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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OFFICIALS


The Officials of the House of Representatives are the Speaker, the Deputy Speakers, the Secretary General and the Sergeant-at-Arms, who are elected by a majority vote of all the Members at the commencement of each Congress; the Majority and Minority Leaders, who are elected in a party caucus of the ruling party and the minority party, respectively.

More specifically, they perform the following functions:

The Speaker is the fourth highest official in the Philippine government. He:

  • Presides over the sessions;
  • Decides on all questions of order, subject to appeal by any Member;
  • Signs all acts, resolutions, memorials, writs, warrants and subpoenas issued by or upon order of the House;
  • Appoints, suspends, dismisses or disciplines House personnel; and
  • Exercises administrative functions.

The Deputy Speakers:

  • Assumes the duties and powers of the Speaker when he is absent or incapacitated.

The Majority Leader:

  • The Majority Leader is elected in a party caucus of the majority ruling party. His primary function, aside from being the spokesman of the majority party, is to direct the deliberations on the floor.

The Minority Leader:

  • The Minority Leader is the acknowledged spokesman of the minority party in the House. But it does not necessarily follow that he is also the leader of the party because the minority party in the House may be composed of one or more political groupings.

The Secretary General:

  • Carries out and enforces orders and decisions of the House;
  • Keeps the Journal of each session;
  • Notes all questions of order together with the decisions thereon;
  • Completes the printing and distribution of the Records of the House;
  • Submits to the Speaker all contracts and agreements for his approval;
  • Acts as the custodian of the property and records of the House and all other government property in its premises;
  • Subject to the supervision and control of the Speaker, the Secretary General is the immediate chief of the personnel of the House and is responsible for the faithful and proper performance of their official duties.

The Sergeant-at-Arms:

  • Maintains order in the House of Representatives Building Complex;
  • Enforces House Rules;
  • Protects the lives of Officers and Members of the House, its personnel and guests as well as properties found therein.