Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines (Filipino: Tagapagsalita ng Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas) is the presiding officer and the highest-ranking official of the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives, as well as the fourth highest and most powerful official of the Government of the Philippines.
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Tagapagsalita ng Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas | |
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Seal of the Philippine House of Representatives | |
Flag of the House of Representatives | |
Style | The Honorable (Formal) |
Appointer | Elected by the Philippine House of Representatives |
Term length | 3 Years |
Inaugural holder | Sergio Osmeña |
Formation | October 16, 1907 |
Succession | Third in the Presidential Line of Succession |
Website | Speaker of the House |
The Speaker is elected by a majority of all of the Representatives from among themselves. The Speaker is the third and last in line in succession for the presidency, after the President of the Senate of the Philippines, and Vice President of the Philippines.
A Speaker may be removed from office in a coup, or can be replaced by death or resignation. In some cases, a Speaker may be compelled to resign at the middle of a Congress' session after he has lost support of the majority of congressmen; in that case, an election for a new Speaker is held. Despite being a partisan official, the Speaker (or whoever is presiding) does not vote unless in breaking ties in accordance with the Rules of the House of Representatives.
The incumbent House Speaker is former Senator and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter Cayetano from Taguig-Pateros under the 18th Congress of the Philippines. He was elected on July 22, 2019, and is the 22nd person to serve as Speaker.
This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the Philippines |
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Election
When the Office of the Speaker is vacant (usually at the beginning of a new Congress), the Secretary-General of the House sits as the Speaker until a person is elected. A Speaker is usually elected via majority vote via roll call of the Representatives, after nomination at the start of each new Congress. Usually, despite the current multi-party system used, only two representatives are nominated, with nominations being agreed upon before each Congress during caucuses between the administration and opposition coalitions, with the chosen candidate of the majority coalition being almost certain to win by a large margin. The two competing candidates by tradition vote for each other; those who voted for the speaker-elect is assigned as the "majority" coalition while those who didn't are the minority coalition, with the losing candidate usually being named as Minority Leader.
In the 2013 election, there were three candidates for the speakership. In this case, the candidates didn't vote for each other, and the second-placed candidate became Minority Leader and headed the minority bloc. The third-placed candidate became the leader of the "independent minority" bloc. Only the majority and minority blocs were given seats in committees. There was a chance that neither candidate would get a majority of votes; it is undetermined on what should be done if that happened.
Role
According to Section 15 of Rule 4 of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the duties and powers of the Speaker as the political and administrative head of the House are as follows:
a. prepare the legislative agenda for every regular session, establish systems and procedures to ensure full deliberation and swift approval of measures included therein, and may, for the purpose, avail of the assistance of the Deputy Speakers, the Majority Leader, the Chairpersons of the standing committees and other Members of the House;
b. conduct regular monthly caucus of all Members or groups thereof or as often as may be necessary to discuss priority measures and to facilitate dialogue, consensus and action on issues and concerns affecting the House and the performance of its functions;
c. exercise general supervision over all committees and, in furtherance thereof, conduct regular monthly meetings with the Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons of all standing and special committees to set legislative targets, review performance in the attainment of targets, ensure that the priority legislative measures of committees are attuned to the legislative agenda of the House, and resolve such other issues and concerns that affect the operations and performance of the committees;
d. as far as practicable, establish an efficient information management system in the House utilizing among others, modern digital technology, that can:
1. facilitate access to and dissemination of data and information needed in legislation inclusive of facilitating real time translation of plenary proceedings in the major Philippine dialects and languages;
2. provide a simplified and comprehensive process of gathering, recording, storage and retrieval of data and information relating to activities and proceedings of the House;
3.sustain a public information program that will provide accessible, timely and accurate information relating to the House, its Members and officers, its committees and its legislative concerns inclusive of facilitating, as far as practicable, broadcast coverage of plenary and committee proceedings;
e. establish an efficient and effective system to monitor and evaluate the performance of legislative tasks and duties of the House, its Members and its committees;
f. establish coordinative linkages with the Senate of the Philippines to efficiently monitor and facilitate Senate action on House measures pending with the same;
g. preside over the sessions of the House and decide all questions of order subject to appeal by any Member who may explain the appeal in not more than five (5) minutes: Provided, That the appeal shall not be subject to debate, and no explanation of vote shall be allowed in case of nominal voting;
h. designate a Member as temporary presiding officer after informing the Deputy Speakers: Provided, That any such designation shall be effective for one session day only;
i. take appropriate measures as may be deemed advisable or as the House may direct, to preserve order and decorum in the session hall, the galleries, lobbies, chambers, offices, corridors and premises of the House;
j. sign all acts, resolutions, memorials, writs, warrants and subpoenas that may be issued by or upon order of the House;
k. perform administrative functions such as, among others:
k1. appointment of personnel of the House with authority to delegate this power;
k2. suspension, dismissal or imposition of other disciplinary measures on House personnel in accordance with Civil Service rules: Provided, That the suspension or dismissal of the Secretary General and the Sergeant-at-Arms shall take effect only upon the concurrence of the majority of all the Members;
k3. consolidation or splitting of vacant positions carrying salaries and wages which may be increased or reduced in the process, and/or creation of new positions in accordance with the General Appropriations Act: Provided, That the total amount involved shall not exceed the total amount appropriated for the salaries and wages of the personnel of the House; and
k4. implementation of merit-based policies and programs on personnel recruitment, training and development, promotions, incentives and benefits to ensure that the House has a corps of competent professionals able to provide needed legislative support services;
l. prepare the annual budget of the House with the assistance of the Committee on Accounts;
m. in consultation with the Committee on Rules, prepare the rules and regulations governing public access to personal data and related information, including statements of assets and liabilities, of Members of the House;
n. in consultation with the Minority Leader, shall develop through an appropriate entity of the House a system for drug testing in the House of Representatives, which may provide for the testing of any Member, officer, or employee of the House, and otherwise shall be comparable in scope to the system for drug testing in the executive branch, Provided, That the expenses of the system may be paid from applicable accounts of the House for official expenses; and
o. require the submission of performance reports at the end of every regular session and fiscal year from the committee chairpersons, the Secretary General and the Sergeant-at-Arms, and such other reports as may be required from all concerned officers and offices of the House.
And according to Section 16 of the Rule 4 of the Rules of the House, the Speaker must "be the permanent head of delegation and representative of the House in all international parliamentary gatherings and organizations: Provided, that the Speaker may designate any Member to be the representative of the Speaker. The Speaker shall also determine, upon the recommendation of the Majority Leader, in consultation with the Chairperson of the Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Relations and Diplomacy, who shall constitute the House delegation to any international conference or forum of parliamentarians and legislators and the secretariat support staff to be mobilized for the purpose."
List of Speakers
# | Congress President | District | Term of service | National Assembly |
Party | Period | ||
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Start | End | |||||||
Malolos Congress | ||||||||
– | Pedro Paterno | Ilocos Norte at-large | September 15, 1898 | March 23, 1901 | 1st | Independent | First Philippine Republic | |
# | Speaker | District | Term of service | Legislature | Party | Period | ||
Start | End | |||||||
Philippine Assembly | ||||||||
1 | Sergio Osmeña | Cebu 2nd | October 16, 1907 | October 16, 1916 | 1st | Nacionalista | Insular Government of the Philippine Islands | |
2nd | ||||||||
3rd | ||||||||
House of Representatives of the Philippine Islands | ||||||||
(1) | Sergio Osmeña | Cebu 2nd | October 16, 1916 | June 6, 1922 | 4th | Nacionalista | Insular Government of the Philippine Islands | |
5th | ||||||||
2 | Manuel Roxas | Capiz 1st | October 27, 1922 | October 17, 1933 | 6th | Nacionalista Colectivista | ||
7th | Nacionalista Consolidado | |||||||
8th | ||||||||
9th | ||||||||
3 | Quintín Paredes | Abra at-large | October 17, 1933 | September 16, 1935 | Nacionalista Consolidado | |||
10th | Nacionalista Democrático | |||||||
# | Speaker | District | Term of service | National Assembly |
Party | Period | ||
Start | End | |||||||
National Assembly (Commonwealth of the Philippines) | ||||||||
4 | Gil Montilla | Negros Occidental 3rd | November 15, 1935 | December 30, 1938 | 1st | Nacionalista Democrático |
Commonwealth of the Philippines | |
5 | José Yulo | Negros Occidental 3rd | January 23, 1939 | December 30, 1941 | 2nd | Nacionalista | ||
National Assembly (Second Philippine Republic) | ||||||||
6 | Benigno Aquino Sr. | Tarlac at-large | September 25, 1943 | February 2, 1944 | 3rd | KALIBAPI | Second Philippine Republic | |
# | Speaker | District | Term of service | Common wealth Congress |
Party | Period | ||
Start | End | |||||||
House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of the Philippines | ||||||||
7 | José Zulueta | Iloilo 1st | June 9, 1945 | May 25, 1946 | 1st | Nacionalista | Commonwealth of the Philippines | |
8 | Eugenio Pérez | Pangasinan 2nd | May 25, 1946 | July 4, 1946 | 2nd | Liberal | ||
# | Speaker | District | Term of service | Congress | Party | Period | ||
Start | End | |||||||
House of Representatives of the Philippines | ||||||||
(8) | Eugenio Pérez | Pangasinan 2nd | July 4, 1946 | December 30, 1953 | 1st | Liberal | Third Philippine Republic | |
2nd | ||||||||
9 | José Laurel Jr. | Batangas 3rd | January 25, 1954 | December 30, 1957 | 3rd | Nacionalista | ||
10 | Daniel Romuáldez | Leyte 4th | January 27, 1958 | March 9, 1962 | 4th | Nacionalista | ||
Leyte 1st | 5th | |||||||
11 | Cornelio Villareal | Capiz 2nd | March 9, 1962 | February 2, 1967 | Liberal | |||
6th | ||||||||
(9) | José Laurel Jr. | Batangas 3rd | February 2, 1967 | April 1, 1971 | Nacionalista | |||
7th | ||||||||
(11) | Cornelio Villareal | Capiz 2nd | April 1, 1971 | September 23, 1972 | Liberal | |||
# | Speaker | District | Term of service | Batasang Pambansa |
Party | Period | ||
Start | End | |||||||
Batasang Pambansa | ||||||||
12 | Querube Makalintal | Region IV at-large | June 12, 1978 | June 30, 1984 | 1st | KBL | Martial rule | |
Fourth Philippine Republic | ||||||||
13 | Nicanor Yñiguez | Southern Leyte at-large | July 23, 1984 | March 25, 1986 | 2nd | KBL | ||
# | Speaker | District | Term of service | Congress | Party | Period | ||
Start | End | |||||||
House of Representatives of the Philippines | ||||||||
14 | Ramon Mitra Jr. | Palawan 2nd | July 27, 1987 | June 30, 1992 | 8th | LDP | Fifth Philippine Republic | |
15 | Jose de Venecia Jr. | Pangasinan 4th | July 27, 1992 | June 30, 1998 | 9th | Lakas | ||
10th | ||||||||
16 | Manuel Villar | Las Piñas at-large | July 27, 1998 | November 13, 2000 | 11th | LAMMP | ||
17 | Arnulfo Fuentebella | Camarines Sur 3rd | November 13, 2000 | January 24, 2001 | NPC | |||
18 | Feliciano Belmonte Jr. | Quezon City 4th | January 24, 2001 | June 30, 2001 | Lakas | |||
(15) | Jose de Venecia Jr. | Pangasinan 4th | July 23, 2001 | February 5, 2008 | 12th | Lakas | ||
13th | ||||||||
14th | ||||||||
19 | Prospero Nograles | Davao City 1st | February 5, 2008 | June 30, 2010 | Lakas | |||
(18) | Feliciano Belmonte Jr. | Quezon City 4th | July 26, 2010 | June 30, 2016 | 15th | Liberal | ||
16th | ||||||||
20 | Pantaleon Alvarez | Davao del Norte 1st | July 25, 2016 | July 23, 2018 | 17th | PDP–Laban | ||
21 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | Pampanga 2nd | July 23, 2018 | June 30, 2019 | PDP–Laban | |||
22 | Alan Peter Cayetano | Taguig–Pateros 1st | July 22, 2019 | Incumbent | 18th | Nacionalista |
Speakers per region
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List of speakers per party |
Timeline
Living former Speakers of the House
Currently there are six living former Speakers of the House:
- Jose de Venecia Jr. (Lakas-CMD), served 1992–1998; 2001–2008
- Manuel Villar (LAMMP), served 1998–2000
- Arnulfo Fuentebella (NPC), served 2000–2001
- Feliciano Belmonte Jr. (Liberal), served 2001; 2010–2016
- Pantaleon Alvarez (PDP-Laban), served 2016–2018
- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PDP-Laban), served 2018–2019
Legend: A person's name in boldface means that the person is an actively serving Member of the House of Representatives.
See also
- House of Representatives of the Philippines
- Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
- Majority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
- Minority Floor Leader of the House of Representatives of the Philippines