14th Congress adjourns on a discordant note
By Gerry Baldo 06/05/2010 The Senate adjourned sine die yesterday with farewell speeches and goodwill, but the House of Representatives adjourned sine die on a discordant note with even the supporters of the Freedom of Information Bill were arrested amid protests in the gallery following the failure of the House to pass the proposed law. Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante said it was a “sad and painful day for the House” to end without passing the bill that has been in the making for nine years. “I declare that this Congress has faulted the Filipino people,” Abante said in dismay. He walked out of the session hall. Speaker Prospero Nograles, who presided over the last session day of the 14th Congress, stressed that he could not bend the rules of the House to accommodate members who wanted the bill passed. “But there is nothing I can do. Under the rules, when there is no quorum, the Speaker has to bang the gavel and adjourn. Those are the rules,” Nograles said. “I am at a loss.” Earlier, Nograles was about to bang the gavel to approve the proposed Freedom of Information Act when Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo stood up to object and question the quorum. “I object,” Romualdo said even as supporters that filled the gallery hissed in dismay. Nograles suspended the session and tried to talk Romualdo into withdrawing his motion but the Camiguin representative refused. Romualdo said he had wanted all transactions in government to be “very transparent” but that “should be based on a law that has been properly, legitimately, legally inactive.” He said that he is refusing to withdraw his motion amid a perceived backlash from the media who would “paint me with whatever they say badly against me.” He accused the House of succumbing to pressure and for taking a shortcut to pass the bill. “The House is practically being pressured for this FoI bill to be passed, in short, trying to make a short cut,” he said. “For the record I would say that this did not pass any debate, because this did not pass any debate, all our courts, especially the Supreme Court, is now always rendering decisions which we sometimes call judicial legislation, because the laws we enacted lacked debates, our intention, spirit of the law cannot be found in our records because it did not pass any debate,” he said..... MORE Source: The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100605hed2.html |
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