Preliminary Procedures

The procedures for introducing legislation and seeing it through committees are
similar in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Legislative proposals originate in a number of different ways. Members of the

Senate, of course, develop ideas for legislation. Technical assistance in research
and drafting legislative language is available at the Senate Legislative Technical
Affairs Bureau. Special interest groupsbusiness, religious, labor, urban and rural
poor, consumers, trade association, and the likeare other fertile sources of
legislation. Constituents, either as individuals or groups, also may propose
legislation. Frequently, a member of the Senate will introduce such a bill by
request, whether or not he supports its purposes.

It must be noted also that much of the needed legislation of the country today
considered by Congress originates from the executive branch. Each year after the
President of the Philippines outlines his legislative program in his State-of-theNation Address, executive departments and agencies transmit to the House and
the Senate drafts of proposed legislations to carry out the Presidents program.

Types of Legislation

The type of measures that Congress may consider and act upon (in addition to
treaties in the Senate) include bills and three kinds of resolutions. They are:

1. Bills

These are general measures, which if passed upon, may become laws. A bill is
prefixed with S., followed by a number assigned the measure based on the order
in which it is introduced. The vast majority of legislative proposals
recommendations dealing with the economy, increasing penalties for certain
crimes, regulation on commerce and trade, etc., are drafted in the form of bills.
They also include budgetary appropriation of the government and many others.
When passed by both chambers in identical form and signed by the President or
repassed by Congress over a presidential veto, they become laws.

2. Joint Resolutions
Introduction of Bills

No matter where a legislative proposal originates, it can be introduced only by a

member of Congress. In the Senate, a member may introduce any of several types
of bills and resolutions by filing it with the Office of the Secretary.

A joint resolution, like a bill, requires the approval of both houses and the signature
of the President. It has the force and effect of a law if approved. There is no real
difference between a bill and a joint resolution. The latter generally is used when
dealing with a single item or issue, such as a continuing or emergency
appropriations bill. Joint resolutions are also used for proposing amendments to
the Constitution.

There is no limit to the number of bills a member may introduce. House and
Senate bills may have joint sponsorship and carry several members' names.

3. Concurrent Resolutions

Major legislation is often introduced in both houses in the form of companion

(identical) bills, the purpose of which is to speed up the legislative process by
encouraging both chambers to consider the measure simultaneously. Sponsors of
companion bills may also hope to dramatize the importance or urgency of the
issue and show broad support for the legislation.

A concurrent resolution is usually designated in the Senate as S. Ct. Res. It is used

for matters affecting the operations of both houses and must be passed in the
same form by both of them. However, they are not referred to the President for his
signature, and they do not have the force of law. Concurrent resolutions are used
to fix the time of adjournment of a Congress and to express the sense of
Congress on an issue.

4. Simple Resolutions

It is usually designated with P. S. Res. A simple resolution deals with matters

entirely within the prerogative of one house of Congress, such as adopting or
receiving its own rules. A simple resolution is not considered by the other chamber
and is not sent to the President for his signature. Like a concurrent resolution, it
has no effect and force of a law. Simple resolutions are used occasionally to
express the opinion of a single house on a current issue. Oftentimes, it is also
used to call for a congressional action on an issue affecting national interest.

Bill Referrals

Once a measure has been introduced and given a number, it is read and referred
to an appropriate committee. It must be noted that during the reading of the bill,
only the title and the author is read on the floor. The Senate President is
responsible for referring bills introduced to appropriate committees.

The jurisdictions of the Standing Committees are spelled out in Rule X, Section 13
of the Rules of the Senate. For example, if a bill involves matters relating to
agriculture, food production and agri-business, it must be referred to the
Committee on Agriculture and Food.

In Committee

The standing committees of the Senate, operating as little legislatures, determine

the fate of most proposals. There are committee hearings scheduled to discuss the
bills referred. Committee members and staff frequently are experts in the subjects
under their jurisdiction, and it is at the committee stage that a bill comes under the
sharpest scrutiny. If a measure is to be substantially revised, the revision usually
occurs at the committee level.

A committee may dispose of a bill in one of several ways: it may approve, or reject,
the legislation with or without amendments; rewrite the bill entirely; reject it, which

essentially kills the bill; report it favorably or without recommendation, which allows
the chamber to consider the bill at all. It must be noted that under Section 29, Rule
XI of the Rules of the Senate, if the reports submitted are unfavorable, they shall
be transmitted to the archives of the Senate, unless five Senators shall, in the
following session, move for their inclusion in the Calendar for Ordinary Business, in
which case the President shall so order.

Committee Reports

A committee report describes the purpose and scope of the bill, explains any
committee amendments, indicates proposed changes in existing law and such
other materials that are relevant. Moreover, reports are numbered in the order in
which they are filed and printed.

Calendaring for Floor Debates: Consideration of, and Debates on Bills

Under Section 45 of Rule XVI of the Rules of the Senate, the Senate shall have
three calendars, to wit:

A Calendar for Ordinary Business," in which shall be included the bills reported
out by the committees in the order 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;

A 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; and

A Calendar for Third Reading, in which shall be included all bills and joint
resolutions approved on second reading.

(f) After the period of amendments, the voting of the bill on Second Reading.
Thus, a bill which has a committee report can be referred to the Calendar for
Ordinary Business. It may again be moved to its Special Order of Business for
priority action.

On the other hand, the consideration and debate of bills and resolutions are
spelled out in Rule XXV, Section 71 of the Rules of the Senate. It provides as
follows:

Sec. 71. The Senate shall adopt the following procedure in the consideration of
bills and joint resolutions:

(g) Bills shall be submitted to final vote by yeas and nays after printed copies
thereof in final form have been distributed to the Members at least three (3) days
prior to their passage, except when the President of the Philippines certifies to the
necessity of their immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency, in
which case the voting on Third Reading may take place immediately after second
reading.

After the bill is approved on Third Reading, it will be submitted to the House of
Representatives for consideration. A bill passed by the Senate and transmitted to
the House usually goes to a committee, unless a House bill on the same subject
has already been reported out by the appropriate committee and placed on the
calendar.

(a) Second reading of the bill.

(b) Sponsorship by the committee chairman, or by any member designated by the

committee.

Under normal procedures, therefore, a bill passed by one chamber and transmitted
to the other is referred to the appropriate committee, from which it must follow the
same route to passage as a bill originating from that chamber.

(c) If a debate ensues, turns for and against the bill shall be taken alternately:
Provided, however, That any committee member who fails to enter his objection or
to make of record his dissenting vote after it shall have been included in the Order
of Business and read to the Senate in accordance with the second paragraph of
Section 24 hereof, shall not be allowed to speak against the bill during the period
of general debate although he may propose and speak or vote on amendments
thereto.

Amendments may be offered at both the committee and floor action stages, and
the bill as it emerges from the second chamber may differ significantly from the
version passed by the first. A frequently used procedure when this occurs is for the
chamber that acts last to bring up the other chambers bill and substitute its own
version, then retaining only the latters bill number. That numbered bill, containing
the Senate and House version, is then sent to a conference committee to resolve
all differences.

(d) The sponsor of the bill or author of the motion shall have the right to close the
debate.

Conference Committee Action

(e) With the debate closed, the consideration of amendments, if any, shall be in
order.

Calling a Conference

Either chamber can request a conference once both have considered the same
legislation. Generally, the chamber that approved the legislation first will disagree
to the amendments made by the second body and will make a request that a

conference be convened. Sometimes, however, the second body will ask for a
conference immediately after it has passed the legislation, assuming that the other
chamber will not accept its amendments.

Once a conference committee completes its works, it can now be submitted to the
floor for its approval. Debate on conference reports is highly privileged and can
interrupt most other business.

Selection of Conferees

Approval of the conference report by both houses, along with any amendments on
disagreement, constitutes final approval of the bill.

Under the Rules of the Senate (Rule XII, Section 34), the Senate President shall
designate the members of the Senate panel in the conference committee with the
approval of the Senate. The Senate delegation to a conference can range in size
from three to a larger number, depending on the length and complexity of the
legislation involved.

Final Legislative Action

Authority of Conferees

After both houses have given final approval to a bill, a final copy of the bill, known
as the enrolled bill, shall be printed, and certified as correct by the Secretary of
the Senate and the Secretary General of the House of Representatives. After
which, it will be signed by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President.

The authority given to the Senate conferees theoretically is limited to matters in

disagreement between the two chambers. They are not authorized to delete
provisions or language agreed to by both the House and the Senate as to draft
entirely new provisions.

A bill may become a law, even without the Presidents signature, if the President
does not sign a bill within 30 days from receipt in his office. A bill may also become
a law without the Presidents signature if Congress overrides a presidential veto by
two-thirds vote.

In practice, however, the conferees have wide latitude, except where the matters in
disagreement are very specific. Moreover, conferees attempt to reconcile their
differences, but generally they try to grant concession only insofar as they remain
confident that the chamber they represent will accept the compromise.

SUMMARY
The following is a summary of how a bill becomes a law:

Filing/Calendaring for First Reading

The Conference Report

When the conferees have reached agreement on a bill, the conference committee
staff writes a conference report indicating changes made in the bill and explaining
each sides actions.

A bill is filed in the Office of the Secretary where it is given a corresponding number
and calendared for First Reading.

First Reading
Its title, bill number, and authors name are read on the floor, after which it is
referred to the proper committee.

Committee Hearings/Report
Committee conducts hearings and consultation meetings. It then either approves
the proposed bill without an amendment, approves it with changes, or
recommends substitution or consolidation with similar bills filed.

Printed copies of the bills final version are distributed to the Senators. This time,
only the title of the bill is read on the floor. Nominal voting is held. If passed, the
approved Senate bill is referred to the House of Representatives for concurrence.

At the House of Representatives

Calendaring for Second Reading
The Committee Report with its approved bill version is submitted to the Committee
on Rules for calendaring for Second Reading.

The Lower Chamber follows the same procedures (First Reading, Second Reading
and Third Reading).

Back to the Senate

Second Reading
Bill author delivers sponsorship speech on the floor. Senators engage in debate,
interpellation, turno en contra, and rebuttal to highlight the pros and cons of the bill.
A period of amendments incorporates necessary changes in the bill proposed by
the committee or introduced by the Senators themselves on the floor.

If the House-approved version is compatible with that of the Senates, the final
versions enrolled form is printed. If there are certain differences, a Bicameral
Conference Committee is called to reconcile conflicting provisions of both versions
of the Senate and of the House of Representatives. Conference committee
submits report on the reconciled version of the bill, duly approved by both
chambers. The Senate prints the reconciled version in its enrolled form.

Voting on Second Reading

Submission to Malacaang

Senators vote on the second reading version of the bill. If approved, the bill is
calendared for third reading.

Final enrolled form is submitted to Malacaang. The President either signs it into
law, or vetoes and sends it back to the Senate with veto message.

Voting on Third Reading