A statute is an act of the legislature as an organized body expressed in the form, and passed, according to the procedure required to constitute it as part of the law of the land. Statutes enacted by the legislature are those passed by the Philippine Commission (1900 to 1916), the Philippine Legislature (1907 to 1935), the Batasang Pambansa (1978 to 1986), and the Congress of the Philippines (1987 to present). (Agpalo, Ruben, 2008. Statutory Construction. Reprinted 2008. Rex Printing Company, Inc. Page 2)Note that, from March 25, 1986 to February 01, 1987, there was no legislative (lawmaking) body in the Philippines as ALL powers were in the hands of the revolutionary President Corazon C. Aquino. She later commissioned a body that would later draft the 1987 Constitution promulgated by the Filipino people on February 02, 1987Other laws which are of the same category and binding force as statutes are presidential decrees issued by the President in the exercise of his legislative power during the period of martial law under the 1973 Constitution and executive orders issued by the President in the exercise of his legislative power during the revolutionary period under the Freedom Constitution. (Agpalo, Ruben, 2008. Statutory Construction. Reprinted 2008. Rex Printing Company, Inc. Page 2)
Today, statutes are passed by the Congress of the Philippines through both Houses: Senate and the House of Representatives, respectively called the upper house and the lower house. The terms "upper" and "lower" do not refer to power but to the manner of election of the members thereof. Members of the Senate (senators) are elected "at large" by the Filipino people wherever in the Philippines. Members of the House of Representatives (district representatives) are elected by the geographical district or party-list to which they belong.