House adjourns for lack of quorum

MANILA, Philippines - The perennial problem of truant members of the House of Representatives forced its leadership to adjourn session again yesterday, despite only five more session days left before Congress goes on a break for the election campaign.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman called on the leadership to individually check the attendance of their colleagues. Only 111 lawmakers attended yesterday’s session – 24 short of the 135 needed for a quorum.

In an interview, Lagman, main author of the controversial reproductive health bill that the Catholic Church has staunchly blocked, insisted that congressmen should attend sessions in full, and not just portions of it.

He noted that last week, there were enough House members in the first roll call for a quorum, but a subsequent headcount showed only 67 present.

“I told the leadership that would only encourage cameo appearances, which is only good for the movies and not for Congress. We don’t have sufficient number of warm bodies,” Lagman said.

He said he was not questioning the quorum, but only wanted lawmakers to be serious in their tasks.

Lagman said he doesn’t want to preempt the leadership on what punitive actions to take on truant legislators.

Dump non-performing congressmen

Meanwhile, Speaker Prospero Nograles advised constituents of 226 legislative districts of the House not to vote for absentee lawmakers like Negros Occidental Rep. Jules Ledesma.

“The sanction is up to the constituents, not us (House leadership). The congressmen are responsible only to their districts. If they (constituents) keep on sending them (truant lawmakers) back, what can we do?” he told reporters.

The House leader pointed out that “there is a social contract between the elected congressman and the constituents, which follows that hands of House leaders are tied because they are our co-equal.”

Nograles conceded that the House leadership could not impose sanctions on erring and truant congressmen simply because there are “no rules.” Previous Congresses had tried but failed to crack the whip on errant legislators.

Ledesma, husband of actress Assunta de Rossi, was only seen twice since Congress convened in July 2007.

The third time he dropped by was after the chamber had celebrated the holidays, Nograles said.

The congressman, dubbed an “absentee lawmaker,” had asked the House to release his bonuses and other allowances, including his 13th month pay for 2009. He was not accommodated because no employee was around to process his documents, Nograles said.

He said he personally told Ledesma he would receive what was due him if he would attend at least the remaining nine session days which began yesterday. 

“How can I talk to someone I do not see? Nobody can claim the (pay) checks except him.”

Ledesma receives a monthly salary of P35,000, on top of many other allowances and the power to allocate P70 million in pork barrel funds to various projects yearly.

The 49-year-old Ledesma, a businessman by profession, is one of the country’s richest congressmen, with a declared net worth of P427.5 million in his 2008 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.