MANILA, Philippines — “Sarap ng buhay, sarap ng buhay, ganto na lang tayo palagi ha?”
(Life is good, life is good, I hope we’re like this all the time.)
Neophyte Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa said this in jest as he bade goodbye to his colleagues after a nearly two-hour “hybrid” plenary session on Tuesday.
WATCH: “Ang sarap ng buhay. Sarap ng buhay. Ganito na lang tayo palagi ha,” Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa was heard telling his colleagues in jest at the end of the Senate regular session on Tuesday, May 26. | @MRamosINQ pic.twitter.com/ck3fdGbFoQ
— Inquirer (@inquirerdotnet) May 26, 2020
Before Senate President Vicente Sotto III suspended the session, the Senate only tackled two measures: Senate Bill No. 1318 which seeks to amend the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 and Senate Bill No. 1541 which proposes to amend Republic Act No. 7797 or “An Act to Lengthen the School Calendar from Two Hundred (200) Days to Not More Than Two Hundred Twenty (220) Class Days.”
Last week, the senate conducted a three-day marathon committee of the whole hearing on the status of the government’s COVID-19 update where the senators took turns to ask several questions to the resource persons.
The said hearings, which lasted for an average of around seven hours, were attended by high ranking officials from the executive department.
“Kaya nasabi kong ang sarap nang buhay kasi mas mabilis ang talakayan ng bills kapag naka-(WebEx) kami at mas maaga matapos ang session,” Dela Rosa said in a message to reporters.
(The reason I said that was because our discussions on the bills were faster as we used WebEx and the session was suspended early).
“Sa tingin ko mas efficient ang session via (WebEx) basta maganda lang ang wifi signal ng attendees,” he added.
(I think conducting the session via WebEx was more efficient provided that the wifi signal of the attendees are stable).
The Senate earlier shifted to “hybrid” plenary sessions and committee hearings as the coronavirus pandemic triggered restrictions in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.