The special joint session of Senate and House of Representatives has begun at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.
Senate President Koko Pimentel and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez convened the session at 9:05 am on Saturday.
The proceeding is meant to decide and vote on the formal request of President Rodrigo Duterte to extend martial law in Mindanao until December 31, 2017.
House Deputy Speaker Bai Sandra Sema delivered the invocation.
Roll calls for lawmakers were performed.
14 of 23 senators are present while 242 of 291 members of the House are in attendance.
With this, Pimentel and Alvarez declared the presence of quorum.
Almost all members of the cabinet are watching the session from the gallery.
They are led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, who will speak for the executive branch, and the security cluster.
Duterte's Proclamation Number 216 declaring martial law for 60 days in Mindanao signed last May 23, 2017 will expire at midnight tonight.
158 votes are needed to approve Duterte's plea to prolong the period of martial law to five months.
The figure represents the simple majority or '50% plus one' of the total number of 314 lawmakers from the two legislative chambers.
