Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislative body of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935 , during the American Colonial Period . It was a bicameral legislature of the Insular Government and was established by the Philippine Organic Act of 1902 . The legislature ' s upper house was the appointed Philippine Commission , headed by the American Governor General ( who also served as the executive ) , and its lower house was the elected Philippine Assembly . The Jones Law of 1916 abolished the Philippine Commission and reorganized the Philippine Legislature as a fully elected bicameral legislature composed of a Senate and House of Representatives , precursors to today ' s Philippine Senate and Philippine House of Representatives . Organization ( 1907 - 1916 ) . Philippine Organic Act . The Philippine Organic Act of July 1902 stipulated that a Philippine Legislature would be established after several conditions were met , such as the end of the " Philippine Insurrection " . The legislature was to have an upper house consisting of the appointed Philippine Commission and a lower house , the Philippine Assembly , its members chosen by national election . The two houses would share legislative powers , although the upper house alone would pass laws relating to the Moros and other non - Christian peoples . Two Filipino Resident Commissioners were sent to Washington to attend sessions of the United States Congress . The act also extended the United States Bill of Rights to the Philippines . Philippine Commission ( 1900 – 1916 ) . The Philippine Commission , officially the Second Philippine Commission , was headed by William Howard Taft and established by the President of the United States William McKinley in 1900 to exercise legislative and limited executive powers in the Philippines . Its members , both American and Filipino , were appointed by the US President . Beginning in 1907 , it acted as the upper house of a bicameral legislature . Philippine Assembly ( 1907 – 1916 ) . On July 30 , 1907 , the first elections for the Philippine Assembly were held . Two political groups dominated the elections — the Nacionalista Party and Nationalist Progressive Party . Minority parties and independent candidates also competed . The Nacionalista Party , which espoused " immediate and complete independence " was headed by future Philippine president Sergio Osmeña , captured a majority of the 80 – seat Assembly . 1st Philippine Legislature . The Philippine Legislature convened its first session on October 16 , 1907 at the Manila Grand Opera House . Conflict between the bodies , the American - majority Commission and the all - Filipino , Nacionalista - led Assembly , were not uncommon . Such conflicts came to an end when the Jones Law creatd a bicameral legislature composed exclusively of Filipinos . After Jones Law ( 1916 - 1935 ) . The Jones Law of 1916 , also known as the Philippine Autonomy Act and which pledged future independence to the Philippines , changed the legislative arrangement . The Philippine Commission was abolished and replaced by an elected Senate . The Philippine Assembly was also reorganized and renamed as the House of Representatives . The new Philippine Legislature was inaugurated on October 16 , 1916 . The history of the present Congress of the Philippines can be traced indirectly to this body . The Philippine Legislature continued to serve as the country ' s legislative body until 1935 when it was superseded by the National Assembly , a unicameral body , upon the establishment of the Commonwealth of the Philippines .