NGO urges House to proceed with debates on important bills

MANILA, Philippines - A non-government organization yesterday asked the House of Representatives to proceed with the plenary debates on pending legislation and not be distracted by the ongoing impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“The impeachment case is now in the hands of the senators, House members should now concentrate on the legislations that were set aside when they went on recess. Among them is the Reproductive Health (RH) bill,” Ramon San Pascual, executive director of the Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD), said.

According to San Pascual, they understand the delay in the resumption of deliberations but the legislators “should now buckle down and perform their obligation of enacting laws.”

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. assured the people that the impeachment trial would not disrupt the work in the House.

Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said on Tuesday the House leadership hopes that the bill will be put on vote before the second regular session of Congress ends in June.

Gonzales added, apart from the impeachment trial, another distraction on their legislative agenda is the feud between Representatives Edcel Lagman of Albay, one of the main authors of the RH bill, and Danilo Suarez of Quezon for the minority leader post.

Meanwhile, two Catholic bishops called the attention of all parties concerned in the impeachment trial that they should speed up the process because they are using taxpayers’ money.

Digos, Davao del Sur Bishop Guillermo Afable said in an interview on Radio Veritas that the impeachment hearing should be hastened because congressmen, who are acting as prosecutors, have to divide their time between their constituents and the impeachment.

“The lawmakers are busy with the impeachment that is why they are unable to give due attention to their constituents,” Afable said.

Former Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the trial should be concluded as soon as possible so no public funds would be wasted.

“This is very costly for the Filipino people,” Cruz said.

 Peace and security should remain a priority

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Nicanor Bartolome reminded all policemen to prioritize their duty in maintaining peace and order while monitoring the ongoing impeachment trial on television or radio.

The PNP chief admitted that the impeachment trial has legal educational value to police officers who are supposed to be knowledgeable about the laws.

“I don’t think our personnel will have much time to spend if they are on duty because of their daily busy schedule,” said Bartolome.

“Nevertheless, we remind our personnel that public service, law enforcement duties and our peace and order functions must always be prioritized, at all times.” – With Evelyn Macairan, Cecille Suerte Felipe