Not So Robust After All
The 14th Congress initially showed improved attendance of legislators, especially in the House, compared to the previous Congress. An earlier report (CW 131, A Robust Attendance...So Far) showede that in the first 18 sessions, 135 members posted a perfect attendance. Seventy-four of those with perfect attendance were first-term members. In the Senate, 15 out of the 23 members had perfect attendance in the first 17 sessions.
However, a follow-up look at attendance records showed a different picture. Average attendance in the first 42 sessions in the House plenary was down to 193 from 220 in the earlier report. The lowest recorded attendance so far was during the 3 December session when 72 house members we absent, including the 34 members who were part of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's delegation on her trip to Europe. Only 167 members were present.
House members who maintained perfect attendance dropped by half to only 67 members. Rep. Vicente Belmonte Jr. (Lanao del Norte, 1st district) posted a perfect for 16 of the 42 sessions since he took his oath last 26 September only. Also included in the list is Rep. Florencio Noel (An Waray Partylist), who took his oath last 4 September. Likewise, senators who posted a perfect attendance were trimmed to only 7 in the last 38 sessions in the Senate.
Another issue related to attendance, particularly in the House, is that members responding to the roll do not stay for at least two hours. In the 26 November session, 186 members responded to the roll and a total of 210 members appeared in the plenary. It is a regular practice in Congress that part of the agenda on a Monday session is set aside for members who will deliver privilege speeches. On that day, the privilege hour was deferre dto give way to the consideration of the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo, which ended past 7 p.m.
When Rep. Pablo Garcia (Cebu, 2nd district) was to deliver his speech on the Cheaper Medicines Bill (HB 2844), there were only 30 members left in the session hall. The body then suspended the consideration of the proposed legislation and adjourned the session. The following day, 172 members responded to the roll call but only 38 members remained in the plenary just over an hour after the session was called to order. On 28 November, after two postponements, Rep. Garcia was finally able to deliver his speech.
This demonstrates how passage of important legislation in Congress has been directly affected by our legislator's poor attendance record.
LEDAC Reconvened
On 11 December, President Arroyo convened the second Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting for the 14th Congress. Eleven measures were listed as top priority, nine of which were committed to be passed before the holiday recess.
The nine legislative bills are:
1. the proposed P1.226-trillion 2008 National Budget (HB 2454);
2. extension of the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) (HB 2976/SB 1648);
3. establishment of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (HB 3156/SB 1932);
4. establishment of a Credit Information System (HBs 118, 1731/SB 1881);
5. amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) (HB 3124/SBs 52, 160, 899, 1234);
6. amendments to the University of the Philippines charter (HB 2845/SB 1964);
7. amendments to the Magna Carta for Small Enterprises (HB 1745/SB 1646);
8. providing for a Personal Equity Retirement Account (HBs 94, 1685, 1730, 2875/SB 1882); and
9. providing for Affordable Quality Medicines (HB 2844/SB 1658.\.
Of the nine, only the bill extending the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund was ratified by Congress. The 2008 budget was already approved by both chambers but still the bicameral conference committee is still trying to reconcile the differing provisions busmitted by the two chambers.
The Cheaper Medicines bill was not passed as committed in the LEDAC since the House was able to approve the measure on the night of 18 December and Congress went into recess starting 20 December. The Senate, on the other hand, passed their version last 5 November.
Bicameral hearing on the disagreeing provisions, as well as other pending bills, will have to wait until the session resumes on 28 January. Resumption of the session was earlier scheduled for 21 January but had to be moved to the followiunb session resumes on 28 January. Resumption of session was earlier scheduled on 21 January but has to be moved the following week to give more time for the testing of the electronic biometric system set-up in the House. This was intended to facilitate the voting process and tracking of the legislators’ attendance.
Aside from the nine legislative measures listed above, the other two in the priority list are the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) and the General Amnesty Bill. The JPEPA, although not a statute in nature, requires Senate ratification. The amnesty bill on the other was not included among the original 29 measures listed in the first LEDAC meeting last 7 August.
In a deft political move, President Arroyo signed Proclamation 1377 on 6 September, granting amnesty to members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) and other rebel groups. The measure, which is part of the government’s Social Integration Program, likewise requires the concurrence of Congress. |
