‘Live coverage of House hearings may solve quorum problem’
MANILA, Philippines - Rep. Lito Atienza of party-list group Buhay said his bill allowing live television coverage of House proceedings aims to solve the problem of absenteeism among members of the chamber.
Since July 27 when Congress started its third and last regular session, Atienza said the House has been having difficulty in mustering quorum.
“I hope live TV coverage of plenary deliberations will improve attendance,” he said.
The former Manila mayor has been raising the quorum question whenever there is insufficient attendance, saying it is the duty of House members to attend session.
He said enough members should hear and participate in debates in important bills like the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
The draft law that would create a new autonomous Bangsamoro region in Muslim Mindanao has not been able to more forward due to lack of quorum. House leaders have admitted that the chamber is running out of time to approve the proposed BBL.
One leader of the chamber said most likely, only the proposed P3.002-trillion budget for 2016 would be passed. The House is scheduled to start plenary consideration of the budget on Sept. 28. Once this starts, no other bill would be tackled.
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