Wednesday, August 29, 2007 Editorial: ‘Way Kurat’ shocked and awed
PIRATES are people who attack and rob ships at sea. But there are other forms of piracy, such as the appropriation or reproduction of the work of another for profit without permission, usually in contravention of patent or copyright laws.
In this city one can see examples of piracy of intellectual property rights in the form of CDs and DVDs sold along sidewalks much, much cheaper than the genuine stuff. You can only wonder how fast these pirates work. No sooner have you seen Manny "Pacman" pummel Erik Morales to submission in the ring than you come across copies of the fight being sold along sidewalks by enterprising Maranaws and company even before the lumps on Erik's face have subsided.
You think that's clever of the Maranaws and company? Think again. Over in Congress one representative is up in arms (if not tantrums) after discovering that his pet bill has become a law under somebody else's sponsorship, namely Senator Joker Arroyo.
Representative Manuel "Way Kurat" Zamora of Compostela Valley says his "holiday economics" bill that lumped holidays to the nearest weekend to allow longer vacation periods for employees and students has been signed into law by President Macapagal-Arroyo as Republic Act No. 9492 on July 25--but credited solely the version of Senator Arroyo.
"This is a clear case of bill piracy," fumed Zamora in a privilege speech the other day.
Zamora learned to his dismay that his House colleagues rushed to adopt Sen. Arroyo's version after they learned that Malacañang had certified the bill as urgent. It turned out that his colleagues in the House discovered that Zamora's House Bill No. 454 did not have a committee report yet hence their adoption of Arroyo' version.
"I only finished high school," Zamora rued, "but I know how a bill becomes a law. Yet my bill became one by passing only the first reading. What happened to the process?" he wanted to know.
Zamora's frustration is understandable. Of the 70 bills he had filed in the 12th and 13th Congress, he was banking on the economics bill as his one and only successful piece of legislation of national import--but it never saw the light of day. He did author one law that was passed, but it was of local interest only--one designating as an official holiday March 8, the day Compostela Valley was founded.
Zamora's "Way Kurat" (Visayan) monicker means one who isn't easily shocked and awed by anything. But this instance of "bill piracy" at his expense has shocked and awed him on his third and last term.
