PARLIAMENTARY

PROCEDURES
DILG OPINION 14 S.
2005
 IRP of the sanggunian is primarily
governed by the following sources of
parliamentary rules in the following
order:
1. 1987 Constitution
2. LG Code
3. Judicial Decisions
4. Adopted IRP
5. Parliamentary practice
6. Parliamentary authors
7. Customs and usages
 PARLIAMENTARY LAW
 Body of generally accepted
rules, precedents, and practices
commonly employed to regulate
the proceedings of deliberative
assemblies
 Common practice of conducting
business in assemblies
Nature and
Importance…..
 “Just go ahead and say what
you wish; you will know if you
are wrong because you will be
ruled out of order”
 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
 Members have equal rights
and obligations
 The majority rules
 The minority must be
protected
 Singularity of subject
 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
 Full and free debates must be
allowed
 Every motion must be voted
upon
 Group interest must prevail

 The presiding officer must be

impartial
Necessity of Debate

 A discussion on any subject for

the purpose of elucidating the
truth or influencing action.
 For this purpose, inquiries are not
debates.
 Debates are part of PP because it
is through this medium of free
and full discussion that members
are able to decide a question
intelligently.
Basic Rules of Debate

 Freedom of Debate
 Relevancy
 Decorum
Categories of Motion
Based on Debatability
 Undebatable Motions
 Motions Allowing Limited Debate
 Motions Allowing Full Debate
Undebatable Motions

 Those with high privilege.

 Those in which a debate, by the
rules of logic is unnecessary or
improper.
 Examples:
1. Motion to Adjourn (if
qualified)
Continuation………..

 Motion to Lay on the Table

 Previous Question
 Point of Order
 Point of Parliamentary Inquiry
 Point of Information
Motion Allowing Limited
Debate
 Discussions here are limited to
certain details only.
 An example is a motion to
postpone definitely
Motions Allowing Full
Debate
 Unlimited discussion is necessary for their for
their proper disposition.
 Examples:
1. Main Motion
2. Amend
3. Appeal From the Decision of Chair
4. Postpone Indefinitely
5. Reconsider
6. Rescind or Repeal
 MOTIONS
 Procedure required by
parliamentary law for the
transaction of business
 Formal proposal that the
assembly either adopt a certain
view or take a certain action on
a question pending before it
Identified by the prefatory phrase, “ I move
that” which means I propose that.
Take note, however, of motions which
partake the nature of requests or
demands.
- They are not introduced by the phrase
“I move that” when presented.
- They are expressed in a manner
peculiar to the request or demand made.
Examples:

 I rise on a point of information or

point of order.
 I rise on a point of parliamentary
inquiry.
 Division.
 BASIC CHARACTERISTICS
OF MOTIONS
 Whether a motion can be made
while someone has the floor;
 Whether it requires a second;
 Whether it is debatable;
 The vote it requires;
 The order of its precedence.
Can a Motion Interrupt a
Speaker?
 As a rule no.
 All motions can be made only
while no one has the floor and
once a member is recognized,
he’s entitled to the floor as long
as he does not violate the rules of
speaking.
 MOTIONS THAT CAN
INTERRUPT A SPEAKER
 Those requiring immediate
attention as they affect the rights
and privileges of a member.
– Question of privilege
– Point of order
– Point of parliamentary inquiry
– Point of information
– (QP)3
Continuation…….
Those which are subject to a time limit
- call for orders of the day
- reconsider
- object to the consideration of a
question
- divide the assembly
- appeal from the decision of the chair
CRODA
 MOTIONS THAT
NEED NOT BE SECONDED
 Those constituting a demand or a
request
– Division of the assembly
– Division of a question
– Point of order
– Point of information
– Point of parliamentary inquiry
– Reading of papers
 MOTIONS THAT
NEED NOT BE SECONDED
 Those that assert a right or
privilege
– Objection to the consideration of a
question
– Call for orders of the day
– Question of privilege
Is the Motion Debatable?

 Motions may be debatable or not.

 Those with substantive
propositions are debatable.
 Those which are procedural in
character are undebatable.
 CHART OF PRECEDENCE OF MOTIONS
PRIVILEGED MOTIONS
 Fix the time to which to adjourn
 Adjourn (if unqualified)
 Take a recess
 Raise a question of privilege
 Call for orders of the day
SUBSIDIARY MOTIONS
6. Lay on the table
7. Call for the previous question
8. Modify the limits of debate
9. Postpone definitely
10. Commit or refer
11. Amend (unadopted questions)
12. Postpone indefinitely
MAIN MOTIONS
13. General main motions
Specific main motions
Motions According to Their
General Purposes
(Classification of Motions)
 Main Motions
a. General Main Motions
b. Specific Main Motions
 Subsidiary Motions
 Privileged Motions
 Incidental Motions
General Main Motions

 Require only a majority vote

 Generally debatable
 Cannot be made when someone
has the floor
 Cannot be made when there is a
pending business
Specific Main Motions
 Certain SMM require 2/3 vote, and not only a majority.
Except- to rescind, expunge, to create special
orders
 Certain SMM are not debatable.
Except - to take from the table, to reconsider
and have entered into the minutes
 Some may be proposed even if someone has the floor.
Ex. To reconsider and to reconsider and have entered
on the minutes
Subsidiary Motions
 Dependent on the main motion to which they may be
applied.
 May be amended.
Except- Motion to lay on the table, previous
question, to postpone indefinitely
 Generally require only a majority vote.
Except- Previous question, modify limits of debate
Previous Question/Limit Debates- Not Debatable
Postpone/Refer/Amend- Debatable
Privileged Motions
 Can be made even if there is a
pending business on the floor.
 Two of them can be made even if
someone has the floor.
Ex. Question of privilege, call
for orders of the day
 Generally not debatable.
Incidental Motions

 No fixed rank
 Not debatable except motion to
appeal the decision of the chair
 Cannot be amended except
division of a question
 PRIVILEGED MOTIONS
1. Motion to Fix the time at which to adjourn
seeks to provide a future time and place for the
continuation of the session in progress or for an
adjourned session
2. Motion to Adjourn
to formally terminate a session in progress
3. Motion to recess
to provide an intermission in the proceedings of the
sanggunian
4. Motion to Raise a Question of Privilege
to enable a member to secure immediate action upon a
question that involves the comfort, convenience, rights
or privileges of the organization or any of its members
5. Motion to Call for the Order of the Day
to call the attention of the sanggunian that the matter
under discussion does not conform with the Order of
Business for the session day
 SUBSIDIARY MOTIONS
 Motion to Lay on the Table
to enable the sanggunian to attend to a more
urgent business
 Motion to Call for the Previous Question
a proposal to close a debate on a pending
question and to put it immediately to a vote
 Motion to modify the Limits of Debate
to limit for discussion on a pending question as
well as to remove standing restrictions in order
to allow motion for discussion on a pending
question
 Motion to Postpone Definitely
to defer the consideration of a question to a
definite time in the future
 SUBSIDIARY MOTIONS
(cont…)
 Motion to Commit or Refer
to secure a careful and thorough
investigation of a question before it without
loss of time or of its right to finally decide
the same
 Motion to Amend
to modify a question in order to make it
more satisfactory to the body
 Motion to Postpone Indefinitely
to suppress or reject a question without
allowing it to be voted upon on its merits
 MAIN MOTIONS
 General main motion
covers a wide range of subjects and does not
have a particular name
 Specific main motions
because of their long and common usage, they
have been given specific names
– Motion to Take from the Table – to revive the
consideration of a question that has been
previously laid on the table or set aside
temporarily
– Motion to Reconsider – to set aside the vote
previously taken on a question and to reopen
it to a new discussion and vote
 MAIN MOTIONS (cont…)
– Motion to Reconsider and Have Entered on the
Minutes – to suspend action on a question that
has been decided by a temporary majority
– Motion to Rescind or Repeal – to render, in part
or in full, null and void a question previously
passed, regardless of the time that has elapsed
since its adoption
– Motion to Expunge – to strike or blot out certain
statements or questions made during the session
which are deemed objectionable
 Motion to Adopt a Committee Report – to accept or
agree to a report as an official act of the constituted
body
 INCIDENTAL MOTIONS
 Motion to Suspend the Rules
to free the constituted body from technicalities so that
it may be able to act with dispatch on an urgent
question without violating its internal rules
 Motion to Withdraw or Modify
made at the pleasure of the proponent
 Motion to Raise a Point of Order
to call attention to an error in the observance or
enforcement of the rules of parliamentary procedure
or those of the IRP
 Motion to Raise a Parliamentary Inquiry
may be raised by any member who desires
information, clarification or question pertaining to a
parliamentary procedure or the IRP
 INCIDENTAL MOTIONS
(cont…)
 Motion to Raise a Point of Information
may be raised by any member who desires information
on any matter related to the pending business or to
the sanggunian and its activities
 Motion to Appeal from the Decision of the Chair
to ask the sanggunian to decide whether the decision
made by the Chair should be upheld or overruled
 Motion to Divide the House
to verify the vote taken on a question or to secure a
more accurate amount of the vote
 Motion to Divide the Question
to divide long and complicated propositions into
separate and distinct parts to facilitate their
consideration
Recommended Motions:

 To modify the question

- Commit or Refer
- Amend
- Modify
To defer action on the
question:
 Lay on the table
 Postpone definitely
 Postpone indefinitely
To suppress the question:

 Lay on the table

 Postpone indefinitely
 Withdraw the motion
 Object to the consideration of
the question
To restrict discussions:

 Previous question
 Limit debate
To consider a question
again:
 Take from the table
 Reconsider
 Rescind the appeal
PROGRESS OF MOTIONS

Steps in handling
motions:
ORPSSDVA
 ORPSSDVA
 Obtaining the floor
 Recognition by the Chair
 Presentation of Motion
 Seconding the Motion
 Statement of the Motion
 Discussion of the Motion
 Voting on the Question
 Announcement of the Vote
Reasons for Addressing
Progress of Motions
 Motions should be clearly presented.
 They should be intelligently discussed.
 They should be properly disposed of.
 In all the foregoing, the objective is to
avoid waste of time and effort.
Obtaining the floor…….
 Before a member is allowed to make a
motion, he should first obtain the floor.
 How done?
– Rise
– Address the Presiding Officer/Chair
– Wait for recognition
The rule is that a member may rise to make
a motion only when no other member has
the floor.
Recognition from the
Chair
 A member obtains the floor when
the PO acknowledges him.
 How is this done by the PO?
– By calling out his name;
– By addressing him;
– By simply pointing or nodding to
him.
Principles that Guide the
Chair in Assigning the Floor
 Priority should be given to the proponent of
the motion.
 Member who has not spoken on an
immediate pending question has priority over
one who has already spoken.
 Recognize the supporters and the opponents
of the question alternately.
 All things being equal, preference should be
given to a member who seldom speaks.
Presentation of Motion

 How do we introduce a motion?

– State the phrase “I move that”
– State the proposal in a brief and
concise language.
 Ex. I move that we send five delegates
to the forthcoming seminar of local
legislators initiated by the DILG.
Continuation…………
 A proposal should always be expressed
in the affirmative sense.
 If expressed with negative intent,
phrased it in a manner not to break the
logic that an affirmative vote indicates
a desire to take a positive action.
– Ex. I move that we dispense with the
sending of delegates to the DILG seminar.
( If the intent is not to send any delegate)
Seconding the Motion

 Before a motion can be

deliberated upon, it should be
seconded.
 Know the reason for seconding a
motion.
 If motions are not seconded, they
are declared lost.
 Statement of the Motion
 A motion is said to be officially before the
sanggunian/assembly for consideration
after it has been stated by the Chair.
 Motions must be formally stated.
 Until then, no discussion or any other
action on the motion is in order.
How does the PO state
the Motion?
 Repeat M verbatim.
 State M in substance.
 Announce that it has been seconded.
– Ex. It has been moved and seconded that
this August Body should send five
delegates to the forthcoming seminar of
the DILG.
Discussion of the
Question
 After the question has been
stated, it is posed before the
assembly for consideration.
 It may be debated upon, modified
or amended.
Voting the Question

 After the question has been

thoroughly discussed, the Chair
brings it to the body for action.
 The act of submitting the
question to vote is referred to as
“putting the question”.
Announcing the Vote

 The result is announced by

declaring whether the motion has
been approved or not, and if
approved, what the effect of the
motion would be.
Continuation………..
 Ex. The motion is carried. This Body
will send five delegates to the
forthcoming seminar of the DILG.
 If the question fails, the PO merely
says,
– The motion is lost.
– There being failure to obtain the requisite
vote, the motion is lost.
 THANK YOU…

ATTY. ROMEO P. BENITEZ

Chief, Trial and Investigation Division,
Legal Service, DILG