CHAPTER XIV

THE LEGISLATURE

ITS WORKINGS

122. Legislative Caucuses. The means employed to effect harmony in the Legislature and to avoid deadlocks between the two Houses is by the application of the party system. Coöperation between members of the same party usually exists, so that even if there are two Houses of the Legislature, friction and deadlocks are avoided through party action. That is why caucuses are held. They are informal meetings by members of the two Houses belonging to the same party.

In the Philippines, there are at present two principal parties, the Nacionalista party and the Demócrata party. Both the Nacionalista and the Demócrata members of the Senate and the House hold caucuses to decide upon their courses of action.

It has long been a mooted question as to how far caucuses should be tolerated. In the United States there has been much agitation against the caucus system, for it is said that in many instances it means minority rule. This is especially the case in a legislature almost evenly divided between two parties.

For instance, suppose that the Nacionalista Party had a majority of only three in the two Houses, that is, they had only 59 out of the 115 members of the Legislature. If the strict caucus system is followed whereby all the members of a party must be bound by the caucus decision, then the majority of the 59 members, or, say, 30 members, could bind

the entire Nacionalista membership, and once the 59 are pledged in favor of one line of action, the desired legislation is assured, and the will of the 30 members will have prevailed over that of the other 85 members.

Undoubtedly, however, when any political party has been long committed to a definite policy, its leaders are justified upon occasion in exacting support from all the members. Nobody should join a party if he is not in favor of its general policy.

Some of the evils of the caucus system are not as yet felt in the Philippines, chiefly because the Nacionalista party has always commanded a large majority. Whatever decision its caucus may make is in effect the decision of the majority of the members of the Legislature.

123. Appearance of Cabinet Members. - Each House of the Legislature may call a secretary of a department for information on subjects pertaining to his department. This is equivalent to "interpellation" in other countries, or the right of individual members of the Legislature to ask questions of members of the Cabinet. The procedure1 in this case is

1 Rule XXVII-A of the Rules of the House of Representatives regulates "interpellation" in the lower House as follows:

1. Every petition for the appearance of a cabinet member should be in writing and in the form of a resolution. It must necessarily refer to some administrative subject or matter within the secretary's jurisdiction and should contain only concrete and specific questions and no arguments, inferences, imputations, personalities, epithets; ironic expressions, hypothetic questions or affirmations of facts, unless these are necessary to explain the question. 2. The Speaker will decide if the question is in order or not, and if not he will declare it out of order, from which an appeal may be had to the house as in other cases.

3. Once the resolution is approved and the date set for the secretary's answer, the secretary of the House will send a copy of the same to the secretary concerned and another to the Governor-General, stating the date and hour in which such answer should be given. The Secretary will be given at least three days to answer, from the date of the approval of the resolution,

for any member to draft questions that he desires to ask from the department secretary, and then to incorporate them in a resolution requesting the House to ask the attendance of the secretary. If the motion is approved, the secretary will be requested to appear. On grounds of public policy a secretary may refuse to comply with the desire of the House. Generally he will promptly accede to the wishes of the House and will come prepared to give full information on the question submitted to him.

The department secretary may also of his own accord and without invitation of the House appear on the floor of either House to explain matters pertaining to his department. 124. Preparation of Bills. Not all bills that are introduced in the Legislature are prepared by the members themselves.

Many bills are drafted in some executive department and then introduced by members of the Legislature. Similarly, a bill prepared and introduced by a member of the Legislature may be referred to the department of the Government most familiar with the matter covered by the bill. For instance, a bill reforming the Code of Criminal Procedure is likely to be of interest to the Department of Justice; and a bill appropriating money for some agricultural purpose will be referred to the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Of course, this does not appear in the official record and is mostly done by the legislative leader, who is a member of the Council of State.

unless the house should consider the matter an urgent one, and decide for an immediate answer or within a shorter period of time.

4. Once the answer is given, no debate on the matter will follow.

5. When a cabinet member who is not a member of the House desires to speak on a matter related to his department, he shall address the Speaker, who will set the date and hour for his appearance.

The Council of State can also suggest measures and have these measures introduced in the Legislature through one of its members who is at the same time a member of the Legislature.

An individual member may require the services of the Legislative Reference Division of the Philippine Library and Museum in the preparation of bills and the research of data and materials.

125. The Course of a Bill or Resolution. Each member may present as many bills and resolutions as he wishes. The bill or resolution must contain the name or names of its introducers. It should be handed to the Secretary of the House, who will then advise the Speaker, for the first reading. It must be read three times before it can be passed. It is first read by title, and immediately afterwards it is referred to a committee. If the committee approves the bill, it sends the measure back to the House with a favorable report. Then it is placed on the calendar and copies are distributed to the members. When its turn comes on the calendar, or when by a special rule approved by the majority, it is brought up for discussion at an earlier date, the second reading takes place. General discussion then ensues. At any time after the second reading the previous question may be presented, and, if it is decided in the affirmative, the bill will be read the third time and a vote taken. After the third reading no more amendments may be offered.

After the passage of a bill by one House it is sent to the other House, where it will go through a similar procedure. Once approved by both Houses, a bill is signed by the presiding officers and the secretaries of both Houses and forwarded to the Governor-General. In some cases, the signature or acquiescence of the President of the United States is required before a bill takes effect.