Wednesday, August 22, 2007 More than half of lawmakers score perfect attendance
ONE hundred seventy-six of 237 congressmen have attended the first 10 session days of the House of Representatives since the opening of the 14th Congress last month while Negros Occidental Representative Julio "Jules" Ledesma, husband of actress Assunta de Rossi, recorded seven absences.
Based on House records, the attendance period covered the session days of July 23 until August 13 where at 61 congressmen incurred absences.
The records showed that most of the 61 absentees were third-term lawmakers who cited reasons such as official travel for their absences.
Some of the 176 congressmen who scored perfect attendance were House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.; House Majority Leader Arthur Defensor; House Deputy Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II; and Representatives Prospero Nograles of Davao City, Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte, Pablo Garcia of Cebu, Luis Villafuerte of Camarines Sur, Juan Miguel Arroyo of Pampanga, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of Ilocos Norte, Ferjenil Biron of Iloilo, Marcelino Teodoro of Marikina City, Joseph Emilio Abaya of Cavite, Alfonso Umali of Oriental Mindoro, Eleandro Jesus Madrona of Romblon, Lani Cayetano of Taguig-Pateros, Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela, Ruffy Biazon of Muntinlupa City, Justin Marc Chipeco of Laguna, Roger Mercado of Southern Leyte, Abraham Mitra of Palawan, Florencio Miraflores of Aklan, Roilo Golez of Parañaque City, Matias Defensor of Quezon City, Darlene Antonino-Custodio of South Cotabato, Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna, Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna, Abegail Binay of Makati City, Liza Maza of Gabriela, and Teodoro Locsin of Makati City.
During the last session days of the previous 13th Congress, the House of Representatives failed to pass vital legislation such as the proposed Human Rights Compensation Act, University of the Philippines (UP) Charter and the cheaper medicines bill due to the lack of quorum or 50 percent plus one of its total membership.
With the membership of more than 80 neophyte lawmakers, the leadership admitted that attendance got a big boost and they need to maintain "excess quorum" to have a better and functioning House of Representatives.
"We have been having overwhelming attendance since we convened last July 23. We have to credit that to the first-term as well as the second-term and third-term members," said de Venecia.
According to the plenary affairs bureau, it was learned that Ledesma got seven absences in 10 session days along with Capiz Representative Fredenil Castro and Mountain Province Representative Victor Dominguez. Records revealed that Ledesma and Castro only attended the session days of July 23, July 25 and August 13 while Dominguez appeared in the first three session days or from July 23, 24 and 25.
Other absentees were Manila Representative Bienvenido Abante and Marinduque Representative Carmencita Reyes who got six absences while Lanao del Norte Representative Abdullah Dimaporo has five absences.
De Venecia shelved for the meantime the planned name-and-shame campaign where the House leadership is eyeing the punishment of chronic absentees which will involve the quarterly publication of the names of lawmakers on newspaper advertisements for frequently engaging in inexcusable absenteeism.
The punishment also covers the adoption of a "no work, no pay" policy and removing the memberships to various committees of those who will fail to attend committee hearings for three consecutive times with no clear excuse. (Sunnex)
