National Assembly of the Philippines

National Assembly of the Philippines
National Assembly of the Philippines
Abra–Lone) Nacionalista (1938–1941)
Structure
Seats	89 members (1935); elected ; 98 members (1938); elected
Length of term	3 years
Authority	Article VI, 1935 Constitution of the Philippines
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post voting
Meeting place
	Legislative Building, Padre Burgos Avenue, Ermita, Manila

The National Assembly of the Philippines (

United States of America

.

The National Assembly during the

recognized by the Axis powers.^[1]

Establishment

Prior to 1935, the Philippine Islands, an

power to veto any of the Philippine Legislature's legislations.^[2]

In 1934,

Filipino politicians obtained the passage of a Philippine independence law known as the Tydings–McDuffie Act. It was crafted to prepare the Philippines for its eventual independence after a ten-year period.^[3] The Tydings–McDuffie Act also enabled them to draft and adopt a constitution

, subject to the concurrence of the U.S. president.

In the

unicameral National Assembly was adopted. This came after the failure of the constitutional convention delegates to agree on the setup of the bicameral system that was favored by the majority. It also set the ceiling on its membership to a maximum of 120, that were to be elected every three years; similar to what the Jones Law had provided. It entitled every province, regardless of its population to have at least one representative. The convention likewise provided for the direct election of representatives from the non-predominantly Christian areas previously appointed by the U.S. Governor-General.^[2]

Commonwealth National Assembly

After the 1935 Constitution was ratified, elections were held on September 17, 1935, for the 98 members of the National Assembly; simultaneous with the elections for the Commonwealth President and Vice President. The Philippine Commonwealth was inaugurated on November 15, 1935, and thus the term of the elected officials began. The National Assembly first met officially on November 25, ten days after the Commonwealth government was inaugurated and elected

Speaker.^[4]

It soon organized itself into three commissions and 40 standing committees, when it adopted its rules on December 6.

Legislation

The assembly had the task of passing laws to prepare the Philippines for its eventual independence. Certain laws dealing with

Court of Appeals. Several economic measures were also tackled, including the impending difficulties on the phase out of free trade between the Philippines and the United States after independence, setting a minimum wage, and the imposition of new taxes among others.^[5]

Most of the bills enacted were drafted by the executive branch and the few that originated from the members themselves were often vetoed by Quezon. In the sessions of the First National Assembly in 1936, 236 bills were passed, of which 25 bills were vetoed; while on its 1938 session, 44 out of 105 bills were vetoed due to practical defects, including one which proposed to make religious instruction compulsory in schools – clearly violating the constitutional provision on the separation of Church and State.^[6] The sporadic vetoing of its legislation prompted the "rubber stamp" legislature^[7] to criticize Quezon's policies. It then began to assert its independence from the executive. In line with this, the National Assembly went on to reinstate the inherent powers of the Speaker.

It was also in this period that Filipino women were finally extended universal suffrage following a special, all-female plebiscite held on April 30, 1937, where 447,725 women voted favorably for it, against 44,307.^[8]

The

second elections for the National Assembly were held on November 8, 1938, under a new law that allowed block voting,^[9] which favored the governing Nacionalista Party. As expected all the 98 seats of the National Assembly went to the Nacionalistas. José Yulo who was Quezon's Secretary of Justice

from 1934 to 1938, was elected Speaker.

The

Second National Assembly passed legislation to strengthen the economy, unfortunately war loomed. Certain laws passed by the First National Assembly were modified or repealed to meet existing realities.^[10] A controversial immigration law that set an annual limit of 50 immigrants per country,^[11] which affected mostly Chinese and Japanese nationals escaping the Sino-Japanese War was passed in 1940. Since the law bordered on foreign relations it required the approval of the U.S. president, which was nevertheless obtained. When the result of the 1939 census was published, the National Assembly updated the apportionment of legislative districts, which became the basis for the 1941 elections

.

Restoration of the bicameral legislature

Quezon was barred by the 1935 Constitution to serve as president beyond 1941. He orchestrated a set of amendments to the constitution that included restoring the bicameral legislature. It provided for the replacement of the National Assembly by the Congress of the Philippines, composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives. Unlike the Jones Law Senate (1916 to 1935), whereby two senators were elected from each of the twelve senatorial districts the Philippines was divided into, the 1940 Amendments prescribed that all the 24 senators were to be elected at-large. They were to serve for a staggered 6-year term, so that one-third of the Senate membership is replaced every two years. Similar to the National Assembly, the House of Representatives had a cap of 120 members. The amendments which were contained under Resolution No. 38 were adopted by the National Assembly on September 15, 1939, and were ratified in a plebiscite on June 18, 1940. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved it on December 2, 1940,^[12] effectively paving the way for the abolition of the National Assembly after the incumbency of those elected in 1938 on December 30, 1941.

Outbreak of World War II

Concerns about international conflict and the first stages of the World War II stretched throughout most of the Second National Assembly. In 1940, the National Assembly declared a

national defense and declaring a state of total emergency.^[14] It furthered the emergency powers already granted to the President, such as the transfer of the seat of government and the extension of the effectivity of lapsing laws. In its last act, the National Assembly certified the results of the 1941 elections where Manuel L. Quezon and Sergio Osmeña

were reelected as president and vice president, respectively.

Second Republic National Assembly

The Commonwealth government was exiled in Washington, D.C. upon the invitation of Pres. Roosevelt.

ex-officio members and an elected representative from each province and city who were to serve for a term of three years.^[18]

Though created subordinate to the executive, the National Assembly had the power to elect the President, who in turn appoints the provincial governors and city mayors, ensuring him control of the legislature.

National Assembly convenes

José P. Laurel was elected President of the soon-to-be-independent Republic of the Philippines

. The National Assembly also went to organize itself into 66 committees.

Philippine independence was eventually proclaimed on October 14, 1943. Laurel called the National Assembly into a special session from October 17 to 23, when it passed resolutions expressing gratitude to the Japanese for its grant of independence. The National Assembly met for its first regular session from November 25, 1943, to February 2, 1944. It passed a total of 66 bills and 23 resolutions, ranging from the creation of new government agencies to address the existing problems and conditions during the war and other problems which had not been addressed during the Commonwealth period. Since the Philippines now acted as an independent state, the National Assembly created the

Central Bank

. It also extended additional powers to the President, similar to those granted to Quezon by the Commonwealth National Assembly.

Dissolution

When it ended its session on February 2, 1944, the National Assembly was never to meet again. It was scheduled to meet for its second regular session on October 20, 1944, but

Gen. Douglas MacArthur on October 23, 1944^[22] just right after reestablishing the Commonwealth government in Tacloban

.

Notes

^ RMS-GS Interpreter and Translators – Philippines through the Centuries. Accessed on April 13, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Chan Robles Virtual Law Library – The Philippine Autonomy Act (Jones Law). Accessed on April 13, 2007.
^ Chan Robles Virtual Law Library – The Philippine Independence Act (Tydings-McDuffie Act). Accessed on April 11, 2007.
^ Senators Profile – Gil Montilla. Accessed on April 13, 2007.
^ American Colonization. Accessed on April 13, 2007.
^ The Philippine Free Press Online – "The Church, July 2, 1938". Accessed on April 13, 2007.
^ Bureau of Communications Services – Manuel Luis Quezon. Accessed on April 15, 2007.
^ A Celebration of Her Story: Filipino Women in Legislation and Politics Archived February 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on April 13, 2007.
^ Block voting – Philippine Daily Inquirer^{[permanent dead link]}. Accessed on April 13, 2007.
^ Commonwealth Act (CA) No. 494 amended CA 444 "Eight Hour Law" authorizing the President to suspend the law.
^ Immigration Act of 1940 (CA No. 613), Sec. 13. Accessed on April 13, 2007
^ History of the Senate – Senate of the Philippines. Accessed on April 15, 2007.
^ The Philippine Free Press Online – Emergency Powers Archived January 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on April 16, 2007.
^ The Sunday Times – PP1017 is not at all similar to PP1081 Archived November 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on April 16, 2007
^ Philippine History, Flags & Presidents. Accessed on April 16, 2007.
^ Japanese Occupation and the Second Republic of the Philippines. Accessed on April 16, 2007.
^ TIME – Hirohito is a Little Depressed. Accessed on April 13, 2007.
^ Chan Robles Virtual Law Library – 1943 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Article III. Accessed on April 16, 2007.
^ The Philippine Presidency Project – Jose P. Laurel Archived March 3, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on April 16, 2007.
^ Warner, Dennis (February 3, 1995). "The Tiger and the Rape of Manila". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
^ Bas, Rene Q. (March 12, 2006). "Remembering Dr. Jose P. Laurel". The Manila Times. Archived from the original on October 23, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
^ "G.R. No. L-5 September 17, 1945". Retrieved May 6, 2007.

v t e National legislatures of the Philippines
Congress Senate House of Representatives
Historical	Malolos Congress (1898–99) Philippine Commission (1900–1907) Philippine Legislature (1907–1935) National Assembly of the Commonwealth (1935–1941) National Assembly of the Second Republic (1943–44) Commonwealth Congress (1945–46) Congress (1946–1972; 1987–present) Batasang Pambansa (1978–1986)

v t e Legislative periods of the Philippines
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First Republic	Malolos Congress
U.S. insular territory	2nd Philippine Commission Philippine Legislature 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th Constitutional Convention
Commonwealth	National Assembly 1st 2nd
Second Republic	National Assembly
Commonwealth	Congress 1st 2nd
Third Republic	Congress 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th Constitutional Convention
Fourth Republic	Batasang Pambansa Interim Regular Constitutional Commission
Fifth Republic	Congress 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th

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