Lagman requests House secretariat to disclose voting on Anti-Terror Bill

MANILA, Philippines — Albay 1st District Representative  Edcel Lagman on Sunday revealed that he requested the House of Representatives Secretariat to disclose how members of the lower chamber had voted on the controversial Anti-Terror Bill.

In a statement, Lagman said that he sent an email to House Secretary-General Jose Luis Montales for the certification “to ascertain the real score” on the voting of House Bill No. 6875, which was passed on third and final reading last June 3.

Lagman added that there  “appears to be some confusion on the tabulation of votes as evidenced by changes and corrections made in the result of the voting by the attending staff of the Secretariat.”

The data being requested should include the names of House members who voted “yes,” “yes with reservation,” “no” and “abstain,” as well as the names who subsequently changed their votes, Lagman said.

The certification must also be based on “individual voting in the Plenary and by Zoom as recorded in our All Members Viber Community,” he added.

“A public disclosure of the voting record would also afford Representatives to clarify how they actually voted or that they did not vote at all,” Lagman said.

The Anti-Terror Bill, which seeks to amend the Human Security Act of 2007, is now up for the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte after the majority of House members voted for its passage.

Some lawmakers such as Albay 2nd District Representative Joey Salceda however withdrew their “yes” vote days later. Other members such as House Deputy Speakers Loren Legarda and Vilma Santos-Recto meanwhile denied being principal authors of the bill.

Meanwhile, Pasig City Lone District Representative Roman Romulo said that he did not vote in favor of the bill, saying that it was “incorrectly recorded.”

/MUF