Still no quorum at House

MANILA, Philippines – With many members still abroad, the House of Representatives again failed to hold session yesterday afternoon due to lack of a quorum.

Shortly after 4 p.m., after the singing of the national anthem that signals the start of session, Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Carlos Padilla, noticing that there were only about 20 of his colleagues in the session hall, immediately presented a motion for adjournment.

“Mr. Speaker, obviously, we have no quorum, so I move that we adjourn the session,” he said.

The presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Raul del Mar, ignored Padilla’s motion and declared a break so they could wait for more House members to arrive.

After an hour-long break, Del Mar ordered a roll call, which showed that 131 were present, only three short of the required quorum. This prompted Del Mar to adjourn the session.

Secretary-General Marilyn Yap said 134 is the quorum since there are now 266 members with the entry of 28 additional party-list representatives.

About 50 congressmen led by Speaker Prospero Nograles who watched the Pacquiao-Hatton fight are still in the United States, while at least 20 others are with the entourage of President Arroyo, who is visiting Egypt and Syria.

This means that about 60 other congressmen who are not abroad absented themselves from yesterday’s session.

Returning Pacquiao fans, including lawmakers, are facing quarantine procedures.

The result of yesterday’s roll call was an improvement over last Wednesday’s attendance of only 100.

Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez said the absence of many of his colleagues is proving to be a blessing in disguise for those who are opposed to Charter change (Cha-cha).

“At least while they are out, Cha-cha will not be taken up,” he said.

The issue of amending the Constitution has been on top of the House agenda since Monday last week.

Those who watched the Pacquiao-Hatton fight and those accompanying Mrs. Arroyo are not expected to be back until later this week.

They would not be able to immediately attend session if health authorities order them to stay home to monitor the possible occurrence of symptoms of the deadly H1N1 influenza virus.

Lawmakers who flew to Las Vegas, Nevada last weekend claimed that they spent their own money.

Nograles said he hasn’t missed any of the fights of Pacquiao, whom he described as the “Pride of Mindanao,” and that he considered himself part of Team Pacquiao.