The Legislative Process of the Philippine Legislature

Tonight, fellow Filipinos, I would like to educate you-within my limitations- on the legislative process of the both Houses of the Philippine Congress for you to understand and appreciate it well. Hindi po siya madali bagkus komplikado po siyang proseso.

Under the Constitution, the highest law of the land, no bill should pass either any of the two Houses, without undergoing three readings. Now, let me tell you the three readings. Before I proceed, let me inform you that any Senator or Representative may introduce and file a bill before the Office of the Secretary of the Senate or the Office of the Secretary-General of House of Representatives. Each bill then would be given a number. Let me now go the three readings.

FIRST READING.

At this juncture known as the First Reading, it is where the title of any bill as well as the name of author/s would be read and the Senate President or the House Speaker would refer it to any appropriate committee of either the Senate or the House of Representatives.

The next step will be hearings and consultations of the Committee of each House on the bill referred to it. The Committee may approve the bill without amendment, with amendments or to kill it.

The Committee, it is approved of the bill with or without amendments, will submit a Committe Report on the approved bill to the Committee on Rules for calendaring on Second Reading.

SECOND READING.

The Committee will then will sponsor the bill on the floor of the Senate or the House of Representatives.

Then Senators or Congressmen will debate on the bill, will make turno or contra speeches expressing views on the pro and cons of the bill. Then the bill would undergo period of amendments by the Committee, known as the Committee amendments and then by any Senator or Congressmen, subject to the agreement of the Committee sponsoring the bill, known as the individual amendments.

The Senators or the Congressmen would vote then on the bill. If approved, the bill will be calendared for Third Reading.

Before the Third Reading, the final version of the bill will be distributed to the Senators or Congressmen.

NOTE: If the President certified the urgent passage of the bill if he or she deems it necessary to meet a public emergency and if ever it is a priority legislation of his or her adminstration, in either in the Senate or the House of Representatives, the bill once approved, on Second Reading will go immediately to Third Reading bypassing the three-day rule set by the Constitution.

THIRD READING.

At this juncture, known as Third Reading, only the title of the bill will be read. And a nominal voting will be proceed in which each Senator or Congressmen will be called to state for the record his or her favorable or non-favorable vote on the bill.

In the case of the Senate, the bill, once approved, will go to the House of Representatives for concurrence.

In the case of the House of Representatives, the bill, once it is approved, will go to the Senate for concurrence.


NOTE: The bill, as submitted for concurrence in either the Senate or the House of Representatives, will undergo the same legislative process (First Reading, Second Reading, and Third Reading).


If the House-approved bill is compatible with that of the Senate, the final version of the bill will be printed. If the Senate-approved bill is compatible also with that of the House, same version of the bill will be printed.

In case of different versions of the Senate and the House on the bill, a Bicameral Conference Committee will be called to thresh out and reconcile such differences and for consolidation into one. The bill as well as the Bicameral Conference Committee will sent back to either the Senate or the House for approval.

If approved, the bill will be transmitted to the Office of the President for signature into law by the President. If approved, the bill becomes a law and will be up for implementation by the Executive Branch of the Government headed by the President.

Comments can be submitted to my e-mail:

jamesvelina45@gmail.com

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