House OKs journal stating presence of quorum during TRAIN ratification

‘NO QUORUM’ Representatives Carlos Zarate (third, from left), Antonio Tinio and Ariel Casilao question the House ratification of the TRAIN law on the night of Dec. 13, 2017, claiming there was no quorum during the voting. —GRIG C.MONTEGRANDE

The House of Representatives has approved the journal stating the presence of a quorum during the ratification of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Reform law last Dec. 13, despite ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio’s protestation that the session hall was empty that night.

During the resumption of House’s session on Monday, a majority of its members, via voice voting, said aye to Deputy Majority Leader Juan Pablo Bondoc’s motion to approve Journal No. 48, defeating Tinio’s objection.

This meant the records would show that TRAIN was validly ratified in accordance with the rules since there was a quorum of 232 representatives.

Deputy Speaker Fredenil Castro argued in a Sunday radio interview that the House’s proceedings and documents are accorded the presumption of regularity by the court.

The approval of the journal could thus be used against the petition filed before the Supreme Court last week by Tinio and his Makabayan bloc colleagues, Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate and Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao.

Tinio, it may be recalled, claimed earlier that there were barely 10 people on the floor when Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu, who presided over the session, approved the motion of Deputy Majority Leader Arthur Defensor Jr. to ratify the bicameral conference committee report.

“Any objection? There is none. The motion is approved,” Abu hurriedly pronounced, ignoring Tinio’s frantic screams in the background of “Mr. Speaker, objection! Objection!”

Unlike the Senate, no voting took place. The adoption was over in just the last two minutes of the six-hour plenary session, a livestream of which may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeQADE-IZSk.

Despite the video feed seemingly contradicting the presence of a quorum, the journal stated TRAIN was ratified “on the motion of Rep. Defensor, there being no objection.”

“This is the part I question—’no objection’—when in fact the representation raised a numerous objections and a colleague of mine as well, Rep. Zarate raised an objection as well,” Tinio said during the Monday session.

“I ask that these objections be reflected in the records. I raised an objection on the basis of lack of quorum, and I ask that the journal be amended to reflect said objection,” he asked.

Tinio also opposed the phrase “ratified the committee report,” saying it could not have been ratified when “no such vote took place that day.”

Still, Bondoc maintained: “On Dec. 13, records show we have a quorum of 232 members, easily meeting the requirements as mentioned by Hon. Tinio.” Evidently, the Duterte administration-allied supermajority agreed.

Tinio even tried to argue further following the vote, but Bondoc said it would delay the proclamation of the House’s newest members, Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ciriaco Calalang and Anak Mindanao Party-list Rep. Amihilda Sancopan, the replacements of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque and resigned Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman.

“To delay this further would be a travesty to the votes of those who placed their faith in them,” Bondoc told Tinio during the session.