Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines explained

Post:Speaker of the House of Representatives
Body:the Philippines
Flag:Flag of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines.svg
Flagsize:120px
Flagborder:yes
Flagcaption:Flag of the House of Representatives
Insignia:Seal of the Philippine House of Representatives.svg
Insigniasize:125px
Insigniacaption:Seal of the Philippine House of Representatives
Incumbent:Martin Romualdez
Incumbentsince:July 25, 2022
Style:Mr. Speaker
(informal)
The Honorable
(formal)
Appointer:Philippine House of Representatives
Termlength:At the House's pleasure[1]
Seat:Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City
Inaugural:Sergio Osmeña
Succession:Third in the Presidential Line of Succession
Website:Speaker of the House
Type:Speaker of the lower house
Member Of:House of Representatives of the Philippines

The speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines (Filipino; Pilipino: Ispiker ng Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas), more popularly known as the House speaker, 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 official of the government of the Philippines.

The speaker is elected by a majority of all of the representatives from among themselves. The speaker is the third and last in the line of succession to the presidency, after the vice president and the Senate president.

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 current House speaker is Martin Romualdez of Leyte-1st congressional district. He was elected as speaker on July 25, 2022, the first day of the 19th Congress.

Election

See also: List of Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives elections. When the office of 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 House Rules, the Speaker of the House has the following duties and powers:

  1. Prepare the legislative agenda for each session, ensure efficient deliberation and swift approval of measures, and coordinate with Deputy Speakers and committee leaders.
  2. Conduct regular caucuses to discuss priority measures and facilitate dialogue among members.
  3. Supervise all committees, hold regular meetings with committee leaders, and ensure legislative targets align with the House's agenda.
  4. Establish an information management system to facilitate legislative work and public information.
  5. Monitor and evaluate the performance of the House, its members, and committees.
  6. Coordinate with the Senate to track and facilitate action on House measures.
  7. Preside over House sessions, make rulings on order, and designate temporary presiding officers when necessary.
  8. Maintain order and decorum within the House premises.
  9. Sign official House documents, including acts, resolutions, and subpoenas.
  10. Perform administrative duties, such as appointing personnel, imposing disciplinary measures, and managing budgetary and merit-based policies.
  11. Prepare the House's annual budget with the Committee on Accounts.
  12. Develop rules for public access to members' personal data and assets in consultation with the Committee on Rules.
  13. Implement a drug testing system for House members and staff.
  14. Require performance reports from committees and House officers.

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 shallconstitute 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

National Assembly
No.PortraitName
Term of officePartyLegislature
Took officeLeft office
Pedro Paterno
Member for Ilocos Norte
(1857–1911)
September 15,
1898
November 13,
1899
IndependentNational Assembly
Philippine Assembly
No.PortraitName
Term of officePartyLegislature
Took officeLeft office
1Sergio Osmeña
Member for Cebu–2nd
(1878–1961)
October 16,
1907
October 16,
1916
Nacionalista1st Legislature
2nd Legislature
3rd Legislature
House of Representatives of the Philippine Islands
No.PortraitName
Term of officePartyLegislature
Took officeLeft office
(1)Sergio Osmeña
Member for Cebu–2nd
(1878–1961)
October 16,
1916
June 6,
1922
Nacionalista4th Legislature
5th Legislature
2Manuel Roxas
Member for Capiz–1st
(1892–1948)
October 27,
1922
June 5,
1934
Nacionalista
Colectivista
6th Legislature
Nacionalista7th Legislature
8th Legislature
9th Legislature
3Quintín Paredes
Member for Abra
(1884–1973)
July 16,
1934
November 15,
1935
Nacionalista
Democratico
10th Legislature
National Assembly of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
No.PortraitName
Term of officePartyLegislature
Took officeLeft office
4Gil Montilla
Member for Negros Occidental–3rd
(1876–1946)
November 25,
1935
December 30,
1938
Nacionalista
Democratico
1st National Assembly
5José Yulo
Member for Negros Occidental–3rd
(1894–1976)
January 24,
1939
December 30,
1941
Nacionalista2nd National Assembly
National Assembly of the Republic of the Philippines
No.PortraitName
Term of officePartyLegislature
Took officeLeft office
6Benigno Aquino Sr.
Member for Tarlac
(1894–1947)
September 25,
1943
February 2,
1944
KALIBAPINational Assembly
House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of the Philippines
No.PortraitName
Term of officePartyLegislature
Took officeLeft office
7José Zulueta
Member for Iloilo–1st
(1889–1972)
June 9,
1945
May 25,
1946
Nacionalista1st Commonwealth Congress
8Eugenio Pérez
Member for Pangasinan–2nd
(1896–1957)
May 25,
1946
July 4,
1946
Liberal2nd Commonwealth Congress
House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines
No.PortraitName
Term of officePartyLegislature
Took officeLeft office
(8)Eugenio Pérez
Member for Pangasinan–2nd
(1896–1957)
July 4,
1946
December 30,
1953
Liberal1st Congress
2nd Congress
9Jose Laurel Jr.
Member for Batangas–3rd
(1912–1998)
January 25,
1954
December 30,
1957
Nacionalista3rd Congress
10Daniel Z. Romualdez
Member for Leyte–4th until 1961
Member for Leyte–1st from 1961

(1907–1965)
January 27,
1958
March 9,
1962
4th Congress
5th Congress
11Cornelio Villareal
Member for Capiz–2nd
(1904–1992)
March 9,
1962
February 2,
1967
Liberal
6th Congress
(9)Jose Laurel Jr.
Member for Batangas–3rd
(1912–1998)
February 2,
1967
April 1,
1971
Nacionalista
7th Congress
(11)Cornelio Villareal
Member for Capiz–2nd
(1904–1992)
April 1,
1971
September 23,
1972
Liberal
Batasang Pambansa
No.PortraitName
Term of officePartyLegislature
Took officeLeft office
12Querube Makalintal
Member for Region IV
(1910–2002)
June 12,
1978
June 30,
1984
KBLInterim Batasang Pambansa
13Nicanor Yñiguez
Member for Southern Leyte
(1915–2007)
July 23,
1984
March 25,
1986
Regular Batasang Pambansa
House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines
No.PortraitName
Term of officePartyLegislature
Took officeLeft office
14Ramon Mitra Jr.
Member for Palawan–2nd
(1928–2000)
July 23,
1987
June 30,
1992
LDP8th Congress
15Jose de Venecia Jr.
Member for Pangasinan–4th
(born 1936)
July 27,
1992
June 30,
1998
Lakas9th Congress
10th Congress
16Manny Villar
Member for Las Piñas
(born 1949)
July 27,
1998
November 13,
2000
LAMMP11th Congress
17Arnulfo Fuentebella
Member for Camarines Sur–3rd
(1945–2020)
November 13,
2000
January 24,
2001
NPC
18Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
Member for Quezon City–4th
(born 1936)
January 24,
2001
June 30,
2001
Lakas-CMD
(15)Jose de Venecia Jr.
Member for Pangasinan–4th
(born 1936)
July 23,
2001
February 5,
2008
12th Congress
13th Congress
14th Congress
19Prospero Nograles
Member for Davao City–1st
(1947–2019)
February 5,
2008
June 30,
2010
(18)Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
Member for Quezon City–4th
(born 1936)
July 26,
2010
June 30,
2016
Liberal15th Congress
16th Congress
20Pantaleon Alvarez
Member for Davao del Norte–1st
(born 1958)
July 25,
2016
July 23,
2018
PDP–Laban17th Congress
21Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
Member for Pampanga–2nd
(born 1947)
July 23,
2018
June 30,
2019
22Alan Peter Cayetano
Member for Taguig–Pateros
(born 1970)
July 22,
2019
October 12,
2020
Nacionalista18th Congress
23Lord Allan Velasco
Member for Marinduque
(born 1977)
October 12,
2020
June 30,
2022
PDP–Laban
24Martin Romualdez
Member for Leyte–1st
(born 1963)
July 25,
2022
IncumbentLakas-CMD19th Congress

Speakers per region

Region Total
5
4
2
2
2
2
2
1
1
1
1

List of speakers per party (24 speakers)

Party Total Terms
9 10
4 4
3 4
3 2
2 2
1 1
1 1
1 1

Timeline

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Colors = id:Vacant value:black id:None value:black id:abolished value:black id:NP value:drabgreen legend:Nacionalista id:LP value:dullyellow legend:Liberal id:KBL value:red legend:KBL id:UNIDO value:blue legend:LDP id:Lakas value:skyblue legend:Lakas-CMD/Lakas Kampi CMD id:PMP value:orange legend:LAMMP/PMP id:NPC value:green legend:NPC id:PDP value:yelloworange legend:PDP-Laban

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PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:PM from:09/15/1898 till:03/23/1901 text:"Pedro Paterno" color:None from:10/16/1907 till:06/06/1922 text:"Sergio Osmeña" color:NP from:10/27/1922 till:10/17/1933 text:"Manuel Roxas" color:NP from:10/17/1933 till:09/16/1935 text:"Quintin Paredes" color:NP from:11/25/1935 till:12/30/1938 text:"Gil Montilla" color:NP from:01/24/1939 till:12/30/1941 text:"Jose Yulo" color:NP from:10/17/1943 till:02/03/1944 text:"Benigno Aquino, Sr." color:None from:06/09/1945 till:12/30/1945 text:"Jose Zulueta" color:NP from:05/25/1946 till:12/30/1953 text:"Eugenio Perez" color:LP from:01/25/1954 till:12/30/1957 text:"Jose Laurel Jr." color:NP from:01/27/1958 till:03/09/1962 text:"Daniel Romualdez" color:NP from:03/09/1962 till:02/02/1967 text:"Cornelio Villareal" color:LP from:02/02/1967 till:01/01/1971 text:"Jose Laurel Jr." color:NP from:01/01/1971 till:09/21/1972 text:"Cornelio Villareal" color:LP from:06/12/1978 till:06/30/1984 text:"Querube Macalintal" color:KBL from:07/23/1984 till:03/25/1986 text:"Nicanor Yniguez" color:KBL from:07/27/1987 till:06/30/1992 text:"Ramon Mitra" color:UNIDO from:07/27/1992 till:06/30/1998 text:"Jose de Venecia" color:Lakas from:07/27/1998 till:11/13/2000 text:"Manuel Villar Jr." color:PMP from:11/13/2000 till:01/24/2001 text:"Arnulfo Fuentebella" color:NPC from:01/24/2001 till:06/30/2001 text:"Feliciano Belmonte" color:Lakas from:07/23/2001 till:02/05/2008 text:"Jose de Venecia" color:Lakas from:02/05/2008 till:06/30/2010 text:"Prospero Nograles" color:Lakas from:07/26/2010 till:06/30/2016 text:"Feliciano Belmonte" color:LP from:07/25/2016 till:07/23/2018 text:"Pantaleon Alvarez" color:PDP from:07/23/2018 till:06/30/2019 text:"Gloria Macapagal Arroyo" color:PDP from:07/22/2019 till:10/12/2020 text:"Alan Peter Cayetano" color:NP from:10/12/2020 till:06/30/2022 text:"Lord Allan Jay Velasco" color:PDP

See also

Notes and References

  1. By convention, the Speaker is an incumbent member of the House of Representatives. As such, they are limited to three consecutive terms of three years each (Article VI, Section 7 of the Constitution of the Philippines).