Congress reopens session today

MANILA, Philippines — After a month-long Halloween break, the Senate and the House of Representatives will be reopening sessions today, during which priority bills like amendments to the P3.7-trillion 2019 national budget will be taken up.

Compostela Valley Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora, the main plenary sponsor of the national budget, said due to time constraints, House Bill 8169 or the 2019 national budget cannot be passed on third and final reading this week.

“Unfortunately, we’re still quite in the thick of the amendments. By the third week of November, maybe we can have the third and final reading approval of the national budget,” she said, as lawmakers will still be going through budgetary items of several line agencies.

The House is also expected to reopen its probe on the anomalous purchase of P3.5 billion worth of Dengvaxia vaccines in late 2015 by the Aquino administration as well as send the committee on justice report to the plenary on the impeachment of Supreme Court (SC) justices.

Camiguin Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo, chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability, sees the need to tie up loose ends but hinted that the joint panel with the health committee is unlikely to invite all past officials at the same time.

“We will invite all former or incumbent officials, from those at the bottom to those at the top of the government hierarchy, who played a role in the registration and procurement of Dengvaxia and the planning and implementation of the vaccination program,” he said.

“But we don’t intend to invite them all together,” he said, referring to former president Benigno Aquino III, former budget secretary Florencio Abad and former health secretary Janette Garin.

For his part, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Doy Leachon, chairman of the committee on justice, said they are still in the process of asking Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. to include in the House agenda the panel’s recommendation dismissing the consolidated complaints.

“I am still arranging the date, but definitely we will act on it immediately,” he said, referring to the consolidated impeachment complaints against SC justices led by retired chief justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro.

The other six magistrates who have been included were incumbent Justices Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo.

The Leachon panel voted 23 against one dismissing the consolidated impeachment complaint after it did not meet the requirement of sufficiency in substance.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he and his colleagues will have to manage their time well to be able to pass bills within the tight legislative calendar.

He stressed the Senate’s good track record in the past several months with 32 bills signed into law, including the landmark Bangsamoro Organic Law.

“There are already 90 measures pending approval of the President and we have 74 bills already approved on third and final reading,” Sotto said.

Under the legislative calendar, Congress will adjourn on Dec. 15 and resume session on Jan. 13. It will go on break in February to give way to the electoral campaign for the midterm local and senatorial elections in May. – With Paolo Romero