A quick look on Davao congressmen’s performance

THE three representatives of Mindanao’s main city Davao filed 29 bills and five resolutions in the first five months of the 15th Congress, most of them dealing with the establishment of new secondary schools and government agencies.

For one, Representative (2nd district, Davao) Isidro Ungab’s seven bills were focused in the establishment of new high schools in barangays Sto. Nino, Saloy, Bantol, Camansi, Alambre, Baracatan and Manuel Guianga.

The second term congressman is also batting appropriate funds for a district engineering office in Davao.

All measures however are still pending at the committee level including the 15 bills he co-authored like the strengthening of the English language as medium of instruction, institutionalization of scholarship grants for children of policemen, etc.

Ungab is a member of the majority coalition and is the current vice chairperson of appropriations committee. Some of his affiliations include cooperatives development, energy, games and amusements, higher and technical education and justice committees.

Representative Mylene Garcia-Albano of the city’s third district authored four bills so far. Her legislation focused on converting two barangay roads into a national road and the establishment of an annex of Paradise Embac National High School in barangay Pandaitan.

As vice chairperson of national cultural communities, Albano filed a bill to declare the third Friday of August as Indigenous People’s Day in celebration of the famous Kadayawan festival. The measure is still awaiting action from the committee on revision of laws.

Albano likewise sits as vice chairperson of reforestation and women and gender equality committees. Her other affiliations are the committees on energy, games and amusement, justice, Mindanao affairs, and natural resources.

Representative Karlo Alexei Nograles, for his part, trained his sights on enacting laws related to the strict enforcement of human rights in the country.

The son of former Speaker Prospero Nograles resurrected the right of reply bill, which was shelved in the 14th Congress due to lack of quorum in its last session day.

Karlo is also active in pushing for the maintenance of a patient grievance mechanism in all health institutions, fiscal autonomy for the Office of Ombudsman, strengthening the regulatory powers of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, etc.

The 1997 law graduate from Ateneo de Manila is the present vice chairperson of human rights committee, with memberships in the committees on health, public order and safety, dangerous drugs, suffrage and electoral reforms.

Davao City congressmen are all allies of President Benigno Aquino III. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)