House of Representatives of the Philippines

House of Representatives

Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan
19th Congress of the Philippines
Seal of the House of Representatives
Seal of the House of Representatives
Flag of the House of Representatives
Flag of the House of Representatives
Type
Type
Term limits
3 consecutive terms (9 years)
History
FoundedOctober 1907 (1907-10)
Leadership
Martin Romualdez, Lakas
since July 25, 2022
Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Lakas
since May 17, 2023
Manuel Jose Dalipe, Lakas
since July 25, 2022
Marcelino Libanan, 4Ps
since July 25, 2022
Structure
Seats316 representatives
253 from congressional districts
63 party-list representatives
Political groups
Majority (283)
  •   Lakas (100)
  •   Party-list Coalition (42)
  •   NUP (38)
  •   Nacionalista (38)
  •   NPC (38)
  •   PFP (10)
  •   Liberal (8)
  •   PDP (4)
  •   Local parties (7)[a]
  •   Aksyon (1)
  •   CDP (1)
  •   LDP (1)
  •   UNA (1)
  •   Independent (4)

Minority (28)

Vacant (5)

  •   Vacancies (5)
Committees63 standing committees and 17 special committees
Length of term
3 years
AuthorityArticle VI, Constitution of the Philippines
Elections
Parallel voting (First-past-the-post voting in 80% of seats, and modified party-list proportional representation in 20%)
Last election
May 9, 2022
Next election
May 12, 2025
RedistrictingDistricts are redistricted by Congress after each census (has never been done since 1987)
By statute (most frequent method)
Meeting place
Batasang Pambansa Complex, Batasan Hills, Quezon City
Website
congress.gov.ph
Rules
Rules of the House of Representatives (English)

The House of Representatives (Filipino: Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan; Kamara from the Spanish word cámara, meaning "chamber") is the lower house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the Senate of the Philippines as the upper house. The lower house is commonly referred to as Congress,[c] although the term collectively refers to both houses.[1]

Members of the House are officially styled as representatives (Filipino: mga kinatawan) and are sometimes informally called congressmen or congresswomen (Filipino: mga kongresista). They are elected to a three-year term and can be re-elected, but cannot serve more than three consecutive terms without an interruption of one term (e.g. serving one term in the Senate ad interim). Around 80% of congressmen are district representatives, representing specific geographical areas. The 19th Congress has 253[2] congressional districts. Party-list representatives, who make up not more than twenty percent of the total number of representatives, are elected through the party-list system.

Aside from needing its agreement to every bill before it is sent to the president for signature to become law, the House of Representatives has the power to impeach certain officials and all franchise and money bills must originate from the lower house.

The House of Representatives is headed by the House speaker (Filipino: ispiker). The position is currently held by Martin Romualdez. The speaker of the House is third in the Philippine presidential line of succession, after the vice president and the Senate president. The official headquarters of the House of Representatives is at the Batasang Pambansa (literally "national legislature") located in Batasan Hills, Quezon City. The building is often simply called Batasan, and the word has also become a metonym to refer to the House of Representatives.


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  1. ^ The Legislative Branch | Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines
  2. ^ "HOUSE MEMBERS by REGION". Congress of the Philippines - House of Representatives. Retrieved November 6, 2019.