18th Congress of the Philippines

• Senate President:
  • Tito Sotto (NPC), July 22, 2019–present
• Senate President pro tempore:
  • Ralph Recto (Nacionalista), July 22, 2019–present
• Majority Floor Leader:
  • Juan Miguel Zubiri (Independent), July 22, 2019–present
• Minority Floor Leader:
  • Franklin Drilon (Liberal), July 22, 2019–present

• Speaker:
  • Alan Peter Cayetano (Taguig–1st/Pateros, Nacionalista), July 22, 2019–October 13, 2020
  • Lord Allan Jay Velasco (Marinduque, PDP–Laban), October 13, 2020–present
• Deputy Speakers:
  • Paolo Duterte (Davao City–1st, NUP/HTL), July 22, 2019–October 13, 2020
  • Ferdinand Hernandez (South Cotabato–2nd, PDP–Laban), July 22, 2019–present
  • Evelina Escudero (Sorsogon–1st, NPC), July 22, 2019–present
  • Loren Legarda (Antique–Lone, NPC), July 22, 2019–present
  • Conrado Estrella III (Abono), July 22, 2019–present
  • Prospero Pichay Jr. (Surigao del Sur–1st, Lakas), July 22, 2019–present
  • Roberto Puno (Antipolo City–1st, NUP), July 22, 2019–present
  • Eddie Villanueva (CIBAC), July 22, 2019–present
  • Aurelio D. Gonzales Jr. (Pampanga–3rd, PDP–Laban), July 22, 2019–December 7, 2020
  • Johnny Pimentel (Surigao del Sur–2nd, PDP–Laban), July 22, 2019–December 7, 2020
  • Luis Raymund Villafuerte (Camarines Sur–2nd, Nacionalista), July 22, 2019–October 14, 2020
  • Raneo Abu (Batangas–2nd, Nacionalista), July 22, 2019–November 18, 2020
  • Neptali Gonzales II (Mandaluyong–Lone, PDP–Laban), July 22, 2019–present
  • Danilo Fernandez (Laguna–1st, PDP–Laban), July 22, 2019–November 18, 2020
  • Rosemarie Arenas (Pangasinan–3rd, PDP–Laban), July 29, 2019–present
  • Rodante Marcoleta (SAGIP), July 29, 2019–present
  • Henry Oaminal (Misamis Occidental–2nd, Nacionalista), July 29, 2019–present
  • Pablo John Garcia (Cebu–3rd, NUP/One Cebu), July 29, 2019–present
  • Vilma Santos-Recto (Batangas–6th (Lipa), Nacionalista), August 13, 2019–present
  • Deogracias Victor Savellano (Ilocos Sur–1st, Nacionalista), August 13, 2019–present
  • Mujiv Hataman (Basilan–Lone, Liberal), August 13, 2019–present
  • Mikee Romero (1-PACMAN), August 13, 2019–October 2, 2020; October 14, 2020–present
  • Fredenil Castro (Capiz–2nd, Lakas), October 2, 2020–November 18, 2020
  • Paulino Salvador Leachon (Oriental Mindoro–1st, PDP–Laban), October 14, 2020–present
  • Lito Atienza (Buhay), November 18, 2020–present
  • Rufus Rodriguez (Cagayan de Oro–2nd, CDP), November 18, 2020–present
  • Arnolfo Teves Jr. (Negros Oriental–3rd, PDP–Laban), December 7, 2020–present
  • Benny Abante (Manila–6th, NUP/Asenso Manileño), December 7, 2020–present
  • Weslie Gatchalian (Valenzuela–1st, NPC), December 7, 2020–present
  • Eric Martinez (Valenzuela–2nd, PDP–Laban), December 7, 2020–present
  • Juan Pablo Bondoc (Pampanga–4th, PDP–Laban), December 7, 2020–present
  • Bernadette Herrera-Dy (Bagong Henerasyon), December 7, 2020–present
  • Divina Grace Yu (Zamboanga del Sur–1st, PDP–Laban), December 7, 2020–present
  • Rogelio Pacquiao (Sarangani–Lone, PDP–Laban), December 7, 2020–present
  • Kristine Singson-Meehan (Ilocos Sur–2nd, Bileg), December 7, 2020–present
  • Strike Revilla (Cavite–2nd (Bacoor), NUP), December 14, 2020–present
  • Isidro Ungab (Davao City–3rd, HNP), December 16, 2020–present
  • Abraham Tolentino (Cavite–8th, NUP), December 16, 2020–present
• Majority Floor Leader:
  • Martin Romualdez (Leyte–1st, Lakas), July 22, 2019–present
• Minority Floor Leader:
  • Benny Abante (Manila–6th, NUP/Asenso Manileño), July 22, 2019–October 16, 2020
  • Joseph Stephen Paduano (Abang Lingkod), October 19, 2020–present

Places of registrations of the senators. Blue pogs are for cities and municipalities with one senator; those in red have two. Take note that senators are elected at a nationwide, at-large basis.

Notes

Map of provinces showing how many congressional districts it has. Metro Manila is shown to the inset, at the upper right corner.

^1 Died on December 18, 2019.[6]

^2 Died on July 5, 2020.[7]

^3 Died on November 16, 2020.[8]

^4 Died on September 8, 2020.[9]

^5 Took office on November 4, 2019.[10]

^6 Took office on December 16, 2019.[11]

^1 Dropped from the rolls on July 25, 2019.[12]

^2 Took office on November 4, 2019.[10]

^3 Took office on December 4, 2019;[13] died on August 10, 2020.[14]

^4 ^5 Took office on October 13, 2020.[15]

^6 Died on November 5, 2019.[16]

^7 Took office on November 20, 2019.[17]

As of July 2019, bills seeking to reinstate capital punishment in the Philippines have been revived in the Senate ahead of the opening of the 18th Congress.[18]

The 18th Congress enacted the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act and Bayanihan to Recover as One Act as response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines.

In May 2020, the House of Representatives acted on the pending franchise renewal bills of ABS-CBN that has been pending since July 2019.

Lord Allan Velasco (right) takes his oath of office as House Speaker on October 12, 2020

In 2020, the position of Speaker was disputed, which in the latter part of the year threatened the passage of a bill legislating the national government's budget for 2021. The dispute involved then-speaker and Pateros–Taguig representative Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque representative Lord Allan Velasco. This started in July 2019, when the two had a "term-sharing agreement" which was brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte.[19] Under that deal, Cayetano would serve as House Speaker for the first 15 months of the 18th Congress, or until October 2020. Cayetano was to step down from his position as speaker in order to give way for the appointment of Velasco as speaker.[20]

Cayetano, in March 2020, accused Velasco and his camp of a conspiracy to remove him from his position as House Speaker. Velasco denied Cayetano's allegation of supposed ouster plot, stating it "baseless."[21] Cayetano initially oversaw deliberations on the 2021 national budget but tensions in the lower house of the Congress grew by September 2020. His camp abruptly ended sessions in which some legislators criticizing the move which prevented them from scrutinizing proposals on the 2021 budget.[22]

Cayetano offered to resign but his camp claim that majority of the House of Representatives declined his resignation.[22] On October 12, 2020, Lord Allan Velasco and some legislators convened at the Celebrity Sports Complex in Quezon City[23] and conducted a house session where positions including the speakership was declared vacant and appointed Velasco as house speaker. Velasco's camp claimed that 186 lawmakers voted for his appointment as house speaker. Cayetano's camp declared the session a "travesty" and questioned the legality of the session itself. Cayetano maintained that he remains as house speaker.[22] On the other hand, Cayetano called the appointment of Velasco as a speaker a "fake session" as he added that there was no prior plenary resolution authorizing the holding of a session outside the Batasang Pambansa and insists that the House of Representative mace used in the meeting is illegal.[24]

On October 13, 2020, during the start of the special session of the House, Velasco's election as House Speaker last October 12, 2020 was formally ratified by 186 representatives assembled in the Batasang Pambansa.[25] At the same time, Cayetano tendered his "irrevocable" resignation as House Speaker on his Facebook Live paving the way for Velasco to assume his position undisputed.[26]

The 18th Congress has passed 33 laws, or Republic Acts 11462 to 11494:[30]

One treaty has been approved by the Senate:

Resolution number	Title	Foreign party	Vote	Date of approval
Resolution 34	RP-Russian Federation Treaty on Extradition	Russia	19–0	December 18, 2019