Legislative Effectiveness: The legislative performance of house representatives of the 16th Philippine Congress
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48017/dj.v10ispecial_1.3170Keywords:
policymaking, quantitative method, legislation, bills, effectiveness modelAbstract
Policymakers’ legislative performances guide constituents for informed electoral choices. However, the lack of empirical inquiry on the legislative effectiveness of the members of the House of Representatives in the Philippines subjected constituents to rely on 'self-legislative' reporting among incumbents seeking re-election. This study aims to determine the legislative effectiveness of the House members of the 16th Congress using their primary authored bills. Utilizing the Legislative Effectiveness Model (LEM), the sponsored bills are weighted and computed to become the individual member's Legislative Effectiveness Score (LES). The study further investigated variables that affect the legislative effectiveness of House representatives. Results revealed that during the 16th Congress, House members filed an average of 24 bills within the three-year term. Additionally, each member's legislative effectiveness is improved by chairmanship to legislative committees, either standing or special. The study concluded that the 16th Congress House of Representatives comprises policymakers who are averagely effective in pushing for policy preferences into the legislative process and to laws.
Metrics
References
Berry , C. R., & Fowler, A. (2018). Congressional committees, legislative influence, and the hegemony of chairs. Journal of Public Economics, 158(February 2018), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.12.002
Binder, S. A., & Smith, S. S. (2020). The selection of legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives: The importance of legislative productivity. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 45(2), 219–250.
Bonica, A., Chilton, A. S., Rozema, K. T., Sen, M., & Yoder, J. A. (2020). "Why Hasn't Democracy Slowed Rising Inequality?" Journal of Economic Perspectives, 34(1), 39–61.
Center for Effective Lawmaking. (2024). Methodology. Methodology – Center for Effective Lawmaking (thelawmakers.org).
Cox, G. W. (2020). "The Efficient Secret: The Cabinet and the Development of Political Parties in Victorian England." Cambridge University Press.
Cox, G., & McCubbins, M. (1993). Legislative leviathan: party government in the House. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Dropp, K., & Peskowitz, Z. (2012 ). Electoral Security and the Provision of Constituency Service. The Journal of Politics 74 (1), 220-234.
Garcia, A. P., & Lee, S. H. (2024). Congress and Public Policy: The Legislative Branch's Influence on Policy Outcomes. American Journal of Political Science, 68(2), 283-298. doi:10.1111/ajps.12589
Hansen, E., & Treul, S. (2024, August 24). Prior Experience and State Legislative Effectiveness. Https://Thelawmakers.org/. Retrieved January 22, 2025, from https://thelawmakers.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Hansen_Treul_2024_CEL_Working_Paper.pdf
Jones, C. J., & Rodriguez, A. (2019). Bill sponsorship and ideological congruence in the Philippine Congress. Philippine Political Science Journal, 40(2), 165-182.
Jones, R. L., & Davis, E. P. (2021). Legislative Power and Policy Making: The Role of the Legislative Branch in Contemporary Governance. Journal of Politics, 83(2), 345-362. doi:10.1086/712345
Kawanaka, T. (2010). Interaction of Powers in the Philippines. IDE Discussion Paper No. 233
Levitt, J., & Rogers, M. (2020). The Limited Impact of Electoral Security on Legislative Performance. American Politics Research, 48(6), 689-713. doi:10.1177/1532673X19899648
Lewallen, J. (2020). Booster seats: New committee chairs and legislative effectiveness. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 26(4), 495-552. https://doi.org/10.1080/13572334.2020.1771890
Mayhew, David R. 1974. Congress: The Electoral Connection. Yale University Press.
Miquel , G. P., & Snyder, J., Jr (2006). Legislative Effectiveness and Legislative Careers. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 31(3), 347-381. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40263391
Panao, A. (2016). “Does the upper house have the upper hand?: Bicameral incongruence in the Philippine Congress and its impact on the president’s legislative success”. Project No. 151506 PhDIA funded by a PhD incentive grant by the University of the Philippines Diliman Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development.
Panao, A. (2017). How Political Entrenchment Dilute the Quality of Public Policy in the House of Representatives. Draft, for presentation at the 3rd International Conference on Public Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
Panao, R. A. (2019). Electoral persistence and the quality of public policies: evidence from the dynamics of lawmaking in the Philippine House of Representatives, 1992-2016. Taylor and Francis Online .
Rappler.com. (2013, March 7). Chiz's mom to run for Congress. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com: https://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections- 2013/13803-chiz-s-mom-to-run-for- congress
Ramirez, S. M., & Patel, N. R. (2022). Shaping Policy: The Legislative Branch and Its Influence on Public Policy. Policy Studies Journal, 50(1), 120-138. doi:10.1111/psj.12495
Republic of the Philippines House of Representatives. (2018.06.06). Legislative Information System. https://www.congress.gov.ph/legis/
Schickler, E., & Pearson, K. (2021). The Brokering Role of Party Leaders in Committee Assignments and Agenda Setting in the U.S. House of Representatives. Journal of Politics, 83(1), 249-263. doi:10.1086/711760
Volden, C., & Wiseman, A. E. (2020). Measuring Legislative Effectiveness: A Comparative Study of Alternative Approaches.
Wiseman, A., & Craig, V. (2021, March 27). Legislative Effectiveness and the Waning Powers of Committee Chairs. Https://www.Vanderbilt.edu/. Retrieved December 22, 2025, from https://www.vanderbilt.edu/unity/2021/03/27/legislative-effectiveness-and-the-wa
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Joanna Marie Baroman

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The Diversitas Journal expresses that the articles are the sole responsibility of the Authors, who are familiar with Brazilian and international legislation.
Articles are peer-reviewed and care should be taken to warn of the possible incidence of plagiarism. However, plagiarism is an indisputable action by the authors.
The violation of copyright is a crime, provided for in article 184 of the Brazilian Penal Code: “Art. 184 Violating copyright and related rights: Penalty - detention, from 3 (three) months to 1 (one) year, or fine. § 1 If the violation consists of total or partial reproduction, for the purpose of direct or indirect profit, by any means or process, of intellectual work, interpretation, performance or phonogram, without the express authorization of the author, the performer, the producer , as the case may be, or whoever represents them: Penalty - imprisonment, from 2 (two) to 4 (four) years, and a fine. ”