I. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT: STRUCTURE
must not be funded by the government
Article 6
Sec 1: The Legislative power shall be vested in the Congress
of the Phil which shall consist of a Senate & HOR, except to
the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative
& referendum.
- legislative power not exclusive to Congress; shared with
the people under system of initiative & referendum
- When asked, how do we make laws in the Philippines?
Answer is: Congress AND initiative and referendum
- The enabling law is only for national and local
legislation and NONE for Consti (yet)
Bicameral body
- Senate (Upper House)
o 24 Senators with a term of 6 years that are elected
at large
o 12 senators are elected every three years
o The reason why it is a continuing office is to ensure
that there is no hiatus in our government
- House of Representatives (Lower House)
o Not more than 250 members, unless otherwise
provided for by law
o Now, there are 289 members, inclusive of party-list
representatives
-
2 kinds of members of HOR:
1. District representatives - created in 3 ways
- A Legislative District is not a territory and not a
municipal corporation. It is merely A NUMBER OF
PEOPLE. (250,000 is the number)
Can this be increased by legislation/law? Ways of creating
legislative district, thereby increasing number of
representatives:
1. Create a province (in the constitution) - allocate a seat for
one representative
2. create a city with a pop of at least 250 thousand (allocating
one seat)
In the first two, the legislative district shall comprise, as far as
practicable, contiguous, compact, and adjacent territories. To
prevent gerrymandering.
3. Pass a district apportionment law/ general
reapportionment law
2. Party-list representatives - 20 percent of the total number
of representatives including those under the party list (50
out of 250)
- To compute: Formula in BANAT
- Sectoral representatives occupied one-half of the seat
for partilists
Qualifications/disqualifications as a registered party list
(Bagong Bayan):
1. Represent the marginalized and the underrepresented-
examples are labor, peasant
2. Major political parties can be a party-list- show that they
represent the marginalized and underrepresented
Whats prohibited is registration of religious group; but if
you didnt register your religious org, you can
3.
Sec 2: The Senate shall be composed of 24 Senators who
shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the
Philippines, as may be provided by law
Sec 5, 1 The HOR shall be composed of not more than 250
members, unless otherwise fixed by law, who shall be elected
from legislative districts apportioned among the provinces,
cities, & the Metropolitan Manila Area & those who, as
provided by law, shall be elected through a party-list system..
Sec 5, 2 The party-list reps shall constitute 20 percentum of
the total number of reps including those under the party-list.
For 3 consecutive terms after the ratification of the COnsti,
of the seats allocated to party-list reps shall be filled from the
labor, peasant, urban poor, indigenous cultural communities,
women, youth.. exc. the religious sector
Structure of Legislative Department- composed of the
Congress of the Phil2 houses
-Senate 24 senators; Can only be increased by constitutional
amendment
-House of Reps not more than 250
Reason for req.? to prevent gerrymandering unfair
distribution of legislative district
Exception: no decided case yet if req. is mandatory, to be
interpreted literally. Required only as far as practicable
CASE: Sema vs COMELEC
-creation of Shariff Kabunsuan as province
-the creation of any of the four local government units
province, city, municipality or barangay must comply with
three conditions: 1) creation of a local government unit must
follow the criteria fixed in the LGC 2)such creation must not
conflict with the Constitution 3) there must be a plebiscite in
the political units affected
- a province cannot be created without a legislative district/city
with a population of 250,000/more cannot also be created
without a legislative district
-power to increase allowable membership in the HOR & to
reapportion legislative districts, vested exclusively in Congress
-when a province is created, a legislative district is created by
operation of the Consti because the Consti provides that "each
province shall have at least 1 representative" in HOR
Seats for the Party-list (VETERANS)
1. 20 percent allocation for party-list inviolable
- The combined number of all party-list congressmen
shall not exceed twenty percent of the total
membership of the House of Representatives,
including those elected under the party list.
- Originally considered a mere ceiling in Veterans
case
- BANAT case reverses this and shows that the 20%
parameter is not considered mandatory and that it be
filled up or fully occupied
2. 2% threshold only those parties garnering a minimum of
2% of the total valid votes cast for the party-list are
qualified to have a seat in the House of Representatives
3. Three-seat limit rule each qualified party, regardless of
the number of votes it actually obtained, is entitled to a
maximum of three seats; that is one qualifying and two
additional seats
4. Proportional representation the additional seats which
a qualified party is entitled to shall be computed in
proportion to their total number of votes
1,2,3 rule- different scenarios / Veterans Ruling Knowing how
to compute additional seats
1. Determine the first party (highest votes for party-list)- give
maximum number to the first party (3 seats), to the next
parties, cant get 3 seats anymore
2. Determine additional seats to be given to the first party
if you can only give 1 to first party, cant give additional
seats to next parties (proportion and rule- cant give more
seats to those below first party) then possible cant fill up
entire 55 seats
NEW RULING: BANAT CASE for computation of additional
seats; VETERANS, only for inviolable parameters & first round
of allocating seats
Formula for
CASES:
1. Navarro vs Ermita- creation of Province of Dinagat Islands
-A province may be created: if it has an average annual income,
as certified by the Department of Finance, of not less than
P20,000,000.00 based on 1991 constant prices & either of the
following requisites: contiguous territory of at least 2,000 sq
km, as certified by the Lands Management Bureau or pop of
not less than 250,000 as certified by the NSO; provided that
the territory need not be contiguous if it comprises 2/more
islands or is separated by a chartered city or cities w/c do not
contribute to the income of the province
- territory has reference only to the mass of land area &
excludes the waters over w/c the political unit exercises
control
-failed to comply with pop/territory req
-gerrymandering is the formation of one legislative district out
of separate territories for the purpose of favoring a candidate
or a party
2. Aquino vs COMELEC- created additional legislative district
(LD) for the Province of Camarines Sur by reconfiguring the
existing 1st & 2nd LD of the province
- There is no specific provision in the Consti that fixes a 250,000
minimum population that must compose an LD
- a 250,000 minimum population only for a city to be entitled
to a representative
- a city with a population of at least two hundred fifty thousand
(250,000) shall have at least one representative
- its legislative district may still be increased since it has met
the minimum population requirement of 250,000
-Mariano case limited the application of the 250,000 minimum
pop requirement for cities only to its initial LD. While Section
5(3), Article VI of the Constitution requires a city to have a
minimum pop of 250,000 to be entitled to a representative, it
does not have to increase its pop by another 250,000 to be
entitled to an additional district
3. Aldaba vs COMELEC- If laws creating LD are unquestionably
within the ambit of this Courts judicial review power, then
there is more reason to hold justiciable subsidiary questions
impacting on their constitutionality, such as compliance with
constitutional limitation under Section 5(3), Article VI of the
1987 Consti that only cities with at least 250,000 constituents
are entitled to representation in Congress
- compliance with the pop requirement in the creation &
conversion of LGUs shall be proved exclusively by an NSO
certification
-the creation by RA 9591 of a legislative district for Malolos
City, carving the city from the former 1st Legislative District,
leaves the town of Bulacan isolated from the rest of the
geographic mass of that district. This contravenes the
requirement in Section 5(3), Article VI that each LD shall
"comprise, as far as practicable, contiguous, compact, and
adjacent territory
4. Tobias vs Abalos- An Act Converting the Mun. of
Mandaluyong into a Highly Urbanized City to be known as the
City of Mandaluyong
-the creation of a separate congressional district for
Mandaluyong is not a subject separate & distinct from the
subject of its conversion into a highly urbanized city but is a
natural & logical consequence of its conversion into a highly
urbanized city
- the present limit of 250 members is not absolute; may be
increased, if Congress itself so mandates through a legislative
enactment
5. Mariano vs COMELEC- Converting the Mun. of Makati Into a
Highly Urbanized City to be known as the City of Makati
-reapportionment of legislative districts may be made through
a special law
-to hold that reapportionment can only be made through a
general apportionment law, with a review of all the legislative
districts allotted to each local government unit nationwide,
would create an inequitable situation where a new city or
province created by Congress will be denied legislative
representation for an indeterminate period of time
- stood at four hundred fifty thousand (450,000), its LD may
still be increased since it has met the minimum population
requirement of two hundred fifty thousand 250,000;
not0;necessary it reaches 500,00; a city whose population has
increased to more than two hundred fifty thousand (250,000)
shall be entitled to at least one congressional representative
6. Veterans vs COMELEC- 4 INVIOLABLE PARAMETERS FOR
PARTY-LIST
a) the 20 percent allocation - the combined number of all
party-list congressmen shall not exceed twenty percent of the
total membership of the House of Representatives, including
those elected under the party list.
b) the 2 percent threshold - only those parties garnering a
minimum of two percent of the total valid votes cast for the
party-list system are qualified to have a seat in the HOR
c) the three-seat limit - each qualified party, regardless of the
number of votes it actually obtained, is entitled to a maximum
of three seats; that is, one qualifying and two additional
seats.
d) proportional representation - the additional seats which a
qualified party is entitled to shall be computed in proportion
to their total number of votes.
- Determination of the Total Number of Party-Lists:
No. of district representatives
---------------------------------- x .20 = No. of party-list
.80 representatives
- This formulation means that any increase in the number of
district representatives, as may be provided by law, will
necessarily result in a corresponding increase in the number of
party-list seats
-20 percent allocation a mere ceiling
-PROCESS FOR 1st ROUND:
a) is to rank all the participating parties according to the votes
they each obtained
b) The percentage of their respective votes as against the total
number of votes cast for the party-list system is then
determined. All those that garnered at least 2 percent of the
total votes cast have an assured or guaranteed seat in the HOR
-process for 2nd round/distribution of additional seats see
BANAT ruling since computation here was overruled
7. Bantay Rep vs COMELEC- party list elections must not be
personality oriented; the people are to vote for sectoral
parties, organizations, or coalitions, not for their nominees
- Comelec has a constitutional duty to disclose and release the
names of the nominees of the party-list groups
8. CIBAC vs COMELEC- equal to at least six percent of the total
valid votes cast for all the party list groups, then the first party
shall be entitled to two additional seats or a total of three seats
overall
-overruled by BANAT
9. Bagong Bayani vs COMELEC- party-list system is a social
justice tool designed not only to give more law to the great
masses of our people who have less in life, but also to enable
them to become veritable lawmakers themselves, empowered
to participate directly in the enactment of laws designed to
benefit them; intends to make the marginalized &
underrepresented not merely passive recipients of the State's
benevolence, but active participants in the mainstream of
representative democracy
- a "party" is "either a political party or a sectoral party or a
coalition of parties."; law defines "political party" as "an
organized group of citizens advocating an ideology or platform,
principles & policies for the general conduct of government
and which, as the most immediate means of securing their
adoption, regularly nominates and supports certain of its
leaders and members as candidates for public office
- political parties even the major ones -- may participate in
the party-list elections; but the requisite character of these
parties must be consistent with the purpose of the party-list
system
- Filipino-style party-list system, which will "enable" the
election to the House of Representatives of Filipino citizens,
1. who belong to marginalized &underrepresented sectors,
organizations and parties; and
2. who lack well-defined constituencies; but
3. who could contribute to the formulation & enactment of
appropriate legislation that will benefit the nation as a whole
- not enough for the candidate to claim representation; party-
list organization or party must factually & truly represent the
marginalized and underrepresented constituencies
A party/organization must not be disqualified under Section 6
of RA 7941, which enumerates the grounds for
disqualification as follows:
(1) It is a religious sect or denomination, organization or
association organized for religious purposes
(2) It advocates violence/ unlawful means to seek its goal;
(3) It is a foreign party/organization;
(4) It is receiving support from any foreign government, foreign
political party, foundation, organization, whether directly or
through any of its officers or members or indirectly through
third parties for partisan election purposes;
(5) It violates/ fails to comply with laws, rules or regulations
relating to elections;
(6) It declares untruthful statements in its petition;
(7) It has ceased to exist for at least 1 year; or
(8) It fails to participate in the last 2 preceding elections/ fails
to obtain at least 2% of the votes cast under the party-list
system in the 2 preceding elections for the constituency in
which it has registered
-Qualifications of Party-List Nominees: No person shall be
nominated as party-list rep unless he is a natural-born citizen
of the Philippines, a registered voter, a resident of the
Philippines for a period of not less than one (1) year
immediately preceding the day of the election, able to read
and write, a bona fide member of the party or organization
which he seeks to represent for at 90 days preceding the day
of the election, and is at least 25 years of age on the day of the
election
10. Torayno vs COMELEC- disqualification of Emano as mayoral
candidate; failed to meet the one-year residence requirement
-in requiring candidates to have a minimum period of
residence in the area in which they seek to be elected, the
Consti or the law intends to prevent the possibility of a
"stranger or newcomer unacquainted with the conditions &
needs of a community & not identified with the latter from
[seeking] an elective office to serve that community
-He owned a house in the city & resided there together with
his family; paid his 1998 community tax & registered as a voter
therein. To all intents and purposes of the Constitution & the
law, he is a resident of Cagayan de Oro City & eligible to run
for mayor thereof
-the actual, physical & personal presence of herein private
respondent in Cagayan de Oro City is substantial enough to
show his intention to fulfill the duties of mayor & for the voters
to evaluate his qualifications for the mayorship
11. BANAT vs COMELEC- the Constitution left the manner of
allocating the seats available to party-list reps to the wisdom
of the legislature
-In computing the additional seats, the guaranteed seats shall
no longer be included because they have already been
allocated, at one seat each, to every two-percenter. Thus, the
remaining available seats for allocation as "additional seats"
are the maximum seats reserved under the Party List System
less the guaranteed seats
- we do not limit our allocation of additional seats in to the
two-percenters
- TWO STEPS IN THE SECOND ROUND OF SEAT ALLOCATION:
a) the percentage is multiplied by the remaining available
seats; the whole integer of the product of the percentage and
of the remaining available seats corresponds to a partys share
in the remaining available seats
b) assign one party-list seat to each of the parties next in rank
until all available seats are completely distributed
-20% allocation of party-list representatives is merely a ceiling;
however, we cannot allow the continued existence of a
provision in the law which will systematically prevent the
constitutionally allocated 20% party-list representatives from
being filled
- In the second round allocation of additional seats, there is
no minimum vote requirement to obtain a party-list seat
-However, a party-list organization has to obtain a sufficient
number of votes to gain a seat in the 2nd round of seat
allocation. What is deemed a sufficient number of votes is
dependent upon the circumstances of each election
12. Ladlad vs COMELEC- choices are not to be legally
prohibited merely because they are different; COMELEC
refused to enlist Ladlas as party-list
- the enumeration of marginalized & under-represented
sectors is not exclusive; crucial element is not whether a sector
is specifically enumerated, but whether a particular
organization complies with the requirements of the
Constitution and RA 7941
- governmental reliance on religious justification is
inconsistent with this policy of neutrality
- As such, we hold that moral disapproval, without more, is not
a sufficient governmental interest to justify exclusion of
homosexuals from participation in the party-list system
13. Brotherhood vs COMELEC- The disqualification for failure
to get 2% party-list votes in 2 preceding elections should be
understood in light of the Banat ruling that party-list groups or
organizations garnering less than 2% of the party-list votes
may yet qualify for a seat in the allocation of additional seats
- a party-list group or organization which qualified in the
second round of seat allocation cannot now validly be delisted
for the reason alone that it garnered less than 2% in the last
two elections
II. QUALIFICATIONS & TERM OF OFFICE
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator unless he is a natural-
born citizen of the Philippines and, on the day of the election,
is at least thirty-five years of age, able to read and write, a
registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines for not less
than two years immediately preceding the day of the election
Section 4. The term of office of the Senators shall be six years
and shall commence, unless otherwise provided by law, at
noon on the thirtieth day of June next following their election.
No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms.
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 of which he was elected
Section 6. No person shall be a Member of the House of
Representatives unless he is a natural-born citizen of the
Philippines and, on the day of the election, is at least twenty-
five years of age, able to read and write, and, except the party-
list representatives, a registered voter in the district in which
he shall be elected, and a resident thereof for a period of not
less than one year immediately preceding the day of the
election.cralaw
Section 7. The Members of the House of Representatives shall
be elected for a term of three years which shall begin, unless
otherwise provided by law, at noon on the thirtieth day of June
next following their election. No Member of the House of
Representatives shall serve for more than three consecutive
terms. 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.cralaw
Section 8. Unless otherwise provided by law, the regular
election of the Senators and the Members of the House of
Representatives shall be held on the second Monday of May
CASE: SJS vs Drug Board
-Aquilino Pimentel, Father of LGC
-students, private employees, public employees can be
required to undergo drug testing
-candidates for public office, cant be required; add
qualification by consti amendment
NATURE of qualifications:
-exclusive & continuing (they must be possessed for the entire
duration of members incumbency)
RESIDENCE REQUIREMENT:
Residence to be construed as domicile, not actual residence
-How to prove intent to return? establish some degree of
permanence (beach house not of that nature); intention not to
abandon/animus manendi (left place only to pursue studies);
intent to return/animus revertendi
-Separate Opinion of Justice Puno: Domicile has been defined
as an individuals permanent home or the place to which
whenever absent for business or for pleasure, one intends to
return and depends on facts and circumstances in the sense
that they disclose intent.
-Macalintalvs COMELEC: domicile of origin is not easily lost.
To successfully effect a change of domicile, one must
demonstrate an actual removal or an actual change of
domicile; bona fide intention of abandoning the former place
of residence and establishing a new one; and acts which
correspond with purpose
TERM VS. TENURE
Section 4 (2), No Senator shall serve for more than two
consecutive terms. 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 of which he was
elected
-Problem: When you are removed from office, can you run
again (making it 3rd term for senator)? if middle of term you
were removed from office, will running again make it 2 terms
still? YES. It was interrupted. Involuntary (interrupted term is
not consecutive with the next term. Only uninterrupted is
consecutive)
CASES:
1. Dimaporo vs. Mitra- Dimaporo was elected Rep for
the 2nd LD of Lanao del Su; filed COMELEC a Certificate of
Candidacy for the position of Regional Governor of the ARMM
so the HOR excluded him from the roll
Grounds by which term may be shortened:
a) Section 13, Article VI: Forfeiture of his seat by holding any
other office or employment in the government or any
subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof, including
government-owned or controlled corporations or subsidiaries;
b) Section 16 (3): Expulsion as a disciplinary action for
disorderly behavior;
c) Section 17: Disqualification as determined by resolution of
the Electoral Tribunal in an election contest; and,
d) Section 7, par. 2: Voluntary renunciation of office
-rather than cut short the term of office of elective public
officials, this statutory provision seeks to ensure that such
officials serve out their entire term of office by discouraging
them from running for another public office and thereby
cutting short their tenure by making it clear that should they
fail in their candidacy, they cannot go back to their former
position
- term of office: may not be extended or shortened by the
legislature; tenure: the period during which an officer actually
holds the office may be affected by circumstances within or
beyond the power of said officer. Tenure may be shorter than
the term or it may not exist at all. These situations will not
change the duration of the term of office
-when an elective official covered thereby files a certificate of
candidacy for another office, he is deemed to have voluntarily
cut short his tenure, not his term. The term remains and his
successor, if any, is allowed to serve its unexpired portion
2. Gaminade vs COA- term of CSC chairman & members:
appointed by the President with the consent of the COA for a
term of 7 years without reappointment
-term: the time during which the officer may claim to hold
office as of right, and fixes the interval after which the several
incumbents shall succeed one another | tenure: period of time
during which the incumbent actually holds the office
- served as de facto officer in good faith until 2000 & thus
entitled to receive her salary and other emoluments for actual
service rendered
3. Socrates vs COMELEC- recall of Socrates
- After3 consecutive terms, an elective local official cannot
seek immediate reelection for a 4th term. The prohibited
election refers to the next regular election for the same office
following the end of the third consecutive term. Any
subsequent election, like recall election, is no longer covered
by the prohibition for two reasons: a subsequent election like
a recall election is no longer an immediate reelection after3
consecutive terms; the intervening period constitutes an
involuntary interruption in the continuity of service.

President: Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III

Vice: Jejomar Binay
Senate President: Juan Ponce Enrile
House Speaker: Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.

-TREATY: must be concurred in by at least 2/3 of all members

of Senate
-each house may determine the rules of its proceedings.. &
with concurrence of two-thirds of all its members, suspend,
expel a member