Senior High School

Philippine Politics
and Governance
Quarter 2 – Module 7:
The Legislative Branch of
Government - The Philippine Senate
and The House of Representatives
Philippine Politics and Governance – Senior High School
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 2 – Module 7: The Legislative Branch of Government – The Philippine Senate
and The House of Representatives
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education

May B. Eclar, PhD, CESO III
Rhoda T. Razon, PhD, CESO V
Librada M. Rubio, PhD

Development Team of the Module

Writers: Christian C. Linsangan
Anna Maria G. Mejia
Rochelle G. Tuliao
Content Editors: Angelica M. Burayag, PhD
Reviewers: Eva Fe F. Taclibon, PhD
Sergio B. Gonzales
John Paul Paje
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Management Team: May B. Eclar, PhD, CESO III
Librada M. Rubio, PhD
Angelica M. Burayag, PhD
Ma. Editha R. Caparas, EdD
Nestor P. Nuesca, EdD
Marie Ann C. Ligsay, PhD
Jayne M. Garcia, EdD
Beverly T. Mangulabnan, PhD
Eva Fe F. Taclibon, PhD

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 Senior High School

Philippine Politics
and Governance
Quarter 2 – Module 7:
The Legislative Branch of
Government - The Philippine Senate
and The House of Representatives
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the Philippine Politics and Governance –

Senior High School Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM)
Module on The Legislative Branch of Government -
The Philippine Senate and The House of
Representatives!

This module was designed, developed and reviewed

to assist you, the teacher or facilitator in helping the
learners meet the standards set by the K to 12
Curriculum while overcoming their personal, social,
and economic constraints in schooling.

This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also aims to help
learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into consideration their
needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the body of
the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this module.
You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to manage
their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

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For the learner:

Welcome to the Philippine Politics and Governance – Senior High School Alternative
Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on The Legislative Branch of Government-The
Philippine Senate and House of Representatives!
The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often used to
depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create and
accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a learner
is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies and
skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful opportunities for
guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You will be enabled to
process the contents of the learning resource while being an active learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

What I Need to Know This will give you an idea of the skills or
competencies you are expected to learn in the
module.

What I Know This part includes an activity that aims to

check what you already know about the
lesson to take. If you get all the answers
correct (100%), you may decide to skip this
module.

What’s In This is a brief drill or review to help you link

the current lesson with the previous one.

What’s New In this portion, the new lesson will be

introduced to you in various ways such as a
story, a song, a poem, a problem opener, an
activity or a situation.

What is It This section provides a brief discussion of the

lesson. This aims to help you discover and
understand new concepts and skills.

What’s More This comprises activities for independent

practice to solidify your understanding and
skills of the topic. You may check the
answers to the exercises using the Answer
Key at the end of the module.

What I Have Learned This includes questions or blank

sentence/paragraph to be filled in to process
what you learned from the lesson.

What I Can Do This section provides an activity which will

help you transfer your new knowledge or skill
into real life situations or concerns.

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 Assessment This is a task which aims to evaluate your
level of mastery in achieving the learning
competency.

Additional Activities In this portion, another activity will be given

to you to enrich your knowledge or skill of the
lesson learned. This also tends retention of
learned concepts.

Answer Key This contains answers to all activities in the

module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in developing

this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the
module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not
hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are
not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and
gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 What I Need to Know

This module will help you understand the

important features of the the Legislative Branch of
Philippine Government. It also aims to introduce
to you the roles and responsibilities of the
Philippine Senate and House of Representatives in
the government.

The module has one lesson, namely:

• Lesson 1 – The Legislative Branch of

Government-The Philippine Senate and
House of Representatives
After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. identify the features of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives

in the government; and
2. discuss the roles and responsibilities of the Philippine Senate and the House
of Representatives.

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 What I Know

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Read the following items carefully. Write the letter of the correct
answer on a separate sheet of paper.

1. What is the primary role of the Legislative Branch of Philippine government?

a. Adjudication of laws
b. Implementation of laws
c. Interpretation of laws
d. Making of laws

2. As a bicameral legislature, what are the two chambers that comprise the
Philippine Congress?
a. Philippine President and House of Representatives
b. House of Representatives and Supreme Court
c. Senate and House of Representatives
d. Senate and Supreme Court

3. A Senator of the Philippines shall serve a term of ___________________.

a. 3 years
b. 6 years
c. 9 years
d. 12 years

4. According to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, what is the minimum age

requirement (at the day of the election) to become a member of the House of
Representatives in Philippine Congress?
a. 20 years
b. 25 years
c. 35 years
d. 40 years

5. Members of Philippine Senate are elected through ___________________.

a. Nationwide popular vote
b. Provincial popular vote
c. Party list system
d. Plebiscite

6. A member of the House of Representatives can serve for a maximum of

___________________.
a. one (1) term
b. two (2) consecutive terms
c. three (3) consecutive terms
d. four (4) consecutive terms

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7. What is the legal basis for the exclusive power of the Philippine Congress to
initiate and conduct an impeachment trial?
a. Article VI of Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees
b. Article XI of Code of Conduct for Public Officials and Employees
c. Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution
d. Article XI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution

8. What is the minimum age requirement (at the day of the election) to become
a Senator as stated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution?
a. 20 years
b. 25 years
c. 35 years
d. 40 years

9. How many Senators are regularly elected every three (3) years?
a. eight (8)
b. ten (10)
c. twelve (12)
d. twenty-four (24)

10. When shall be the start of terms of offices of members of Philippine

Congress?
a. twentieth (20th) day of June next following their election for Senators and
thirtieth (30th) day of June next following their election for Members of
House of Representatives
b. thirtieth (30th) day of June next following their election for Senators and
twentieth (20th) day of June next following their election for Members of
House of Representatives
c. twentieth (20th) day of June next following their election for Senators and
Members of House of Representatives
d. thirtieth (30th) day of June next following their election for Senators and
Members of House of Representatives

FILL IN THE BLANKS. Fill in the blanks to complete the statements. Write your
answers on a separate sheet of paper.

11. The Senate shall elect its _______________ and the House of Representatives
its Speaker, by a majority vote of all its respective Members.
12. The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an
_______________ which shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the
election, returns, and qualifications of their respective Members.
13. The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective
committees may conduct inquiries in aid of _______________.
14. The _______________ shall preside if the impeachment case involves
impeachable officials aside from the Philippine President.
15. Bills pass into law when they are approved by both houses of _______________
and the President of the Philippines.

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 The Legislative Branch of
Lesson Government-The Philippine
1 Senate and The House of
Representatives

What’s In

As you learned from the previous module, the government of a country has three
major functions: rule-making, rule-implementation and rule adjudication or rule
interpretation. You learned in Module 6 the role and powers of the President of the
Philippines or the country’s chief executive. In this module, you will learn the
features of another branch of government in charge with the making of laws - the
legislative.

What’s New

The focus of this lesson is on the Legislative Branch of the Philippine Government
also called the Philippine Congress. Before you proceed with the lesson, list eight (8)
important characteristics that a member of the rule-making body should possess.
Similar with the opening activity in Module 6, each characteristic should start with
each letter in the word CONGRESS.

C - _________________________

O- _________________________

N- _________________________

G- _________________________

R - _________________________

E- _________________________

S- _________________________

S- _________________________

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 What is It

Essential Features of the Legislative Branch of Philippine

Government
As of July 15, 2020, the webpage of The Official Gazette of the Philippine
Government mentioned the following essential features of the Legislative Branch or
Philippine Congress as indicated in Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution:

- Legislative power shall be vested in Philippine Congress.

- It is a bicameral legislature consisting of two chambers or houses-the Upper
House known as the Senate and the Lower House which is also called the
House of Representatives.
- By a vote of two-thirds of both Houses in joint session assembled, voting
separately, Philippine Congress shall have the sole power to declare the
existence of a state of war.
- The Senate shall elect its President and the House of Representatives its
Speaker, by a majority vote of all its respective Members.
- The Senate and the House of Representatives shall each have an Electoral
Tribunal which shall be the sole judge of all contests relating to the election,
returns, and qualifications of their respective Members.
- The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective committees
may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance with its duly
published rules of procedure.
- Philippine Congress confirms or rejects Presidential appointments.

Composition of the Philippine Senate

As of July 15, 2020, according to the webpage of The Official Gazette of the
Philippine Government, the following pertain to the composition of the Philippine
Senate as indicated in Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution:

- Lawmakers in the Senate are called

Senators.
- The Senate shall be composed of
twenty-four (24) Senators who shall
be elected at large or nationwide
through popular election by the
qualified voters of the Philippines, as
may be provided by law.
- Through synchronized elections, 12 senators are elected every three (3) years.

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Terms of Office of Philippine Senators
- 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.

- No Senator shall serve for more than two consecutive terms.

- The regular election of the Senators shall be held on the second Monday of
May.

- In case of vacancy in the Senate, a special election may be called to fill such
vacancy in the manner prescribed by law, but the Senator thus elected shall
serve only for the unexpired term.

Qualifications of Senator
1. a natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
2. at least thirty-five years old;
3. is able to read and write
4. a registered voter; and
5. a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years before election day.

Composition of the House of Representatives

As of July 15, 2020, according to the webpage of The Official Gazette of the
Philippine Government, the following pertain to the composition of the House of
Representatives as indicated in Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution:

- Lawmakers composing the

House of Representatives are
called Representatives or
Congressmen/Congress-
women.

- The House of Representatives

shall be composed of not more
than two hundred and fifty
members, unless otherwise
fixed by law, who shall be elected from legislative districts apportioned among
the provinces, cities, and the Metropolitan Manila area in accordance with the
number of their respective inhabitants. The party-list representatives shall
constitute twenty per centum of the total number of representatives including
those under the party list.

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Terms of Office of Members of House of Representatives
- A Representative can serve for not more than three consecutive terms.

- The Members of the House of Representatives shall be elected for a term of

three years which shall begin, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on
the thirtieth day of June next following their election.

- No Member of the House of Representatives shall serve for more than three
consecutive terms.

- The regular election of the Members of the House of Representatives shall be

held on the second Monday of May.

- In case of vacancy in the House of Representatives, a special election may be

called to fill such vacancy in the manner prescribed by law, but the Member
of the House of Representatives thus elected shall serve only for the unexpired
term.

Qualifications of Member of the House of Representatives

1. a natural-born citizen of the Philippines;
2. at least twenty-five years old;
3. is able to read and write; and
4. except the party-list representatives, a registered voter and a resident for at
least one year in the district where s/he shall be elected.

Legislative Process
According to The Official Gazette of the Philippine Government as of July 15,
2020, the Philippine Congress is responsible for making enabling laws. This role is
important to ensure that the spirit of the constitution is upheld in the country and
laws are essential in regulating the interactions of people among themselves and with
the government. The legislative body comes out with two main documents in order
to craft laws: bills and resolutions.

Resolutions convey principles and sentiments of the Senate or the House of

Representatives. These resolutions can further be divided into three different
elements:

- Joint Resolutions — require the approval of both chambers of Congress and

the signature of the President, and have the force and effect of a law if
approved.

- Concurrent Resolutions — used for matters affecting the operations of both

chambers of Congress and must be approved in the same form by both
houses, but are not transmitted to the President for his signature and
therefore have no force and effect of a law.

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 - Simple Resolutions — deal with matters entirely within the prerogative of one
chamber of Congress, are not referred to the President for his signature, and
therefore have no force and effect of a law.

Bills are laws in the making. They pass into law when they are approved by both
houses and the President of the Philippines. A bill may be vetoed by the President,
but the House of Representatives may overturn a presidential veto by garnering a
2/3rds vote. If the President does not act on a proposed law submitted by Congress,
it will lapse into law after 30 days of receipt.

Exclusive Role of Philippine Congress

The Philippine Congress has an exclusive and a very important role concerning
the accountability of public officers as indicated in Article XI of the 1987 Philippine
Constitution which can be found at the webpage of The Official Gazette of the
Philippine Government. Specifically, the role pertains to the process of removing the
President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of
the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman in their respective positions.
This process is called impeachment and shall be grounded on the culpable violation
of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or
betrayal of public trust by the above-mentioned public officials.

All cases of impeachment shall be initiated at the House of Representatives. The

Senate tries and shall decide on all cases and if the President of the Philippines is
facing the impeachment case, the Chief Justice of the Philippine Supreme Court will
preside but shall not vote. If the case involves the Vice-President, the Members of the
Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the
Ombudsman, the Senate President shall preside. No person shall be convicted
without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.

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 What’s More

ACTIVITY 1
Complete the table below with correct information about the members of the
Legislative Branch of Philippine Government. Write your answers on a separate sheet
of paper.

House of
Features Senate
Representatives

Number of members

Maximum number of consecutive

terms

Number of years per term

ACTIVITY 2
On a separate sheet of paper, complete the Venn Diagram below about the
differences and similarities on the qualifications of members of Philippine Senate and
House of Representatives.

Senate House of
Representatives

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 What I Have Learned

A. TRUE OR FALSE. Write TRUE is the statement is correct and FALSE if it is not.
Use a separate answer sheet in answering.

1. Legislative power shall be vested in Philippine Congress.

2. A Representative in Philippine Congress can serve for more than three

consecutive terms.

3. Through synchronized elections, 24 senators are elected every three (3) years.

4. By a vote of two-thirds of both Houses in joint session assembled, voting

separately, Philippine Congress shall have the sole power to declare the
existence of a state of war.

5. All cases of impeachment shall be initiated at the House of Representatives

while Senate tries and shall decide on all cases.

B. Answer the following question on a separate sheet of paper.

Why is the legislative branch of government considered important in our

government and in our society as a whole? Write your answer on a separate sheet of
paper.

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________

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 What I Can Do

Suppose you are a legislator in the Philippine Congress. Propose a bill that you
would like to be approved into a law. Use the following format:

Title of the Bill Purpose

Example: Study Now Pay Later Bill To provide financial assistance to
deserving but poor students for their
education with the condition that they
will serve the country after finishing
their degree.

Assessment

MODIFIED TRUE OR FALSE. Read the following statements. Write TRUE if the
statement is correct. Write FALSE and change the underlined word or phrase if it
is incorrect. Write your answer on a separate answer sheet.

1. Members of Philippine Senate are elected through nationwide popular vote.

2. 40 years of age is the minimum requirement (at the day of the election) to
become a Senator as stated in the 1987 Philippine Constitution

3. As a unicameral legislature, the two chambers that comprise the Philippine

Congress are the Senate and House of Representatives

4. Making of laws is the primary role of the Legislative Branch of Philippine

government.

5. A member of Philippine Senate can serve for a maximum of four (3)

consecutive terms.

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6. According to Article XI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Philippine
Congress has the exclusive power to initiate and conduct an impeachment
trial.

7. Bills are laws in the making and they pass into law when they are approved
by both houses and the President of the Philippines.

8. By a vote of two-thirds of both Houses in joint session assembled, voting

separately, Philippine Congress shall have the sole power to declare the
existence of a state of war.

9. If the President does not act on a proposed law submitted by Philippine

Congress, it will lapse into law after 30 days of receipt.

10. A Senator and a Member of House of Representatives must be a natural-born

citizen of the Philippines.

11. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall preside the impeachment
trial involving impeachable officials aside from the Philippine President.

12. The House of Representatives and the Executive Branch of government shall
each have an Electoral Tribunal which shall be the sole judge of all contests
relating to the election, returns, and qualifications of their respective
Members.

13. Terms of offices of members of Philippine Congress shall be on the twentieth

(20th) day of May next following their election for Senators and Members of
House of Representatives.

14. The Senate or the House of Representatives or any of its respective committees
may conduct inquiries in aid of legislation.

15. The Senate shall elect its President and the House of Representatives its
Speaker, by a majority vote of all its respective Members.

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 Additional Activities

Complete the table below. Accomplish this on a separate sheet of paper.

First column: Write your most important learning about the Legislative Branch of
Government

Second column: Cite a political phenomenon related to your most important

learning

Third column: How can you apply your most important learning in analyzing the
political phenomenon in second column?

What I Know Political Application

Phenomenon

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 14
What I Learned
A. True or False
1. True
2. False
3. False
4. True
5. True
What I Know Assessment
1. d 1. True
2. c 2. False, 35 years
3. b 3. False, bicameral
4. b 4. True
5. a 5. False, House of
6. c Representatives
7. b 6. True
8. c 7. True
9. c 8. True
10. d 9. True
11. President 10. True
12. Electoral Tribunal 11. False, Senate President
13. legislation 12. False, Senate
14. Senate President 13. False, thirtieth (30th) day of
15. Philippine Congress June
14. True
15. True
Answer Key
References
n.d. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/constitutions/1987-constitution/.

n.d. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/about/gov/the-legislative-branch/.

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Management Section (DepEd Region III-LRMS)
Office Address: Diosdado Macapagal Government Center
Maimpis, City of San Fernando (P)