Sets of bills and resolutions of senators are expected to be filed starting Monday for the coming 19th Congress that begins July 25.
Based on guidelines, the first one to file will be the most senior or the one with the longest tenure the Upper Chamber.
The honor goes to Senator Loren Legarda who had 18 years in the Senate.
Legarda will be followed by those who have 15 years in the Senate.
They are Senators Pia Cayetano, Manuel ‘’Lito’’ Lapid and Ramon ‘’Bong’’ Revilla Jr., followed by those who have 12 years such as Alan Peter S. Cayetano, Francis ‘’Chiz’’ Escudero and Jose ‘’Jinggoy’’ Estrada.
The rest will be guided by the drawing of lots or raffle.
Last will be the three first-timers - Senators Robin Padilla, Raffy Tulfo and Mark Villar.
Under the guidelines, there will be three rounds in the filing of bills and resolutions.
Only 10 bills and resolutions are to be filed in each round by each senator. After that, the filling wlll be on a first come, first served basis.
The guidelines were adopted by former Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III who revised the tradition where there was a long line of senators or their staff carrying bales of bills who wanted to be the first to file them at the opening of the new Congress.