The Batasang Pambansa ( en, National Assembly; ), often referred to simply as the Batasan, was the legislature of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, established as an interim assembly in 1978 and later as an official body in 1984. It was the fourth unicameral legislature in

Philippine history Earliest hominin activity in the Philippine archipelago is dated back to at least 709,000 years ago. ''Homo luzonensis'', a species of archaic humans, was present on the island of Luzon at least 67,000 years ago. The earliest known anatomically ...

. Members of the Batasang Pambansa were referred to as "Mambabatas Pambansa" (English: Member of Parliament, literally "National Lawmaker"), shortened to "MP". The Batasan was instituted under the 1973

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

promulgated by then-

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martial ...

, replacing the earlier

Congress of the Philippines The Congress of the Philippines ( fil, Kongreso ng Pilipinas, italic=unset) is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives of the Philippines, House of R ...

established by the 1935 Commonwealth Constitution. It was abolished immediately after the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

in 1986, and Congress was restored with the passage of the 1987 Constitution.

History

The original provisions of the 1973 Constitution, which was ratified on January 17, 1973, provided for the establishment of a unicameral National Assembly. Upon its ratification, an interim National Assembly composed of the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and the

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

, those who served as president of the 1971 Constitutional Convention, members of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, and the delegates to the 1971 Constitutional Convention, was established and functioned as the legislature. Before the Regular Batasang Pambansa convened, a 120-member interim body served as the national

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

. The body was composed of the incumbent president, representatives elected from different regions and from different sectors, and select Cabinet officials appointed by the president. In 1981, the semi-parliamentary legislature was formally convened as the Batasang Pambansa, and in 1985, some dissident members unsuccessfully tried to

impeach Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In E ...

President Marcos. On March 25, 1986, Proclamation No. 3, commonly known as the 1986 Freedom Constitution, was promulgated, effectively abolishing the Batasang Pambansa.

References

External links

Website of the Philippine House of Representatives: Brief History of the Philippine Congress
{{Coord missing, Philippines

Fourth Philippine Republic Tagalog words and phrases