Ecija solon accuses colleague of ‘terrorism’

A Nueva Ecija congressman was accused yesterday of "terrorizing" the House of Representatives by questioning the quorum.

Deputy Majority Leader Juan Pablo Bondoc (NPC, Pampanga) made the accusation after Rep. Raul Villareal raised the quorum question shortly after the session opened, prompting the presiding officer, Deputy Speaker Raul Gonzales, to declare an adjournment.

Bondoc said the Nueva Ecija solon is "terrorizing the House and holding it hostage."

It was the second time Villareal, an independent, raised the quorum question in three days. Last Monday, he also brought up the lack of a sufficient number of House members in the session hall, prompting the presiding officer to declare an adjournment.

Minority Leader Carlos Padilla (LDP, Nueva Vizcaya) told reporters that there will always be a member of the chamber who will invoke his or her right to raise the quorum issue for as long as there is no quorum.

"This is a problem that the leadership must solve," he said.

Minutes after the adjournment of yesterday’s session, Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. called Bondoc and Villareal to his office.

"This is a non-event," De Venecia later said in a hurriedly called news conference.

He, Bondoc and Villareal are scheduled to sit down again on Monday.

The Speaker said the two Central Luzon solons are involved in a "personal feud" that started two years ago in the 11th Congress.

"We will try to resolve this so we can go back to our primary task of constructive lawmaking starting next week," he said.

Bondoc has denounced Villareal’s construction firm for allegedly bagging the contract for a P237-million irrigation project in the Pampanga solon’s district during the previous administration despite getting a failing score in the pre-bidding evaluation.

He had written then President Estrada about the alleged irregularity, pleading for redress that did not come.

Villareal has vowed to always raise the quorum question for as long as Bondoc serves as the floor leader as the latter did yesterday. — Jess Diaz