The Senate Of The Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines. The Philippine Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected nationwide at-large.
Senators serve 6-year terms, with half of the senators elected every 3 years to ensure that the Senate is maintained as a continuous body, though staggered. When the Senate was restored by the 1987 Constitution, the 24 senators who were elected in 1987 served until 1992. In 1992 the candidates for the Senate obtaining the 12 highest number of votes served until 1998, while the next 12 served until 1995 only. Thereafter, each senator elected serves the full 6 years.
The Senate is the only body that can concur with treaties.
History of the Senate
From 1907 to 1916, the Philippine Commissionheaded by the U.S. Governor-General served as the upper chamber of the colonial legislature at the same time exercised executive powers. On August 29, 1916 the United States Congressenacted the Philippine Autonomy Act or popularly known as the "Jones Law" which paved the way for the creation of a bicameralPhilippine Legislature wherein the Senate served as the upper chamber and while the House of Representatives as the lower chamber of it. Then Philippine Resident Commissioner Manuel L. Quezon encouraged Speaker Sergio Osmeñato run for the leadership of the Senate, but Osmeña preferred to continue leading the lower house. Quezon then ran for the Senate and became Senate President for the next 19 years (1916–1935). Senators then were elected viasenatorial districts via plurality-at-large voting; each district grouped several provinces and each elected two senators except for "non-Christian" provinces where the Governor-General of the Philippines appointed the senators for the district.
This setup continued until 1935, when the Philippine Independence Act or the "Tydings-McDuffie Act" was provided by the U.S. Congress which granted the Filipinos the right to frame their own constitution in preparation for their independence, wherein they established a unicameralNational Assembly, effectively abolishing the Senate. Not long after the adoption of the 1935 Constitution several amendments began to be proposed. By 1938, the National Assembly began consideration of these proposals, which included restoring the Senate as the upper chamber of Congress. The amendment of the 1935 Constitution to have a bicameral legislature was approved in 1940 and the first biennial elections for the restored upper house was held in November 1941. Instead of the old senatorial districts, senators were elected via the entire country serving as an at-large district, although still under plurality-at-large voting, with voters voting up to eight candidates, and the eight candidates with the highest number of votes being elected. While the Senate from 1916 to 1935 had exclusive confirmation rights over executive appointments, as part of the compromises that restored the Senate in 1941, the power of confirming executive appointments has been exercised by a joint Commission on Appointmentscomposed of members of both houses. However, the Senate since its restoration and the independence of the Philippines in 1946 has the power to ratify treaties.
The Senate finally convened in 1945 and served as the upper chamber of Congress from thereon until the declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos in 1972. which shut down Congress. The Senate was resurrected in 1987 upon the ratification of the 1987 Constitution. However, instead of eight senators being replaced after every election, it was changed to twelve.
In the Senate, the officers are the Senate President, Senate President pro tempore, Majority Floor Leader, Minority Floor Leader and the Senate Secretary and the Senate Sergeant at Arms who shall be elected by the Senators from among the employees and staff of the Senate. Meanwhile, the Senate President, Senate President pro-tempore, the Majority Floor Leader and the Minority Floor Leader shall be elected by the Senators from among themselves.
Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, “Congress shall convene once every year on the fourth Monday of July for its regular session...”. During this time, the Senate is organized to elect its officers. Specifically, the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides a definite statement, to it:
The Senate shall elect its President and the House of Representatives its Speaker by a vote of all its respective members.
Each House shall choose such other officers as it may deem necessary.
(3) Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings
By virtue of these provisions of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Senate adopts its own rules, otherwise known as the “Rules of the Senate.” The Rules of the Senate provide the following officers: a President, a President pro tempore, a Secretary and a Sergeant-at-Arms.
Following this set of officers, the Senate as an institution can then be grouped into the Senate Proper and the Secretariat. The former belongs exclusively to the members of the Senate as well as its committees, while the latter renders support services to the members of the Senate.
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Prominent Senators
Assumed Presidency (from latest to first):
- Benigno Aquino III, 15th Philippine president (incumbent)
- Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 14th Philippine president
- Joseph Ejercito Estrada, 13th Philippine president
- Ferdinand E. Marcos, 10th Philippine president
- Carlos P. Garcia, 8th Philippine president
- Elpidio Quirino, 6th Philippine president
- Manuel Roxas, 5th Philippine president
- Sergio Osmeña, 4th Philippine president
- José P. Laurel, 3rd Philippine president
- Manuel L. Quezon, 2nd Philippine president. Was also the first Senate President who lobbied for a nationally-elected senate that was established in 1940.
Other:
- Benigno S. Aquino, Jr., Marcos-era opposition leader, husband of 11th Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino, and father of incumbent Benigno Aquino III.
- Jose W. Diokno, nationalist, former Secretary of Justice, Bar topnotcher, founder of the Free Legal Assistance Group
- Teofisto Guingona, Jr., 11th Vice President of the Philippines
- Raul Manglapus, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former presidential candidate
- Blas Ople, former Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and former Secretary of Foreign Affairs
- Cipriano P. Primicias, Sr., statesman, Majority Floor Leader and Member of The Council of State, 1953–1963
- Gil J. Puyat, statesman, Senate President (1967-1972).
- Lorenzo Tañada, statesman and Marcos-era opposition leader
- Arturo Tolentino, 9th Vice President of the Philippines
- Claro M. Recto, former senator and statesman
- Jovito Salonga, Three-time top elected senator, Marcos-era opposition leader, former Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).
- Vicente Sotto, father of "Press Freedom Law"
Current members
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 This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Philippines |
Senate has 100.
House of Reps has 435.
So now YOU can figure out what "majority" means. RIGHT?
Not not ALL issues need only a majority. Some issues require more than that. Overriding a Presidential veto, for example - per Constitution.
Each chamber has its own rules on voting.
Our bank can't just print more money to solve the issue because that would make each dollar worth LESS. That's call deflation.
That What we Can See in Senate Of The Philippines
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