speaker receive salaries of P240,000 each. The
Senators and Congressmen receive salaries of P204,000 each. Aside from their salaries, they also receive
allowances for transportation, office staff and supplies.
The funds of Congress and its members are kept in official records which can be inspected by
the public. Such accounts are audited by the Commission on Audit, which publishes annually the
itemized income and expenditures for each member. This provision (Article VI, Sec. 20) is intended to
discourage the scandalous and extravagant use of public funds.

Powers and Duties of the New Congress in general, the powers and duties of the New Congress
are as follows:
1. To make laws and pass resolutions.
2. To improve the annual budget of the government.
3. To ratify treaties with other states.
4. To declare war.
5. To expose or investigate matters of public interest about the work of government.
6. To try to decide cases of impeachment against the President, Supreme Court justices,
members of the Constitutional Commissions and Tanodbayan.
7. To propose amendments to the Constitution or to call for a constitutional convention.
8. To certify, authenticate and canvas votes for President and Vice-President after presidential
elections. In case a tie, to decide the winner by a majority vote of all members of Congress.
9. To cancel or extend a martial law declaration by President.
10. Through an Electoral Tribunal, to decide cases of electoral protest involving its members.
11. Through a Commission on Appointments, to approve appointments made by the President.

Electoral Tribunals the Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an electoral
tribunal. This tribunal will decide cases of election protest involving members of each house. Each
tribunal shall be composed of nine members three Supreme Court justices and six members of the
upper and lower house.

Commission on Appointments all appointments made by the President to important government

positions must be approved by a Congressional Commission on Appointments. This means that
appointments to the Cabinet, ambassadors, ministers and consuls, officers of the Armed Forces from the
rank of colonel or navy captain above, and other appointive officers can only be made with the consent
of the Commission on Appointments. The members of the Commission are the Senate President
(chairman), twelve Senators and twelve Congressmen.

Sessions of Congress the Congress shall meet regularly each year beginning on the fourth Monday of
July until around June of the following year. It may also be called to a special session by the President of
the Republic at any time to consider some urgent issue.
A majority of all the members of each house constitutes a quorum to do business. In case there
is no quorum, the members who are present may adjourn (meet again on another day) and compel the
attendance of the absent members.
Each house determines its own rules of procedure. It may punish its members for disorderly
behavior. By a vote of two-thirds of its members, it can suspend for up to sixty days or expel a
misbehaving member.
Each house shall keep and publish Journal of its proceedings, except if the debates are top
secret or deleted by request of the members present.

How a Bill becomes a Law a bill is the draft of a law that is submitted to the Congress. If a bill is
adopted or passed by Congress, it becomes a part of the law of the land.
When a bill is presented, it must go through three readings before it becomes a law. In the first
reading, it is read by title only, after which it may be referred to a committee for study. If approved by
the committee, it is returned to the house with a favorable report. Then comes the second reading
when it id debated on the floor and may be amended or changed. After approval, it is printed and
distributed to the house. Finally, the third reading, it is put to a vote without amendments, and the
yeas and nays are counted. If there is a majority of yea votes, the bill is passed by the house and
sent to the other house. It goes the same procedure in the other house. However, this long procedure
can be shortened if the President of the Republic certifies the urgency of the proposed bill.
Every bill passed by both houses of Congress shall be presented to the president. If the
President approves it, he (or she) signs it.it is then given a number and is published in the Official
Gazette.
If the President disapproves or vetoes the bill, he (or she) may send it back to the Congress. The
bill maybe passed by Congress over the veto of the President by a two-thirds vote of all members of
each house.
 Output in
Philippine
History

Submitted by:
Harvey S. Limot
BSED II-A (Biosci)

Submitted to:
Ms. Glenda S. Araez
Teacher