CONSTI Article 6 Section 1-7 Flashcards
The Congress of the Philippines
the adoption of the former name of the lawmaking body will resurrect memories of freer days when the congress was a peer of the other two departments and in some respects even more powerful than either of them.
Unicameralism Years
- 1935 before it was amended in 1940
- Malolos Congress
- Taft Commission
Bicameralism started
The Philippine bill of 1902, consisting of Philippines Assembly and Philippine Commission, which under the Jones Law were replaced by the House of the Representatives and the Senate respectively
____________As it was called, was the pattern of the Congress of the Philippines that was organized under the 1940 constitutional amendments
The Philippine Legislature
ARTICLE VI THE LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT
Section 1. The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum.
Legislative power is now not exclusively vested in the Congress, in view of?
In view of the reservation made regarding initiative and referendum
except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum.
What is Initiative and Referendum
“Initiative” is the power of the people to propose amendments to the Constitution or to propose and enact legislations through an election called for the purpose.
“Referendum” is the power of the electorate to approve or reject a legislation through an election called for the purpose. It may be of two classes, namely:
Congress also discharges powers of a non legislative nature among them:
- The Canvass of the presidential elections
- The declaration of the existence of a state of war gh
- The confirmation of amnesties
- Commisson on Appointmens (Presidential appointments)
- The amendment or revision of the Constitution
- Impeachment
Differences Senate and Congress (Section 2 of Article 6, By providing for a membership elected at large)
- This **rule intends to make the Senate a training ground for national leaders and possibly a springboard to the Presidency. **The feeling is that the senator, having a national rather than only a district constituency, will have a broader outlook of the problems of the country instead of being restricted by parochial viewpoints and narrow interests.
- The Senate is likely to be more circumspect and broad-minded than the House of Representatives.
The qualifications for membership in the Senate are laid down in Section 3 as follows:
- Natural-born citizen of the Philippines
- Atleast 35 years old on the day of election
- able to read and write
- a registered voter
- a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of election
Natural born citizen meaning?
- Natural born citizens are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship
- Those who elect Philippine citizenship in accordance with paragraph 3, Section 2, hereof shall be deemed natural-born citizens
Age of qualification (Senate)
The age qualification is fixed at 35 and must be possessed on the day of the elections, that is when the polls are opened and the votes are cast, and not on the proclamation of the winners by the board of canvasses. In Espinosa vs. Aquino, (Electoral Case No. 9, Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), the election of the late Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. was upheld, despite his not being of the required age on the day of the election, although he celebrated his thirty-fifth birthday before his proclamation. The holding in Aquino was subsequently nullified by the adoption of the 1987 Constitution (Art. VI, Sec. 3), which specified that the age qualification must be possessed on the day of the elections, and not on the day of the proclamation of the winners by the board of canvassers.
Residence meaning
Residence is defined as the place where one habitually resides and to which, when he is absent, he has the intention of returning.
The term residence is to be understood not in its common acceptation as refering to “dwelling” or “habitation,” but rather ‘domicile’ or legal residence
‘domicile’ or legal residence, that is the place where a party actually or constructively has his permanent home, where he , no matter where he may found at any given time, eventually intends to return and remain.
Domicile Meaning
- According to SC, denotes a fixed permanent residence to which, whenever absent for business, pleasure, or some other reasons, one intends to return.
- Domicile, It is a question of intention and circumstances
In the consideration of circumstances, three rules must be borne in mind,namely:
- That a man must have a residence or domicile somewhere
- when once established it remains until a new one is acquired
- a man can have but one residence or domicile at a time
if one whishes to successfully effect a change of domicile, he must demonstrate an actual removal or an actual change of domicile, a bona fide (sincerely; without intention to deceive.) intention of abandoning the former place of residence and establishing a new one, and definite acts which correspond with the purpose.
According to Poe v Comelec, There are three requisites to acquire a new domicile:
- Residence or bodily presence in a new locality
- an intention to remain there
- an intention to abandon the old domicile