59-862: The Batasang Pambansa Complex , or simply the Batasan ( lit. ' legislature ' ), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines . It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills , Quezon City . The complex was initially the home of the Batasang Pambansa , the former legislature of the Philippines which was established as an interim assembly in 1978 and finally as an official body in 1984. Under
118-579: A bicameral , or two-chamber, Philippine Legislature would be created with the previously existing, all-appointed Philippine Commission as the upper house and the Philippine Assembly as the lower house . This bicameral legislature was inaugurated in October 1907. Under the leadership of Speaker Sergio Osmeña and Floor Leader Manuel L. Quezon , the Rules of the 59th United States Congress
177-535: A multi-party system evolved. Corazon Aquino who nominally had no party, supported the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP; Struggle of the Democratic Filipinos). With the victory of Fidel V. Ramos in the 1992 presidential election , many representatives defected to his Lakas-NUCD party; the same would happen with Joseph Estrada 's victory in 1998 , but he lost support when he was ousted after
236-579: A two-party system . The party of the ruling president wins the elections in the House of Representatives; in cases where the party of the president and the majority of the members of the House of Representatives are different, a sufficient number will break away and join the party of the president, thereby ensuring that the president will have control of the House of Representatives. This set up continued until President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and abolished Congress. He would rule by decree even after
295-553: A clubhouse and fast food center. On November 13, 2007, an explosion occurred on the south wing of the complex killing four people and injuring six more. Three of the victims were legislators. House of Representatives of the Philippines Minority (28) Vacant (5) The House of Representatives ( Filipino : Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ; Kamara from the Spanish word cámara , meaning "chamber")
354-589: A few different names, up until the present day. In 1916, the Jones Act , officially the Philippine Autonomy Act, changed the legislative system. The Philippine Commission was abolished and a new fully elected, bicameral Philippine Legislature consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate was established. The Nacionalistas continued their electoral dominance at this point, although they were split into two factions led by Osmeña and Quezon;
413-606: A larger National Government Center, which was intended to house the three branches of the Philippine government–legislative, executive, and judicial. In 1956, architect Federico S. Ilustre laid out the master plan for the location, which was set aside to be the new home of the Congress (made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives). Ilustre had also designed the buildings for the new legislative center. Public reception to
472-516: A population of 250,000 must have at least one representative. Each legislative district, regardless of population, has one congressman. For provinces that have more than one legislative district, the provincial districts are identical to the corresponding legislative district, with the exclusion of cities that do not vote for provincial officials. If cities are divided into multiple districts for city hall representation purposes, these are also used for congressional representation. The representatives from
531-595: A session may include a broad range of content, from keynotes to panel discussions , and is not necessarily related to a specific style of presentation or deliberation. The term comes from the Latin word 'plenus' meaning 'gathered', and has come to be used in academic settings, such as conferences, just before, or after, breaking into smaller groups. This can be a time for summarising information, and may encourage class participation or networking. A plenary 'sitting' may refer to legislative gatherings, such as those held by
590-458: A three-year term and can be re-elected, but cannot serve more than three consecutive terms without an interruption of one term (e.g. serving one term in the Senate ad interim ). Around 80% of congressmen are district representatives, representing specific geographical areas. The 19th Congress has 253 congressional districts . Party-list representatives, who make up not more than twenty percent of
649-582: Is currently held by Martin Romualdez . The speaker of the House is third in the Philippine presidential line of succession , after the vice president and the Senate president . The official headquarters of the House of Representatives is at the Batasang Pambansa (literally "national legislature") located in Batasan Hills , Quezon City . The building is often simply called Batasan , and
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#1732780934278708-477: Is the lower house of Congress , the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house . The lower house is commonly referred to as Congress , although the term collectively refers to both houses. Members of the House are officially styled as representatives ( Filipino : mga kinatawan ) and are sometimes informally called congressmen or congresswomen ( Filipino : mga kongresista ). They are elected to
767-453: Is the spokesman of the minority party in the House and is an ex-officio member of all standing Committees. The minority leader is elected in party caucus of all Members of the House in the minority party, although by tradition, the losing candidate for speaker is named the minority leader. The incumbent House Minority Leader is Congressman Marcelino Libanan, a party-list member for 4PS. The secretary general enforces orders and decisions of
826-522: Is traditionally elected at the convening of each congress. Before a speaker is elected, the House's sergeant-at-arms sits as the "Presiding Officer" until a speaker is elected. Compared to the Senate President , the unseating of an incumbent speaker is rarer. The incumbent Speaker of the House is Congressman Martin Romualdez who represents Leyte's 1st Congressional district and the first cousin of incumbent president Bongbong Marcos . There
885-437: Is used to determine who represents each of the 243 geographic districts. The party-list representatives are elected via the party-list system. The party-list representatives should always comprise 20% of the seats. Originally set at 200 in the ordinance of the 1987 constitution, the number of districts has grown to 243. All of the new districts are via created via piecemeal redistricting of the then existing 200 districts, and via
944-435: Is usually conducted for the party-list election, while pollsters may release polls on specific district races. In district elections, pollsters do not attempt to make forecasts on how many votes a party would achieve, nor the number of seats a party would win; they do attempt to do that in party-list elections, though. The members of the House of Representatives who are also its officers are also ex officio members of all of
1003-446: The 12th Congress , a Deputy Speaker "at large" was created. In the next Congress, another "at large" deputy speakership was created, along with a Deputy Speaker for women. In the 15th Congress starting in 2010, all six deputy speakers are "at large". In the 16th Congress, the deputy speakers represent the chamber at-large. Starting in the 17th Congress, each region is represented by a Deputy Speaker, with additional deputy speakers from
1062-609: The 2001 EDSA Revolution that brought his vice president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to power. This also meant the restoration of Lakas-NUCD as the top party in the chamber. The same would happen when Benigno Aquino III won in 2010 , which returned the Liberals into power. The presiding officer is the Speaker . Unlike the Senate President , the Speaker usually serves the entire term of Congress, although there had been instances when
1121-549: The Commission on Appointments ; only a handful of sectoral representatives were seated in this way. With the enactment of the Party-List System Act, the first party-list election was in 1998; with the 2% election threshold, a 3-seat cap and tens of parties participating, this led to only about a fraction of the party-list seats being distributed. Eventually, there had been several Supreme Court decisions changing
1180-607: The European Parliament . In these sessions, if it is not fully attended by members, it must at least achieve a quorum . Likewise, in the General Assembly of the United Nations , a Plenary Meeting requires minimum number of members to continue its procedures; and the same may apply to other groups depending on their charter or bylaws . Some organisations have standing committees that conduct
1239-704: The United States Congress until October 1907 when it was joined by the Philippine Assembly. William Howard Taft was chosen to be the first American civilian Governor-General and the first leader of this Philippine Commission, which subsequently became known as the Taft Commission. The Philippine Bill of 1902 , a basic law, or organic act , of the Insular Government , mandated that once certain conditions were met
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#17327809342781298-474: The committees and have a vote. The leadership positions, except for the Secretary General and Sergeant-at-Arms, are currently vacant. The terms of office of the officers elected during the 18th Congress ended on June 30, 2022. On July 25, 2022, the 19th Congress of the Philippines shall elect among themselves their leaders. The speaker is the head of the House of Representatives. He presides over
1357-422: The plurality voting system from single-member districts . Party-list representatives are elected via the nationwide vote with a 2% election threshold , with a party winning not more than three seats. The party with the most votes usually wins three seats, then the other parties with more than 2% of the vote two seats. At this point, if all of the party-list seats are not filled up, the parties with less than 2% of
1416-409: The 1973 Constitution , it replaced the bicameral Congress of the Philippines established under the 1935 Commonwealth Constitution. When the bicameral Congress was restored in 1987, the complex was set aside as the home of the House of Representatives. The main building of the complex is still often referred to as the Batasang Pambansa . The Senate , the upper house of Congress, does not meet in
1475-598: The 1973 Constitution abolished the bicameral Congress and created a unicameral Batasang Pambansa parliamentary system of government, as parliamentary election would not occur in 1978 . Marcos' Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL; New Society Movement) won all of the seats except those from the Central Visayas ushering in an era of KBL dominance, which continued until the People Power Revolution overthrew Marcos in 1986. The 1987 Constitution restored
1534-459: The 1987 Constitution, the legislative branch again became bicameral. The numerically larger House of Representatives retained the session hall and offices of the old Batasang Pambansa on the grounds of the complex. The smaller, newly reinstated Senate returned to the original legislative building in Manila (reinstated as capital city in 1976) and held their plenary sessions there until the building
1593-404: The 2022 elections, there will be 316 seats in the House; 253 of these are district representatives, and 63 are party-list representatives. The number of seats to be disputed may change depending on the creation of new congressional districts. Philippine law mandates that there should be one party-list representative for every four district representatives. District representatives are elected under
1652-702: The Barasoain church during the subsequent inauguration of Emilio Aguinaldo and the inauguration of the Malolos Constitution in 1898. A year prior to the establishment of the republic, the Congress approved the motion to declare war on the United States, thus beginning the Philippine-American War which lasted from 1899 to 1901. The Malolos Congress was dissolved on April 1, 1901, following Aguinaldo's declaration of allegiance to
1711-711: The Batasan, but in the GSIS Building across Metro Manila in Pasay . Following the naming of Quezon City as the new capital city of the Philippines in 1948, a cornerstone for a Capitol building was laid on Constitution Hill, now Batasan Hills, in Quezon City on October 22, 1949. Originally reserved for the Philippine Military Academy as per the 1941 Frost Plan , the location was part of
1770-702: The Capitol building was torn down to make way for the new complex. The North and South Wing Buildings were completed in December 1977. Meanwhile, the Main Building itself finally opened on May 31, 1978. However, the rest of the intended government buildings and public spaces around the complex were never built. The legislative body, known as the Interim Batasang Pambansa , first convened at the Main Building on June 12, 1978. However, under
1829-606: The House of Representatives of the Philippines and the Deputy Speakers. Two executive lounges can also be found there. The offices of House members are found in the North Wing and South Wing Buildings. The complex is composed of five main structures and has a total area of 16 hectares. The Main Building is the central feature of the complex, and is bounded by the other buildings. The buildings include: Aside from
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1888-697: The House of Representatives, among other things. Like the Secretary General, the Sergeant-at-Arms is elected by a majority of the members. At present, retired Police Major General Napoleon C. Taas is the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives. The qualifications for membership in the House are expressly stated in Section 6, Art. VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution as follows: There are two types of congressmen: those who represent geographic districts, and those who represent party-lists. The first-past-the-post (simple plurality voting) method
1947-464: The House; keeps the Journal of each session; notes all questions of order, among other things. The secretary general presides over the chamber at the first legislative session after an election, and is elected by a majority of the members. At present, Reginald S. Velasco is the Secretary General of the House of Representatives. The Sergeant-at-Arms is responsible for the maintenance of public order in
2006-477: The Philippines or other guests of honor. The President's annual State of the Nation Address delivered to a joint session of Congress is one example of such a speech. The Session Hall has a seating capacity for about 1,500 people. In 2022, the session hall was redesigned into a hemicycle layout to accommodate up to 350 members. Also located inside the Main Building are the offices of the Speaker of
2065-648: The Republic of the Philippines in 1946, Republic Act No. 6 was enacted providing that on the date of the proclamation of the Republic of the Philippines, the existing Congress would be known as the First Congress of the Republic. The "Liberal bloc" of the Nacionalistas permanently split from their ranks, creating the Liberal Party . These two will contest all of the elections in what appeared to be
2124-521: The Session Hall, located inside the Main Building. Comprising 200+ members elected by first past the post and 50+ members elected by closed party list , the legislators debate economic, social and other issues inside the complex. The Session Hall is also used for joint sessions of the Congress of the Philippines, such as election results, confirmation meetings, and addresses by the President of
2183-408: The Speaker left office due to conflict with the president: examples include Jose de Venecia Jr. 's resignation as speaker in 2008 when his son Joey de Venecia exposed alleged corrupt practices by First Gentleman Mike Arroyo , and Manny Villar 's ouster occurred after he allowed the impeachment of President Estrada in 2000. The Philippines uses parallel voting for its lower house elections. For
2242-610: The United States when he was captured. At the beginning of American colonial rule, from March 16, 1900, the sole national legislative body was the Philippine Commission with all members appointed by the President of the United States . Headed by the Governor-General of the Philippines the body exercised all legislative authority given to it by the President and
2301-553: The building's design was lukewarm, so a newer design by the National Planning Commission under architect Anselmo Alquinto replaced the Ilustre-designed one. By 1963, however, only the concrete foundations and steel frame were laid out. Ultimately, due to lack of funding, the Capitol was never completed. The uncompleted structure sat in the area for more than a decade before being torn down. During
2360-401: The candidates are most likely a part of an election slate that includes candidates for other positions in the locality, and slates may comprise different parties. The political parties contesting the election make no attempt to create a national campaign. Party-list campaigning, on the other hand, is done on a national scale. Parties usually attempt to appeal to a specific demographic. Polling
2419-463: The creation of new provinces and cities. The constitution gave Congress to nationally redistrict the country after the release of every census, but this has not been done. The original 200 districts meant that there should have been 50 party-list representatives. However, the constitution did not give the specifics on how party-list congressmen should have been elected. This led to presidents appointing sectoral representatives, which were then approved by
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2478-487: The districts comprise at most 80% of the members of the House; therefore, for a party to have a majority of seats in the House, the party needs to win a larger majority of district seats. No party since the approval of the 1987 constitution has been able to win a majority of seats, hence coalitions are not uncommon. Plenary session A plenary session or plenum is a session of a conference or deliberative assembly in which all parties or members are present. Such
2537-758: The expansion were developed in 1978, but were not implemented. In March 2001, the Ramon V. Mitra Jr. Building was completed. Currently headquartered in the building are the Legislative Library, the Committee offices, the Reference and Research Bureau, and the Conference Rooms. The South Wing Annex Building started construction in 2008 and was inaugurated on June 29, 2010. Members of the House of Representatives hold their plenary sessions at
2596-587: The last special election was in 2023. For party-list representatives, the nominee next on the list is asked to replace the outgoing representative; if the nominee agrees, then that person would be sworn in as a member, if the nominee doesn't agree, then the nominee after that person is asked, and the process is repeated. Vacating party-list representatives have always been replaced this way. Eighty percent of representatives shall come from congressional districts, with each district returning one representative. The constitution mandates that every province and every city with
2655-496: The next (2022) election, then the Commission on Elections applied the court's ruling to the other district, bringing the number of districts to 243, while still keeping the 61 party-list representatives, for a total of 304 seats. Vacancies from representatives elected via districts are dealt with special elections , which may be done if the vacancy occurred less than a year before the next regularly-scheduled election. Special elections are infrequently done; despite several vacancies,
2714-483: The offices of the House, the facilities at the Batasang Pambansa include a medical and dental clinic, two banks, a post office, two telegraph offices, two motor pools, a fire station, a gas station, security barracks for the marines, parking space for 300 cars and a police detachment. It also includes recreational facilities like the tennis and basketball courts, a gym and fitness center, a day care center, and
2773-687: The party-list ranks. The deputy speakers perform the speaker's role when the speaker is absent. In case in the resignation of the speaker, the deputy speakers shall elect from among themselves an acting speaker, until a speaker is elected. The outgoing deputy speakers of the House are former president and speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo , Congressman Raymond Democrito Mendoza , Congressman Roberto Puno , Congresswoman Kristine Singson-Meehan , Congressman Isidro Ungab , Congresswoman Camille Villar , former Senator and outgoing Congressman Ralph Recto , Congressman Aurelio Gonzales Jr. , and Congressman Vincent Franco-Frasco. The majority leader, aside from being
2832-417: The presidency of Ferdinand E. Marcos , the plans for a legislative complex were revived. By that time, the 1973 constitution had replaced the bicameral Congress with the Batasang Pambansa , a unicameral parliament. The new complex was accordingly designed to house only one legislative body. Felipe M. Mendoza was designated as the architect of the complex and its surrounding area. The uncompleted structure for
2891-442: The presidential system of government together with a bicameral Congress of the Philippines. One deviation from the previous setup was the introduction of the mid-term election; however, the dynamics of the House of Representatives resumed its pre-1972 state, with the party of the president controlling the chamber, although political pluralism ensued that prevented the restoration of the old Nacionalista-Liberal two-party system. Instead,
2950-399: The session; decides on all questions of order, subject to appeal by any member; signs all acts, resolutions, memorials, writs, warrants, and subpoenas issued by or upon order of the House; appoints, suspends, dismisses, or disciplines House personnel; and exercise administrative functions. The speaker is elected by a majority of all the members of the House, including vacant seats. The speaker
3009-552: The spokesman of the majority party, is to direct the deliberations on the floor. The Majority Leader is also concurrently the Chairman of the Committee on Rules. The majority leader is elected in a party caucus of the ruling majority party. The incumbent House Majority Floor Leader is Congressman Manuel Jose Dalipe, a member of the Lakas–CMD party and is representing Zamboanga City's second congressional district. The minority leader
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#17327809342783068-445: The total number of representatives, are elected through the party-list system . Aside from needing its agreement to every bill before it is sent to the president for signature to become law, the House of Representatives has the power to impeach certain officials and all franchise and money bills must originate from the lower house. The House of Representatives is headed by the House speaker ( Filipino : ispiker ). The position
3127-468: The two reconciled in 1924, and controlled the Assembly via a virtual dominant-party system . The legislative system was changed again in 1935. The 1935 Constitution established a unicameral National Assembly . But in 1940, through an amendment to the 1935 Constitution, a bicameral Congress of the Philippines consisting of a House of Representatives and a Senate was adopted. Upon the inauguration of
3186-449: The vote will win one seat each until all party-list seats are filled up. Political parties competing in the party-list election are barred from participating district elections, and vice versa, unless permitted by the Commission on Elections . Party-lists and political parties participating in the district elections may forge coalition deals with one another. Campaigning for elections from congressional districts seats are decidedly local;
3245-424: The way the winning seats are distributed, ensuring that all party-list seats are filled up. There were supposed to be 245 congressional districts that were to be disputed in the 2019 election , so there were 61 party-list seats contested in the party-list election. Elections in two of these districts were delayed due to its creation right before campaigning. The Supreme Court ruled that one district be contested in
3304-600: The word has also become a metonym to refer to the House of Representatives. The Philippine legislative system began in a unicameral form of government in 1898 when then President Emilio Aguinaldo established the Malolos Congress of the short-lived 1st Republic of the Philippines from 1898 to 1901. The Congress’ notable achievement was the ratification of Philippine Independence when it was declared on June 12, 1898, in Kawit, Cavite. The Malolos Congress’ convened at
3363-431: Was a position of speaker pro tempore for congresses prior the reorganization of the officers of the House of Representatives during the 10th Congress in 1995. The speaker pro tempore was the next highest position in the House after the speaker. The position was replaced by deputy speakers in 1995. Originally, there was one Deputy Speaker for each island group of Luzon , Visayas and Mindanao . Then, in 2001 during
3422-740: Was substantially adopted as the Rules of the Philippine Legislature. Osmeña and Quezon led the Nacionalista Party , with a platform of independence from the United States, into successive electoral victories against the Progresista Party and later the Democrata Party , which first advocated United States statehood, then opposed immediate independence. It is this body, founded as the Philippine Assembly, that would continue in one form or another, and with
3481-518: Was turned over to the National Museum of the Philippines under the presidency of Fidel V. Ramos . The Senate has since moved to the GSIS Building on reclaimed land on Manila Bay in Pasay , holding their plenary sessions there since May 1997. Apart from designing the core buildings of the complex, Felipe M. Mendoza and his office also allotted a master plan for possible expansion of the complex. These included: Plans and scale models for
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