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Sinimulan na ng Mababang Kapulungan ng Kongreso ang pagrepaso sa panuntunan tungkol sa plenary attendance at botohan.

Ayon kay Deputy Majority Leader at Iloilo 1st district Representative Janette Garin, isang rules rewriting committee ang binuo upang baguhin ito.

Sa naging botohan kasi ng Kamara noong nakaraang linggo para sa Resolution of Both House No. 6 o resolusyon na nagpapatawag sa isang Constitutional Convention, pinuna ni Albay 1st District Representative Edcel Lagman ang kawalan ng ‘warm bodies’ sa plenaryo.

Aniya noong nakaraang taon nang pagbotohan ang panukalang pagpapaliban sa Barangay at SK Elections ay hiniling na niya na alisin na ang ‘electronic voting’.

Dagdag pa nito, wala naman nang banta ng COVID-19 kaya’t hindi na dapat dumadalo ang mga mambabatas sa sesyon gamit ang Zoom.

“The majority leader himself (Zamboanga City 2nd District Representative Mannix Dalipe), together with the distinguished majority leader now, committed that they would change the rules so that there would be no more Zoom attendance during crucial issues and voting, particularly on very important measures…Next time, we should be able to amend our rules because there is no more danger of the [COVID-19] pandemic and we shouldn’t be having attendance and voting by Zoom,” ani Lagman.

Pagtitiyak naman ni Garin na sinimulan na ang proseso para sa pagbabago ng kanilang plenary rules ngunit hangga’t wala pa ito ay papayagan ang pagdalo at pagboto ng mga mambabatas gamit ang Zoom o iba pang electronic platform.

“We stand by our commitment. Precisely, a rules rewriting committee has been created and the first meeting was held… With that Mr. Speaker, there is a process that we are undergoing, but the rules as it is now state that electronic platforms are still considered in terms of determining the presence of a quorum,” saad ni Garin. | ulat ni Kathleen Jean Forbes