Senators make full use of break

Many legislators will take advantage of the three-week recess to get the needed rest, while some will be going abroad either on official conferences or on personal business.

Two Senate leader have left for Africa to attend an international conference. Senate President Franklin Drilon and Sen. Blas Ople are now in the tongue-twisting city of Ouagadougou, the capital of the Central African country of Burkina Faso, attending the 106th conference of the International Parliamentarians’ Union, a Geneva-based organization of legislators of which Ople is an international officer.

Neophyte Sen. Ralph Recto, however, is not one of those who are keen on going abroad or getting a rest.

"I will do a lot of reading to brush up my knowledge on taxation and local government," he said when asked on what he would be doing during the recess.

He is chairman of the Senate committees on ways and means and on trade and industry. These committees are akin to the House committee on economic affairs that he headed in the 11th Congress before his election to the Senate.

Recto gave the unknown domesticated side of his life when he added: "I will spend most of my time with my family. I will be playing with my son."

Yesterday, he also played basketball with some teams from a barangay in Lipa City where his wife, actress Vilma Santos is mayor.

"We might go on vacation in Bangkok before the resumption of session," he said, referring to his family.

Sen. Joker Arroyo said that he will stay in the country during the recess.

"I will probably organize my office and hire my staff members," he said.

Until yesterday, Arroyo’s office was still barren, and his driver is the only man in his staff. Others have been urging him to come out with a full complement of staff members, since he now heads committees like the Blue Ribbon and the public services.

Sen. Tessie Aquino-Oreta will undertake some committee hearings during the recess. She heads the Senate committee on civil service and government reorganization. To show that she is serious with her work, she has hired former Civil Service Commissioner Corazon Alma de Leon as committee consultant.

She said she might go abroad for a few days for the needed rest.

One who really needs rest is Sen. Robert Barbers, chairman of the Senate committee on public order and illegal drugs. Barber’s committee is the lead committee among the three committees investigating the charges against Sen. Panfilo Lacson.

It must be noted that after marathon hearings, Barbers still had to go to the session hall. He hides to his office to rest now and then, but his office is one of the busiest in the Senate, with visitors waiting up to the hallway of the fifth floor.

Barbers had just undergone a critical throat surgery in the United States before returning during the last session days of the 11th Congress. The surgery has affected his speech but not his hard work and dedication.

Sen. Luisa Ejercito is not one who will be resting during the recess, however. She has scheduled three medical mission in depressed areas, hog dispersal in Payatas, Quezon City, also another depressed area, and inaugurate the P23-million Tabao fish market and terminal in Valladolid, Negros Occidental, funded during the tenure of her husband, former President Joseph Estrada.

"Definitely, there will be no foreign travel for Dr. Loi during the recess," said his chief of staff, former Immigration Commissioner Rufus Rodriguez.