Chambers

Each Chamber of the Legislature elects its own set of officers. In the Senate, there is the President and President Pro-Tempore while in the House of Representatives , the Members elect the Speaker of the House and three (3) Deputy Speakers. They also elect their own Secretary or Secretary-General and Sergeant-at-Arms.

The Senate President and the Speaker of the House have basically the same functions: (1) preside over the sessions of the chamber; (2) preserve order and decorum during the sessions; (3) decide all questions of order; (4) sign all resolutions, memorials, joint and concurrent resolutions; (5) issue warrants, orders of arrest, subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum; (6) increase or decrease the number of authorized personnel by consolidating or splitting positions.

The President Pro-Tempore, on the other hand, much like the Deputy Speakers assume the duties and powers of the Senate President/Speaker of the House in case they are absent or otherwise incapacitated. Other officers of each House include the Majority Leader, Assistant Majority Leader, Minority Leader, and Assistant Minority Leader.

Committees

Each Congress has its own committees which are expected to study and make recommendations on every prosposed measure before it is presented to the whole chamber for deliberation and voting. Committees thus serve an important role in policy-making, as well as oversight of executive agencies and public education, largely through the hearings they hold.

At the start of each Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives each determines in the Rules of Procedure, the number of permanent and special committees it will create. Standing or permanent committees are often created on the basis of political, economic, and social policy issues such as environment, banking, social welfare, women, youth, and housing among many others. They continue from Congress to Congress, except in those instances where they are eliminated or new ones created. A standing committee may also create sub-committees as it deems necessary to support its performance or divide its work among its members.

Special or select committees , on the other hand, are usually temporary panels that cease to exist after the term of the Congress in which they were created. These committees may be created to address priority or special concerns of Congress, e.g. bases conversion, food security, or to accommodate individual concerns of members which in effect attract publicity and enhances their political careers. 

Congress also creates joint congressional committees and commissions as these members deem it necessary to exercise their oversight of executive agencies and their performance in implementing the law.

The Rules of Procedure of the House also states that any member, who is the author of a bill referred to a committee, is considered a member of the committee insofar as the consideration of said bill is concerned, but s/he has no vote in the committee.

After several meetings and hearings in which the Senate and House committees gather and consider information from those who will be affected by the proposed measure, they are expected to come out with a committee report. A committee report states the committee's recommendations, and in itself contains any amendments or changes made in the language or content of a bill or bills. In both houses, a committee, which fails to render a report on a bill or resolution referred to it within a prescribed period in the Rules (e.g. 30 session days in the Senate and 50 session days in the House) may be discharged by the chamber to do so through a motion in writing by any member.

Senate Committees

In the 12th Congress, the Rules of Procedure followed by the Senate provides for the creation of 36 standing committees. The Senate leadership chooses the heads of the committees, who in turn pick their vice-chairpersons. The President Pro-Tempore, Majority and Minority Leaders are ex-officio members of all standing committees. The Senate Rules also provides for the number of members alloted to each committee, which often range from seven (7) to 17 members.

House Committees 

There are 51 standing committees in the House of Representatives with their respective chairpersons, and seven (13) special committees such as Poverty Alleviation, Export Promotion, Reforestation, Food Security, Northwest Luzon Growth Quadrangle, Overseas Contract Worker, and 20 Priority Provinces. In the 10th Congress, there were as many as 20 special committees. There are several standing committees with at least 15 members, while the largest is the Committee on Appropriations with 145 members. The number of vice chairpersons may vary depending upon the total number of members. Every member of the House may belong to an unlimited number of standing committees but no member can hold a chair in more than one committee. The Speaker, Deputy Speakers and chairpersons, vice chairpersons and ranking minority member of the Committee on Rules have "voice and vote" in all other committees.

The Electoral Tribunal and the Commission on Appointments

At the start of each Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives each creates its own Electoral Tribunal to judge all contests relating to the election, returns and qualifications of its members. Each tribunal is composed of nine (9) members, three (3) of whom are Justices of the Supreme Court, and the remaining six (6) are chosen by each chamber. The senior Justice in the tribunal serves as the chairperson. Each chamber also appoints its members to the Commission on Appointments, which acts on all appointments submitted to it by the President of the Philippines. It is composed of the Senate President as ex officio Chair, 12 Senators and 12 Representatives, elected by each chamber on the basis of proportional representation from the political parties or organizations. A member of the Tribunal and of the Commission cannot be a chairperson of any standing committee.

Related Documents Lobbying: Laying Down the Law How a Bill Becomes a Law How to Contact Your Philippine Congress House of Representatives Member How to Contact Your Philippine 13th Congress Senator

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