RULES OF THE HOR
8: The Majority and the Minority
RULE I: CONVENING AND ORGANIZING THE HOUSE
Sec. 1: First Meeting and Organization of the House
 4th Monday of July immediately following their election at the
place designated for their sessions
 shall be presided over by the Secretary General from preceding
Congress until a new Speaker us elected
 after election of floor leader, election of the Speaker thru majority
vote of all Members
 adoption of house rules of the preceding congress
 election of 6 deputy speakers, sec. gen., sgt. At arms, elected by
majority
Sec. 2: Convening the House
 house shall convene once a year on 4th Monday of July for regular
session unless different day is fixed by law; regular session shall
end not later than 30 days before next regular session; president
may call a special session
Sec. 3: Convening of the House in Exceptional Cases*
 Pursuant to Section 10, Article VII of the Constitution, the House
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,
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
RULE II: MEMBERSHIP
Sec. 4: Composition
 Commences upon proclamation of winning candidate
 If a member’s proclamation is questioned, he shall remain a
Member until the final and executory judgment over the question.
Sec. 5: Term
 3 years; begins at noon of June 30 following their election
 a member cannot serve for more than 3 consecutive terms
 in case of vacancy, an elected or designated member may fill it
but shall serve only for the duration of the unexpired term
Sec.
 those who voted for the Speaker are the majority and shall elect
among themselves the majority leader which may be changed at
any time; same as minority
 members who choose not to align themselves with the majority
or minority shall be considered independent
THE SPEAKER
 responsible for the overall management of the proceedings,
activities, resources, facilities, and employees of the house
 4th most powerful official of the PH Government; 3rd in line for
presidency
 representative of the house in all international and parliamentary
gatherings and organizations
THE DEPUTY SPEAKERS
 2nd highest ranking officials in HOR; one of them may preside over
HOR in absence of the Speaker
 duties performed may be assigned by the Speaker
THE SECRETARY GENERAL
 enforces orders and decisions of the house
 keeps the journal of each session
 presides over the chamber at the 1st legislative session after an
election
 shall submit every end of a fiscal year to the house thru the
speaker a report on the performance of the house and their
expenditures
SGT.-AT-ARMS
 responsible for the maintenance of order in the house
 shall every end of a fiscal year submit to the house thru the
speaker a report of programs and activities relating to the security
and maintenance of order in the house
HRET and Commission on Appointments
 HRET: 6 members, Commission: 12 members
 Members are chosen on the basis of proportional representation
of political parties and shall be constituted within 30 days after
the Speaker’s election
 Can adopt their own rules and regulations
COMMITTEES
 Shall study, deliberate on, and act upon all measures referred to
them (bills, resolutions, petitions) and shall recommend for
approval or adoption of the house of those which advance the
interests and promote the welfare of the people
DECORUM AND DEBATE
 When any member desires to speak or deliver any matter to the
house, they shall rise and address the Chair as “Mister/Madam
Speaker”
 When 2 members rise at the same time, the Chair shall recognize
who shall speak first
 1 hr time limit for each member
PRIVILEGE HOUR
 on Mondays after first reading and referral to bills, resolutions,
etc. there shall be a privilege hour which shall not be interrupted
by any question/motion except a point of order or a motion to
adjourn
 once it expires, it may be continued upon unanimous consent of
the house
 any member may speak on any matter of general interest. If more
than 1 member wants to speak, the first to register shall be given
precedence. If the hour is not done, the next registered member
may speak.
QUESTION HOUR
 when a department head desires to appear before the house,
they may do so with the consent of the President of the PH thru
the Speaker and with the concurrence of the house
 a dept. head may also be requested to appear before the house
 appearance shall be scheduled on any Wednesday or on any other
day determined by the speaker or a majority of the members
PROPOSALS TO AMEND THE CONSTI
 upon cote of ¾ of the members, may propose to amend or revise
 may be filed any time by any member
 2/3 votes may call consti convention or submit to the electorate
the question of calling such a convention
PAPERS, BOOKS, AND RECORDS
 Congressional Record - a substantially verbatim account of
remarks made during the proceedings of the House, subject only
to technical, grammatical, and typographical corrections
authorized by the Member involved.
 All papers and records are to be kept and preserved in the
archives
 All pending matters and proceedings expire upon expiration of the
term of a congress and all of its records will be delivered to the
archives within 15 days
 Committee secretaries within 7 days after the enactment of bills
or joint resolutions and 15 days after final adjournment of
congress shall deliver them to the archives
 The records and books of accounts of the House including plenary
records shall be preserved and be open to the public in
accordance with law. Books of accounts of the House shall be
available for audit by the Commission on Audit.
RULES OF THE SENATE
ELECTIVE OFFICERS
 The Senate shall elect a President, a President Pro Tempore, a
Secretary, and a Sergeant-at-Arms
 They shall be elected by the majority vote of all the members
SENATE PRESIDENT
 Highest ranking official of the Senate, 3rd most powerful in
Government
 Elected by the members of the Senate
 Second in line of succession to be President of PH
 Presides over the sessions of the Senate, calls it to order
 Also the ex officio chairman of the Commission on Appointments;
becomes the presiding officer if President or Ombudsman is on an
impeachment trial
PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE
 During absence of the Senate President, he presides over the
Senate
SECRETARY
 shall constitute a quorum.
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS
 Keeps under his custody the Mace of the Senate (symbol of
authority)
 Responsible for the security and maintenance of order in the
Senate
ACTING SECRETARY AND ACTING SERGEANT-AT-ARMS
 Shall take their respective places.
TERM OF OFFICE of OFFICERS
 Begins upon their election and end when their successors have
been elected
THE COMMITTEES
 After the organization of the Senate, the following permanent
committees shall be formed:
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 whenever possible, special committees may be organized and its
membership and jurisdiction shall be determined by the Senate
President
 The membership of the permanent committees, including their
respective Chairmen, shall be chosen by the Senate.
SENATE SESSIONS
 Sessions shall meet at 3:00pm on weekdays except when decided
otherwise.
 The Senate shall convene once every year for its regular session.
The session shall continue for the number of days determined by
the legislative calendar and is limited by the Constitution.
 On the first day of each week, the Senate shall observe a one-
minute prayer to be led by a Member, followed by the singing of
the National Anthem
QUORUM
 The minimum number of members of an assembly or society that
must be present at any of its meetings to make the proceedings of
that meeting valid.
 Except during the election of officers, a majority of the Senators
CALENDARS
 Calendar for Ordinary Business – includes the bills reported out
by the committees in the order in which they were received by
the Office of the Sec., in which they were received by the Office of
the Secretary, the bills whose consideration has been agreed
upon by the Senate without setting the dates on which to effect
it; and, also the bills whose consideration has been postponed
indefinitely
 Calendar for Special Orders – in which the bills and resolutions
shall be arranged successively and chronologically, according to
the order in which they were assigned for consideration
 Calendar for Third Reading - in which shall be included all bills
and joint resolutions approved on second reading.
MESSAGES – messages from the President of the PH and from the
HOR may be read anytime, except during voting/reading of the
Journal/ when a point of order or a motion to adjourn is pending
resolution
ORDER OF BUSINESS
JOURNAL
 Contains a succinct and accurate account of what has taken place
in every session.
 The reading of the Journal shall not be interrupted or suspended
except by unanimous consent of the Senate, and it cannot be
amended once it has been read and approved
 If a Senator finds any error in the Journal after its reading, he shall
verbally call the attention of the Senate and move for its
correction not later than 3 session days after the reading of the
Journal
RECORD OF THE SENATE
 Reflects in detail everything said, done, and read in the sessions of
the Senate.
 The speeches of the Senators shall be revised in style and form
prior to their publication.
MANNER OF HAVING THE FLOOR
 Whenever a Senator wishes to speak, he shall rise and request the
President or the Presiding Officer to allow him to have the floor.
 If various Senators wish to have the floor, the President or
Presiding Officer shall recognize the one who first made the
request.
 No Senator shall interrupt another without the latter’s consent,
which may not be obtained except through the President or
Presiding Officer.
DURATION OF DEBATES
 A sponsor of the bill may consume as much time as he deems
necessary to express its contents.
 Subsequent speakers against or for the bill may consume 2 hours
for debates.
 On amendments, 30 mins per speaker
AMENDMENTS
 In order for amendments to bills and resolutions to be considered,
they should be presented concretely and specifically in the course
of the debate (indicate page and line of proposed amendment)
 Not more than 1 amendment to the original amendment
 Done in writing
PRESENTING MOTIONS
 May be presented orally but a majority of the senators present
may require that they be done in writing and read by the
secretary
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
 Always held behind closed doors
 Only sec, sgt at arms, and other authorized persons are allowed in
the session hall
 Shall be held whenever a senator requests it and his petition has
been seconded, or when the security of the state/public interest
requires
 Minutes are recorded in separate book (not journal)
DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SENATE
 Kept and preserved in the Archives of the Senate