17th Congress of the Philippines

17th Congress of the Philippines

July 25, 2016 – 2019
President	Rodrigo Duterte (PDP-Laban)
Vice President	Leni Robredo (Liberal)
Senate President	Aquilino Pimentel III (PDP-Laban)
Senate President pro tempore	Ralph Recto (Liberal)
Majority leader	Vicente Sotto III (NPC)
Minority leader	Franklin Drilon (Liberal)
Members	24
House Speaker	Pantaleon Alvarez (PDP-Laban)
Deputy Speakers	Eric Singson (PDP-Laban) Mercedes Alvarez (NPC) Fredenil Castro (NUP) Raneo Abu (Nacionalista) Miro Quimbo (Liberal) Since July 25, 2016 Pia Cayetano (Nacionalista) Gwendolyn Garcia (PDP-Laban) Mylene Garcia-Albano (PDP-Laban) Sharon Garin (AAMBIS-OWA) Bai Sandra A. Sema (PDP-Laban) Since August 15, 2016 Ferdinand L. Hernandez (NPC) Frederick Abueg (Liberal) Rolando Andaya, Jr. (PDP-Laban) Since August 16, 2016
Majority leader	Rodolfo Fariñas (PDP-Laban)
Minority leader	Danilo Suarez (Lakas)
Members	297
<16th (2013) 18th (2019)>

Since July 25, 2016

Since August 15, 2016

The Seventeenth Congress of the Philippines (Filipino: Ikalabimpitong Kongreso ng Pilipinas) is the current meeting of the national legislature of the Republic of the Philippines, composed of the Senate and House of Representatives. The convention of the 17th Congress was followed by the 2016 Senate election, which will replace half of the Senate membership, and the 2016 House of Representatives elections which elected the entire membership of the House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives meets in Batasang Pambansa Complex and the Senate will meet in the GSIS Building from July 25, 2016 to a certain date in 2019, from the first to third year of the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte; this will be the end of tenure for senators elected in 2013. The 17th Congress was officially opened by President Duterte together with the joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Both chambers of Congress are divided into parties and blocs. While members are elected via parties, blocs are the basis for committee memberships. Only members of the majority and minority blocs are accorded committee memberships. This is how blocs are determined:

In the speakership election, several members abstained from voting. They, along with the members who voted for the losing candidate voted on who would be the minority leader.

*more popularly known as the Blue Ribbon Committee.

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Wikipedia