Legislative Department_notes (2).docx

LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT Sec 1 Art 6 -

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Legislative power is now not exclusively vested in Congress, in view of the reservation made regarding initiative and referendum Congress discharges powers of non-legislative nature: 1. Canvass of the presidential election 2. Declaration of the existence of a state of war 3. Confirmation of amnesties 4. Presidential appointments (thru the COA) 5. Amendment or revision of the Constitution 6. Impeachment

SENATE 1.

COMPOSITION - 24 SENATORS - Elected at large by qualified voters of the PH - Senator, having a national rather than only a district constituency, will have a broader outlook of the problems of the country instead of being restricted by parochial viewpoints and narrow interests - Broad-minded than the HOR

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QUALIFICATIONS 1. Natural-born 2. At least 35 yrs old - Must be possessed on the day of the election 3. Able to read and write - Prescribed; not deemed embraced in the Constitution 4. Registered voter 5. Resident of the PH for not less than 2 yrs immediately preceding the day of the election. - Residence – place where one habitually resides and to which, when he is absent, he as the intention of returning - Person cannot have 2 residences at the same time; acquisition of new results in forfeiture of the old - Animus manendi - place where a party actually or constructively has his permanent home, where he no matter where he may be found at any given time, eventually intends to return and remain - Animus revertendi - with intention to return - Domicile – fixed permanent residence to which, whenever abent for business, pleasure, or some other reasons, one intends to return. - In consideration of circumstances: (domicile of origin continues without clear and positive proof of these 3) 1. That a man must have a residence or domicile somewhere 2. When once established it remains until a new one is acquired 3. A man can have but one residence or domicile at a time -

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Voting gives rise to a strong presumption of residence, however, it is not conclusive evidence thereof. In Perez v Comelec “a person's registration as voter in one district is not proof that he is not domiciled in another district; registration of voter

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in a place other than his residence of origin is not sufficient to consider him to have abandoned or lost his residence. How to establish new domicile: personal presence in the place must be coupled with conduct indicative of that intention; not just bodily presence in that place but also a declared and probable intent to make it one’s fixes and permanent place of abode TORAYNO, SR. V COMELEC “ one year residency requirement is aimed at excluding outsides from taking advantage of favorable circumstances existing in that community for electoral gain.” Establishing residence in a community merely to meet an election law requirement defeats the purpose of representation: to elect through assent of voters those most cognizant and sensitive to the needs of the community. MITRA V COMELEC “ purpose for minimum requirement for residency: to prevent strangers or newcomers unacquainted with the condition and needs of a community from seeking elective offices in that community. Officials of districts or localities should not only be acquainted with the metes and bounds of their constituencies; more importantly they should know their constituencies and the unique circumstances of their constituents – their needs, difficulties, aspirations, potentials for growth and development, and all matters vital to their common welfare. If a legislator should be naturalized in a foreign country during his term, he shall cease to be entitled to his seat. MAQUILING V COMELEC “ candidate who takes his Oath of Allegiance to the RP and executes an Affidavit of Renunciation of his American citizenship under RA 9225, but thereafter continues using his American passport, is to be considered as having recanted his oath of renunciation of his foreign citizenship and shall therefore be ineligible to run for elective office as he thereby reverts to his status as a dual citizen. TERM 6 years Shall commence, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on the 13th day of June next following their election Shall serve until noon of June 30, 1992 (transitory provision) First 12 shall serve for 6 years and the remaining 12 for 3 years Shall not at any time be dissolved; continuing institution One half of the membership is retained as the other half is replaced or re-elected every 3 years Senate of each Congress acts separately and independently of the senate of the Congress before it All pending matters and proceedings, unpassed bills and legislative investigations, of the Senate of a particular Congress are considered terminated upon the expiration of that Congress; it is merely optional on the Senate of the succeeding Congress to take up such unfinished matter, not in the same status, but as if presented for the first time. (consistent with the general

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characterization of Congress as “not continuing body” in terms of the passage of the bill) LEAGUE OF PHILIPPINES V COMELEC “unapproved cityhood bills filed during the 11 th Congress became mere scraps of paper upon the adjournment of the 11th Congress; deliberations conducted are also worthless; said deliberations do not qualify as an extrinsic aids in construing laws passed by subsequent Congress.” Senate’s power to punish for contempt in the exercise of its power to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation does not cease to exist upon the periodical dissolution of the Congress or of the HOR, because the Senate is, for said purpose or in connection with said power, to be considered a “continuing body.” ARNAULT V NAZARENO “power subsists as long as the Senate, which is continuing body, persists in performing the particular legislative function involved. If we should hold that the power to punish for contempt terminates upon the adjournment of the session, the Senate would have to resume the investigation at the next and succeeding sessions and repeat the contempt proceedings against the witness until the investigation is completed GARCILLANO V HOR “the present Senate under the 1987 Constitution is no longer a continuing legislative body.” ARNAULT V NAZARENO “Senate under 1987 Constitution is not a continuing body because less than majority of the Senators continue unto the next Congress. The consequence is that the Rules of Procedure must be republished by the Senate after every expiry of the term of 12 Senators.”

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HOR 1.

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COMPOSITION Not more than 250 members, unless provided by law Be elected from legislative districts apportioned among the provinces, cities and the Metropolitan Manila area in accordance with the number of their respective inhabitants, and on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio Shall be elected through a party-list system of registered national, regional and sectoral parties or organization. A. DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE Elected directly and personally from the territorial unit he is seeking to represent 200 members Territory: 13 regions, 200 districts Each city with a population of at least 250,000 and every province shall have at least 1 representative Gerrymandering: “apportionment of representative districts so contrived as to give an unfair advantage to the party in power.” ALDABA V COMELEC “nullified a law which created a legislative district for Malolos; it contravenes the requirement in Sec. 5(3), Art 6 that each legislative district shall comprise as far as practicable, contiguous, compact, and adjacent territory.” NAVARRO V ERMITA “a proposed province composed of one or more islands need not

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comply with the 2,000 sq.m contiguous territory requirement under the Local Government Code.” MACIAS V COMELEC “the validity of a legislative apportionment measure is a justiciable question, involving as it does certain requirements the interpretation of which does not call for the exercise of legislative discretion.” HERRERA V COMELEC “districting is the number of inhabitants not the number of its registered voters” 250,000 minimum population requirement applies only to cities, and not to provinces, although the Local Government Code provides for a minimum population of 250,000 as an alternative requirement for the establishment of a province. Population requirement does not apply even to the creation of additional legislative districts for cities, or for provinces. Not necessary for either a city or a province to have an additional population of 250,000 to establish an additional legislative district. MARIANO V COMELEC “any province that may hereafter be created, or any city whose population may hereafter increase to more than 250,000 shall be entitled in the immediately following election to at least 1 member or such number of Members as it may be entitled to on the basis of the number of its inhabitants and according to the standards set forth in par. 3, sec 5, art 6 of the Constitution.” TOBIAS V ABALOS “conversion of Mandaluyong into a highly urbanized city automatically resulted in its establishment as a legislative district.” Plebiscite was necessary for the validity of said conversion (Sec 10, Art 10) Plebiscite not needed where no new territory or no change in an existing territory is made under a law, and only a reapportionment or the creation of an additional legislative district is done. ALDABA V COMELEC “law creating a legislative district was annulled after a finding that it was based on mere demographic projections.” Only Congress possess the power to create legislative districts, however, law may authorize Muslim Mindanao Autonomous Act to create municipalities and barangays.

B. PARTY-LIST REPRESENTATIVE Chosen indirectly through the part he represents, which is the one voted for by the electorate 20 per centum of the total membership of the HOR Rules for the selection of the party-list reps are embodied in RA 7941 (proportional representation in the election of Representatives to the HOR through a party-list system of registered national, regional and sectoral, parties or organizations or coalitions 3 different groups in party-list: ⮚ national parties/ organizations - do not need to organize along sectoral lines; do not need to represent any marginalized and underrepresented sector ⮚ Regional parties/ organizations ⮚ sectoral parties/ organizations

- may either be marginalized and underrepresented or lacking in well-defined political constituencies - Enough that their principal advocacy pertains to the special interest and concerns of their sector. - Marginalized and underrepresented include labor, peasants, fisher folks, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities, handicapped, veterans and overseas workers (not exclusive; whether it complies with the requirements of the Consti and RA 7941) - Well-defined political constituencies include professionals, the elderly, women, and the youth - must belong to the sector they represent or must have a track record of advocacy for their respective sectors; must be a bona fide members of such parties or organizations - Nat’l, reg’l, and sectoral parties and organizations shall not be disqualified if some of their nominees are disqualified, provided that they have at least 1 nominee who remains qualified. -

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Not later than 90 days before election day, any political party, organization or coalition may file a verified petition through its president or secretary for its participation in the party-list system, attaching a copy of its constitution, by laws, platform, and list of officers, and such other relevant information as may be required by the COMELEC Petition shall be published in a t least 2 newspapers of general circulation and be resolved within 15 days - not later than 60 days before the election. DISQUALIFIED: ⮚ Religious sects ⮚ Advocate violence ⮚ Foreign parties ⮚ Upon registration, political group shall submit to the COMELEC, not later than 45 days before the election, at least 5 names from which its representatives may be chosen in case it obtains the required number of votes Names of the party-list nominees shall not be shown on the certified list of participants in the party-list system to be distributed by the COMELEC; but it is the duty of the COMELEC to disclose and release the names of the nominees of the party-list groups Only the persons who gave their consent in writing may be named as party-list candidates RA 7941 “nominee of the youth sector must be at least 25 but not more than 30 yrs. of age on the day of the election” ALAUYA V LIMBONA “a judge violated not only the law but also the constitutional mandate that no officer or employee in the civil service shall engage directly or indirectly in any electioneering or partisan political campaign.” SENERES V COMELEC “any person may submit a nomination list; even a president, whose term had expired, may validly do so, if previously authorized, on the basis of the holdover doctrine.” No change of names or alteration of the order of nominees after submission to the COMELEC except: 1. when the nominee dies, or 2. withdraws in writing his nomination, or

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becomes incapacitated, in which case the name of the substitute nominee shall be placed last in the list. Incumbent sectoral reps who are nominated shall not be deemed to have resigned, COMELEC has jurisdiction over cases pertaining to party leadership and nomination of party-list representatives Party-list system participants shall be ranked according to the number of votes they received; those getting at least 2% of total votes cast for the system being entitled to one seat each. None shall have more than 3 seats each Comelec shall allocate party-list representatives proportionately according to the percentage of votes obtained by each of them as against the nationwide votes cast for the party-list system BANAT V COMELEC “for every 4 district representatives, the 1987 Constitution mandates that there shall be 1 party-list rep.; no need for legislation to create an additional party-list seat whenever 4 additional legislative districts are created by law.” Sec 5(2), Art 6 automatically creates such additional party-list seat. Filling up all available party-list seats is not mandatory PHILIPPINE STYLE PARTY-LIST ELECTION SYSTEM: - 20% of the total number of the membership of the HOR (maximum number of seats) - automatically 1 party-list seat for every 4 existing legislative districts - garnering 2% of the total votes cast = 1 seat - guaranteed seat shall be distributed in a first round of seat allocation to parties receiving at least 2% of the total party-list votes. - additional seats shall be distributed to the parties n a second round of seat allocation according to the twostep procedure - three seat cap=constitutional; intended by the legislature to prevent any party from dominating the party-list system. TWO STEP PROCEDURE: 1. percentage is multiplied by the remaining available seats, which is the difference between the maximum seats reserved under the Party-list system and the guaranteed seats of the two-percenters. - percentage x remaining available seats = party’s share in the remaining available seats 2. One party-list seat is assigned to each of the parties next in rank until all available seats are completely distributed -

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Sec 15 of the law “any elected party-list representative who changes his political party or sectoral affiliation during his term of office shall forfeit his seat: provided, that if he changes his political party or sectoral affiliation within 6 months before an election, he shall not be eligible for nomination as party-list representative under his new party or organization.” AMORES V HRET “a nominee who changes his sectoral affiliation within the same party will only be eligible for nomination under the new sectoral affiliation if the change has been effected at least six months before the elections” QUALIFICATIONS

1. Natural-born citizens 2. At least 25 years of age 3. Able to read and write 4. registered voter in the district in which he shall be elected (district) 5. resident thereof for period of not less than 1 year (district) 6. must be a bona fide member of the party he seeks to represent (party-list) 7. at least 90 days before election (party-list) -

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AMORES V HRET “a youth representative must not be more than 30 years old but may continue beyond that age until the end of his term” Sec 9, RA 7941 “party-list representative must be a resident of the Philippines, and not any particular district, for a period of not less than one year One any of the required qualifications is lost, his title may be seasonably challenged. Sec 118, Omnibus Election Code ”disqualified from voting: 1. any person who has been sentenced by a final judgment to suffer imprisonment for not less than one year 2. any person who has been adjudged by final judgment by competent court or tribunal of having committed any crime involving disloyalty to the duly constituted government Sec 2, Art 5 “Congress shall provide a system for securing the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot as well as a system for absentee voting by qualified Filipinos abroad. MACALINTAL V COMELEC “ there is no provision in the dual citizenship law requiring ‘duals’ to actually establish residence and physically stay in the Philippines first before they can exercise their right to vote

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TERM

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3 years per term, 3 consecutive terms which shall begin, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon the 30th day of June next following their election 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 ABUNDO V COMELEC “ “

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PARLIAMENTARY IMMUNITIES 1. 2. -

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Special election be held when there is a vacancy in the Senate or in the HOR, in a manner prescribed by law but the elected must only serve for the unexpired term Party-list representative = no special election; seat will be filled by the next representative from the list of nominees in the order submitted to the COMELEC by the same party for the unexpired term. If the list is exhausted, the party shall submit additional nominees.

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Senate and HOR salaries shall be determined by law

cover not only civil arrests but also arrests for criminal offenses punishable by not more than six years imprisonment may be invoked if the crime is murder but is available if slight physical injuries applies “while the congress is in session” (entire period from its initial convening until its final adjournment)

Privilege of speech and debate 1. 2.

remarks must be made while the legislature or the legislative committee is in session they must be made in connection with the discharge of official duties

CONFLICT OF INTEREST -

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Members of Congress shall make a full disclosure of their financial and business interest. Shall notify the House concerned of a potential conflict of interest that may arise from the filing of a proposed legislation of which they are authors. some are tempted to run for the protection and enhancement of their own interests.

INCOMPATIBLE AND FORBIDDEN OFFICES -

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SALARIES -

Privilege from arrest prevent member of the Congress from not attending session Privilege of Speech and Debate express views without fear of accountability outside the halls of the legislature for his inability to support his statements

Privilege from arrest

ELECTION -

No increase in compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the full term of all the members of the Senate and HOR approving such increase. Reduction of salaries is not prohibited by the Constitution. Records and books of accounts of the Congress shall be preserved and be open to the public; shall be audited by COA which shall publish annually an itemized list of amounts paid to and expenses incurred for each member.

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INCOMPATIBLE OFFICES which may not be held by the legislator during his tenure in the Congress -“No Member of Congress 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.” prohibition is not absolute; what is not allowed is the simultaneous holding of that office and the seat in the Congress. May hold other office provided he forfeits his position in the Congress Forfeiture of the seat or cessation of his tenure is automatic upon holding of the incompatible office Term “time during which the officer may claim to hold the office as of right, and fixes the interval after which the several incumbents shall succeed one another” Tenure “period during which the incumbent actually holds the office”

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Adaza v Pacana “Adaza automatically forfeited the governorship the moment he took his oath as a member of the Batasang Pambansa” FORBIDDEN OFFICE “any office in the government that has been created or the emoluments thereof have been increased during his term” Even if the member of the Congress is willing to forfeit his seat, he may not be appointed to any forbidden office Purpose = avoid trafficking in public office

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OFFICERS -

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INHIBITIONS AND DISQUALIFICATIONS 1.

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Personally appear as counsel before any court of justice or before the Electoral Tribunals, or quasijudicial and other administrative bodies. Directly of indirectly be interested financially in any contract with, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by the Government, or nay subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including any government-owned or controlled corporation, r its subsidiary during his term of office. 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 Purpose in #1 = to prevent the legislator from exerting undue influence, deliberately or not, upon the body where he is appearing. Prohibited appearance must be personal Lawyer-legislator may still engage in the practice of his profession except that when it comes to trials and hearings before the bodies, appearance be made not by him but by some other member of his law office Purpose in #2 = prevent abuses from being committed by the members of the Congress to the prejudice of the public welfare ad particularly of legitimate contractors with the government who otherwise might be placed at a disadvantageous position vis-a-vis the legislator Not every transaction with the government is barred by this provision, only those involving “financial interest,” that is, contracts from which legislators expect to derive some profit at the expense of the government

SESSION -

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Congress shall convene once every year on the 4th Monday of July for its regular session, unless a different date is fixed by law, and shall continue to be in session for such number of days as it may determine until 30 days (mandatory recess) before the opening of its next regular session, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays minimum period of the recess may be lengthened by the Congress in its discretion President may call for a special session at any time; however, not necessary in some instances: 1. Congress meets to canvass the presidential elections 2. call special election when both the Presidency and the Vice-Presidency are vacated 3. when it decides to exercise the power of impeachment ARANETA V DINGLASAN “distinguished regular and special session.” 1. Regular - power of Congress is not circumscribed except by limitations imposed by organic law.

Special - Congress may consider “general legislation or only such subjects as the President may designate.”

President of Senate and the Speaker of the HOR do not have a fixed term and may be replaced at any time at the pleasure of a majority of all the members of their respective chambers other officers are: 1. Senate president pro tempore 2. Speaker pro tempore 3. majority and minority floor leaders 4. chairmen of various standing and special committees 5. secretary and sergeant-at-arms (nonmembers of the legislature)

QUORUM -

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Majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day and may compel the attendance of absent Members in such manner, and under such penalties, as such House may provide. Quorum - any number sufficient to transact business KIDA V SENATE OF THE PHILS “as long a the majority of the members of the HOR or Senate are present, these bodies have the quorum needed to conduct business and hold session

DISCIPLINE OF MEMBERS -

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ART 6, Sec 16 (3) “Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish t members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of twothirds of all its Members, suspend or expel a Member. A penalty of suspension when imposed, shal not exceed 60 days.” Rules of proceedings are needed for the orderly conduct of the session of the Congress. They are within the exclusive discretion of Each House to formulate and interpret and may not be judicially reversed unless such rules violate fundamental or individual rights. Authority to discipline ts members can be exercised by each house as an inherent power, with the concurrence of ny a majority vote Courts may annul any expulsion or suspension of a member that is not concurred in by at least two-thirds of the entire body or any suspension meted out by the legislature, even with the required two-thirds vote, as to any period in excess of the sixty day maximum period. (justiciable) “Disorderly behavior” is the prerogative of the Congress and cannot be judicially reviewed (political question) Other disciplinary measures besides expulsion and suspension are deletion of unparliamentary remarks from the record, fine, imprisonment and censure, sometimes called “soft impeachment”

JOURNALS -

Each Houses shall keep a Journal of its proceedings. Journals are a record of what is done and past in a legislative assembly. It is useful not only for authenticating the proceedings but also for the interpretation of laws through a study of the debates held thereon and for informing the people of the official conduct of their respective legislator

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Constitution requires that the journal be published from time to time excepting such parts as may affect the national security, which ought not to be divulged to the public in general. Concepts of the enrolled bill shall prevail over those of the journal in case of conflict except only where the matters are required to be entered in the journals at the request of one-fifth of the members present. Enrolled Bill “one which has been duly introduced, finally passed by both Houses, signed by the proper officers of each, approved by the governor (or president) and filed by the secretary of state” If there has been mistake in the printing of the bill before it was certified by the officers of Congress and approved by the Executive, the remedy is by amendment or curative legislation, not by judicial decree. ASTORGA V VILLEGAS “Court had the authority to verify the real content of the approved bill as reported in the journal. The reason was that there was no enrolled bill to speak of in view of the withdrawal of the signatures of the President of the Philippines and the Senate President.” LEAGUE OF CITIES OF THE PHILS V COMELEC “hearings and deliberations during a previous Congress cannot be used to interpret bills enacted in law in the next or subsequent Congresses. What should be entered in the journal: 1. yeas and nays on any question (at the request of one-fifth of the Members present 2. recording of votes with consideration of the bills on third reading 3. recording of the objections of the President when he vetoes the bill 4. votes cast by the Members of each House in their consideration of a bill vetoed by the President 5. votes of the HOR regarding the Articles of Impeachment proposed by its Committee which hears an impeachment complaint

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COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS -

ADJOURNMENT -

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Art 6, Sec 5 “Neither House during the sessions of the Congress shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.” it is necessary that there be prior agreement before either of them decides to adjourn for more than 3 days One House should not adjourn to a place other than where both chambers are sitting, without the consent of the other. Place “refers not to a building but to the political unit where two Houses may be sitting. If both Houses are sitting in the same building in the City of Manila, either of them may sit in another building in the same city without getting the consent of the other.

THE ELECTORAL TRIBUNAL -

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Art 6, Sec 17 “Senate and HOR shall each have an Electoral Tribunal which shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective members.” Composed of 9 members: 1. 3 Justices of the Supreme Court (designated by the Chief Justice) 2. 6 members of the Senate or HOR

Senior Justice in the Electoral Tribunal shall be its Chairman TANADA V CUENCO “the right to nominate to the legislative seats in the Electoral Tribunal belonged to the majority and minority parties in the chamber.” ABBAS V SET “Litigants must place their trust and hopes in the vindication in the fairness and sense of justice of the Members of Tribunal, Justices and Senators, singly and collectively.” Electoral Tribunals are independent of the legislature, and also of other departments for that matter. ANGARA V ELECTORAL COMMISSION “ET had the exclusive right to prescribe its own rules of procedure, as against those earlier adopted by the legislature itself, in connection with the election contests under its jurisdiction” SUANES V DISBURSING OFFICER OF THE SENATE “employees of the ET are its own and not of the Senate and the HOR nor any other entity, and it stands to reason that the appointment, the supervision, and the control over said employees are wholly within the Tribunal itself. ROBLES V HRET “ET are independent as the sole judge of all election contests involving the members of the Congress” SC characterized the resolution of electoral contests as “essentially an exercise of judicial power” HRET, SET, and COMELEC are all empowered to resolve election contests which involve, in essence, an exercise of judicial power. When HRET, SET and COMELEC decide election contests, their decisions are still subject to judicial review - via a petition for certiorari filed by the proper party - if there is a showing that the decision was rendered with grave abuse of discretion tantamount to lack or excess of jurisdiction.

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Commission on Appointments is composed of: 1. President of the Senate (ex officio Chairman) 2. 12 Senators and 12 Members of HOR Chairman shall not vote, except in case of a tie. Commission shall act on all appointments submitted to it within 30 session days of the Congress from their submission; shall rule by majority vote of all the Members. Ad interim appointments not acted upon at the time of the adjournment of the Congress, even if the 30-day period has not yet expired, are deemed passed under Art 7, Sec 16. Ad interim appointments are made during the recess, subject to consideration later by the Commission, for confirmation or rejection. Ad interim appointments shall be effective only until disapproval by the Commission on Appointments or until the next adjournment of the Congress, referring to the adjournment of the regular or special session immediately following the recess when said appointments were made. When Congress is in session, President must clear his nominations with the Commission on Appointments; unless it is organized, no appointment can be made by the President in the meantime. Right of representation in the Commission on Appointments are only to political parties who are duly registered with the Comelec.

ORGANIZATIONS

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Art 6, Sec 19 “ Electoral Tribunals and the Commission on Appointments shall be constituted within 30 days after the Senate and the HOR shall have been organized with the election of the President and the Speaker.” The Commission on Appointments shall meet only: 1. while the Congress is in session 2. at the call of its chairman or a majority of all its members - to discharge such powers and functions Ad interim appointments are permitted under the Constitution