Composition

There are two kinds of members in the House of Representatives:

The District Representatives and the Party-List Representatives.

The District Representatives are elected directly and personally, from the territorial unit they seek to
represent. To date, there are 238 members in the House of Representatives who were elected directly
and personally from the territorial unit they represent. These units or legislative districts were created in
accordance with their respective population and on the basis of a uniform and progressive ratio. The
Constitution provides that there shall be a reapportionment of legislative districts within three years
following the return of every census. When making a reapportionment, the legislature shall see to it that
each city with a population of at least two hundred fifty thousand, and every province shall have at least
one representative. In reapportionment, the Charter prohibits gerrymandering - the arrangement of
districts in such a way as to favor the election of preferred candidates through the inclusion therein only
of those areas where they expect to win, regardless of the resultant shape of such districts.
Arrangement must be compact, contiguous and adjacent.

The Party-List Representatives, on the other hand, are chosen indirectly, through the party they
represent. The voters choose from the various parties listed in the Commission on Elections. The
number of candidates to be elected from each party shall depend on the percentage or proportion of
votes obtained by the party in the election. To date, there are 60 party-list representatives.

House of Representatives
 Speaker: Pantaleon Alvarez (Davao del Norte–1st, PDP-Laban)
 Deputy Speakers:
 Eric Singson (Ilocos Sur–2nd, PDP-Laban)
 Mercedes Alvarez (Negros Occidental–6th, NPC)
 Fredenil Castro (Capiz–2nd, NUP)
 Raneo Abu (Batangas–2nd, Nacionalista)
 Miro Quimbo (Marikina–2nd, Liberal), Since July 25, 2016
 Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Pampanga–2nd, Lakas)
 Pia Cayetano (Taguig–2nd, Nacionalista)
 Gwendolyn Garcia (Cebu–3rd, PDP-Laban)
 Mylene Garcia-Albano (Davao City–2nd, PDP-Laban)
 Sharon Garin (party-list member of AAMBIS-OWA)
 Bai Sandra A. Sema (Maguindanao and Cotabato City-1st, Liberal)
Since August 15, 2016

 Majority Leader: Rodolfo Fariñas (Ilocos Norte–1st, Liberal)

 Minority Leader: Danilo Suarez (Quezon–3rd, Lakas)
Qualifications

Members of the House of Representatives have the same qualifications with the members of House of
Senate except for age and residency qualifications.

The age qualification is lower (25 years old) as compared to the senators which is 35 years old. This
might explain the relative impulsiveness of the House of Representatives.

Residence for the members of the House of Representatives must be in the district they represent and is
only for one year immediately before the election. In the case of the Senate, residency is two years
before the election. The purpose of the residence requirement is to ensure familiarity with the
conditions and problems of the constituency sought to be represented and consequent efficiency and
concern in the discharge of legislative duties on its behalf. (Cruz, 2005).

Term

The term of the members of the House of Representatives is fixed for three years which begins at noon
of the thirtieth day of June next following their election. They shall serve of not more than three
consecutive terms or a total of nine (9) years only. One purpose in reducing the term to three years is to
synchronize with the senatorial, vice-presidential and presidential elections.

Voluntary renunciation of the office is not considered as an interruption in the continuity of a

representative's service for the full term for which he was elected.