EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session
)
SENATE 
S. No. 1600
TIME
Introduced by SENATOR RAMON BONG REVILLA, 3R.
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR CITIZENS PARTICIPATION IN 
LEGISLATIVE POLICYMAKING THROUGH THE USE OF INFORMATION AND 
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Section 16 Article XIII of the Philippine Constitution states that: "The right of 
the people and their organizations to effective and reasonable participation at all levels 
of social, political, and economic decision-making shall not be abridged. The State 
shall, by law, facilitate the establishment of adequate consultation mechanisms."
This proposed measure seeks to give life to the constitutional guarantee of 
citizen participation in policy making. It seeks to strengthen the current legislative 
process through welcoming commentaries and insights from the general public as part 
of the democratic process of consultation. It also broadens the official channels 
through which our citizens may voice their opinions on certain proposals and on the 
implementation of laws in the interest of coming up with the best version of national 
policies.
Further, the bill takes advantage of the existing technologies and the digital 
realm in reaching out to the people, from whom the supreme authority resides. As we 
embrace the New Normal, it is imperative that the lawmaking procedures be updated 
and enhanced to become more inclusive, more efficient and more responsive to the 
needs of the people.


This version of the bill has already been approved by the House of 
Representatives on Third and Final Reading.
In this light, the immediate passage of this bill is hereby sought.
RAMOTf/^O^^EmLA, JR.


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
)
Second Regular Session 
)
SENATE 
S. No. 1600
June 18 2020
sate:
T11.1 F * -Qg'l.r am
INNX
Introduced by SENATOR RAMON BONG REVILLA, JR.
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A FRAMEWORK FOR CITIZENS PARTICIPATION IN 
LEGISLATIVE POLICYMAKING THROUGH THE USE OF INFORMATION AND 
COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY PLATFORMS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representative of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled:
1 
Section 1. Short We. - This Act shall be known as the '^Crowdsourcing in
2 
Legislative Policymaking Act'.
3 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. — The Philippines is a democratic and republican
4 
State. Sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from
5 
them. The State should harness the potential to consult its citizens from all over the
6 
world in all fields of social, economic and political discourse, including legislation and
7 
rule-making. This principle is extended to the right of citizens to participate in the
8 
legislative process through the use of information and communications technology
9 
platforms.
10 
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act:
11 
(a) Crowdsourcing refers to the practice of engaging individuals or a group
12 
towards a common goal, often at innovation, problem solving or efficiency
13 
in the delivery of services. Powered by new technologies, social media and
14 
the development of worldwide web 2.0, the individuals or groups are able
15 
to contribute to the formulation, improvement, and creation of laws that are
16 
beneficial to the nation;


» *
1 
(b) Information and communications technology refers to the totality of
2 
electronic means to access, create, collect, store, process, reo june is 2020 v
3 
present and disseminate information;
4 
(c) Online refers to a location accessed, through a connection to or services by
5 
a central computer network or telecommunication systems, such as the
6 
internet, by citizens anywhere in the world as opposed to a physical location,
7 
or the condition of being connected to a network of computers or other
8 
devices;
9 
(d) Portal refers to the homepages of the Philippine Senate and the House of
10 
Representatives or the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO)
11 
maintained by their respective Secretariats for purposes of this Act;
12 
(e) Web 2.0 or the Participative and Social Web refers to the second generation
13 
of the World Wide Web (www) characterized especially by the change from
14 
static web pages to user generated content, ease of use, inter-operability
15 
for end users, and which encourages a participatory culture as typified by
16 
social media users.
17 
Sec. 4. Crowdsourcing in the Senate and the House of Representatives. — This
18 
Act allows the citizens and the public at large to participate in the legislative process
19 
through the Internet or telecommunications platforms. The crowdsourcing process
20 
shall be as follows:
21 
(a) On First Reading - Upon the filing of a national measure, the Secretariats
22 
of the House of Representatives and the Senate shall post a copy of the
23 
measure in the Congress Websites and shall give the public fifteen (15)
24 
working days, except for bills certified as urgent by the President, to submit
25 
their comments upon referral of the measure on First Reading. The
26 
comments from the public shall be part of the inputs to the committee
27 
deliberations. A standing or special committee may incorporate the
28 
' comments submitted by the public and issue a crowdsourcing feedback
29 
report online to inform the proponent of the action taken by the standing
30 
or special committee.
31 
(b)On Second Reading - Upon the submission of a committee report by the
32 
concerned standing or special committee to the Committee on Rules, the


1 
public is given three (3) working days to submit its comments on the
2 
measure, except for bills certified as urgent by the President, before the
3 
Committee on Rules incudes the report in the Calendar of Business.
4 
(c) On Third Reading - After the measure is approved on Third Reading, but
5 
before a Conference Committee is created, the public is given three (3)
6 
working days to submit its comments and the concerned committee shall
7 
review the same for consideration at the Conference Committee level. Only
8 
comments germane to the measure approved on Third Reading shall be
9 
considered.
10 
Sec. 5. Crowdsourcing through the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office
11 
(PLLO). - This Act allows all citizens and the public at large to participate in the
12 
legislative process through the legislative liaison 
system via the internet or
13 
telecommunication platforms. The homepage of the PLLO shall serve as the portal for
14 
the department legislative liaison system for crowdsourcing purposes.
15 
The PLLO website shall provide a platform through the Internet where people
16 
can start a campaign or petition to review, amend and repeal a law or create a bill,
17 
the result of which may be transmitted to any member of both Houses for appropriate
18 
action. The PLLO shall also provide for a crowdsourcing feedback report online to
19 
Inform the proponent of the action take thereto.
20 
Sec. 6. Procedure of Registration. - A citizen who would like to start a campaign
21 
or petition to review, amend and repeal a law or create a bill, shall register online,
22 
consistent with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10173, otherwise known as the
23 
"Data Privacy Act of 2012" and other applicable laws.
24 
Sec. 7. Monitoring and Evaluation. - There shall be a feedback mechanism that
25 
will guide the post-facto crowdsourcing exercise. This will enable legislators to
26 
understand public sentiments for improved grounding of their legislative duties and to
27 
ensure that concerns raised by the public are acted upon by appropriate entities. The
28 
concerned committees shall provide the result of feedback,consultations to a central
29 
secretariat of the Planning and Management Information Service of both Houses of
30 
Congress and the Office of the President that will analyze the data for emergent issues
31 
and concerns.


1 
Sec. 8. Sunset Review. — Six (6) years from its enactment. Congress shali
2 
review and recommend amendments to this Act to attune it to the developments in
3 
technology, and to determine if the same can be implemented in provinces and highly
4 
urbanized cities that have adopted telecommunications and information technology
5 
convergence.
6 
Sec. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from the
7 
effectivity of this Act, the Secretariat of both Houses of Congress and the PLLO shall,
8 
in coordination with the Department of Information and Communications Technology
9 
(DICT), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and concerned civil
10 
society organizations (CSOs), promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the
11 
effective Implementation of this Act.
12 
Sec. 10. Separability Clause. — If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or
13 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision or part not otherwise
14 
affected shall remain valid and subsisting.
15 
Sec. 11. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
16 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or
17 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, modified, or amended
18 
accordingly.
19 
Sec. 12. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
20 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
21 
Approved,