House to hold special session for ‘important event’ on Nov. 4

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will hold a special session on November 4, Saturday, for an important event, a memorandum from Secretary General Reginald Velasco dated October 24 showed.

According to the memo from Velasco, House secretariat officials and employees are required to be present for the event.

“The House of Representatives will hold a special session for an important event on Saturday, 04 November 2023 at 9:00 a.m.  All secretariat officials and employees shall report for work from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.,” the memorandum read.

“The department/ office heads are requested to submit their list of personnel to the Office of the Secretary-General on or before 26 October 2023.  The secretariat employees may file for compensatory day off or overtime to cover the event as an official workday,” it added.

In a phone interview, Velasco confirmed that they released such a memorandum but refused to divulge the reason behind the special session.

However, sources told INQUIRER.net that a government official from one of the Philippines’ foreign allies will be in the country that day, hence the need for a special session.

While the conduct of special sessions is not uncommon, this is the first time that a special session would be called under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s term. In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic crippled the country, former President Rodrigo Duterte called for a special session to pass laws allowing the government to reallocate funds toward the health response.

Later that year, in October 2020, Duterte again called for a special session to ensure that the proposed 2021 national budget would be passed on time.

READ: Duterte calls Congress to special session to avert delay in 2021 budget passage

je/abc