and RAYMOND AFRICA
ONLY 25 of the 302 congressmen will be allowed to physically attend the resumption of the session at the House of Representatives today while the rest of the lawmakers will participate through teleconferencing as part of measures to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
At the Senate, about half of the 24 senators will be physically present for the resumption.
House majority leader Martin Romualdez, the chair of the committee on rules, said “strict” social distancing will be followed in the plenary hall and all attendees will be required to wear masks.
He said the House will amend its rules on the conduct of sessions and committee hearings to allow the participation of lawmakers through the use of electronic channels following the extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
“For reasons of exigency and the health and safety of our members and the public, we’re going to amend our rules and limit to 25 lawmakers the physical attendees to the session hall and the rest will join us via video conferencing on Zoom,” Romualdez said.
Romualdez, who co-chairs the Defeat COVID-19 ad hoc committee with Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, said the leadership will adopt a rotation system for the next set of attendees in the next session days.
He said the House can adopt a resolution or the recommendations of the House rules rewriting committee or raise a motion in the plenary to amend or to change the rules, like it did in the special session last March.
“Kaya po bukas (That’s why tomorrow), I will make a motion that we can register our presence or signify our desire to participate and vote in the plenary via online Zoom, text or viber,” Romualdez told radio dzRH in a separate interview.
“As a matter of precedent, the House will adopt the unprecedented and historic online special session via Zoom application last March 23, 2020 when we passed Republic Act (RA) No. 11469 or the Bayanihan Heal As One Act,” he added.
Section 71 of the rules provides: “House members who are attending to their respective constituents can be considered on official business approved by the Speaker and those who are participating in the committee meetings shall be deemed present.”
While the current rules do not provide for videoconferencing, Romualdez said “it does not prohibit us from adopting this innovation.”
“In fact, it is now imperative for us to use the technological advancements due to the national public health emergency,” he said.
“All we have to do is to innovate and use the available technology that will allow us to perform our mandate. That is now the new normal. Public safety is our number one concern. We are not going to compromise the health of everyone,” he said.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said at least 12 senators, including him and Senate President Vicente Sotto III, are expected to be physically present today at the Senate for the resumption of regular sessions.
In an interview over dzRH, Lacson said the presence of his colleagues in the Senate is very important so they can at adopt resolutions, including one which seeks to amend the Rules of the Senate that will allow them to use electronic devices when joining regular sessions or committee hearings.
Last week, 15 senators filed Senate Resolution No. 372 which seeks to amend certain provisions of the Rules of the Senate to allow the use of teleconferencing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lacson said teleconferencing will be allowed only after the resolution has been adopted by the senators who will be present today.
Sotto III, in an interview with radio dzBB, said minority leader Franklin Drilon gave the assurance he will attend today but will attend future sessions and committee hearings via teleconference.
He said Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara is not expected to attend because he tested positive anew for COVID-19, as the senator announced last Saturday.
Sotto said he does not expect Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III, who has recovered from COVID-19, to make it today, while majority leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, who has also recovered, will attend.
In an interview over dzBB, Sen. Imee Marcos said she will not physically attend as he family history of asthma
Lacson said he is also against to the proposal included in the resolution that states: “The Senate President may also convene and hold the session through
Sotto came out with a lineup of priority measures. This includes amendments to the Basic Education Law, Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Reform Act. He said the Senate will also tackle the issue on delayed implementation of the national ID system.
Sotto said they need to introduce amendments to the Basic Education Law because the Executive department may be violating the law when the President approved a recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases to move the opening of school year 2020-2021 from June to September.
