EXPLAINER: How a bill becomes a law
As senatorial candidate Bam Aquino defied pre-election surveys and ranked high in the 2025 midterm polls on May 12, he fell victim to an apparent disinformation campaign that undermines his role in the passage of the free college tuition law.
Aquino is currently No. 2 in the senatorial race with over 20.8 million votes, according to the Commission on Elections' partial and unofficial count based on 99.12% of election returns as of May 15, 2:41 p.m.
He's the principal sponsor and co-author of Republic Act No. 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act. The measure, signed into law on Aug. 3, 2017, by then-president Rodrigo Duterte, removes tuition and other fees in state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges, and state-run technical-vocational institutions. It also provides students with financial assistance for books, transportation, and living allowances. The law also has a loan program that students may pay upon employment.
Duterte, in March 2019, acknowledged Aquino's role in the passage of the law and noted how he helped in crafting it. But as the latter was getting favorable numbers in this year's Senate race, several Facebook users started posting a monochrome photo of Aquino and Duterte's juxtaposed portraits with the text, "Author of free college?"
They thanked Duterte for signing the free college law—and accused Aquino of taking sole credit for its passage. They also asked the "UniPink"—which supposedly pertains to the supporters of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., now a nemesis of the Dutertes, and his then rival, former vice president and now Naga mayor-elect Leni Robredo—to do their research as "Tatay Digong" must also supposedly have credit for the law in question.
Giano Libot, a digital engagement specialist whose work includes tracking disinformation, monitored such users who, in "just a matter of minutes between each of these accounts... followed the same script, used the same image, and operated under the same hashtag (#TheBestPresident, #PRRD and #DuterteLegacy)," within 24 hours after the elections.
"A handful of accounts introduce the propaganda material, and like a planned operation they release it almost at the same time from each other," Libot said in a Facebook post.
Just how much credit must be given to a senator and the president when it comes to the creation of laws?
How a bill is passed into a law
Atty. Hyacinth Merioles of Calleja Law Office told PhilSTAR L!fe that everything starts with a bill, or a proposed legislative measure, coming from a member of Congress: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
A Congress member introduces—or sponsors—the bill, and sources or proposals for its legislation can originate from several entities, including the executive department, special interest groups, and even the constituents.
Merioles said that the bill goes through three readings in the upper chamber (Senate) and lower chamber (House).
- First reading: The proposed bill's title, number, and author's name are read on the floor, after which it is referred to the proper committee. Merioles said that committee hearings and consultation meetings are held during this time, and the bill is either approved without an amendment, approved with changes, or recommended to be substituted or consolidated with similar bills that have already been filed. Once settled, the committee report, with its approved bill version, is submitted to the Committee on Rules for calendaring for second reading.
- Second reading: The bill's author delivers their sponsorship speech on the floor, while senators engage in debate to determine the proposed bill's pros and cons, per Merioles. A period of amendments incorporates necessary changes in the bill, as proposed by the committee or introduced by the senators on the floor. Senators then vote on the version of the proposed bill and if approved, gets calendared for third and final reading.
- Third and final reading: Printed copies of the bill’s final version are distributed to the senators, with only its title read on the floor. According to Merioles, senators then conduct a nominal vote, and if it passes, the approved Senate bill is referred to the House of Representatives for concurrence.
The Senate version of the bill can then be referred to a bicameral committee to iron out its conflicting provisions with the House version, Merioles noted.
Once the two chambers' versions align, the enrolled form of the final bill's version is printed and submitted to Malacañang.
Per Merioles, the president then enters the picture with three options: sign the bill into law, veto the bill, or not act on the bill.
Can the president take sole credit for signed laws?
Given such an extensive and exhaustive process, Atty. Jefferson Legado, a solo practitioner, told L!fe that a president can't necessarily take the sole credit for signing a bill into a law.
"The president’s signature is crucial, but by the time a bill reaches the president, most of the heavy lifting has been done—from drafting to research, to negotiations, to debates," Legado said. "The president has the final say, yes, but the real groundwork is done by the legislators and their teams, and, sometimes, with heavy input from stakeholders, civil society, and the public."
Atty. Carlo John Pascual of Manalo and Valenton Law Offices also told L!fe that the president's power isn't absolute when it comes to passing bills into laws.
He noted that a bill lapses into law if the president doesn't sign it within 30 days. If he vetoes, members of Congress may override the vetoed bill—or at least some items—through a two-thirds vote.
"The president should not be given the biggest credit as regards enacting laws," Pascual said, noting that it's the legislators themselves who must be given proper credit for certain bills.
"The executive branch would not be able to exercise its function of implementing the laws without the bills drafted and passed by our legislators," he explained.
Legado noted that the one who served as the principal sponsor and/or author, deserves "substantial credit."
"They guided the bill through all its stages: conceptualization, filing, committee hearings, plenary debates, amendments, and bicameral meetings," he said. "This can take months or even years, so the principal sponsor and/or author's role isn’t just symbolic—it’s hands-on."
