Prioritize bills over ‘word war,’ Senate and House urged

The Senate and the House of Representatives were asked to focus more on passing priority bills instead of engaging in a “word war.” (INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS)

MANILA, Philippines — Both the Senate and the House of Representatives should focus more on passing priority bills instead of engaging in a “word war,” House Deputy Majority Leader Janette Garin said Thursday.

According to Garin, who is Iloilo’s 1st District representative, legislators must ensure that current laws are timely and are in line with the changing needs.

“Recently, it seems that we have deviated a bit from the intention that we should provide service to our countrymen,” she said in Filipino in a press conference.

“I respect all of our colleagues in the Senate, but with this going around the district, the people seem confused. Why is it that what is being talked about is not what should done for the people? And it appears that it’s not good that the House and the Senate to engage in what we call a word fight,” she added.

READ: House reps press Senate again to pass RBH 6 on Charter change soon

Garin acknowledged, however, that the Senate and House members’ heated verbal exchanges stemmed from the lower chamber’s intention to expedite the passage of bills. She even noted her House colleagues’ concern over the “somewhat slow” legislative process in the Senate.

She pointed out that of the 57 Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) priority bills, 54 have already been passed by the House.

“But as of January, only 11 have been enacted into law,” Garin said.

“These are the things that we should prioritize in the House and Senate instead of engaging in a word war.”

She continued to draw a comparison between the House and Senate, likening them to parents. In her analogy, she emphasized that, like parents, the House and Senate should refrain from displaying their disagreements publicly.

“As parents, when we fight, don’t we hide in the room? We can’t show it to the children because that’s not a good influence,” she said.

Senate must walk the talk

In the same press conference, Garin said she welcomed the recent development between Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.

During the 100th birthday celebration of chief presidential legal adviser Juan Ponce Enrile, Zubiri and Romualdez talked and agreed to “work professionally.”

Garin noted, however, that following this development, it would be now up to the Senate to “walk the talk,” particularly in passing Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 6, which proposes amending specific economic provisions of the Constitution.

“Sometimes, in the Senate, you get confused if what is being discussed is cascaded to the members because that’s how leadership should be,” Garin said.

READ: Senate-House row simmers down as Zubiri vows to tackle RBH 6

“So it’s good that the speaker and the Senate president have already talked, and the timeline already came from them that by March, it will be finished. The only thing missing is to walk the talk,” she added.

A Charter Change proposal through a people’s initiative (PI) triggered the verbal tussle between the Senate and House.

The Senate perceived the people’s initiative as a move to diminish its power as the House wanted joint voting of the two chambers of Congress on amendments to the Constitution.