Congress of the Philippines (original) (raw)

The Congress of the Philippines is the primary legislature of the Philippines. It is a bicameral body consisting of the upper chamber, the Senate, and the lower chamber, the House of Representatives.

The Senate is composed of 24 senators half of which are elected every three years. Each senator therefore serves a total of six years. The senators are elected by the whole electorate and do not represent any geographical district.

The House of Representatives is composed of a maximum of 250 congressmen. There are two types of congressmen: the district and the sectoral representatives. The district congressment represent a particular geographical district of the country. All provinces in the country are composed of at least one congressional district. Several cities are also their own congressional districts, with some composed of two or more representatives.

The sectoral congressmen represent minority sectors of the population. This enables these minority groups to be represented in the Congress, when they would otherwise not be represented properly through district representation.

Lawmaking

[Any of the two house may initiate a bill that will be signed into law. Three hearings. Pass to other house. Another three hearings. Pass to president for approval or veto. Bill is now a law.]