Review Pointers in Political Science

Prepared by: AC Cayetano

ARTICLE VI LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT

POWERS OF CONGRESS

1. General/Plenary Legislative Power the principal function and

prerogative of the Congress to enact, ordain, alter, amend, abrogate or repeal
existing laws.

Substantive Limitations those that affect the very nature, quality and
substance of the bill.

1) Express Substantive Limitations.

No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of

expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably
to assemble and petition the government for redress of
grievances. [Sec. 4, Art. III].

No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or

prohibiting the free exercise thereof. [Sec. 5, Art. III].

No law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.

[Sec. 10, Art. III].

No ex post facto law or bill of attainder shall be enacted. [Sec

22, Art. III].

No literacy, property, or other substantive requirement shall be

imposed on the exercise of suffrage. [Sec. 1, Art. V].

No law shall be passed increasing the appellate jurisdiction of

the Supreme Court without its advice and concurrence. [Sec.
30, Art. VI].

No law granting a title of royalty or nobility shall be enacted.

[Sec. 31, Art. VI].

2) Implied Substantive Limitations.

Congress cannot pass irrepealable laws.

Undue delegation of legislative power.

Procedural Limitations those steps that are required in the enactment of

laws.

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 1) Only One Subject. Every bill passed by the Congress shall
embrace only one subject which shall be expressed in the title
thereof. [Sec. 26 (1), Art. Vi].

Bill a draft of law submitted for the consideration of the

Congress for its adoption.

Parts of a Bill.

(1) Title.
(2) Preamble/Explanatory Note.
(3) Enacting Clause.
(4) Body.
(5) Repealing Clause.
(6) Effectivity Clause.

2) Three Readings on Separate Days.

First Reading. A Bill is read and its designated number, and

the title thereof and the name or names of the sponsor/s of a
bill is recognized.

Second Reading. The Bill is presented to the concerned House

in its entirety after which full-blown debate and discussion will
follow.

Third Reading. The Bill in its amended form is read in its

entirety. No amendment thereto shall be allowed, and the vote
thereon shall be taken immediately thereafter, and the yeas
and nays entered in the Journal.

3) Procedures in the Enactment of Laws.

Submission and Endorsement of the Proposed Bill.

Presentation of the Proposed Bill to the House Speaker or

Senate President.

Referral of the Proposed Bill to a Committee.

Three Readings.

Transmittal to the Other House of Congress.

Submission to the Joint Bicameral Committee.

Approval of the Consolidated Bill by Both Houses.

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 Submission to the President. For Approval.

2. Power of Appropriation the power to set apart or assign to a particular

use a certain sum of money of the public funds for the maintenance of
government and other public needs.

3. Power of Taxation the power to impose a charge or burden upon persons,

property, or property rights, for the use and support of the government in
order to discharge its appropriate functions.

Taxes enforced contribution usually monetary in form, levied by the lawmaking

body on persons, and property subject to its jurisdiction for the precise purpose of
supporting governmental needs.

Constitutional Requirements in the Exercise of the Power of Taxation.

The rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable. The Congress

shall evolve a progressive system of taxation. [Sec. 28 (1)].

1) Uniformity means that all articles or properties of the same class

shall be taxed at the same rate.

2) Equitable means that the amount of tax must be kept in the light
of the taxpayers ability to pay.

3) Progressive means that the amount of tax increases as the

income of the taxpayer increases.

4. Power of Legislative Investigation the legislative authority to conduct

investigation in aid of legislation.

The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective

committees may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance with its
duly published rules of procedure. The rights of persons appearing in or
affected by such inquiries shall be respected. [Sec. 21, Art. VI].

5. Question Hour Power the legislative authority to confront the department

heads or Cabinet members and ask them regarding the way they manage or
run the governmental affairs.

How appearance before Congress be Initiated?

1) Upon the initiatives of the heads of departments, with the consent

of the President.
2) Upon the request of either House, as the rules of each House shall
provide.

Rules.

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 1) Written questions shall be submitted to the President of the Senate
or the Speaker of the House of Representatives at least three days
before their scheduled appearance.

2) Interpellations shall not be limited to written questions, but may

cover matters related thereto.

Executive Session. The appearance shall be conducted in executive session:

1) When the security of the State or the public interest so requires; and
2) The President so states in writing.

6. War Power the legislative authority to declare the existence of the state of
war.

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. [Sec. 23 (1), Art. VI].

7. The Power of Congress to act as Board of Canvassers in the election

of President and Vice-President.

Board of Canvassers one that performs a purely ministerial function, that of

compiling and adding the result as they appear in the returns transmitted.

Returns or Certificates of Canvass are the documents duly certified by the

board of canvassers of each province or city, which shall be transmitted to Congress
and directed to the President of the Senate.

Canvassing consists in the opening and the determination of the authenticity and
due execution of the returns or certificates of canvass in the presence of the Senate
and the House of Representatives in joint public session.

Proclamation an official declaration of the person having the highest number of

votes.

Power to Choose President in case two or more shall have an equal and
highest number of votes, one of them shall forthwith be chosen by the vote of a
majority of all the Members of both Houses of the Congress, voting separately.

Power to Promulgate Rules Congress shall promulgate its rules for the
canvassing of the certificates.

8. The Power of Congress to call for a Special Election for President and
Vice-President.

When shall Congress call for a Special Presidential Election?

The Congress shall, at ten o'clock in the morning of the third day after
the vacancy in the offices of the President and Vice-President occurs,

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 convene in accordance with its rules without need of a call and within
seven days enact a law calling for a special election to elect a
President and a Vice-President to be held not earlier than forty-five
days nor later than sixty days from the time of such call. [Sec. 10, Art.
VII].

The bill calling such special election shall be deemed certified and shall become law
upon its approval on third reading by the Congress.

No special election shall be called if the vacancy occurs within eighteen months
before the date of the next presidential election.

9. Power to Judge Presidents Physical Fitness to Discharge the

Functions of the Presidency.

The Voluntary Declaration of the President.

1) The President transmits to the President of the Senate and the

Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration
that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.

2) The powers and duties of the President be discharged by the Vice-

President as Acting President.

Declaration by the Cabinet.

1) Majority of all the Members of the Cabinet transmit to the President

of the Senate and to the Speaker of the House of Representatives
their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge
the powers and duties of his office.

2) The Vice-President shall immediately assume the powers and

duties of the office as Acting President.

3) When the President transmits to the President of the Senate and to

the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration
that no inability exists, he shall reassume the powers and duties of
his office.

4) Meanwhile, should a majority of all the Members of the Cabinet

transmit within five days to the President of the Senate and to the
Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration
that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of
his office, the President retains the discharge of his powers and
duties.

5) Congress shall convene, if it is not in session, within forty-eight

hours, in accordance with its rules and without need of call.

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 If the Congress, within ten days after receipt of the last written
declaration, or, if not in session, within twelve days after it is
required to assemble, determines by a two-thirds vote of both
Houses, voting separately, that the President is unable to
discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice- President
shall act as President; otherwise, the President shall continue
exercising the powers and duties of his office.

10. Power to Revoke or Extend The Suspension of the Privilege of the

Writ of Habeas Corpus and The Declaration of Martial Law.

Martial Law the exercise of the power which resides in the executive branch of
the government to preserve order and insure that public safety in times of
emergency, when other branches of the government are unable to function, or their
functioning would itself threaten public safety.

Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus the judicial act of the court to inquire
or investigate into the legality or validity of the detention.

11. Power to Concur in Presidential Amnesties and Treaties or

International Agreements.

Treaty international agreements involving political issues or changes of national

policy and those involving international arrangements of permanent character.

Executive Agreements international agreements that embody adjustments of

details carrying out well-established national policies and traditions and those
involving arrangement of a more or less temporary nature.

12. Power to Confirm Certain Appointments/Nominations made by the

President.

Appointment the act of designation by the executive officer, board or body to

whom that power has been delegated of the individual who is to exercise the
function of a given office.

Kinds of Appointment.

1) Regular Appointment one that is made while Congress is in

session.

2) Ad Interim or Recess Appointment one that is made while

Congress is in recess or not in session.

3) Permanent Appointment one that is issued to a person who

meets all the requirements for the position to which he is appointed.

4) Temporary or Acting Appointment one that lasts only until

another permanent appointment is issued.

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13. Power of Impeachment.

Impeachment a method by which persons holding government position of high

authority, prestige and dignity and with definite tenure may be removed from office
for causes closely related to their conduct as public officials.

Public Officials Removable by Impeachment.

1) President.
2) Vice-President.
3) Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court.
4) Chairman and Commissioners of the Civil Service Commission.
5) Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Election.
6) Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Audit.
7) Ombudsman.

Grounds for Impeachment.

1) Culpable violation of the Constitution.

2) Treason.
3) Bribery.
4) High crimes and misdemeanors.
5) Graft and corruption.

14. Power Relative to Natural Resources the legislative prerogative:

To determine, by law, the size of lands of the public domain which may be acquired,
developed, held, or leased and the conditions therefor. [Sec. 3, Art. XII].

To determine the specific limits of forest lands and national parks, marking clearly
their boundaries on the ground and, to prohibit logging in endangered forests and
watershed areas. [Sec. 4, Art. XII].

15. Power to Propose Amendments to the Constitution.

Definition of Terms.

1) Amendment the isolated or piecemeal change in the

Constitution.
2) Revision the revamp or rewriting of the entire Constitution.

Two Steps in the Constitutional Amendments.

1) Proposal the motion of initiating suggestions or proposals on

the amendment or revision; and

2) Ratification the sovereign act vested on the Filipino people to

either reject or approve the proposals to amend or revise the
Constitution.

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Methods of Proposal to Amend the Constitution.

1) Proposal by Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its

members; or
2) Proposal by a Constitutional Convention; or
3) Proposal by Peoples Initiative.

Methods of Proposal to revise the Constitution.

1) Proposal by Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths (3/4) of all its

members; or
2) Proposal by a Constitutional Convention.

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