MANILA, Philippines – Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday said the move he made questioning the presence of a quorum at the House of Representatives last Tuesday should serve as a warning to members of the House of Representatives to be honorable and truthful in tackling sensitive issues.
“Now they are warned that we congressmen would not take this sitting down. We congressmen should be honorable enough to really, to also complain when there is really no quorum and they should be truthful when there is none,” Rodriguez said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer 990AM.
The controversial Reproductive Health Bill caused another tension at the House of Representatives Tuesday when Rodriguez walked over to the House secretary general to insist that there were only 111, and not 155 lawmakers who were present on the floor.
Rodriguez said that it was not true that he lost his cool but that he had to raise his voice so that he could be heard by the secretariat.
He said other congressmen agreed that he had a point “so they called for an adjournment.”
Rodriguez said that he actually made a list and was checking congressmen entering the hall, noting that Congressman Dato Arroyo was the 111th on his list.