<P> The Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) composed of three Supreme Court justices and six senators determines election protests on already - seated senators . There had been three instances where the SET has replaced senators due to election protests, the last of which was in 2011 when the tribunal awarded the protest of Aquilino Pimentel III against Juan Miguel Zubiri . </P> <P> The qualifications for membership in the Senate are expressly stated in Section 3, Art . VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution as follows: </P> <Ul> <Li> No person shall be a Senator unless he is a natural - born citizen of the Philippines, and on the day of the election, is at least 35 years of age, able to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the election . </Li> <Li> The age is fixed at 35 and must be possessed on the day of the elections, that is, when the polls are opened and the votes cast, and not on the day of the proclamation of the winners by the board of canvassers . </Li> <Li> With regard to the residence requirements, it was ruled in the case of Lim v. Pelaez that it must be the place where one habitually resides and to which he, after absence, has the intention of returning . </Li> <Li> The enumeration laid down by the 1987 Philippine Constitution is exclusive under the Latin principle of expressio unius est exclusio alterius . This means that Congress cannot anymore add additional qualifications other than those provided by the 1987 Philippine Constitution . </Li> </Ul> <Li> No person shall be a Senator unless he is a natural - born citizen of the Philippines, and on the day of the election, is at least 35 years of age, able to read and write, a registered voter, and a resident of the Philippines for not less than two years immediately preceding the day of the election . </Li>

Serves as the training ground for the national leaders