Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives
| Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines Ispiker ng Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas |
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Seal of the Philippine House of Representatives
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| Style | Mr. Speaker (Informal and within the House) The Honorable (Formal) |
| Appointer | Elected by the Philippine House of Representatives |
| Inaugural holder | Sergio Osmeña |
| Formation | October 16, 1907 |
| Succession | Third in the Presidential Line of Succession |
| Website | Speaker of the House |
The Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines (Filipino: Ispiker ng Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas) is the presiding officer and the highest ranking official of the lower house of Congress, the House of Representatives as well as the fourth highest and most powerful official of the Government of the Philippines.
The Speaker is elected by a majority of all of the Representatives from among themselves.
The Speaker is the third and last in line in succession for the presidency, after the President of the Senate of the Philippines, and Vice President of the Philippines.
A Speaker may be removed from office in a coup, or can be replaced by death or resignation. In some cases a Speaker may be compelled to resign at the middle of a Congress' session after he has lost support of the majority of congressmen; in that case, an election for a new Speaker is held.
Despite being a partisan official, the Speaker (or whoever is presiding) doesn't vote unless in breaking ties in accodance with the Rules of the House of Representatives.
When the Office of the Speaker is vacant (usually at the beginning of a new Congress), the Secretary-General of the House sits as the Speaker until a person is elected. A Speaker is usually elected via majority vote via roll call of the Representatives, after nomination at the start of each new Congress. Usually, despite the current multi-party system used, only two representatives are nominated, with nominations being agreed upon before each Congress during caucuses between the administration and opposition coalitions, with the chosen candidate of the majority coalition being almost certain to win by a large margin. The two competing candidates by tradition vote for each other; those who voted for the speaker-elect is assigned as the "majority" coalition while those who didn't are the minority coalition, with the losing candidate usually being named as Minority Leader.
In the 2013 election, there were three candidates for the speakership. In this case, the candidates didn't vote for each other, and the second-placed candidate became Minority Leader and headed the minority bloc. The third-placed candidate became the leader of the "independent minority" bloc. Only the majority and minority blocs were given seats in committees. There was a chance that neither candidate would get a majority of votes; it is undetermined on what should be done if that happened.
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