Editing Politics of the Philippines (section)

== Legislature ==
{{main|Congress of the Philippines}}
{{see also|Senate of the Philippines|House of Representatives of the Philippines}}
[[Congress of the Philippines|Congress]] is a [[bicameral]] legislature. The [[upper house]], the [[Senate of the Philippines|Senate]], is composed of 24 senators. These are elected through [[plurality-at-large voting]], with the entire country considered a [[at-large|single district]].<ref name="Carter2010">{{cite web |url=https://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/news/peace_publications/election_reports/philippines-may%202010-elections-finalrpt.pdf |title=Carter Center Limited Mission to the May 2010 Elections in the Philippines Final Report |publisher=The Carter Center |access-date=August 24, 2020}}</ref> The senators elect amongst themselves a [[President of the Senate of the Philippines|Senate President]].<ref name="Lazo"/>{{rp|159}} Half of the Senate seats are contested every three years,<ref name="Carter2010"/> and senators are limited to serving a maximum of two consecutive six-year terms.<ref name="Teehankee2017"/>

The [[lower house]] is the [[House of Representatives of the Philippines|House of Representatives]],<ref name="Lazo"/>{{rp|163}} currently composed of 311 representatives,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.congress.gov.ph/members/ |title=House Members |publisher=House of Representatives |access-date=August 20, 2022}}</ref> with 20% elected via [[Sectoral representation in the House of Representatives of the Philippines|party-list system]], and the rest elected from [[Legislative districts of the Philippines|legislative districts]]. Legislative districts are intended to be roughly equal in population, and every city with a population of at least 250,000 people is guaranteed at least one representative.<ref name="Lazo"/>{{rp|162–163}} The House of Representatives is headed by the [[Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines|Speaker]].<ref name="Lazo"/>{{rp|159}} Representatives are elected every three years, and are limited to three three-year terms.<ref name="Carter2010"/>

[[File:2011 Philippine State of the Nation Address.jpg|thumb|left|2011 [[State of the Nation Address (Philippines)|State of the Nation Address]] by [[Benigno Aquino III]]]]

Each [[bill (proposed law)|bill]] needs the consent of both houses to be submitted to the president for his signature. If the president [[veto]]es the bill, Congress can override the veto with a two-thirds [[supermajority]].<ref name="Lazo"/>{{rp|180}} If either house voted down on a bill or fails to act on it after an [[adjournment sine die|adjournment ''sine die'']], the bill is lost and would have to be proposed to the next congress, with the process starting all over again. Congress's decisions are mostly via [[majority vote]], except for voting on constitutional amendments and other matters. Each house has its inherent power, with the Senate given the power to vote on treaties, while [[money bill]]s may only be introduced by the House of Representatives.{{sfn|Philippine Constitution|1987|loc=Article VI § 24|ps=.}} The constitution provides Congress with [[Impeachment in the Philippines|impeachment powers]], with the House of Representatives having the power to impeach, and the Senate having the power to try the impeached official.<ref name="Lazo"/>{{rp|433}}

The control the legislature has over funding includes individual [[Discretionary spending|discretionary funds]]. These funds are considered an avenue for patronage politics<ref name="Abinales2005"/>{{rp|235}} and are often seen a symbol of corruption. They are derogatorily referred to as "[[pork barrel]]" funds.<ref name="Abinales2005"/>{{rp|284–285}} In addition to being able to use such funds to curry favor or gain support, politicians can personally benefit from [[Kickback (bribery)|kickbacks]], which are often directly used for re-election campaigns.<ref name="You5"/>{{rp|102–103}}
The [[Priority Development Assistance Fund scam]] highlighted the link between such funding and legislative support for executive initiatives.<ref name="DeinlaThompson"/>{{rp|44–45}}

{{as of|2019<!-- date on the latest cited source-->}}, the [[PDP-LABAN]], the [[Nacionalista Party]] (NP), the [[Nationalist People's Coalition]] (NPC), [[National Unity Party (Philippines)|National Unity Party]] (NUP), and the [[Liberal Party (Philippines)|Liberal Party]] (LP) are the parties with largest membership in Congress.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bueza |first1=Michael |title=18th Congress, by the numbers |url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/numbers-composition-18th-congress-philippines |access-date=29 May 2021 |work=Rappler |date=2 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210529042111/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/numbers-composition-18th-congress-philippines |archive-date=29 May 2021 |language=en |quote=PDP-Laban also has the biggest contingent in the House, with 84 members, according to their candidacy forms when they ran in the 2019 polls. NP has 42 House members, followed by NPC with 36 members, and National Unity Party with 25 members. ... LP only has 18 members in the House.}}</ref> The [[ruling party|party of the sitting president]] controls the House of Representatives, where members often [[Party switching|change party affiliation]] to join the president's party. The Senate has generally acted more independently.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bueza |first1=Michael |title=Midterm exodus: When political butterflies switch party alliances |url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/when-political-butterflies-switch-party-alliance |access-date=25 May 2021 |work=Rappler |date=11 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722050732/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/in-depth/when-political-butterflies-switch-party-alliance |archive-date=22 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Teehankee-2020">{{cite journal |last1=Teehankee |first1=Julio Cabral |title=Factional Dynamics in Philippine Party Politics, 1900–2019 |journal=Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs |date=April 2020 |volume=39 |issue=1 |page=110 |doi=10.1177/1868103420913404 |language=en |issn=1868-1034|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="DeinlaIntroduction"/>{{rp|13–16}}