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THURSDAY Jul}, 18' 2019

Membersof '

Congress: Look
beforeyou leaP
into the dark
First
word
-l-H E
I road
is dark.
You can
see onlv dimlY through the fog'
You io not know the real comPosi-
rion of vour chamber' and what kind
of lawmakers will come to work on
Monday luly 22, for the opening ofthe
t8$ Conffess. FMakabentaA4

Ntxr PAcr€ p0(,.

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u TBtdr P*a,a a
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 ABENTA FROM
/ should recall that ftom the begin-
,Longress
You do notknow the caliberofthose
colleagues who seek to become the
top banana in the houses ofCongres.
,
You do not know the unseen
forces that are tying to manipulate
events in order to influence the or-
ganization of both your chambers.
You do not know whdt our enig-
matic Pr€sid€nt Duterte is thinking or
cooking up in these final dala before
the opening ofCongess on Monday
and before he deliven his fourth State
ofthe Nation Addres to the nation.
You should not make your choice
ofleader without making an assess-
ment ofthe great importance ofthe
work ofthis Congress to the natiory
and the viul stakes involved in nam'
ing the leaders of each chamber
I offer the following thoughts to
assist in making your choice.
An open moment
FiNt, I want to stress the opportu'
nity and the challenge forth€18th
Congress to becorne a great legisla-
ture thatcould propel our country
into full modemization and d€-
velopmen! and to cons€quential
importance in the world.
This Congress has an open mo'
ment to strive to become the best
that it can be It has the oppornrnity
to change the often sony image of
being a rubber starnp ofthe executive
and a railroad forthe adminisnation's
program. [t can asse4 if it wills, its
con*inrtional authorityto collaborate
in all rnajor policy daisions about the
future of our cormtry and our people.
This moment should be filled by
high quality of leadership, and by
purposive lawmakingand responsible
representation of the whole count)a
The House is not
a lower house
Naxt, take a long hard look at the
House of Representatives, and at
. the term-sharing proposal and what
it really portends for the chamber
The incoming House and the
nation have been bamboozled into
consldering this harebrained idea
as though the lofii post of House
Speaker werc an apartrnent or a pad.
The nation's representatives
ning and in all our constitutions,
ftom Malolos to the presefi one
the House of Representatives was
envisioned as the most representa-
tive body in our govemment s)6tem.
Two hundred representatives arc
elected to three-year terms direct\
by legislative districts distributed
throughout the archipelago. An-
other 50 representalives are elected
at large through the pafiylist q6tem
in our legislature.
At the inaugural session of wery
congress, it is the tadition for the
nation's lawmaken to select those
who will lead each chamber
But this year, before it even has a
chance to do this work the House
is being asked to implement term-
sharing for the post ofHouse Speaker
Outlandish ideas
House members should think
carefully about where this unprec-
edented scheme is comingfiom and
what purposes it is designed to sewe.
It's the brainchild principally of
an incoming representative fiom
Metro Manila, whose farnily dynasty
completely reduced a city to submis-
sion and domination.
His term-sharing scheme should
not be a surprise because tluoughout
his political career the congressman
has been the inventor and proponent
of numerous outlandish ideas that
stalled the work ofgovemnenl
Consider:
1. tn 2013, when the Supreme
Court handed down its historic rul-
ing that declared as illegal and un-
constitutional the hiorityDevelop-
ment Assistance Fund (PDAF) and
all pork banel, it was Mr. Cayetano
who went around both houses of
Congress to urge his fellow lawmak-
en not to despah Their pork banel
could be salvaged through inserts
in the General Appropriations Act.
In this way, inserts became a major
feature ofthe budget process.
2. In 2018, whan he was sewing
as Secretary of Foreign Affairg Mr
cayetano maneuvered to get the
budget for the 2019 Southeast Asian
Cames (SEAG) transferied to the
budga ofthe DFA" to the chagrin of
the Philippine Spofts Commission
(PSC) and the national sports com-
munity He also maneuvered to ha\,r
\\ Tpn.4).r pAee
f.9
ofthe
organizing committee for the SEAG;
Fortunately, Mr Teodoro Locsin
Jr was named as the newsecretary
for the DFA. Teddyboy took one
look at the fund diversion, and
immediately ordered the sizable
SEAG fund transfened to &e PSA
where it properly belonged.
3. In the midterm elections in
May this year; Mr Cayetano came
up with the mindboggling idea of
getting members of his family and
his wife elected to all major elective
posts inTaguig City. He and his wife
lani Cayetano won election to. the
two legislative districrs ofthe city. He
and his family insist that "dlnasty"
is good for Taguig.
4. Now he has come up with
this scheme to get himselfelect-
ed as the Speaker ofthe House
of the 18th Congress.
As the rivalry for the post mount-
ed in the run-up to Congress' open-
in& Cayetaro amazingly got Presi-
dent Duterte's verbal assent to
term-sharing formula for the speak'
enhip. He would be first to sen'e as
the speaker for 15 monthg before
giving way to another aspirant.
It is noable that with eirery one of
ftese id€as, Cqrtano stmds topdnci'
plly Qngflt ftom them.If he is elected
as the nec House Speakel what otha
oudandistr ideas stfould the nation
pecthimb mncoct Couldthe kpublic
and is treasures be safe with him as
founh in line to the presidency?
Senate as den of illegitimacy
Representatives are not alone in
sweating over the opening of Con-
gress on Monday.
Senators are similarlychallenged.
They too must elect their leader in
the Senate ltesident. And the choice
before them is fertile with dilemma
and contradidion.
of only 24
The Senate consists
members, in comparison to the
House's 250 members. But the Sen,
ate is permitted the polite fiction
being regarded as the'upper housel
It is a fiction full ofirony. Fbr one
thing the Senate is distinctlyunrep-
Jesentative. Senators are elected at
Iarge ind do not represent specific
constituencies, only themsqlves. As
a consequence, the chamber is a
motley collection of all'comers,
U
1
including entgrtainem, sportsmen,
policemb4, 2n4 :11t.*oo.
Most dreadfut of all perhaps: ,
I . Nine memben ofthe Senate to-
day are termed-out former senators,
politicians who have exceeded the
two-term limit axpressly provided
by the Constitution.
2. Justasbad" most ofthese termed-
out officials figured promhmdy in
the impeachmeit of fte lare Chief
Iustice Renato Corona in 2012. And
they are recorded in a Supreme Cnurt
decision as taking bribes or induce-
ments ftom former president Benigno
Aquino 3rd to impeach Corona.
Entering the 1 8th Congress, these
termed out senaton are acknowl-
edged veterans ofthe chamber
Nine termed-out senators will
constitute more than a third ofthe
Senate, The group of nine will just
be four votes away from sectring a
majority in the chamber
The other 1 5 members ofthe Sen-
ate share in common the fact that
a they do not hold of6ce illegitim-ately
or under false pretenses.
Because the termed-out senato$
arc veterans in Senate affain, the
mostseniot Sen. Vicente Sotto 3rd is
touted as the nert Senate Prcsident.
There is a big problem on
the horizon.
A petition was filed last week at
ec the Supreme Court which seela the
stdct enforcement of the Constitu-
the tion's policy on t€rm limits for elec-
tive officials. ln Artide M, Sec. 4, the
Charter sa)'s, "No senator cal serve
more than two consecttive terms."
The petition seeks the reversal ofan
SC ruling that has been twisted to
favor termed-out senaton.
Sotto claims to be serving his
fourth term in the Senate. That
makes him a violator twice over -
and his prospective presidency an
insult to the nation.
The 15 legitimate senators could
avert thls dire predicament of the
chamber by.desisting to elect Sotto
as Senate President on Monday.
of they can wait for the high court's
d€cision on the petition to setde the
fate ofthe other termed-out senato$.
Electing Sotto now would
be positively disastrous. These
people are supposed to pe law-
makers, not lawbreakers. -
ye nm a kab e nta @ yahoo. co m