Probe of House absenteeism sought

House of Representatives. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

DAVAO CITY—At least 27 civil society groups have asked the Ombudsman to investigate the continued absenteeism in the House of Representatives that is becoming what the groups said is the biggest stumbling block to the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The groups asked the Ombudsman to force House members to attend session and continue deliberating on BBL.

“This chronic absenteeism surely erodes public trust and is a public display of neglect of duty,” said Mary Ann Arnado, member of the council of the Mindanao People’s Caucus, one of the groups that are asking the Ombudsman to step in.

Arnado said it is now public knowledge that since Congress opened in July, session after session had been suspended and adjourned for lack of quorum, especially when BBL is on the agenda.

In a letter to the Ombudsman, Arnado said the House has failed to muster a quorum each time the proposed BBL is calendared for deliberation on the floor. The letter was signed by leaders of 26 other civil society organizations and addressed to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.

The letter said the only time there was a quorum in the House was in July then the chamber deliberated on the proposed Salary Standardization Law that would increase government wages, including those for legislators.

“Are these honorable members of the House of Representatives exempt from  from basic government policy on reporting for duty?” the letter said.

“What is the policy for their absences? Can they still claim compensation  even if they are absent from work?” it added.

Snail’s pace

The group also said debates at the Senate on BBL are moving at snail’s pace. For instance, Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile has been debating  Sen. Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. for days on the definition of the  term Bangsamoro and its implication on various faiths in the autonomous  region. Marcos is also absent in most BBL deliberation days.

The groups said the lawmakers seemed to be telling the Filipino people, by  their action, that they are above the law by turning the legislative  branch into an empty hall and causing a state of paralysis and getting away with it.

Among the groups that signed the letter are Moro Women Development and Cultural  Center, Mindanao Action for Peace and Development Initatives and the Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace.

The groups, mostly peace advocates, said they have already issued so many statements, letters and had launched door-to-door campaigns in the offices of the  House of Representatives and have appealed to the leadership of the House  to address the absenteeism.  Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao