18th_Congress_of_the_Philippines

18th Congress of the Philippines

18th Congress of the Philippines

Meeting of the national legislature of the Philippines

The 18th Congress of the Philippines (Filipino: Ikalabingwalong Kongreso ng Pilipinas), composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives, met from July 22, 2019, until June 1, 2022, during the last three years of Rodrigo Duterte's presidency. The convening of the 18th Congress followed the 2019 general elections, which replaced half of the Senate membership and the entire membership of the House of Representatives.

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Leadership

Senate

House of Representatives

Sessions

  • First regular session: July 22, 2019 – June 5, 2020
    • July 22–October 4, 2019
    • October 5–November 3, 2019
    • November 4–December 20, 2019
    • January 20–March 13, 2020
    • March 14–May 3, 2020
      • First special session: March 23, 2020
    • May 4–June 5, 2020
  • Second regular session: July 27, 2020 – June 4, 2021
    • July 27–October 12, 2020
      • Second special session: October 13–16, 2020 [1]
    • November 16–December 18, 2020
    • January 18–March 26, 2021
    • May 17–June 4, 2021
  • Third regular session July 26, 2021 – June 3, 2022
    • July 26–September 30, 2021
    • November 8–December 17, 2021
    • January 17–February 4, 2022
    • May 23–June 1, 2022

Meeting places

Composition

Both chambers of Congress are divided into parties and blocs. While members are elected via parties, blocs are the basis for committee memberships. Only members of the majority and minority blocs are accorded committee memberships. This is how blocs are determined:

  • Majority bloc: All members who voted for the Senate President or Speaker during the Senate presidential or speakership election.
  • Minority bloc: All members who voted for the second-placed candidate during the Senate presidential or speakership election.
  • Independent minority bloc: All members who did not vote for the winning or second-best nominee during the Senate presidential or speakership election.
  • Independent bloc: All members who abstained from voting during the Senate presidential or speakership election.
  • Not a member of any bloc: All members who have not voted during the Senate presidential or speakership election.
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Members

Senate

18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
18th Congress of the Philippines
Places of registrations of the senators. Blue pogs are for cities and municipalities with one senator; those in red have two. Senators are elected at a nationwide, at-large basis.

The following are the terms of the senators of this Congress, according to the date of election:

More information Senator, Party ...

Notes

  1. Detained since February 24, 2017 for charges linked to the New Bilibid Prison drug trafficking scandal.
  2. Pimentel won via electoral protest in 2011, less than two years before he ran and was reelected for his first full term.

House of Representatives

Terms of members of the House of Representatives started on June 30, 2019, took office on July 22, 2019, and ended on June 30, 2022, unless stated otherwise.

Party standings per district; party-lists are denoted by boxes to the right. Metro Manila is shown to the inset, at the upper right corner.

District representatives

Map of provinces showing how many congressional districts it has. Metro Manila is shown to the inset, at the upper right corner.
More information Province/City, District ...

Notes

  1. Died on May 28, 2021.[4]
  2. Died on December 18, 2019.[5]
  3. Died on April 29, 2022.
  4. Died on July 5, 2020.[6]
  5. Died on November 16, 2020.[7]
  6. Died on September 8, 2020.[9]
  7. Took office on November 4, 2019.[10]
  8. Took office on December 16, 2019,[11] left office on October 13, 2021[12]
  9. Died on February 22, 2022.[13]

Party-list representatives

See also: Party-list representation in the House of Representatives of the Philippines
More information Party, Representative ...

Notes

  1. Dropped from the rolls on July 25, 2019.[14]
  2. Took office on November 4, 2019.[10]
  3. Took office on December 4, 2019;[15] died on August 10, 2020.[16]
  4. Took office on October 13, 2020.[17]
  5. Died on November 5, 2019.[18]
  6. Took office on November 20, 2019.[19]

Committees

Constitutional bodies

More information Committee, Senate ...

Senate committees

Main article: List of Philippine Senate committees

House of Representatives committees

Main article: List of Philippine House of Representatives committees

Agenda

Death penalty

As of July 2019, bills seeking to reinstate capital punishment in the Philippines have been revived in the Senate ahead of the opening of the 18th Congress.[20]

COVID-19 pandemic

Main articles: Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and Bayanihan to Recover as One Act

The 18th Congress enacted the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and Bayanihan to Recover as One Act as response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.

ABS-CBN franchise renewal

Main article: ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy

In May 2020, the House of Representatives acted on the pending franchise renewal bills of ABS-CBN that has been pending since July 2019.

House Speakership crisis

Lord Allan Velasco (right) takes his oath of office as House Speaker on October 12, 2020

In 2020, the position of Speaker was disputed, which in the latter part of the year threatened the passage of a bill legislating the national government's budget for 2021. The dispute involved then-speaker and Pateros–Taguig representative Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque representative Lord Allan Velasco. This started in July 2019, when the two had a "term-sharing agreement" which was brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte.[21] Under that deal, Cayetano would serve as House Speaker for the first 15 months of the 18th Congress, or until October 2020. Cayetano was to step down from his position as speaker in order to give way for the election of Velasco as speaker.[22]

Cayetano, in March 2020, accused Velasco and his camp of a conspiracy to remove him from his position as House Speaker. Velasco denied Cayetano's allegation of supposed ouster plot, stating it "baseless."[23] Cayetano initially oversaw deliberations on the 2021 national budget but tensions in the lower house of the Congress grew by September 2020. His camp abruptly ended sessions in which some legislators criticizing the move which prevented them from scrutinizing proposals on the 2021 budget.[24]

Cayetano offered to resign but his camp claim that majority of the House of Representatives declined his resignation.[24] On October 12, 2020, Lord Allan Velasco and some legislators convened at the Celebrity Sports Complex in Quezon City[25] and conducted a house session where positions including the speakership was declared vacant and appointed Velasco as house speaker. Velasco's camp claimed that 186 lawmakers voted for his appointment as house speaker. Cayetano's camp declared the session a "travesty" and questioned the legality of the session itself. Cayetano maintained that he remains as house speaker.[24] On the other hand, Cayetano called the appointment of Velasco as a speaker a "fake session" as he added that there was no prior plenary resolution authorizing the holding of a session outside the Batasang Pambansa and insists that the House of Representative mace used in the meeting is illegal.[26]

On October 13, 2020, during the start of the special session of the House, Velasco's election as House Speaker last October 12, 2020 was formally ratified by 186 representatives assembled in the Batasang Pambansa.[27] At the same time, Cayetano tendered his "irrevocable" resignation as House Speaker on his Facebook Live paving the way for Velasco to assume his position undisputed.[28]

Changes in membership

House of Representatives

District representatives

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Party-list representatives

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Legislation

Republic Acts

The 18th Congress passed a total of 311 bills which were signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte. 119 of these laws were national in scope, while 192 were local:[34]

More information Republic Act, Short title ...

Treaties

One treaty has been approved by the Senate:

More information Resolution number, Title ...

References

  1. [1]
    "Proclamation No. 1027 s. 2020 | GOVPH".
  2. [2]
    Mercado, Neil Arwin (January 22, 2020). "House holds session in calamity-stricken Batangas". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  3. [3]
    "186 lawmakers elect Velasco as Speaker while House session is suspended". Rappler. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  4. [4]
    "Antipolo City 2nd District Representative Dies". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  5. [5]
    "Benguet representative Nestor Fongwan dies". cnn. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  6. [6]
    Cervantes, Filane Mikee (July 6, 2020). "Camarines Sur Rep. Marissa Andaya succumbs to cancer". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  7. [7]
    "Cebu City Rep. Del Mar passes away at 79". CDN Digital. November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  8. [8]
    Galvez, Daphne (November 15, 2020). "Ex-Speaker Alvarez resigns from PDP-Laban". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
  9. [9]
    "Sorsogon congresswoman Ditas Ramos dies". Rappler. September 8, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
  10. [10]
    Galvez, Daphne (November 4, 2019). "2 new House members take oath as session returns". newsinfo.inquirer.net. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  11. [11]
    "Southern Leyte lawmaker takes oath as newest House member". The Manila Times. December 17, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  12. [12]
    Daphne Galvez; Joey Gabieta (October 13, 2021). "Southern Leyte Rep. Mercado is new DPWH chief". Inquirer. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  13. [13]
    "Tarlac congressman Charlie Cojuangco dies". Rappler. February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  14. [14]
    Roxas, Pathricia Ann V. (July 24, 2019). "Marino party-list's 2nd nominee resigns". newsinfo.inquirer.net. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  15. [15]
    Roxas, Pathricia Ann V. (December 4, 2019). "Datol takes oath as Senior Citizens party-list representative". newsinfo.inquirer.net. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
  16. [16]
    Galvez, Daphne (August 10, 2020). "Senior Citizens party-list Rep. Datol passes away". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved August 11, 2020.
  17. [17]
    "Controversial Ducielle Cardema of Duterte Youth joins House session". Rappler. October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  18. [18]
    Cruz, RG (November 5, 2019). "LPGMA Rep. Rodolfo Albano Jr. passes away". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  19. [19]
    Cepeda, Mara (November 20, 2019). "Allan Ty takes oath as LPGMA congressman". Rappler. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  20. [20]
    "Pacquiao, Go file bills to revive death penalty". The Philippine STAR.
  21. [21]
    Madarang, Catalina Ricci (September 22, 2020). "The latest on House leadership shake-up and how it started". Interaksyon. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  22. [22]
    Cervante, Filane Mikee (September 21, 2020). "House suspends Monday session amid coup threat". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  23. [23]
    "Velasco denies hatching plot to oust Cayetano". Philippine Daily Inquirer. February 27, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  24. [24]
    "Philippine Congress enters crisis over leadership standoff". Mainichi Daily News. Associated Press. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  25. [25]
    Mercado, Neil Arwin (October 12, 2020). "Velasco installed as new Speaker in session outside House". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  26. [26]
    "186 lawmakers elect Velasco as Speaker while House session is suspended". Rappler. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  27. [27]
    Cepeda, Mara (October 13, 2020). "It's official: Lord Allan Velasco is new Speaker of the House". Rappler. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  28. [28]
    "Cayetano concedes to Velasco, resigns as House Speaker". CNN Philippines. October 13, 2020. Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  29. [29]
    Agoot, Liza; Dennis, Dionisio Jr. (January 22, 2020). "House names party-list solon as Benguet caretaker". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  30. [30]
    "Cayetano out as CamSur 1st district caretaker". Philippine Daily Inquirer. October 17, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  31. [31]
    Cepeda, Mara (November 18, 2020). "Velasco elected as legislative caretaker of Antipolo City's 2nd District". Rappler. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
  32. [32]
    Mercado, Neil Arwin (June 2, 2021). "More Cayetano allies lose plum posts in Velasco-led House". Rappler. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  33. [33]
    Mendoza, John Eric (April 30, 2022). "House mourns passing of Camarines Norte Rep. Marisol Panotes". Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  34. [34]
    Cervantes, Filane Mikee (June 13, 2022). "18th Congress passed 311 bills that became law: report". Philippine News Agency. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
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