3 senators record perfect attendance
Three senators –Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Aquilino Pimentel III and Panfilo Lacson have recorded perfect attendance during the second regular session of the 17th Congress.
The three senators recorded a clean and perfect attendance in all 79 session days of the Senate from July 24, 2017 to May 30 this year, without any mark of tardiness, absence and official missions, according to a report by the Journal Service released late Tuesday afternoon.
The 17th Congress is currently on a seven-week recess and will convene for its third regular session on July 23.
Also registering a complete attendance was Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri. He, however, arrived late for plenary discussion 10 times.
Sotto was lauded for his punctuality in the Senate. Since he assumed the post of Senate president last May 21, Sotto made it a point to start sessions at 3 p.m.
Following them is Sen. Nancy Binay, who responded to the 78 roll calls in the plenary. She missed one session day due to an official trip abroad.
Like Binay, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Sen. Gregorio Honasan attended 78 session days, but they were late for a couple session days and each had an official trip.
Minority Sen. Riza Hontiveros also maintained her good attendance record by being present 78 days with only one day of absence in the plenary.
Senators Cynthia Villar and Joel Villanueva both attended 77 session days. Villar was out on two official trips, while Villanueva was absent for two days.
Sen. Grace Poe attended 76 session days with two days of absence and an official mission in the country.
Sens. Sherwin Gatchalian attended 74 sessions while Richard Gordon attended 73 session days. Their absences were due to official trips and sick leaves.
Other members of the Senate recorded the following attendance records: Joseph Victor Ejercito, 71 session days present, one official mission, seven days absent; Loren Legarda, 70 session days present, eight official missions, one day absent; Ralph Recto, 69 session days present, four official missions, six days absent; Paolo “Bam” Aquino, 68 session days present, seven official missions, four days absent; Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, 67 session days present, seven official missions, five days absent; and Francis “Chiz” Escudero, 66 session days present, six official missions, seven days absent.
Senators Francis Pangilinan, Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao and Antonio Trillanes IV recorded the most number of official missions.
Pangilinan, who was present for 65 session days, had 12 official trips in the country. He was absent on two session days.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, attended 64 plenary sessions and was out for eight local missions and two official trips abroad. He missed five session days.
Trillanes attended 52 session days and was on 20 official trips, three of them in the Philippines. He was absent four times.
Meanwhile, Sen. Leila de Lima, being detained at the Philippine National Police’s Custodial Center in Camp Crame over drug charges, missed all 79 session days. She, on the other hand, kept active in filing bills and releasing statements through her regular dispatches.