The term of the members of the Senate is expressly provided in Articles VI and XVIII

respectively of the Constitution:

Sec. 4. The term of office of the Senators shall be six years and shall commence, unless
otherwise provided by law, at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following their
election.

Sec. 2. The Senators, members of the House of Representatives, and the local officials
first elected under this Constitution shall serve until noon of June 30, 1992.

Of the Senators elected in the election in 1992, the first twelve obtaining the highest
number of votes shall serve for six years and the remaining twelve for three years.
The Constitution, in Section 4, Article VI, provides limits to the extent a member of the
Senate can run for reelection. It provides as follows:

No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. Voluntary renunciation
of the office for any length of time shall not be considered as an interruption in the
continuity of his service for the full term for which he was elected.
The salaries of members of the Senate is governed by Article VI of the Constitution as
follows:

Sec. 10. The salaries of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives shall
be determined by law. No increase in said compensation shall take effect until after
the expiration of the full term of all the members of the Senate and the House of
Representatives approving such increase.

Sec. 20. The records and books of accounts of Congress shall be preserved and be open
to the public in accordance with law, and such books shall be audited by the
Commission on Audit which shall publish annually an itemized list of amounts paid to
and expenses incurred for each Member.
The Constitution in Section 17, Article XVIII, provides the corresponding salaries of
Senators, to wit:

Until the Congress provides otherwise, the President shall receive an annual salary of
three hundred thousand pesos; the Vice-President, the President of the Senate, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
two hundred forty thousand pesos each; the Senators, the members of the House of
Representatives, the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, and the Chairmen of the
Constitutional Commissions, two hundred four thousand pesos each; and the
Members of the Constitutional Commissions, one hundred eighty thousand pesos
each.
One of the privileges that a member of Congress enjoys is the privilege from arrest. In
this regard, Section 11, Article VI, of the Constitution provides as follows:

A Senator or Member of the House of Representatives shall, in all offenses punishable

by not more than six years imprisonment, be privileged from arrest while the Congress
is in session. No member shall be questioned nor be held liable in any other place for
any speech or debate in Congress or in any committee thereof.
This privilege is intended to insure representation of the constituents by the members
of Congress. In Vera vs. Avelino, the Supreme Court, quoting a decision of the United
States Supreme Court, explained for whose benefit the right to parliamentary
immunity is secured:

These privileges are thus secured not with the intention of protecting the members
against prosecutors for their own benefit, but to support the rights of the people, by
enabling their representatives to execute the function of their office without fear of
prosecution, civil or criminal.
1. BASES OF PRIVILAGES
a. Constitutional Basis
Provided for in Section 11, Article VI of the Constitution. It states as follows:
Sec. 11. A Senator or Member of the House of Representatives shall, in all offenses be
punishable by not more than six years imprisonment, be privileged from arrest while
the Congress is in session. No Member shall be questioned nor be held liable in any
other place for any speech or debate in Congress or in any committee thereof.

b. Rules of the Senate

This is contained in Section 110, Rule XL, Rules of the Senate, which
provides as follows:
Sec. 110. After the consideration of the matters contained in the Calendar for Special
Orders, a Senator may forthwith request for and avail of the privilege to speak for one
(1) hour on any matter of public interest.
2. PURPOSE OF THE PRIVILAGE
Our Constitution enshrines parliamentary immunity which is a fundamental privilege
cherished in every legislative assembly of the democratic world. As old as the English Parliament,
its purpose is to enable and encourage a representative of the public to discharge his
public trust with firmness and success for it is indispensably necessary that he should
enjoy the fullest liberty of speech, and that he should be protected from the
resentment of every one, however, powerful, to whom the exercise of that liberty may
occasion. Such immunity has come to this country from the practices of Parliament as construed
and applied by the Congress of the United States. Its extent and application remain no longer in
doubt insofar as related to the question before us. It guarantees the legislator complete freedom of
expression without fear of being made responsible in criminal or civil actions before the courts or
any other forum outside of the Congressional hall. But it does not protect him from responsibility
before the legislative body itself whenever his words and conduct are considered by the latter
disorderly or unbecoming to a member thereof.
3. Precedents and Practices 4. Relevance

a. When it can and it cannot a. No assured government by the people

b. On request for reservation unless their representatives possess this
c. Decorum on Speech privilege.
d. Interpellation b. To protect independence and integrity of
e. Precedence and interruptions Congress and to reinforce separation of
f. Extension of time powers.
g. Reference Speech c. Basis of corrective legislative measures.
h. Stricken of the record d. To voice out dissent, the essence of
democracy.
Section 16(3), Article VI of the Constitution provides the manner in which members of
the Senate may be disciplined, suspended or expelled. It provides as follows:

Each House may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its Members for
disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds of all its Members,
suspend or expel a Member. A penalty of suspension, when imposed, shall not exceed
sixty days.
The Constitution provides in Section 14, Article VI the grounds of inhibitions and
disqualifications for members of Congress.
It provides as follows:

No Senator or member of the House of Representatives may personally appear as

counsel before any court of justice or before the Electoral Tribunals, or quasi-judicial
and other administrative bodies. Neither shall he, directly or indirectly, be interested
financially in any contract with, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by the
Government, or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including any
government-owned or controlled corporation, or its subsidiary, during his term of
office. He shall not intervene in any matter before any office of the Government for his
pecuniary benefit or where he may be called upon to act on account of his office.
The provisions in Section 12, Article VI of the Constitution are intended to ensure the
probity and objectivity of the members of Congress.

There are some persons who may be tempted to run for Congress not because of a
desire to serve the people but precisely for the protection or even enhancement of
their own interests. By requiring them to make known at the outset their financial and
business connections or investments, it is hoped that their potential for self-
aggrandizement will be reduced and they will be prevented from using their official
positions for ulterior purposes.
Under Section 13, Article VI of the Constitution, it states some other disqualifications
by which a member of Congress may hold office, to wit:

Sec. 13. No Senator or Member of the House of Representatives may hold any other
office or employment in the Government, or any subdivision, agency, or
instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or
their subsidiaries, during his term without forfeiting his seat. Neither shall he be
appointed to any office which may have been created or the emoluments thereof
increased during the term for which he was elected.
The constitutional prohibition against a member of the Batasang Pambansa from
holding any other office or employment in the government during his tenure is clear.
Section 10, Article VIII of the 1973 Constitution provides as follows:

Sec. 10. A Member of the National Assembly shall not hold any other office or
employment in the government or any subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof,
including government-owned or controlled corporations, during his tenure, except
that of prime minister or member of the cabinet. xxx