Choose Your Senators Wisely

According to Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate shall be composed of twenty-four Senators who shall be elected at large by the qualified voters of the Philippines.

To be a Senator, a person must be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines. He must at least be thirty-five years old on the day of the election, be able to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the election.

The term of office of the Senators shall be six years and shall commence at noon on the thirtieth day of June next following their election. A Senator shall only serve two consecutive terms at most.

Generally, the regular election of the Senators shall be held on the second Monday of May.

This year, the Philippine general election shall be held on May 13, 2013 where 12 senators will be elected. The 12 candidates with the highest number of votes shall comprise the 16th Congress along with 12 others who were elected in the 2010 election.

One of the responsibilities of the Senators is to enact, repeal and amend laws since the nature of the power of the Congress is legislative. In making enabling laws, the supremacy of the Constitution must be upheld.

Also, as provided for by the Constitution, the Senate is vested with the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. The public office being a public trust, public officers and employees must, at all times, be accountable to the people among others. Thus, the President, the Vice-President, the Members of the Supreme Court, the Members of the Constitutional Commissions, and the Ombudsman may be removed from office through impeachment. A person shall only be convicted with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.

Lastly, members of the Senate have the duty to responsibly allocate their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). PDAF is a government fund, the allocation of which is left to the discretion of the legislator.

Choose your senators wisely. Cast your online votes here: http://lawtechworld.com/blog/?p=778

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