Senators in race to file first bill in 15th Congress

MANILA, Philippines - Senators are racing to be the first to file a bill when the new Congress opens on July 27, ushering in the term of president-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

Senate secretary general Emma Reyes said she has asked the staff of the senators to stop queueing outside the Bills and Index section in the mad rush to file their respective principal’s pet bills.

Sen. Loren Legarda’s staff was first in line, followed by detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, Senators Bong Revilla, Lito Lapid, Tito Sotto and Edgardo Angara.

Not to be outdone were the staff of Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Manny Villar, Jinggoy Estrada, and Miriam Defensor Santiago.

It is important for senators to file the first bill so that it can be discussed during the first day of session.

“It’s usually a fresh start, a good one that a senator’s bill is calendared and debated upon during the first session day of a new Congress,” one Senate reporter said.

Senators’ staff began lining up to file their bills since June 10, a day after Aquino was proclaimed by Congress. But the Bills and Index section will only accept the filing of bills by noon of June 30 after the new president takes his oath.

Reyes said a senator’s representative could only file 10 bills or resolutions at a time.

Meanwhile, re-electionist Senators Estrada, Revilla, and Pia Cayetano are set to take their oaths.

Estrada will hold his proclamation tonight at the roof deck of the San Juan City Hall Building while Cayetano will have a joint proclamation with her sister-in-law Lani Cayetano, wife of Sen. Alan Cayetano, in Taguig.

Revilla will take his oath before Supreme Court Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. at St. Michael’s Church near the Bacoor Municipal Hall, shortly after a Mass at 7 a.m. on Monday.

The senator will also administer the oath of office to congresswoman-elect Lani Mercado-Revilla and Bacoor mayor-elect Strike Revilla at the same venue.