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...

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...

Originally established as the Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) in 1990, "pork barrel" was first created with an initial funding of P2.3 billion for projects in all congressional districts and the national constituency of Senators.  The CDF aims to support small local infrastructure and other priority community projects which are not included in the national infrastructure program involving massive and costly projects. It has been regularly included in the annual General Appropriations Acts since 1990. In 2000, the CDF was transformed into the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). (Nograles & Lagman, 2012)  Mechanism and Process  Upon the approval of the General Appropriations Act (GAA) or the national budget, the President, through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), decides on the schedule of fund releases, i.e., number of tranches or portions, amount per tranche, and the dates of release of the PDAF and other congressional allocati...

Nitong Hulyo 2013, nagimbal ang buong Pilipinas ng maisiwalat at nabunyag ang nakakagulantang at nagbabagang pork barrel scam . Ang kontrobersiyang ito ang siyang laman ngayon ng mga balita, nakaimprenta sa mga pahayagan, inere- report sa mga radyo, at higit sa lahat, ang bukambibig ng mga mamamayan. Ikinagulat pa rin ng sambayanan ang paglitaw ng isyu, kahit na alam nilang talamak na talamak talaga ang kurapsyon sa bansa. Ang nasabing scam ay kinasasangkutan ng mga bigating pangalan sa pulitika. Tumataginting na may kabuuan na sampung (10) bilyong piso ang halaga ng perang nanakaw mula sa kaban ng bayan. Sa pagbubunyag ni Benhur Luy, naimulat sa parang sampal na katotohanan ang publiko sa mga panloloko, pandarambong at kung anu-ano pang kalapastanganang ginagawa ng mga buwayang pulitiko sa bayan. Sa halip na pagsilbihan tayo ng mga taong pinagkatiwalaan at inihalal natin sa pwesto, mas pinili pa nila ang nakawin ang perang pinaghirapan mismo ng bawat Pilipino. Nakaya pa nilang b...