History of the Philippine Legislative Department
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...