Interim National Assembly

The Interim National Assembly, more commonly called the Interim Batasang Pambansa (IBP), was a national legislative institution of the Philippines that operated from June 12, 1978, to June 5, 1984. It was created within the constitutional and political framework established by the 1973 Constitution, which reorganized the Philippine government around a parliamentary-oriented system while retaining substantial executive authority in the presidency during the transition. The institution should be distinguished from the separate Interim National Assembly contemplated in the original text of the 1973 Constitution. That body was never convened. Constitutional amendments approved in a referendum-plebiscite on October 16–17, 1976 replaced the original transitional arrangement and provided the basis for the later Interim Batasang Pambansa. The legislature was consequently not a commercial brand or corporate organization, but a state institution whose name is sometimes rendered in English as “Interim National Assembly.” The IBP was convened on June 12, 1978, following elections held under the political order of the period. Ferdinand Marcos served as its president and initially also held the office of prime minister. Cesar Virata became prime minister in 1981, while Jose Roño became deputy prime minister. Querube Makalintal served as speaker from July 31, 1978. The governing Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) held the dominant position in the chamber, while Hilario Davide Jr. served as minority leader representing Pusyon Bisaya. The assembly conducted six regular sessions between 1978 and 1984. Its legislative output included 702 laws, covering appropriations, taxation, banking, corporate regulation, labor, criminal law, transportation, energy conservation, population administration, elections, and other areas of public policy. Among its better-known enactments were the Anti-Bouncing Check Law, the Corporation Code, the General Banking Act, the Savings and Loan Association Act, the Energy Conservation Act, and the Barangay Election Act of 1982. It also enacted measures connected with the ratification of later constitutional amendments. The institution operated under the authoritarian political environment of the Marcos period. Although it supplied a formal legislative component to the parliamentary-oriented constitutional structure, executive power remained highly concentrated, and the KBL dominated the political system. The IBP therefore represented both a significant phase in the institutional history of the Philippine legislature and a contested element of the constitutional order later associated with martial law and authoritarian governance. The Interim Batasang Pambansa ended on June 5, 1984. It was succeeded by the regular Batasang Pambansa, which was constituted after elections held under the amended constitutional framework. The restoration of a different constitutional and legislative order after the 1986 People Power Revolution ultimately replaced the parliamentary structure associated with the Marcos era.

The Interim National Assembly is the English rendering commonly associated with the Interim Batasang Pambansa, the Philippine legislature that functioned from June 12, 1978, through June 5, 1984. It arose from the constitutional restructuring initiated by the 1973 Constitution during the administration of Ferdinand Marcos. That constitution envisioned a shift toward a parliamentary-oriented government, but the implementation of the transition was modified by later amendments and political arrangements. The original 1973 Constitution provided for an Interim National Assembly as a transitional legislative body. That institution was never convened. Instead, nine amendments approved in a referendum-plebiscite on October 16–17, 1976 altered the transitional design and led to the creation of the Interim Batasang Pambansa. The body therefore represented a later constitutional solution rather than the direct activation of the assembly described in the original constitutional text. The IBP opened on June 12, 1978. Ferdinand Marcos served as president of the assembly and initially combined that position with the premiership. The Kilusang Bagong Lipunan dominated the legislature, reflecting the political conditions of the period. Querube Makalintal became speaker on July 31, 1978. Jose Roño served as majority leader, while Hilario Davide Jr. led the minority from Pusyon Bisaya. In 1981, Cesar Virata became prime minister and Jose Roño became deputy prime minister. The assembly held six regular sessions: the first from June 12, 1978, to June 6, 1979; the second from July 23, 1979, to June 11, 1980; the third from July 28, 1980, to April 28, 1981; the fourth from July 27, 1981, to June 1, 1982; the fifth from July 26, 1982, to April 14, 1983; and the sixth from July 25, 1983, to June 5, 1984. Across its existence, it passed 702 laws. Its legislative program extended across the public administration and economic system. Early measures addressed appropriations, taxation, metrication, standard time, criminal penalties, and the charter of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. Later enactments addressed banking, savings and loans, private development banks, the Development Bank of the Philippines, rural banking, investment houses, the Central Bank, corporations, labor, the Revised Penal Code, census administration, energy conservation, transportation, probation, and overseas Filipinos. The assembly also legislated on constitutional plebiscites and barangay elections. The institution's political meaning remains closely tied to the Marcos-era constitutional order. It provided a legislative form within a system that formally moved toward parliamentarianism but retained extensive executive control. The dominance of the KBL and the concentration of power around Marcos limited the extent to which the assembly functioned as an autonomous counterweight to the executive. After the 1984 elections and the end of the interim arrangement, the regular Batasang Pambansa succeeded it. The parliamentary structure was later displaced following the 1986 People Power Revolution and the adoption of a new constitutional order.

• 1984

  Interim legislature ends

  [1]Interim Batasang Pambansaen.wikipedia.org

  The Interim Batasang Pambansa ceased operating on June 5, 1984, after six regular sessions.

• 1981

  Prime-ministerial leadership changes

  [1]Interim Batasang Pambansaen.wikipedia.org

  Cesar Virata became prime minister on July 28, 1981, while Jose Roño became deputy prime minister.

• 1978

  Interim Batasang Pambansa begins operation

  [1]Interim Batasang Pambansaen.wikipedia.org

  The legislature was convened on June 12, 1978, beginning its role as the Philippines' national legislative body.

• 1976

  Constitutional amendments replace the original transitional arrangement

  [1]Interim Batasang Pambansaen.wikipedia.org

  Nine amendments approved in a referendum-plebiscite on October 16–17, 1976 created the constitutional basis for the later Interim Batasang Pambansa.

• 1973

  1973 Constitution provides for an Interim National Assembly

  [1]Interim Batasang Pambansaen.wikipedia.org

  The original 1973 Constitution included a transitional legislative body called the Interim National Assembly, but that body was never convened.

A transitional national legislature established under the Philippines' 1973 Constitution and later constitutional amendments; institutionally significant but politically subordinate to the executive-dominated Marcos-era governmental system.

• National laws · 1978

  Batas Pambansa legislation

  The assembly's principal institutional output was legislation known as Batas Pambansa. It enacted 702 laws during its existence, spanning appropriations, taxation, banking, corporate law, labor, criminal law, transportation, energy, elections, and public administration.

• Appropriations law · 1978

  General Appropriations Act of 1978

  Batas Pambansa Blg. 1 established the general appropriations framework for 1978 and was among the earliest measures enacted by the Interim Batasang Pambansa.

• Commercial and criminal law

  Anti-Bouncing Check Law

  Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 addressed the issuance of checks that are dishonored because of insufficient funds or other covered causes, becoming one of the assembly's most widely recognized legislative measures.

• Corporate law

  Corporation Code

  Batas Pambansa Blg. 68 established a statutory framework for corporations in the Philippines and formed part of the assembly's broad program of economic and commercial legislation.

• Election law · 1982

  Barangay Election Act of 1982

  Batas Pambansa Blg. 222 provided the legal framework for barangay elections in 1982, extending the assembly's legislative activity into local political administration.

• 1984

  Transition to the regular Batasang PambansaGeneration change

  Background

  The interim legislative arrangement concluded after six regular sessions under the amended constitutional system.

  Action taken

  The Interim Batasang Pambansa ended on June 5, 1984, and was followed by the regular Batasang Pambansa.

  Aftermath

  The successor legislature continued the parliamentary-era institutional structure before that system was later replaced after the 1986 political transition.

  Source

• 1978

  Commencement of legislative sessionsOther

  Background

  The constitutional transition required a functioning national legislative body within the parliamentary-oriented system.

  Action taken

  The Interim Batasang Pambansa began its first regular session on June 12, 1978.

  Aftermath

  The assembly operated as the Philippines' national legislature and ultimately enacted 702 laws.

  Source

• 1976

  Adoption of the amended transitional legislative frameworkStrategy

  Background

  The original constitutional plan for an Interim National Assembly had not been implemented. Constitutional amendments approved in October 1976 altered the transition and enabled the later Interim Batasang Pambansa.

  Action taken

  The amended constitutional arrangement was used as the basis for convening the Interim Batasang Pambansa in 1978.

  Aftermath

  The revised institution became the Philippines' national legislature for six regular sessions until June 1984.

  Source

1. 1Interim Batasang Pambansaen.wikipedia.org