their members for disorderly behavior, and with the concurrence of two-thirds can expel an elective member. A majority of each House constitutes a quorum to do business, but a smaller number may meet, adjourn from day to day, and compel the attendance of absent members. When the Legislature is in session, neither House can adjourn for more than three days without the consent of the other; and in case of disagreement between them with respect to the period of adjournment, the Governor-General may adjourn them to such time as he may deem proper.

Each House of the Legislature is obliged to keep and publish a journal of its proceedings. Upon the demand of onefifth of the members present, the yeas and nays of the members of either House may be entered in the journal. This means that one-fifth of the members can compel the House to have a roll call in order to see who are present and how they vote on a given measure.

No Senator or Representative can, during the time for which he is elected, be eligible to any office, the election to which is vested in the Legislature. The only office covered by this provision of the Jones Law is that of Resident Commissioner at Washington. Members of the Legislature are also forbidden to hold any other office of trust or profit which had been created by them or the emoluments of which have been increased during their term.

111. Legislative Privileges.Members of the Philippine Legislature, in all cases except treason, open disturbance of public order, or other offense punishable by death or imprisonment for not less than six years, shall be privileged from arrest during their attendance on the sessions of the Legislature, and in going to and returning from the same. For any speech or debate in either House they shall not be questioned in any other place.

The legislators thus enjoy freedom of debate. In other words, they are more free to talk in the Legislature than ordinary persons are under the restrictions of the law of libel and slander. This privilege may be abused, but the idea is to give the members of the Legislature freedom to discuss all subjects, because it is deemed more harmful to the people if those who are making laws for them are restricted in their right of discussion.

112. Extent of Legislative Power. - The Philippine Government, as we have stated, is simply the creation of the Congress of the United States through different legislative enactments. The latest and most important of these Acts is the Jones Law. The Jones Law confers general legislative power on the Philippine Legislature subject to specific restrictions. In other words, the Philippine Legislature can enact any law which is not expressly prohibited by the Jones Law or otherwise covered by Congressional legislation. (There are certain specific powers enumerated in the Jones Law which are exercised by the Philippine Legislature. In matters of elections, for instance, it may prescribe the regulations as to ballots, it may fix the number of representative districts and the dates of elections, and it may modify the qualifications of electors. It is also authorized to increase, abolish, and change the names and duties and provide for the appointment and removal of the heads of the executive departments. It may pass laws regarding citizenship and can impose taxes, direct or indirect, and can legislate on property rights in the Philippines. It can fix the salaries of officials not appointed by the President of the United States.

Before the passage of the Jones Law, the Philippine Commission had exclusive legislative power over the parts of the Islands inhabited by the non-Christian people. The Jones Law transferred this power to the Philippine Legislature.

113. Specific Restrictions on the Legislative Power. The specific restrictions on the power of the Philippine Legislature are as follows:

1. It cannot diminish, although it may increase, the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Courts of First In

stance.

2. It cannot amend, alter, or repeal the provisions regarding appointive senators and representatives.

3. It cannot legislate on the tariff relations between the Philippines and the United States. That is left exclusively in the hands of the Congress of the United States.

4. It cannot abolish the Bureau of Education, the Bureau of non-Christian Tribes, or the Philippine Health Service. 5. It cannot take executive functions from out of the supervision of the Governor-General.

6. It cannot levy export duties.

7. It cannot violate the provisions of the Bill of Rights. 8. It must follow certain forms in the drafting of bills. 9. Congress reserves the power to alter, amend, or repeal any law passed by the Philippine Legislature, and any franchise, or right granted by the Legislature.

10. The Governor-General, and in some instances the President of the United States, can veto bills.

114. Irrepealable and Ex Post Facto Laws and Bills of Attainder. The Legislature cannot pass laws which cannot be repealed by subsequent legislation.

Neither can the Legislature pass ex post facto laws. An ex post facto law, as defined by Chief Justice Marshall, is one that makes an act punishable in a manner in which it was not punishable when committed. Under this prohibition the Legislature cannot increase the punishment of an act after its commission. Not all retrospective laws, however, are ex post facto laws. If, for instance, a law simply changes

the procedure not to the disadvantage of the accused, such changes do not make the law ex post facto.

Another prohibition on the Legislature is that no bill of attainder may be enacted. A bill of attainder is a legislative act which inflicts punishment without a judicial trial. The Philippine Legislature cannot, therefore, pass any law which will convict any person without a judicial trial.

One historic example of legislative conviction was the Act of Attainder passed in 1688 by the English Parliament, by means of which from two to three hundred persons were convicted, their property confiscated, and they themselves sentenced to death by an act of the legislative body. As Judge Cooley very well remarks: "What could be more obnoxious in a free government than the exercise of such a power by a popular body, controlled by a mere majority, fresh from the contests of exciting elections, and quite too apt, under the most favorable circumstances, to suspect the motives of their adversaries, and to resort to measures of doubtful propriety to secure party ends?” 1

115. Delegation of Legislative Powers. An Anglo-Saxon principle is that no governmental department can delegate its powers to another body unless expressly authorized by the Organic Law. An executive rarely attempts to delegate the execution of the laws to non-executive officials. Similarly, the judicial power does not usually give away judicial functions to non-judicial bodies. But the Legislature sometimes attempts to transfer to other officials functions which are in the nature of legislation, and this is illegal. Some of the legislative delegations, however, are considered legitimate and are more in the nature of exceptions to the general rule. For instance, the Philippine Legislature can delegate legislative functions to provincial and municipal governments.

1 Cooley's Constitutional Limitations, 7th ed., page 369.