Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives of the Philippines
Elected officer of the House of Representatives of the Philippines From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
The sergeant-at-arms of the House of Representatives of the Philippines (Filipino: Tagapamayapa ng Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas)[1] is an officer of the Philippine House of Representatives, whose duty is to ensure order within the House of Representatives Building Complex—the seat of the lower chamber of Congress—enforce the rules of the House, and protect the lives of its officers, members, personnel, guests, and the property within its premises. The mace of the House—serving as its symbol of authority—situated at the foot of the speaker’s rostrum during sessions, is also in their custody, acting as the warrant empowering the sergeant-at-arms to enforce order in the floor of the chamber upon the speaker’s directive.
The current sergeant-at-arms of the House is retired Brigadier General Melchor dela Cruz.
Remove ads
Powers and duties
Summarize
Perspective
According to Rule VII, Section 20 of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the duties and powers of the sergeant-at-arms are:[2]
- To attend all sessions of the House unless excused by the Speaker or the Presiding Officer, and personally or through his designee(s), all meetings of the committees;
- To strictly enforce rules relating to admission to the session hall, the galleries, offices, corridors and premises of the House building;
- To ensure that employees under the office of the Sergeant-at-Arms observe proper behavior and faithfully perform their duties;
- To implement orders and serve all processes issued by authority of the House or by the Speaker;
- To secure and maintain order in the session hall, galleries, offices, corridors and premises of the House building during sessions, during the conduct of meetings of committees and during such other proceedings or activities of the House whether or not the House is in session;
- To secure the safety of the Members while in the House premises or in any other place as the Speaker may direct;
- To secure the properties of the House;
- To recommend and implement upon the direction of the Speaker, security management systems, policies and programs that will ensure the maintenance of order in the House and its premises, protect the safety of the Members and employees, visitors and other persons who are within the premises of the House on official business, and the preservation of properties, equipment, facilities, documents and records of the House; and
- To act as custodian of the Mace, which shall be the symbol of authority and shall be borne by the Sergeant-at-Arms while enforcing order on the floor.
Section 21 also states that "the Sergeant-at-Arms shall prepare and submit to the House, through the Speaker, at the end of every fiscal year, a performance report relative to programs and activities relating to the security and maintenance of order in the House."[3]
Remove ads
List
 |
House of Representatives (1945–1973)
Batasang Pambansa (1978–1986)
House of Representatives (1987–present)
.png)
Remove ads
See also
References
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads