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Monday, October 30, 2006
Abolish Senate, 3 Cebu legislators say
By Charmaine Y. Rodriguez
CEBU CITY -- After the Supreme Court junked the petition to change the Constitution by a people's initiative, Cebuano lawmakers are still keen on supporting moves to change the Charter.
Representatives Antonio Yapha (Cebu, 3rd district) and Simeon Kintanar (Cebu, 2nd) are open to the House of Representatives' plan to convene as a constituent assembly for the shift to a unicameral-parliamentary system.
Representative Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (Cebu, 6th) said she will wait for the floor deliberations and listen to the advantages and disadvantages of a constituent assembly, before she will come up with a stand on the matter.
But all three lawmakers support the abolition of the Senate to ensure the faster passage of bills.
Yapha, for his part, said about eight to 10 of his bills are still pending before the Senate.
He believes more than 1,000 bills from the Lower House are pending before the Upper House.
"Ma-tanggong sa Senate labi ni ug naa'y mag-away away (They got stuck in the Senate, especially when some feuds are at play)," he said.
One of the urgent bills that he is seeking to get Senate approval on is the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) bill, which seeks to stop the practice of limiting HMO services to accredited doctors.
Yapha, a doctor and the chairman of the House committee on health, said that patients are at a disadvantage in the current set-up, since their choice of doctors is limited to those accredited by the HMOs in their companies.
Another urgent bill that needs to be passed is the one pushing for the modernization of government hospitals.
So far, the Senate only approved his bill seeking amendments to the Philhealth law.
"Mao ra gyud intawn nang usa ka-buok (That's the only one so far)," he told Sun.Star Cebu Sunday.
Ruiz, another administration ally, said the Senate, which is dominated by the opposition, is too preoccupied with conducting investigations that it has failed to prioritize its role in legislation.
She also has two important bills that need the Senate's immediate attention.
One is the bill penalizing the illegal use of ambulances and the law declaring the commemoration of the Battle of Mactan a holiday in the Province of Cebu.
She said some of the pending bills are the ones she first proposed two or three congresses ago, so these are now six to nine years old.
"Ingon ana kalangay (That's how long it takes)," she lamented, adding that bills of local significance are the ones that are given the least attention.
"They should prioritize the tasks of legislation," she also said.
Kintanar, for his part, said his bill converting the Cebu State College of Science and Technology into a university and other information and communications technology-related bills are still pending.
As for Charter amendments, Kintanar said he is for a change in the form of government since the presidential form of government "doesn't seem to have been able to deliver services" to the people.
Yapha and Ruiz are also for economic reforms, which they say are not included in the 1987 Constitution.
Yapha supports allowing foreigners to own companies and to acquire properties in the country.
The congressman also said he believes in the constitutional convention as the ideal method of amending the basic law of the land, but knows it is "no longer feasible."
Aside from being costly, there is no longer enough time to push for a convention since there will be elections in May 2007, he added. (Sun.Star Cebu)
(October 30, 2006 issue)
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