The Senate Electoral Tribunal ( SET ) is an electoral tribunal that decides election protests in the Senate of the Philippines . It consists of 6 senators nominated by the Senate, and 3 justices of the Supreme Court of the Philippines , who are designated by the Chief Justice . The equivalent tribunals for elections to the lower house is the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal and to president and vice presidents is Presidential Electoral Tribunal .
24-587: The SET is located at SET-HRET Building, Commission on Audit Compound, Quezon City. Members of the Tribunal receive a monthly allowance of 100,000 Philippine pesos on top of their regular salary. In the 1935 constitution, there were nine members, with three designated by the Chief Justice, three by the largest party in the Senate, and another three from second-largest party. In Tañada and Macapagal v. Cuenco, et. al. ,
48-615: A Certified Public Accountant or a lawyer . The members of the commission are appointed by the President of the Philippines , with the consent of the Commission of Appointments , for a term of seven years without reappointment. In Funa v. Villar , the Supreme Court ruled that a Commissioner can only be appointed as chairman if the unexpired term for the office of chairman and the term that
72-415: A "regular" nomination, the official can only discharge the duties once the commission consents to the appointment. Just as other legislative bodies, the commission is divided into different committees. Each appointment is coursed through the committee concerned. After hearings are held, the committee decides to confirm or reject the appointment; the commission en banc then deliberates on whether to accept
96-426: A majority vote of all members. A president can either make a nomination or an appointment. Either action involves the commission. Most presidential actions are ad interim appointments, done when Congress is not in session. In these cases, the appointment allows the official to discharge the duties related to the office immediately. The ad interim appointment ceases to be valid if the commission explicitly rejects
120-623: A person to the vice presidency due to a vacancy is handled by both houses of Congress, voting separately. During the operation of the Jones Law , the Senate confirmed the Governor-General 's appointments. During the operation of the 1935 Constitution , the commission was composed of 21 members of the National Assembly of the Philippines . With the restoration of the bicameral Congress in 1940,
144-565: The ex officio chairman, twelve senators, and twelve members of the House of Representatives. Members from each house of Congress are elected based on proportional representation from the political parties and parties or organizations registered under the party-list system represented. The Chairman of the Commission shall vote only in case of a tie . It shall act on all appointments submitted within thirty session days of Congress. It shall be governed by
168-740: The Constitution of the Philippines . It has the primary function to examine, audit and settle all accounts and expenditures of the funds and properties of the Philippine government . The Commission on Audit is a creation of the 1973 constitution. It was preceded by the Office of the Auditor in 1899, renamed as the Bureau of the Insular Auditor in 1900, then to the Bureau of Audits in 1905. The 1935 constitution created
192-476: The President of the Philippines . Article VII, Section 16 of the 1987 Constitution reads: "The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution. He shall also appoint all other officers of
216-452: The Supreme Court ruled that the COA's audit power does not include the imposition of administrative penalties by its auditors upon culpable public officers. Commission on Appointments The Commission on Appointments ( Filipino : Komisyon sa Paghirang , abbreviated as CA ) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of
240-582: The Supreme Court ruled that the Senate may not elect members who have not been nominated by the parties specified in the constitution. This was after the Nacionalista Party moved to include 2 more of its members in 1956 after Lorenzo Tañada , the sole senator not a member of the Nacionalista Party, nominated only himself. In the 1987 constitution, there were still nine members, but the six senators were now based via proportional representation from
264-520: The Commission on Appointments. Instead, they are recommended by the Judicial and Bar Council in a short list, from which the President shall then choose from. Prior to the institutionalization of the party-list system, the president appointed the sectoral representatives . Congress then decided to have these confirmed via the commission, as well. The commission is composed of the Senate President ,
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#1732858946763288-493: The Commissioner had already served does not exceed seven years. In such case, the Commissioner promoted as chairman would serve the unexpired term of the chairman, forfeiting the duration of his original term as Commissioner. This was based on a case where Reynaldo A. Villar, who was appointed commissioner in 2004, was then appointed as chairman in 2008, making him serve out eleven years in total. Villar resigned before he served out
312-697: The General Auditing Office (GAO), and was led by the Auditor General. The 1973 constitution renamed the GAO to the Commission on Audit, a collegial body led by a chairman, with two commissioners. That setup was retained by the 1987 constitution. The other two Constitutional Commissions are the Commission on Elections and Civil Service Commission . The Commission on Audit is composed of a chairperson and two Commissioners. They must be natural-born citizens of at least thirty-five years of age, and must be either
336-524: The Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the appointment of other officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of departments, agencies, commissions, or boards. The Vice President is exempted from a confirmation hearing to any cabinet position. The nomination of
360-574: The Philippines . The current commission was created by the 1987 Constitution . While often associated with the Congress of the Philippines , which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate , and mistakenly referred to as a congressional committee, the Commission on Appointments is an independent body from the legislature, though its membership is confined to members of Congress. The Commission on Appointments confirms certain appointments made by
384-468: The Senate are named in a resolution of the Senate. This always happens at the organization of the chamber at the start of every new Congress. These are the members in the 19th Congress, which first convened on July 25, 2022. Most cases, such as the Pimentel v. Zubiri case, are election protests, and most are usually resolved when the protestant (the losing candidate) runs on another election; at this point,
408-404: The appointment, or if the commission "bypasses" the appointment. If the commission rejects the appointment, the official is no longer allowed to discharge the duties related to his or her office, and the president has to appoint someone else. If the commission bypasses the official, the president can re-appoint that person. The president can also nominate an official if Congress is in session. In
432-546: The commission was composed of 12 senators and 12 representatives with the Senate President as the ex officio chairman. During the operation of the 1973 Constitution, the president appointed at will and without "checks and balances" from the then- parliament . The current constitution , which was ratified in 1987, brought back the 25-member commission. The appointments of all judges and the Ombudsman need not be confirmed by
456-538: The committee's decision. The commission meets at the GSIS Building in Pasay , the seat of the Senate. These are the members for the 19th Congress of the Philippines : Rejection by the commission of the president's appointment is very rare. Usually, due to the padrino system of patronage politics , the president's party controls a supermajority of votes in the House of Representatives, thus mirroring its composition of
480-560: The full seven-year term as chairman, but prior to the resolution of the case. The 1987 Constitution staggered the terms of the members of the Constitutional Commissions. Of the first appointees, the chairman would serve seven years (1st line), a Commissioner would serve five years (2nd line), and another Commissioner would serve three years (3rd line). The members of the commission can only be removed from office via death, resignation or impeachment. The General Auditing Office
504-511: The political parties therein. The chairperson of the SET is always the most senior justice of the Supreme Court that's sitting in the tribunal. The three members from the Supreme Court are designated by the chief justice. While there's no regular occurrence on when a chief justice designates members, this is almost certainly done when there is a new justice of the Supreme Court. The six members from
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#1732858946763528-566: The tribunal will rule that they have abandoned the case. A few, such as the David v. Poe case, are quo warranto petitions, or questioning if the winner is actually qualified to be a senator. Successful cases: Failed cases (since 2000): The tribunal was formerly found in the SET-HRET Building, Commission on Audit Compound in Quezon City. However, that building was condemned, and the SET
552-668: Was headed by the Auditor-General. The Auditor-General has a 10-year term, is appointed by the president, is confirmed by the Commission on Appointments , and can only be removed via impeachment by Congress. This agency preceded the present-day commission. Teofisto Guingona Jr. Eufemio Domingo Pascacio Banaria Bartolome Fernandez Jr. Alberto Cruz Raul Flores Evelyn San Buenaventura Ma. Gracia Pulido-Tan Isabel Dasalla-Agito June 30, 2010 – June 30, 2016 Jose Fabia Jose Calida Gamaliel Cordoba June 30, 2022 – present In Jess Christoper S. Biong v. Commission on Audit ,
576-681: Was transferred to the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay. It has then transferred to the Sugar Center Building that houses the Sugar Regulatory Administration in Quezon City. Commission on Audit (Philippines) The Commission on Audit ( COA ; Filipino : Komisyon sa Awdit or officially Komisyon ng Pagsusuri ) is an independent constitutional commission established by
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