House of Representatives of the Philippines

House of Representatives of the Philippines
Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas
17th Congress of the Philippines
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Term limits
 3 continuous terms
Leadership
Pantaleon Alvarez (PDP-Laban)
Since July 25, 2016

Since July 25, 2016

Since August 15, 2016
Rodolfo Fariñas, Nacionalista
Since July 25, 2016
Danilo E. Suarez, Lakas
Since July 27, 2016
Structure
Seats 297 representatives
238 from geographical districts
59 party-list representatives
Political groups
Committees See list
Length of term
 3 years
Authority Article VI, Constitution of the Philippines
Elections
Parallel voting
Last election
 May 9, 2016
Next election
 May 13, 2019
Redistricting Districts are redistricted by Congress after each census (has never been done since 1987)
By statute (most frequent method).
Meeting place
Batasang Pambansa Complex
Batasan Hills, Quezon City,
Philippines
Website
House of Representatives of the Philippines
Philippines
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
the Philippines

The House of Representatives of the Philippines (Filipino: Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas), is the lower house of the Congress of the Philippines. (The Senate of the Philippines is the upper house). It is often informally called Congress. Members of the House are officially styled as Representative (Kinatawan) and sometimes informally called Congressmen (mga kongresista) and are elected to a three-year term. They can be re-elected, but cannot serve more than three consecutive terms. Around eighty percent of congressmen are district representatives, representing a particular geographical area. There are 234 legislative districts in the country, each composed of about 250,000 people. There are also party-list representatives elected through the party-list system who constitute not more than twenty percent of the total number of representatives.

Aside from having its concurrence on every bill in order to be passed for the President's signature to become a law, the House of Representatives has the power to impeach certain officials, and all money bills must originate from the lower house.

The House of Representatives is headed by the Speaker, currently Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte. The official headquarters of the House of Representatives is at the Batasang Pambansa (literally, national legislature) located in the Batasan Hills in Quezon City in Metro Manila. The building is often simply called Batasan and the word has also become a metonym to refer to the House of Representatives.

History

Joint session of the Philippine Legislature, Manila. November 15, 1916
Philippine legislature before 1924
Party control of the lower house. Notice the one-party dominance of the Nacionalistas from 1907 to 1941, the two-party system with the emergence of the Liberal Party in 1946, the return of one-party dominance by the KBL from 1978 to 1984, and the multiparty system from 1987 to the present.
Same as above, but in cumulative seat totals, instead of percentages.

Philippine Assembly

Main article: Philippine Assembly

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 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 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 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 a few different names, up until the present day.

Jones Act of 1916

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; the two reconciled in 1924, and controlled the Assembly via a virtual dominant-party system.

Commonwealth and the Third Republic

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 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 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 enough number will break away and join the party of the president, thereby ensuring that the president will have control of the House of Representatives.

Martial Law

Main article: Batasang Pambansa

This set up continued until President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law and abolished Congress. He would rule by decree even after 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 will continue until the People Power Revolution overthrew Marcos in 1986.

1987 Constitution

The 1987 Constitution restored 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, 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 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 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 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.

Officers

The members of the House of Representatives who are also its officers are also ex officio members of all of the committees and has a vote.

Speaker

The Speaker is the head of the House of Representatives. He presides over 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 majority of all the members of the house, including vacant seats. The speaker 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.

As of April 2016 The incumbent speaker is Pantaleon Alvarez (PDP-Laban) of Davao del Norte's First congressional district.

Deputy Speakers

There 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 the deputy speakers in 1995. Originally, there was one Deputy Speaker for each island group of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Then, in 2001 during the 12th Congress, a Deputy Speaker "at large" was created. On 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".

The deputy speakers perform the speaker's role when the speaker is absent. Currently in the 16th Congress, the deputy speakers represent the chamber at-large.

The Deputy Speakers are:

Since July 25, 2016

Since August 15, 2016

Majority Floor Leader

The majority leader, aside from being 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 majority floor leader is Rodolfo C. Fariñas (NP) of Ilocos Norte's First district.

Minority Floor Leader

The minority leader 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 minority floor leader is Danilo E. Suarez (Lakas) of Quezon's 3rd District.

Secretary General

The secretary general enforces orders and decisions of 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.

Marilyn Barua-Yap is the Secretary General of the House of Representatives.

Sergeant-at-Arms

The Sergeant-at-Arms is responsible for the maintenance of order in the House of Representatives, among other things. Like the secretary general, the sergeant-at-arms is elected by a majority of the members.

Retired Brigadier General Nicasio J. Radovan, Jr. is the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives.

District representation

Congressional districts

There are two types of representatives in the chamber: representatives from congressional districts and party-list representatives. Eighty percent of representatives shall come from congressional districts, with each district returning one representative. Although each district should have a population of at least 250,000 people, all provinces have at least one legislative district, regardless of population, whose residents vote for their own congressman; several cities have representation of their own, independent of provinces, although they should have at least a population of 250,000. 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.

The representatives from 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 at least 60% of the 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.

Legislative districts in provinces

Legislative districts in cities

^a The component cities of Batangas and Lipa are officially known as the 5th and 6th Districts of Batangas, respectively.
^b The component city of San Jose del Monte is represented separately from Bulacan, but remains as part of the province's 1st District for the purpose of electing Sangguniang Panlalawigan members.
^c The independent city of Naga remains part of Camarines Sur's congressional representation.
^d The component city of Dasmariñas is represented under its own name, but also constitutes the Cavite's 4th District. The component cities of Bacoor and Imus are officially only known as Cavite's 2nd and 3rd Districts, respectively.
^e The independent city of Mandaue remains part of Cebu's congressional representation.
^f The independent city of Santiago remains part of Isabela's congressional representation.
^g The component city of Biñan is represented separately from Laguna, but remains as part of the province's 1st District for the purpose of electing Sangguniang Panlalawigan members.
^h The independent cities of Ormoc and Tacloban remain part of Leyte's congressional representation.
^i The independent city of Cotabato remains part of Maguindanao's congressional representation.
^j The independent city of Puerto Princesa remains part of Palawan's congressional representation.
^k The independent city of Angeles remains part of Pampanga's congressional representation.
^l The independent city of Dagupan remains part of Pangasinan's congressional representation.
^m The independent city of Lucena remains part of Quezon's congressional representation.
^n The component city of Antipolo is represented separately from Rizal. The city returns one member from each of its districts to the province's Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
^o The independent city of General Santos remains part of South Cotabato's congressional representation.
^p The independent city of Olongapo remains part of Zambales's congressional representation.

Party-list representation

Main article: Party-list representation in the House of Representatives of the Philippines

The party-list system is the name designated for party-list representation. Under the 1987 Constitution, the electorate can vote for certain party-list organizations in order to give voice to significant minorities of society that would otherwise not be adequately represented through geographical district. From 1987-1998, party-list representatives were appointed by the President.

Since 1998, each voter votes for a single party-list organization. Organizations that garner at least 2% of the total number of votes are awarded one representative for every 2% up to a maximum of three representatives. Thus, there can be at most 50 party-list representatives in Congress, though usually no more than 20 are elected because many organizations do not reach the required 2% minimum number of votes.

After the 2007 election, in a controversial decision, the Supreme Court ordered the COMELEC to change how it allocates the party-list seats. Under the new formula only one party will have the maximum 3 seats. It based its decision on a formula contained in the VFP vs. COMELEC decision. In 2009, in the BANAT vs. COMELEC decision, it was changed anew in which parties with less than 2% of the vote were given seats to fulfill the 20% quota as set forth in the constitution.

Aside from determining which party won and allocating the number of seats won per party, another point of contention was whether the nominees should be a member of the marginalized group they are supposed to represent; in the Ang Bagong Bayani vs. COMELEC decision, the Supreme Court not only ruled that the nominees should be a member of the marginalized sector, but it also disallowed major political parties from participating in the party-list election. However, on the BANAT decision, the court ruled hat since the law didn't specify who belongs to a marginalized sector, the court allowed anyone to be a nominee as long as the nominee as a member of the party (not necessarily the marginalized group the party is supposed to represent).

Redistricting

Congressional district population map, as of August 1, 2007. Note the underrepresentation of areas concentrated around central and southern Luzon and central Mindanao.

Congress is mandated to reapportion the legislative districts within three years following the return of every census.[1] Since its restoration in 1987, Congress has not passed any general apportionment law, despite the publication of five censuses in 1990, 1995, 2000, 2007 and 2010.[2] The increase in the number of representative districts since 1987 were mostly due to the creation of new provinces, cities, and piecemeal redistricting of certain provinces and cities.

The apportionment of congressional districts is not dependent upon a specially-mandated independent government body, but rather through Republic Acts which are drafted by members of Congress. Therefore, apportionment often can be influenced by political motivations. Incumbent representatives who are not permitted by law to serve after three consecutive terms sometimes resort to dividing their district, or even creating a new province which will be guaranteed a seat, just so that they will be able to run and serve terms in a technically different district. Likewise, politicians whose political fortunes are likely to be jeopardized by any change in district boundaries may delay or even ignore the need for reapportionment.

Since 1987, the creation of some new congressional districts have been met with controversy, especially due to incumbent political clans and their allies benefiting from the new district arrangements. Some of these new congressional districts are tied to the creation of a new province, because such an act necessarily entails the creation of a new congressional district.

  • Creation of Davao Occidental, 2013: The rival Cagas and Bautista clans dominate politics in the province of Davao del Sur; their members have been elected as congressional representatives for the first and second districts of the province since 1987. However, the province's governorship has been in contest between the two clans in recent years: Claude Bautista, the current governor, was elected in 2013; before that Douglas Cagas served as governor from 2007 to 2013, after succeeding Benjamin Bautista Jr. who served from 2002 to 2007.[3] Supporters of both clans have been subjected to political violence, prompting the police to put the province of Davao del Sur in the election watchlist.[4] The law which created Davao Occidental, Republic Act No. 10360, was co-authored by House Representatives Marc Douglas Cagas IV and Franklin Bautista as House Bill 4451; the creation of the new province is seen as a way to halt the "often violent" political rivalry between the clans by ensuring that the Cagas and Bautista clans have separate domains.[4]
  • Reapportionment of Camarines Sur, 2009: A new congressional district was created within Camarines Sur under Republic Act No. 9716, which resulted in the reduction of the population of the province's first district to below the Constitutional ideal of 250,000 inhabitants. The move was seen as a form of political accommodation that would (and ultimately did) prevent two allies of then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from running in the same district. Rolando Andaya, who was on his third term as congressman for the first district, was appointed Budget Secretary in 2006; his plans to run as representative of the same district in 2010 put him in direct competition with Diosdado Macapagal-Arroyo, the president's youngest son, who was also seeking re-election. Then-Senator Noynoy Aquino challenged the constitutionality of the law but the Supreme Court of the Philippines ultimately ruled that the creation of the new district was constitutional.[5]
  • Creation of Dinagat Islands, 2007: The separation of Dinagat Islands from Surigao del Norte has further solidified the hold of the Ecleo clan over the impoverished and typhoon-prone area, which remains among the poorest provinces in the country.[6]

Most populous legislative districts

Currently the district with the lowest population is the lone district of Batanes, with only 17,246 inhabitants in 2015. The most populous congressional district, the 1st District of Caloocan City, has around 69 times more inhabitants. Data below reflect the district boundaries for the 2016 elections, and the population counts from the 2015 census.[7]

Rank Legislative district Population (2015)
1 1st District of Caloocan City 1,193,419
2 2nd District of Rizal 1,070,852
3 1st District of Rizal 1,036,989
4 2nd District of Laguna 937,382
5 1st District of South Cotabato 856,536
6 1st District of Maguindanao 821,475
7 1st District of Pampanga 775,580
8 Lone district of Pasig City 755,300
9 4th District of Bulacan 746,699
10 6th District of Cavite 733,853

Underrepresentation

Persons per representative per province or city in the House of Representatives: Provinces (blue) and cities (red) are arranged in descending order of population from Cavite to Batanes (provinces) and from Quezon City to San Juan (cities).
Persons per representative from 1903 to 2007. The last nationwide apportionment act was the ordinance to the 1987 constitution, which was based on the 1980 census.

Because of the lack of a nationwide reapportionment after the publication of every census since the Constitution was promulgated in 1987, faster-growing provinces and cities have become severely underrepresented. Each legislative district is ideally supposed to encompass a population of 250,000.[8] The following jurisdictions currently have a deficit in their congressional representations if the constitutional ideal of 250,000 population count per district is considered:

Province /
Independent City 		Population
(2015 census) 		Number of legislative districts
Current number of
representatives 		Maximum possible representation
using the 250,000 population count threshold 		Deficit in number
of representatives
Cavite (including the cities of Bacoor, Dasmariñas and Imus) 3,678,301 7 14 7
Bulacan (including the city of San Jose del Monte) 3,292,071 4 + 1 13 8
Laguna (including the city of Biñan) 3,035,081 4 + 1 12 7
Cebu 2,938,982a 7b 11 4
Pangasinan (including the independent city of Dagupan) 2,956,726c 6 11 5
Quezon City 2,936,116 6 11 5
Rizal (including the city of Antipolo) 2,884,227 2 + 2 11 7
Batangas (including the cities of Batangas and Lipa) 2,694,335 6 10 4
Negros Occidental 2,497,261 6 9 3
Pampanga 2,198,110d 4e 8 4
Nueva Ecija 2,151,461 4 8 4
Leyte (including the independent cities of Ormoc and Tacloban) 1,966,768f 5 7 2
Camarines Sur (including the independent city of Naga) 1,952,544g 5 7 2
Iloilo 1,936,423 5 7 2
Quezon 1,856,582h 4i 7 3
Manila 1,780,148 6 7 1
Isabela (including the independent city of Santiago) 1,593,566j 4 6 2
Davao City 1,632,991 3 6 3
Caloocan City 1,583,978 2 6 4
Bukidnon 1,415,226 4 5 1
Cotabato 1,379,747 3 5 2
Tarlac 1,366,027 3 5 2
Negros Oriental 1,354,995 3 5 2
Albay 1,314,826 3 5 2
Bohol 1,313,560 3 5 2
Cagayan 1,199,320 3 4 1
Maguindanao 1,173,933k 2l 4 2
Lanao del Sur 1,045,429 2 4 2
Davao del Norte 1,016,332 2 4 2
Zamboanga del Norte 1,011,393 3 4 1
Zamboanga del Sur 1,010,674 2 4 2
Cebu City 922,611 2 3 1
South Cotabato 915,289m 2n 3 1
Misamis Oriental 888,509 2 3 1
Zamboanga City 861,799 2 3 1
Oriental Mindoro 844,059 2 3 1
Sulu 824,031 2 3 1
Zambales 823,888o 2 3 1
Sultan Kudarat 812,095 2 3 1
Taguig City + Pateros 868,755p 1 + 1 3 1
Sorsogon 792,949 2 3 1
La Union 786,653 2 3 1
Samar 780,481 2 3 1
Capiz 761,384 2 3 1
Bataan 760,650 2 3 1
Pasig City 755,300 1 3 2
Davao del Sur 632,588 1 2 1
General Santos City 594,446 0n 2 2
Las Piñas City 588,894 1 2 1
Antique 582,012 1 2 1
Aklan 574,823 1 2 1
Bacolod City 561,875 1 2 1
Sarangani 544,261 1 2 1
Muntinlupa City 504,409 1 2 1
Angeles City 411,634 0e 1 1
Mandaue City 362,654 0b 1 1
Cotabato City 299,438 0l 1 1
Lucena City 266,248 0i 1 1
Puerto Princesa City 255,116 0q 1 1
^a Population count for Cebu excludes the independent city of Mandaue.
^b The independent city of Mandaue (pop. 362,654) currently remains part of Cebu's congressional representation despite having already reached the 250,000 population threshold.
^c The independent city of Dagupan (pop. 171,271) does not meet the population threshold and therefore remains part of Pangasinan's congressional representation in this table.
^d Population count for Pampanga excludes the independent city of Angeles.
^e The independent city of Angeles (pop. 411,634) currently remains part of Pampanga's congressional representation despite having already reached the 250,000 population threshold.
^f Population count for Leyte includes the independent cities of Ormoc (pop. 215,031) and Tacloban (pop. 242,089), which do not meet the population threshold and therefore remain part of Leyte's congressional representation in this table.
^g Population count includes the independent city of Naga (pop. 196,003), which does not meet the population threshold and therefore remains part of Camarines Sur's congressional representation in this table.
^h Population count for Quezon excludes the independent city of Lucena.
^i The independent city of Lucena (pop. 266,248) currently remains part of Quezon's congressional representation despite having already reached the 250,000 population threshold.
^j Population count for Isabela includes the independent city of Santiago (pop. 134,830), which does not meet the population threshold and therefore remains part of Isabela's congressional representation in this table.
^k Population count for Maguindanao excludes the independent city of Cotabato.
^l The independent city of Cotabato (pop. 299,438) currently remains part of Maguindanao's congressional representation despite having already reached the 250,000 population threshold.
^m Population count for South Cotabato excludes the independent city of General Santos.
^n The independent city of General Santos (pop. 594,446) currently remains part of South Cotabato's congressional representation despite having already reached the 250,000 population threshold.
^o Population count includes the independent city of Olongapo (pop. 233,040), which does not meet the population threshold and therefore remains part of Zambales's congressional representation in this table.
^p Figure combines the population counts of the independent city of Taguig (pop. 804,915) with the independent municipality of Pateros (pop. 63,840), which on its own does not meet the population threshold; the current representational arrangement is thereby retained in this table.
^q Puerto Princesa (pop. 255,116) currently remains part of Palawan's congressional representation despite having already reached the 250,000 population threshold.

Powers

The House of Representatives is modeled after the United States House of Representatives; the two chambers of Congress have roughly equal powers, and every bill or resolution that has to go through both houses needs the consent of both chambers before being passed for the president's signature. Once a bill is defeated in the House of Representatives, it is lost. Once a bill is approved by the House of Representatives on third reading, the bill is passed to the Senate, unless an identical bill has also been passed by the lower house. When a counterpart bill in the Senate is different from the one passed by the House of Representatives, either a bicameral conference committee is created consisting of members from both chambers of Congress to reconcile the differences, or either chamber may instead approve the other chamber's version.

Just like most lower houses, money bills, originate in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may still propose or concur with amendments, same with bills of local application and private bills. The House of Representatives has the sole power to initiate impeachment proceedings, and may impeach an official by a vote of one-third of its members. Once an official is impeached, the Senate tries that official.

Seat

William Howard Taft address the 1st Philippine Legislature at the Manila Grand Opera House in 1907.
The 2nd Philippine Legislature convened at the The Mansion in Baguio in 1921.

The Batasang Pambansa Complex (National Legislature) at Quezon City is the seat of the House of Representatives since its restoration in 1987; it took its name from the Batasang Pambansa, the national parliament which convened there from 1978 to 1986.

The Philippine Legislature was inaugurated at the Manila Grand Opera House at 1907, then it conducted business at the Ayuntamiento in Intramuros, Manila, across the University of Santo Tomas. Governor-General Leonard Wood summoned the 2nd Philippine Legislature at Baguio and convened at the The Mansion in Baguio for three weeks. The legislature returned to the Ayutamiento, as the Legislative Building was being constructed; it first convened there on July 26, 1926. The House of Representatives continued to occupy the second floor until 1945 when the area was shelled during the Battle of Manila. The building was damaged beyond repair and Congress convened at the Old Japanese Schoolhouse at Manila until the Legislative Building can be occupied again in 1949. Congress stayed at the Legislative Building, by now called the Congress Building, until President Marcos shut Congress and ruled by decree starting in 1972.[9]

Marcos then oversaw the construction of the new home of parliament at Quezon City, which convened in 1978. The parliament, called the Batasang Pambansa continued to sit there until the passage of the 1986 Freedom Constitution. The House of Representatives inherited the Batasang Pambansa Complex in 1987.

Batasang Pambansa Complex

The Batasang Pambansa Complex, now officially called the House of Representatives Building Complex, is at the National Government Center, Constitution Hills, Quezon City. Accessible via Commonwealth Avenue, the complex consists of four buildings. The Main Building hosts the session hall; the North and South wings, inaugurated on December 1977, are attached to it. The newest building, the Ramon Mitra, Jr. Building, was completed in 2001. It houses the Legislative Library, the Committee offices, the Reference and Research Bureau, and the Conference Rooms.[10]

Current composition

Main article: 17th Congress of the Philippines

The members of the House of Representatives, aside from being grouped into political parties, are also grouped into the "majority bloc," "minority bloc" and "independents" (different from the independent in the sense that they are not affiliated into a political party). Originally, members who voted for the winning Speaker belong to the majority and members who voted for the opponent are the minority. The majority and minority bloc are to elect amongst themselves a floor leader. While members are allowed to switch blocs, they must do so in writing. Also, the bloc where they intend to transfer shall accept their application through writing. When the bloc the member ought to transfer refuses to accept the transferring member, or a member does not want to be a member of either bloc, that member becomes an independent member. A member that transfers to a new bloc forfeits one's committee chairmanships and memberships, until the bloc the member transfers to elects the member to committees.

The membership in each committee should be in proportion to the size of each bloc, with each bloc deciding who amongst them who will go to each committee, upon a motion by the floor leader concerned to the House of Representatives in plenary. The Speaker, Deputy Speakers, floor leaders, deputy floor leaders and the chairperson of the Committee on Accounts can vote in committees; the committee chairperson can only vote to break a tie.

To ensure that the representatives each get their pork barrel, most of them will join the majority bloc, or even to the president's party, as basis of patronage politics (known as the Padrino System locally); thus, the House of Representatives always aligns itself with the party of the sitting president.

The majority bloc sits to the right side of the speaker, facing the House of Representatives.

Party standings
Current party standing.
Party Total %
Liberal 112 38.7%
NPC 39 13.4%
NUP 26 8.9%
Nacionalista 20 6.8%
Lakas 14 4.8%
UNA 9 3.1%
LDP 2 0.7%
Akbayan 1 0.3%
CDP 1 0.3%
KABAKA 1 0.3%
Kambilan 1 0.3%
KBL 1 0.3%
PPP 1 0.3%
Unang Sigaw 1 0.3%
United Negros Alliance 1 0.3%
Independents 5 1.7%
Party-list 55 18.8%
Totals 289 99.0%

Latest election

Main article: Philippine House of Representatives elections, 2016
For the party-list result, see Philippine House of Representatives election, 2016 (party-list).
 Summary of the May 9, 2016 Philippine House of Representatives election results for representatives from congressional districts
Party/coalition Popular vote Breakdown Seats
Total % Entered Up Gains Holds Losses Wins Elected % +/−
Liberal (Liberal Party) 15,552,401 41.72% 164 111 15 96 15 4 115 38.7% Increase 4
NPC (Nationalist People's Coalition) 6,350,310 17.04% 77 42 8 33 9 0 42 14.1% Steady
NUP (National Unity Party) 3,604,266 9.67% 39 26 1 22 4 0 23 7.7% Decrease 3
Nacionalista (Nationalist Party) 3,512,975 9.42% 46 27 3 21 6 0 24 8.1% Decrease 3
UNA (United Nationalist Alliance) 2,468,335 6.62% 47 8 4 7 1 0 11 3.7% Increase 3
PDP-Laban (Philippine Democratic Party–People's Power) 706,407 1.90% 26 0 3 0 0 0 3 1.0% Increase 3
Lakas (People Power–Christian Muslim Democrats) 573,843 1.54% 5 7 0 4 3 0 4 1.3% Decrease 3
Aksyon (Democratic Action) 514,612 1.38% 8 1 1 0 1 0 1 0.3% Steady
KBL (New Society Movement) 198,754 0.53% 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Steady
Asenso Manileño (Progress for Manilans) 184,602 0.50% 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 0.7% Increase 2
Kusog Baryohanon (Force of the Villagers) 172,601 0.46% 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.3% Increase 1
PTM (Voice of the Masses Party) 145,417 0.39% 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0.3% Steady
PCM (People's Champ Movement) 142,307 0.38% 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.3% Increase 1
Bukidnon Paglaum (Hope for Bukidnon) 129,678 0.35% 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0.3% Steady
Lingap Lugud (Caring Love) 127,762 0.34% 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.3% Increase 1
Padayon Pilipino (Onward Filipinos) 127,759 0.34% 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Steady
1-Cebu (One Cebu) 114,732 0.31% 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.0% Steady
LDP (Struggle of Democratic Filipinos) 111,086 0.30% 2 2 0 2 0 0 2 0.7% Steady
ASJ (Forward San Joseans) 83,945 0.23% 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0.3% Increase 1
PMP (Force of the Filipino Masses) 78,020 0.21% 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Steady
KABAKA (Partner of the Nation for Progress) 72,130 0.19% 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 0.3% Steady
Hugpong (Party of the People of the City) 53,186 0.14% 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Steady
SZP (Forward Zambales Party) 52,415 0.14% 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Steady
CDP (Centrist Democratic Party of the Philippines) 13,662 0.04% 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.0% Steady
PMM (Workers' and Peasants' Party) 7,239 0.02% 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Steady
PGRP (Philippine Green Republican Party) 4,426 0.01% 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0% Steady
Independent 2,172,562 5.83% 178 3 3 1 2 0 4 1.3% Increase 1
Vacancy — — — 3 0 0 3 — 0 0.0% Decrease 3
Total 37,275,432 100% 634 234 45 189 45 4 238 80.1% Increase 4
Valid votes 37,275,432 83.97%
Invalid votes 7,077,692 15.94%
Turnout 44,392,375 81.66%
Registered voters (without overseas voters) 54,363,844 100%

See also

References

  1. ↑ Chan-Robles Virtual Law Library. "The 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines - Article VI". Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  2. ↑ National Statistical Coordination Board. "NSCB - Statistics - Population and Housing". Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  3. ↑ Davao Occidental: Mindanao's 27th Province. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  4. 1 2 New Davao province has to wait. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  5. ↑ Noynoy asks SC to strike down law on new CamSur district. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  6. ↑ Dinagat: The hands that heal hold power. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Population Counts by Legislative District (Based on the 2015 Census of Population)". Philippine Statistics Authority. 16 July 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  8. ↑ "RP pop'n calls for 350 Congress seats". Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  9. ↑ "The Official Buildings of the House of Representatives: The Ancestral Quarters". Congress.gov.ph. Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  10. ↑ "The Official Buildings of the House of Representatives: The Present Legislative Building". Congress.gov.ph. Retrieved 2011-05-26.

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