How do Bills Become Laws in the Philippines? — A Quick Guide with Illustrations

This is a basic, step-by-step guide on how laws are passed in the Philippines.

Photo by Joakim Honkasalo on Unsplash

(For this piece, the main reference is Statutory Construction by Atty. Ruben Agpalo. Definitions are copied verbatim when enclosed with quotation marks!)

Let’s start with the basics.

Laws: “Rule[s] of conduct formulated and made obligatory by legitimate power of the state.” This includes statutes, presidential issuances, jurisprudence, rules and regulations, and ordinances.

Statutes: Acts of Congress. So, like, laws from Congress.

Bills: “Proposed legislative measure[s] introduced by a member or members of Congress for enactment into law.” Basically, bills are proposed, unpassed measures that may or may not become statutes.

Congress: Legislative body. This is where legislative power is vested in, according to Sec. 1., Art. VI of the Constitution. It has two houses: (1) the Senate; and (2) the House of Representatives (also called the lower house or the HoR).

Overview: From Bill to Law

Here’s an overview of the process, to be broken down into steps after the photo:

Blue is for the first house, which may be either Senate or the HoR; Orange is for the second house, which is whichever isn’t the first house; and Green is for both houses. For those who have difficulty with differentiating colors, I placed 1 dot on the lower right of each box for first house; 2 dots for second house; and a line for both houses.

For purposes of this explanation, I’ll be using the terms First House and Second House. The First House from which the bill originates may be either Senate or the HoR. The Second House is whichever house isn’t the First House.

Note, however, there are certain bills that have to originate from the HoR: appropriation, revenue or tariff bills, bills authorizing increase of the public debt, bills of local application, and private bills shall originate exclusively in the House of Representatives, but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments (Sec. 24, Art. VI of the Constitution).

Three Readings; First House

General Rule: The three readings must be done on separate days. Printed copies of the bill in its final form should be distributed to the Members of the house three days before its passage.

Exception: The requirements of (1) printing; and (2) reading on separate days are not required when the President certifies to the necessity of the immediate enactment of the bill to meet a public calamity or emergency. (Sec. 26, Art. VI of the Constitution)

First Reading

In the first reading, the number and title of the bill is read. The bill is then sent to the proper Committee for study and recommendation.

Second Reading

In the second reading, the bill is read in full, with the amendments proposed by the Committee. The bill is then subject to debates and amendments. After any amendments, the bill is voted upon.

Third Reading

If the bill is approved after the second reading, it goes to third reading. In the third reading, the bill is again voted upon.

Second House

After the three readings in the first house, the bill is transmitted to the Second House. The same process of three readings is followed.

• If the Second House approves the bill, the bill is authenticated and transmitted to the President (see President section below).
• But if the Second House introduces amendments, the bill is transmitted to the First House.
• If the First House agrees to the amendments, the bill is authenticated and transmitted to the President (see President section below).
• But if the First House does not agree to the amendments, “the differences will be settled by the Conference Committees of both [houses].”

Conference Committee

The Conference Committee will provide a report or recommendation (which is not limited to considering the conflicting provisions — this means the Committee can include a whole new provision not related to the conflict between the Houses).

If the Committee’s report or recommendation is approved by both houses, the new version is authenticated, then transmitted to the President.

Authentication

Authentication means the “signing by the Speaker [of the HoR] and the Senate President of the printed copy of the approved bill, certified by the respective secretaries of both Houses.” After authentication, the bill is transmitted to the President.

The President

The President has three options:

1. He can sign the bill, making it a law;
2. He can not act on the bill (neither sign nor veto) within 30 days after his receipt of the bill, making it a law as if he had signed the bill; or
3. He can veto the bill.

Veto

When the President vetoes a bill, he returns the bill, with his objections, to the First House. The First House should reconsider the bill.

If 2/3 of the Members of the First House agree to pass the bill, the bill (with the objections) are transmitted to the Second House.

If 2/3 of the Members of the Second House agree to pass the bill, the bill becomes law. It doesn’t have to go through the President anymore.

That’s pretty much it — the overview of how a bill becomes a law in the Philippines. Again, the source for the contents of this piece is Statutory Construction by Atty. Ruben Agpalo, which is an incredibly well-written book on Statutory Construction. All illustrations are made by Quarters. Disclaimer: everything I’ve explained is based on how I understood them, and I’m only human. I placed my sources, so you can check them to verify. If I made a mistake or if there’s a new doctrine, please leave a comment with a source and I’ll correct the error immediately!

If you want a more in depth discussion on certain Philippine law topics, leave a comment!