Laguna lawmaker explains absences

MANILA, Philippines - Laguna Rep. Maria Evita Arago yesterday tried to explain and justify her absences in the sessions of the House of Representatives.

In a statement, Arago said her doctor has ordered that she goes on leave because of her “difficult and precarious first pregnancy.”

She said her doctor has issued a medical certificate stating that she needed “to go on a bed rest.”

Had it not been for her unstable pregnancy, Arago said she would have religiously attended House sessions as she had done during her first term as representative of Laguna’s third district.

However, she added that her absence has not prevented her from doing her duties like filing bills and providing infrastructure and social services to her constituents.

Medical emergencies and hospital confinement are considered absences in the House, where a member has to physically respond to the roll call to be recorded present.

In the same statement, Arago clarified reports that she received cash from the small town lottery (STL) operator of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in her district.

As early as January 2008, she said the STL operator for the entire province of Laguna, Ramloid Gaming Corp., had agreed to her written request that the 2.5-percent share of her district be delivered in the form of medicine.

She said she used the medicine in her regular medical and dental missions.

“Through this agreement, we are able to successfully extend the mandate of the PCSO of providing medical services to needy Filipinos,” she added.

Several other reported beneficiaries of STL money, including Camarines Sur Rep. Arnulfo Fuentebella and former congressman and now Isabela Vice Gov. Rodolfo Albano III, have denied the report.

Albano even threatened to sue PCSO officials if they admitted they were the source of the report.