Senate of the Philippines

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The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines. Unlike the U.S. Senate, the Philippine Senate is composed of 24 senators who do not represent any particular geographical district.

Senators serve 6-year terms, with half of the senators elected every 3 years. This way, the Senate is a continuous body. The first elections held for the current senate was in 1992. In that election, the top 12 senators served until 1998, while the bottom 12 served until 1995 only. Thereafter, each senator elected serves the full 6 years.

The Senate is the only body authorized to ratify treaties.


Contents

History of the Senate

From 1907-1916, the Philippine Commission headed by the U.S. Governor-General served as the upper chamber of the colonial legislature at the same time exercised executive powers. On August 29, 1916 the United States Congress enacted the "Philippine Autonomy Act" or popularly known as the "Jones Law" which paved the way for the creation of a bicameral Philippine Congress wherein the Senate served as the upper chamber and while the House of Representatives as the lower chamber of it.

This setup continued until 1935, when the "Philippine Independence Act" or the "Tydings-McDuffie Act" was provided by the U.S. Congress which granted the Filipinos the right to frame their own constitution in preparation for their independence, wherein they established a unicameral National Assembly, effectively abolishing the Senate. Not long after the adoption of the 1935 Constution several amendments were introduced into it, which included restoring the Senate as the upper chamber of Congress. The Senate served as the upper chamber of Congress from thereon until the declaration of martial law of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos in 1972 which shutdown Congress. The Senate was resurrected in 1987 upon the ratification of the 1987 Constitution.

From 1916 to 1935, the Philippines was divided into 12 Senatorial districts, each district grouped several provinces and each elected 2 senators except for "non-Christian" provinces where the U.S. Governor-General appointed the senators for the district, but this was discontinued in 1941 when the Senate was reestablished, wherein all senators were started to be elected nationally.

Structure of the Senate

Senate President, Senate President Pro-Tempore, Majority Floor Leader, Minority Floor Leader, ...

List of Senate Presidents

Famous Senators

Important Senate bills and decisions

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.freepedia.org/Senate_of_the_Philippines.html"


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