‘The final word belongs to the voters’

WITH the House clearly struggling to get a quorum, a Senate bet of the Aquino administration has warned voters against electing absentee lawmakers, while another Reproductive Health ( RH) bill author has appealed to his colleagues who are in favor of the RH measure to show up during plenary sessions.

Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara of the Liberal Party coalition and Rep. Edcel Lagman of Albay province made the call after Rep. Kimi Cojuangco of Pangasinan province, also an RH bill author, blamed House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales 2nd of Mandaluyong City for the lack of quorum in Batasan.

“In the end, the final word belongs to the voters. Their votes carry messages. If they vote for absentees, then absenteeism will most likely continue and vice-versa. Human beings respond to incentives and disincentives,” Angara, who represents the Lone district of Aurora province and chairs the House Committee on Higher and Technical Education, said in a text message.

In the past two weeks, it was only on November 19 that the House mustered a quorum. In fact, only 70 lawmakers were present for the session on Tuesday, November 20.

The House needs at least 145 of its members to be present to constitute a quorum. Otherwise, the House can’t proceed with tackling of the pending bills since an absence of a quorum would mean adjournment.

Lagman, on the other hand, made his appeal on lawmakers to attend sessions in a letter to his colleagues titled: Appeal to All Authors and Advocates of the RH Bill.

House Bill 4244 mandates the state to guarantee public access to relevant information and education on medically safe, legal, ethical, af- fordable, effective and quality reproductive health care services, methods, devices and supplies, including condoms, which do not prevent the implantation of a fertilized ovum as determined by the Food and Drug Administration. Lagman has been pushing for the approval of the RH measure for the last 13 years.

“May I earnestly reiterate my appeal for all of us, RH bill authors and advocates, to be present during the last 12 session days before the Christmas break and maintain a quorum up to adjournment. The House of Representatives needs your presence and support to institutionalize this,” Lagman said in his letter which he distributed to at least 100 co-authors of the RH measure.

The Philippines, Lagman said, needs an RH law as an anchor for the government’s pro- poor, prowomen, pro-health and pro-development agenda.