1.

To initiate the law-making process, the proposed bill is signed by its author
and filed with the Secretary of the either the Lower House (for congressmen) or
the Senate (for senators).
2. The bill will go through three readings. On the First Reading, the number and
title of the bill is read, followed by its referral to the appropriate committe
e for study.
3. On the Second Reading, the bill is read in full along with amendments propose
d by the committee who studied it. The bill is then subjected to debates and di
scussion by the members of the House where it was filed. After extensive discuss
ion, the bill will be voted on. If approved, it would go through a third reading
.
4. On Third Reading, the bill will be submitted for a final vote. If approved ag
ain, it shall be transmitted to the other House for concurrence. The other House
will go through the same process of having three readings.
5. If the other House introduces amendments and the House from which the bill or
iginated does not approve of the amendments, the differences will be settled by
a meeting of the Conference Committees of both Houses, whose recommendations wil
l have to be approved by both Houses.
6. Once the bill is approved, it is transmitted to the President of the Philippi
nes for signature. The President may then either sign the bill to indicate appro
val, or veto the bill to indicate disapproval. If approved, the bill officially
becomes a law.
7. If the President decides to exercise his veto powers, the Congress may re-pas
s the vetoed bill if two-thirds of both Houses, voting separately, approve its e
nactment. In this case, the bill also officially becomes a law.
How a Bill Becomes a Law
When a senator or a representative introduces a bill, he or she sends it to the
clerk of his house, who gives it a number and title. This is the first reading,
and the bill is referred to the proper committee.
The committee may decide the bill is unwise or unnecessary and table it, thus ki
lling it at once. Or it may decide the bill is worthwhile and hold hearings to l
isten to facts and opinions presented by experts and other interested persons. A
fter members of the committee have debated the bill and perhaps offered amendmen
ts, a vote is taken; and if the vote is favorable, the bill is sent back to the
floor of the house.
The clerk reads the bill sentence by sentence to the house, and this is known as
the second reading. Members may then debate the bill and offer amendments. In t
he House of Representatives, the time for debate is limited by a cloture rule, b
ut there is no such restriction in the Senate for cloture, where 60 votes are re
quired. This makes possible a filibuster, in which one or more opponents hold th
e floor to defeat the bill.
The third reading is by title only, and the bill is put to a vote, which may be
by voice or roll call, depending on the circumstances and parliamentary rules. A
member who must be absent at the time of a vote may contract (or pair) with a mem
ber of the opposition to abstain, balancing each other out.
The bill then goes to the other house of Congress, where it may be defeated, or
passed with or without amendments. If the bill is defeated, it dies. If it is pa
ssed with amendments, a joint congressional committee must be appointed by both
houses to iron out the differences.
After its final passage by both houses, the bill is sent to the president. If he
approves, he signs it, and the bill becomes a law. However, if he disapproves,
he vetoes the bill by refusing to sign it and sending it back to the house of or
igin with his reasons for the veto. The objections are read and debated, and a r
oll-call vote is taken. If the bill receives less than a two-thirds vote, it is
defeated and goes no further. But if it receives a two-thirds vote or greater, i
t is sent to the other house for a vote. If that house also passes it by a two-t
hirds vote, the president's veto is overridden, and the bill becomes a law.
Should the president desire neither to sign nor to veto the bill, he may retain
it for ten days, Sundays excepted, after which time it automatically becomes a l
aw without signature. However, if Congress has adjourned within those ten days,
the bill is automatically killed, that process of indirect rejection being known
as a pocket veto.
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