THERE’S a new school where freshman legislators can brush up on “Lawmaking 101.”
The House of Representatives Monday announced the creation of the Institute for Legislation and Legislative Governance to train and orient representatives and their staff, especially the neophytes, on the ins and outs of working in the lower chamber of Congress.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the institute would benefit incoming House members who would no longer need to undergo workshops to familiarize themselves with parliamentary rules and the lawmaking process.
“Even our legislative support service staff will be included in the knowledge and skills enhancement programs,” Belmonte said.
House Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap, who was appointed project manager of the institute, said its establishment could be considered a historic and landmark achievement of the 16th Congress.
She said the legislature “deserves to have its own institution that will enhance knowledge acquisition about the legislative Congress.”
“The judiciary has a Judicial Academy. The executive has its Development Academy of the Philippines, while the local government units have their Local Government Academy,” Barua-Yap said.
In a phone interview, she said first-time lawmakers came with varying degrees of preparedness after being elected to Congress.
“Some of them, who are children of congressmen, are more familiar with the processes. Most of them already have some idea of what they have to do,” Barua-Yap said.
But there are still dynamics of legislation that they need to learn, she said.
“We will be holding mock sessions, from the committee level to the plenary and we will also train them on how to draft bills,” Barua-Yap said.
She said the freshman lawmakers would not be forced to attend the workshops, but would only be encouraged to do so.
Trainors will include experts from institutions like the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance and the Ateneo School of Government.
As no appropriation has been set aside for a school building, classes and workshops will be temporarily held in different rooms at the Batasang Pambansa complex, including the Legislative Library.
The institute shall be composed of three divisions: a Center for Legislation, a Center for Legislative Governance and a Center for Publication.
The first will familiarize new lawmakers on legislative work through training and workshops on such topics as parliamentary rules, drafting bills, powers of legislative oversight and budget process dynamics.
The second will enhance the knowledge of the legislative support service workers to “enhance professionalism,” while the third will produce printed and electronic resources on legislation and legislative governance.
The establishment of the Legislative Institute was pursuant to House Resolution No. 212, which the lawmakers adopted on June 10.
The resolution was authored by Belmonte and coauthored by Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora and others.