Solons urged to attend to law-making job before campaigning

MANILA — Congressman Rodolfo “Rodito” T. Albano III (1st District, Isabela) on Sunday urged his fellow legislators to diligently attend the remaining sessions of the 16th Congress, pass vital pieces of legislation, and leave a legacy of being a working and productive Congress.

"So much to do with very little time left, but we must do our utmost," he said in a news release.

Albano said that while he recognizes that every lawmaker has to attend to district constituents, every House member's primary duty is to attend sessions and actively participate in debates and discussions of measures both of local and national importance at the House of Representatives.

“We have to make the most out of remaining session days in Congress. Let us cooperate and help the House leadership make the quorum to enable the Lower House to transact its business,” said Albano, House contingent head for the Minority Bloc of the Commission on Appointments.

"Obviously, the national and local elections next year are foremost in the minds of my fellow legislators and all is ask, is for my colleagues to focus on and dedicate their time to pass urgent and vital legislation in the remaining nine session days of the House. After their legislative duties are done, they can campaign all they want for 2016," he said.

Albano stressed the need for every House member to do their share to enable the leadership to succeed and establish a legislative record in the passage of urgent and vital legislation by simply by mustering a quorum in the remaining nine session days of the House.

He said that if Congress was able to easily pass the proposed Salary Standardization Law of 2015 in just one committee hearing and immediately had it referred to the plenary and approved on second reading on the same day, it could also do the same for other urgent legislative measures aimed at alleviating poverty, promoting employment, providing for better social services especially to the majority of our people who are poor.

“I believe that every House member is responsible and dedicated to his work and will have the same enthusiasm they showed when the Lower House passed the SSL last November 11. It only takes political will to muster a quorum and pass the long pending and significant pieces of legislation,” Albano said.