‘No work, no pay’

There is a measure that is sure to be hotly debated by the members of the incoming 17th Congress. It is the No Work, No Pay measure proposed by Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco. The proposed measure is his response to several absentee lawmakers who make it a habit to miss sessions on a regular basis.

Of course the top of mind name that automatically comes up is that of Saranggani Representative Manny Pacquiao, who just moved up to the Senate. He was only present for four sessions of Congress as a congressman and that is an incredibly dismal track record. After all, despite being busy and “attending to constituents,” which is the common congressman excuse; it is a lawmaker’s duty to be present when Congress is in session.

Personally, I think this bill is something the large majority of the population will support. After all, why should the taxpayers pay the salaries of elected officials who don’t “show up to work”? Their absences just hinder the process and usually cause delays in the prompt approval of pertinent bills. Instead of being able to pass laws that will positively affect the country, quorum is not reached and bills are delayed and postponed. I think it’s only fair that people get public servants who will fulfill their duties as they promised to during the campaign period.

Obviously though, as I mentioned, this bill is sure to meet a lot of resistance, especially from lawmakers who are known to be absent from session. Senator Panfilo Lacson has already said that he would oppose the bill saying that it was “demeaning” to lawmakers and that he would oppose it to maintain the dignity and honor of the members of the legislature.

Personally, I don’t see anything demeaning in requiring people to show up to work to get paid. After all, in the real world isn’t that the standard that employees are held to. If an employee keeps being absent from his job, will his boss pay him? No. I don’t think employees that work 9-5 find it demeaning to have punch in and out every day. They know that that is what they signed up for and that they will only get a paycheck at the end of the month if they showed up and fulfilled their deliverables. Why shouldn’t we hold our lawmakers up to the same strict standards we all face as workers? Should they get special treatment? I don’t think so.

I think that Rep. Tiangco is on the right track. He mentioned that he feels that the lack of policy to discourage or sanction frequent absences may be a big factor in affecting poor attendance in Congress. After all, if there are no measures in place to discourage this type of behavior, what is to stop it from continuing on unchecked? Don’t the people deserve better?

I don’t think what he is asking in his bill is so unfair or unjust. If you think about it, a congressman gets a salary of over P90,000 a month, far more than the average Filipino who works hard, physical labor, seven days a week and barely makes enough to make ends meet. As a Congressman, lawmakers are expected to attend session from Monday to Thursday, but due to lack of attendance on the fourth day, the week was shortened to Monday to Wednesday. Even then though, the attendance has not improved. For over P90,000 a month is it too much to ask our officials to work three days a week?

Which is not to say that I don’t understand they also have to work with their constituents. No one would begrudge them time with those who voted them into office. However, it just seems fair that their time be properly accounted for as it would if they were working in the corporate world. There has to be some way to properly ensure that if they are not in session it is for official business.

With all the changes being made to our government, I don’t think it’s unwarranted to hope for better service from our lawmakers and, at the very least, demand they show up for work.

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I have mentioned in past pieces that I support the return of capital punishment and I stand by that to this day. I think the rate of crime in the country has grown to an alarming rate and a lot of that is because criminals don’t fear punishment in our current system. That is not fair to so many who are trying to live just and lawful lives and find themselves victims of criminals who do not get punished.

With President Duterte backing the death penalty, I think it will only be a matter of time before it is in effect once again. There are still many who believe that this won’t make a difference, but I think that once criminals have something to fear once again, we will see a decline in felonious crimes committed. The hope, of course, is to be able to create a safe environment again where those who commit certain heinous crimes will be made to pay the ultimate price.

However, capital punishment must also be tempered with due process and a non-corrupt legal system – which is a hurdle we will also have to face. After all, when it comes to paying the ultimate price, we have to be sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt that a person is guilty. There is no going back. Despite my support of the death penalty for criminals, I also can’t help but feel panicked by the number of extrajudicial killings being reported in the news these days. There is no way to tell if those who were punished actually committed the crimes. This is something the administration is going to have to regulate and address before it gets out of hand.