Filipino Student Essays

Section 1 of Article VI of 1987 Constitution states that the legislative power is vested in the Congress of the Philippines. In other words, it is the legislative department responsible to prescribe general rules for the government.  According to de Leon, H. (2005), this legislative function involves the determination of the legislative policy as a defined binding rule of conduct through the enactment of law. In crafting laws, the legislative body comes out with two main documents: bills and resolutions. Resolutions is defined as a formal expression of opinion, will or intent of the Senate or the House of Representatives.  Resolutions can be classified as simple, if passed by either House for its exclusive use or purpose; concurrent, if passed independently in one House and ratified by the other in the same manner as a bill; and joint, if approved by both Houses meeting in joint session but voting separately (e.g., proposing amendments to the Constitution). The 1987 C...

The primary function of the Philippine Congress is to legislate. The Constitution, however, has also given it powers which are non-legislative in character.  The powers of the legislative department may be classified into:  (1) General legislative power It is the power to enact laws intended as rules of conduct to govern the relations among individuals or between the individuals and the State. Congress can enact any law as long as it is not contrary to the Constitution. Unless otherwise decreed by a competent court, a law is presumed constitutional.  (2) Specific powers  These are powers wherein the Constitution expressly directs or authorizes the Congress to exercise. Examples of these are the power to choose who shall become President in case two or more candidates have an equal and highest number of votes (Art. VII, Sec. 4, par 4.), to confirm certain appointment by the President, (Ibid., Sec. 16), to appropriate money (Sec. 29[1]), to impos...

The Constitutional Commission (ConCom) bestowed the Congress with vast powers to perform a wider and more dynamic role. This is reflected in the 1987 Constitution, where the Legislative Department (Article VI) has the greatest number of sections with 32 compared to Executive and Judiciary with 23 and 16, consecutively.  A. Bicameral Legislature  The legislative department is divided into two chambers: the Senate as the upper chamber and the House of Representatives as the lower chamber.  1. The Senate  i. Composition and election - According to Section 2, the Senate is composed of twenty-four (24) Senators, who are elected nationwide by the qualified voters, as may be provided by law. Unless otherwise provided by law, the regular election of Senators shall be held on the second Monday of May. (Sec. 8)  ii. Term of office - It is six (6) years. It shall commence, unless otherwise provided by law, at noon on the 30th day of J...

The Philippine Congress undertook a series of developments that reflected the sociopolitical conditions of the times and the level of political maturity of society.  According to Velasco, R. and Sylvano, M. (1989), the unicameral Malolos Congress of the short-lived Philippine Republic of 1898-1899 was starting point of the system’s evolution. It was followed by a colonial legislative system composed of all-American appointees – the Philippine Commission of 1901. From foreign-controlled legislature, it was then dominated by elected Filipinos and became bicameral by virtue of the Jones Act of 1916. This lasted until November 1935 with the inauguration of the semi-independent Commonwealth Government. After the ratification of the 1935 Philippine Constitution, a unicameral National Assembly replaced the bicameral body. But, the Constitution was amended in 1941 restoring the bicameral legislature and it was called the ‘Congress of the Philippines’. Excluding the time of the Jap...

                Today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is known as the organization composed of 189-member states, with a mandate of “working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world” (IMF, 2016).                 It was initially organized during the Bretton Woods Conference in 1994, and later existed formally with 29-member states in 1945. It can be considered as a project spearheaded by the Allied nation in their attempt to regulate the international financial and monetary order after the World War II. At the conclusion of the Breton Woods Conference, agreements were signed and ratified thereafter by member states. One result of the agreements, as mentioned, is the creation ...

The film Black Hawk Down illustrates the series of events that transpired during the notoriously gruesome “Battle of Mogadishu” in 1993. It provides a bloody picture of the clash between the U.S military and militiamen in Somalia, during the former’s attempt to capture the latter’s leader, Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Throughout the course of the encounter, a total of 19 American soldiers and about 1,500 – 3, 000 Somalis died. From the depiction of the incident, we can derive some insights regarding the normative parameters around “military intervention” and how these interact with the domestic (US and Somalia) and international factors. In terms of the normative parameters around military intervention, I think that two dimensions must be considered. Firstly, there is the discussion on when, why and how states intervene in the affairs of other states. One thing that is highlighted in the beginning of the movie was the rationale of U.S. military intervention. Initially, the reaso...

About 116 years after his treacherous death, General Antonio Luna is paid tribute with a biopic film entitled Heneral Luna for his overlooked, significant contribution in building a Filipino nation. The production was made possible by Jerrold Tarog, who was not just the director, but also the co-scriptwriter, musical composer and editor of the movie. Tarog was able to arrange the essential elements, both historically and artistically, to come up with an undeniable Filipino masterpiece.  Unlike any other motion picture that seeks to sanctify the historical figures they focus on, Heneral Luna takes a different path by making sure that the general appears more "human". Aside from being portrayed as extremely nationalistic, Gen. Luna is depicted as fierce in words, proud, hot-tempered and strict to his hopeless army, hilarious to his loyal lieutenants, and an affectionate son to his mother. Additionally, it provides a storyline of how we lost the battle to the America...