The secretary general of the House of Representatives of the Philippines () is an officer of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. The secretary general—elected by a majority vote of all the Members at the commencement of each Congress—implements and enforces the orders and decisions of the House, maintains the Journal of each session and records all questions of order along with the corresponding rulings, oversees the printing and distribution of the House Records and submits all contracts and agreements for the Speaker’s approval. They serve as the custodian of all property, records, and government assets located within the premises of the House.

Under the House Speaker's supervision, the Secretary General acts as head of the House personnel and is responsible for ensuring the faithful and proper performance of their official duties.

The incumbent secretary general is Cheloy Garafil.

The secretary general presides over the convening of every Congress after a general election, until a Speaker is elected.

Powers and duties According to Rule VI, Section 18 of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the duties and powers of the Secretary General are:

To call the session to order, to call the roll of Members by provinces, cities and municipalities comprising districts and by party-lists in alphabetical order, to designate an acting Floor Leader, to preserve order and decorum, and to decide all questions of order, as presiding officer pending the election of the Speaker, during the inaugural session of the House; To prepare the Order of Business for the inaugural session of the House which shall include: a Resolution informing the President of the Philippines that the House of Representatives has been organized and has elected its Speaker, Deputy Speakers, Secretary General and Sergeant-at-Arms; a Resolution informing the Senate of the Philippines that the House of Representatives has been organized and has elected its Speaker, Deputy Speakers, Secretary General and Sergeant-at-Arms; a Concurrent Resolution of the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines providing for a joint session to hear the State of the Nation Address of the President of the Philippines; and a Concurrent Resolution authorizing the appointment of a joint committee of both Houses to inform the President of the Philippines that Congress, in joint session, is ready to receive the President for the State of the Nation Address; To enforce orders and decisions of the House; To prepare and distribute copies of the Order of Business of the House to all Members; e. to attend, personally or through representative, all sessions of the House, call the roll of the Members and read bills, resolutions, messages, communications, memorials, petitions and other documents which should be reported to the House or the reading of which is required by the House or the Speaker; To note all questions of order and the decisions thereon, the records of which shall be printed at the close of each session for the use of the Members as appendix to the Journal of such session; To keep, certify and distribute to the Members the Journal of each session which shall be a clear and succinct account of the business conducted and actions taken by the House: Provided, That Journals of executive sessions shall be recorded in a separate book and kept confidential; To provide the House with information on approved bills to be transmitted to the President for action; To distribute to Members, within six (6) months after the close of a regular session, copies of the Record of the House for a regular session and the acts and resolutions passed and adopted during the same; To make available on the House website within six (6) months after the close of every regular session, the Record of the House; To distribute to Members, at the commencement of every regular session, a list of the reports submitted to the House by each head of department of the Executive and Judicial Departments; To procure and retain sufficient copies of books, records and documents for the use of the Members and the officers of the House in the library of the House and in the office of the Secretary General; To attest to and affix the seal of the House on all writs, warrants and subpoenae issued by or upon order of the House or the Speaker; To certify and affix the seal of the House on all approved measures, orders, acts and resolutions To submit to the Speaker all contracts and agreements for approval; To ensure that the employees of the House perform their duties competently, efficiently and effectively, and in furtherance thereof, to impose necessary disciplinary measures and recommend dismissal of erring employees to the Speaker in accordance with Civil Service rules, and to recommend to the Speaker policies and programs on recruitment and hiring of competent professionals, the improvement of the capabilities of House personnel to provide needed technical and other support services to the Members, and the acquisition, improvement and upgrading of necessary facilities and equipment; To appoint personnel of the House when authorized by the Speaker; To serve as custodian of the property and records of the House and all government property within the House premises, and to make an inventory of all these property and records at the beginning and end of each regular session; To cause the publication of the attendance record of Members in sessions of the House and their voting records on bills of national application in accordance with rules and regulations to be issued by the House; and To perform other duties that may be assigned or ordered by the House or by the Speaker.

Secretaries General of the House of Representatives Malolos Congress (1898–1899) Portrait Name Term start Term end Legislature Gregorio S. Araneta September 15, 1898November 13, 1899Malolos CongressPablo Ocampo

Philippine Assembly (1907–1916) Portrait Name Term start Term end Legislature Julian Gerona October 16, 1907 1910 1st Legislature Manuel GavieresActing March 28, 1910 1910 2nd Legislature Gregorio NievaActing April 7, 1910 1910 Ramon Diokno October 31, 1910 1912Teodoro Kalaw October 16, 1912 19123rd Legislature

House of Representatives (1916–1935) Portrait Name Term start Term end Legislature Rafael VillanuevaOctober 16, 191619194th LegislatureRafael Palma191919225th LegislatureNarciso PimentelActing October 27, 1922 19236th LegislatureFeliciano Gomez March 26, 1923 1923Ricardo Gonzalez LloretJuly 16, 192519287th Legislature8th LegislatureNarciso PimentelJuly 16, 192819339th LegislatureJulian LaoJanuary 19341934Eulogio Benitez1934November 15, 193510th Legislature

National Assembly (1935–1944) Portrait Name Term start Term end Legislature Narciso PimentelNovember 25, 1935December 30, 19411st National Assembly2nd National AssemblySeptember 25, 1943February 2, 1944National Assembly(Second Republic)

House of Representatives (1945–1973) Portrait Name Term start Term end Legislature Narciso PimentelJune 9, 1945February 3, 19531st Commonwealth Congress2nd Commonwealth Congress1st Congress2nd CongressInocencio ParejaActingFebruary 4, 1953May 18, 1953Narciso PimentelMay 19, 1953August 11, 19573rd CongressInocencio ParejaActingAugust 12, 1957January 26, 1958 Inocencio Pareja January 27, 1958September 23, 1972 4th Congress5th Congress6th Congress7th Congress

Batasang Pambansa (1978–1986) Portrait Name Term start Term end Legislature Antonio de GuzmanJune 12, 1978March 25, 1986Interim Batasang PambansaRegular Batasang Pambansa

House of Representatives (1987–present) Portrait Name Term start Term end Legislature Quirino Abad Santos Jr. July 27, 1987July 26, 1992 8th Congress Camilo Sabio July 27, 1992July 1996 9th Congress10th CongressRoberto NazarenoJuly 1996February 200811th Congress12th Congress13th Congress14th CongressMarilyn Barua-YapFebruary 2008July 25, 201615th Congress16th Congress Cesar Pareja July 25, 2016 July 30, 2018 17th Congress Dante Roberto MalingActing July 30, 2018 July 22, 2019 Jose Luis Montales July 22, 2019 October 12, 2020 18th CongressSangguniang Panlalawigan of the Province of Oriental Mindoro. (2019). Resolution No. 4776 - 2019: Resolution Expressing the 10th Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Oriental Mindoro's Commendation to Atty. Jose Luis G. Montales of Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro for Having Been Elected As The New Secretary-General of the House of Representatives on July 22, 2019. Jocelia Bighani Sipin October 12, 2020 November 18, 2020 Mark Llandro Mendoza November 18, 2020 July 25, 2022 Reginald Velasco July 25, 2022 September 23, 2025 19th Congress 20th Congress Cheloy Garafil September 23, 2025 present

References

See also

Secretary of the Senate of the Philippines