Congress holds first ever virtual session in response to the President’s call to pass Bayanihan to Heal as One Act in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown. Contributed photo
MANILA, Philippines — The world continues to grapple with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic with over three million people infected and more than 200,000 dead. The numbers continue to rise. Few world leaders are talking about the “new normal,” although most of them now are focused on defeating the pandemic.
Here in the Philippines, Congress will be resuming its regular session on May 4. This is despite the fact that the entire Luzon and many parts of the country are still under extended enhanced community quarantine with concomitant travel restrictions.
Congress holds first ever virtual session in response to the President’s call to pass Bayanihan to Heal as One Act in the middle of the COVID-19 lockdown. Contributed photo
Unlike the Senate with its very small membership, most of the members of the House of Representatives are in their respective districts, addressing various needs of their respective constituents. It is not likely that majority of them will be able to return to the capital for the resumption of the session.
Well, not really a big problem for a legislative body with its innovative leadership. Speaker Alan Peter Cayateno has always endeavored that the House must always adapt to the changing conditions of time. The COVID-19 pandemic overhauled and replaced many norms, including the manner by which a legislature conducts its business. For this coming May 4 resumption of session, the House will be conducting (again) its own version of virtual session. Talk of cyberdemocracy.
Few weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, President Rodrigo Duterte called for a special session of both houses of Congress to deliberate on the proposed Bayanihan to Heal as One Act. Among others, the enacted law gave President Rodrigo Duterte the necessary flexibility in re-programming and re-allocating government resources and such other temporary powers to better address the pandemic with ample resources.
The Lower House, for the first time since the founding of the republic in the late 19th century, conducted a semi-virtual session. With only the leadership and few members of the house being physically present inside the session hall, majority of the representatives participated online. There was an urgent Bayanihan bill on the table that had to be deliberated immediately. Airports remain closed to commercial passenger flights. And health authorities require physical distancing to prevent further spread of the virus.
After a marathon hearing lasting until the wee hours of the following morning, Congress was able to approve the bill, which now resulted to multi-billion social amelioration program—the biggest and widest in our nation’s history—as well as measures in our bid to defeat the disease.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures through extraordinary means,” Cayetano said.
It was unprecedented in our nation’s history. The dire circumstances partly call for it and we have a house leadership full of innovation and creativity just to remain being responsive to the increasing needs of our people.
Oddly, the United States, one of the world’s leaders in information and communications technology, appears to be struggling in assembling its own House of Representatives, with its House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer saying that he is cancelling plans to bring back the lawmakers to Washington, DC, for the May 4 session. It is a stark contrast to its counterparts in the Philippines, a developing country, which is set to hold its second virtual session next week. Presently, the US is now the epicenter of the COVID-19 with infections accounting for one-third of the world’s total.
At the height of the Taal Volcano eruption, Speaker Cayetano also initiated to hold a session of the lower house last January 22 in Batangas City. A little more than a hundred members of Congress trooped to one of the most badly hit areas for first-hand account of extent of the devastation. The chamber was able to pass two resolutions urging the speedy release of disaster funds, including the P30-billion supplemental budget for immediate relief of affected Filipinos.
It is often said that in a representative democracy, the elected representatives of the people are presumed to speak on behalf of the people. But, of course, it is just an assumption–for our convenience. The real test is in the discharge of their functions, mostly illustrated through the legislations they pass. Are the laws passed by the House of the people reflective of the true collective will of the electorates? How do they respond to the dire needs of its people?
On April 28, Speaker Cayetano and other co-authors files House Bill No. 6623, also known as “The New Normal for the Workplace and Public Spaces Act of 2020,” calling for several measures to be implemented by the government for the next three years or so as continuing response to the growing threats of the pandemic.
“This bill will prepare and educate the Filipino public for life after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and to adapt to the new norms of physical distancing. It institutionalizes a new way of life after the Enhanced Community Quarantine and serves as a guide to the public,” the bill explains.
Some of the proposed measures include mandatory wearing of masks, availability of handwashing or sanitizing stations in public areas, physical distancing of at least one meter in public places, more sanitary safeguards in public transportation, promotion of contact-less payment schemes and other health safety protocols in schools, food establishments, commercial stores, banks, supermarkets, malls, offices, construction sites, factories—practically in every sphere of our public life.
Speaker Cayetano stressed that whoever can “adapt, innovate and manage” the situation well can get ahead in this New Normal phase.
“We need to act faster than this deadly virus to better respond to these challenging times. Instead of focusing only on how the country can defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, we urge our colleagues in Congress to move a few steps ahead of the situation,” he added.
As we all prepare for a world where pandemics are now part of our life, the task is not just to fight COVID now but to prepare for two things, the new normal and the country’s economic recovery.
The House Speaker assures the people that the government continues to find creative solutions to prepare for a better life for Filipinos after COVID. The twin measures are necessary to create jobs and livelihood for our kababayans.