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Monday, July 21, 2003
Del Mar scores perfect House attendance
By JASMIN G. SUMA-OY
Of Sun.Star Cebu
CEBU’S eight members of Congress deserve good marks as far as showing up for the regular session of the House of Representatives is concerned, with one even posting perfect attendance.
From July 22, 2002 to June 5, 2003, the 12th Congress held 77 sessions.
Rep. Raul del Mar (Cebu City, north) attended all of them.
Rep. Joseph “Ace” Durano (Cebu, 5th district) incurred the most number of absences, at 15, among Cebu’s lawmakers. He attended the session only 62 times.
Rep. Antonio Cuenco (Cebu City, south) attended 73 sessions. Of his four absences, three were incurred when he was in an “official mission.”
Rep. Jose Gullas attended 70 times; Rep. Simeon Kintanar (Cebu, 2nd district), 68; Rep. Antonio Yapha (Cebu, 3rd district), 70; Rep. Clavel Asas-Martinez (Cebu, 4th district), 70; and Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (Cebu, 6th district), 68.
Two out of Gullas’ seven absences were incurred when he was in an “official mission” while six of Martinez’s seven absences were also for the same reason.
What kept them
In the case of Ruiz, she failed to attend the session thrice because she was attending a conference. Kintanar and Yapha also attributed one in their nine and seven absences, respectively, to a conference.
Yapha, who is chairman of the committee on health, failed to attend the session twice because he was sick.
Records of the absences of House members were classified as “official mission, conference, sick, with notice and without notice.”
In an interview yesterday, del Mar explained that an “official mission” meant the legislator was either in his district or on official business abroad.
Del Mar said he considers the regular session a very important duty so he makes it a point to attend always. Since sessions are only from Monday to Wednesday, he said, it is easy to be present.
Del Mar stressed, though, that aside from physical presence, it is also important to participate in the deliberations.
For the 13 years that he has served as a congressman of the north district, he has recorded perfect “physical attendance” so far.
Disappearing act
Del Mar stressed “physical attendance” apparently because it is common for some congressmen to attend the early part of the session but leave immediately after the roll call.
However, if sometimes the session hall of the Batasang Pambansa seems empty when shown on national television, this doesn’t mean there is no quorum.
Del Mar admitted that two hours after the proceedings start at 4 p.m., some legislators would start to disappear from the session hall.
“But in fairness to some congressmen,” he added, some of them go out to attend to other matters, like conducting meetings or perhaps entertaining constituents in the lounge or their offices.
“So you don’t see them on the floor,” he said.
The congressmen, however, maintain contact with the House officers so when their presence is desired, they go back to the session hall.
Congress will resume session on July 28, when President Arroyo is also scheduled to deliver her State of the Nation Address.
Cebuano legislators hold important positions in the House.
Cuenco is chairman of the committee on dangerous drugs; Yapha, of the committee on health; and Durano, of public order and security.
Del Mar and Martinez are both members of the Commission on Appointments, which is also equivalent to holding a committee chairmanship.
Kintanar is vice chairman of the committee on transportation; Ruiz is vice chairperson of the committee on health; while Gullas is vice chairman of the committee on education.
There are no plans, so far, for a reorganization of committees in the House.
(July 21, 2003 issue)
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