MANILA, Philippines—In a tumultuous first regular session, Congress has managed to craft at least 10 more measures for signing by President Benigno Aquino III.
Senate President Franklin Drilon enumerated the bills at the end of Congress’ first regular session Wednesday night that he said were passed at a time of “political turmoil.’’
“This august chamber, which has traditionally reveled in the confidence of the electorate and consistently maintained its prominence, has been battered by, perhaps, the gravest crisis to have ever crossed its path,’’ Drilon said of the pork barrel scandal that has roiled Congress the past months.
“In my 16 years in the Senate, never before have I witnessed this kind of turmoil,’’ he added.
Senator Franklin Drilon INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The Senate is now bracing for the arrest of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr., now accused of pocketing kickbacks from their priority development assistance fund (PDAF) allocations. They have denied any wrongdoing.
The senators have been charged with plunder and graft, along with alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles, their legislative staff, and congressional representatives with the Sandiganbayan.
On the Supreme Court’s order, the anti-graft court is expected to raffle off the cases to a division this Friday, which would issue the arrest warrants upon the determination of probable cause.
Drilon said the raft of new measures passed by Congress was topped by House Bill No. 353 mandating telecommunications service providers to send free mobile alerts in times of disasters.
Also passed was the proposed Graphic Health Warning Law, which mandates the printing of warnings on the deadly effects of smoking on half of the display surface of tobacco packages.
Yet another approved bill is the proposed amendment to the Act Liberalizing the Scope and Entry of Operations of Foreign Banks allowing foreign banks to own up to 100 percent of the voting stocks of domestic banks.
Both chambers also passed the bill extending the corporate life of the State-run Philippine National Railways.
The others on the list are Senate Bill No. 2046, which promotes poverty reduction by developing micro, small and medium enterprises; SB No. 2211 which protects consumers when buying new cars; SB No. 2273 which strengthens the government’s anti-drug campaign, and HB No. 3187 granting franchise to Cotabato Light And Power Co. to distribute power in parts of Maguindanao.
Congress also passed HB No. 4084 granting Philippine citizenship to NBA player Andray Blatche, and House Joint Resolution Declaring July 27, 2014 as a special non-working holiday in commemoration of Iglesia ni Cristo’s founding anniversary.
Congress is adjourning sine die this week, and will reopen on July 28 for the second regular session.
Faced with public outrage over the pork scandal, Congress abolished the PDAF in the 2014 national budget, and the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee opened an inquiry into the scam.
Drilon said the mere fact that the media openly reported on the scam was proof of the strength of the country’s “democratic foundations” to withstand political turmoil.
“However, we cannot deny that the PDAF controversy has cast a long, dark shadow over the institution. And we completely understand the people’s outrage,’’ he said.
In the second regular session, Drilon said the Senate would resume debates on 19 bills, including amendments to the Fisheries Code, a bill prohibiting discrimination on employment on the basis merely of age, and a bill granting retirement benefit to barangay officials and employees.
“Amid these spirit-breaking challenges, I am certain that each one of us only has the nation’s and institution’s best interest at heart. We might be going through turbulent times right now, but I am confident that, in time, we will be able to restore the people’s respect and trust in the Senate,’’ he said.
After all, Congress’ ultimate goal was to provide a better life for Filipinos, Drilon said.
“Neither should we forget that the Senate, a bastion of democracy, has a glorious beginning and a history of honor in public service. And we shall endeavor to bring back that glory and honor,’’ he said.
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