More democratic, less disturbed by factionalism

The House of Representatives of the Fifteenth Congress is proving to be, in the two months and two weeks that it has been in existence, more democratic than the House of the Fourteenth Congress and less disturbed by factionalism than the Palace.

Observers attribute this to the evenhandedness of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte as well as the resolve of President Benigno Aquino 3rd not to be as hostile to people in the opposite camp as the former president was.

Pork for all

This can be seen in the policy announced by both Speaker Belmonte and President Aquino that all lawmakers, whether members of the coalition or of the opposition parties, will be given their proper “pork barrel” allocations.

In the previous dispensation opposition lawmakers who refused to bow to Malacañang did not get their pork.

Another sign of greater democracy in the present House is the differing shades of economic and public philosophy within the very leadership of the chamber and in the appointments to committee chairmanships.

This must be the reason the Left’s contingent of party-list group representatives have allied themselves with Speaker Belmonte and the pro-Aquino majority.

Nationalists and liberal economists

For example, one of the most admired deputy speakers is Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada 3rd. He is not just a token nationalist in the chamber. He is actively pursuing the nationalist agenda while most of his colleagues in the Liberal Party coalition leadership are devoted economic liberals.

Tañada and others of similar nationalist outlook try their best to persuade other congressmen to buy their positions. But they will obviously bow to the will of the majority if their stand is rejected.

Driven by work ethic

As told in the story “Leaders prioritize early budget bill passage” by Llanesca Panti the entire House leadership is devoted to one thing above all else: Get the budget bill passed before the October 16 adjournment.

Many congressmen—including former President Gloria Arroyo—have filed some noteworthy bills early on that will change the country for the better if they become law and are implemented.
Rep. Gloria Arroyo’s propose law would penalize drunk driving and treat it as severely as other countries.

The bill that she filed on the first day of this House was to amend the Constitution by passage of a law. It revived the old attacks against her for wishing to recapture national power via a parliamentary form of government.

Other good bills

Among other bills that should be passed:
a. Rep. Susan Yap’s House Bill 913 proposing the “Competition Act of 2010” that would help micro, small and medium enterprises against unfair competition from cartels, monopolies and others that “abuse their dominant power.”

b. Rep. Edwin Olivarez’s House Bill 156 criminalizing the practice of setting an arbitrary age range when hiring or retaining for employment punishing older but still qualified people.

c. Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara’s House Bill 272 creating an advanced studies development program for exceptional government and private employees. The Pensionado Act of 2010 would result in at least reducing the brain drain.

d. Rep. Hermilando Mandanas’ bill to amend the Expanded Value-Added Tax (EVAT) law by introducing the VAST—the Value-Added Simplified Tax. It will reduce the VAT but make more people pay because it eliminates a lot of unnecessary procedures and deductions that only multinational companies and very large corporations are able to take advantage of. Small and Medium Enterprises are rarely able to avail themselves of these deductions.

House of stars

This is also a remarkable chamber for being, as a reporter wrote, “a star-studded Fifteenth Congress.” Aside from former President Arroyo, it has former First Lady Imelda Marcos, Boxing’s seven-world-titles holder Manny Pacquiao, TV personality Lucy Torres-Gomez and actress Lani Mercado (second district, Cavite). –RENE Q. BAS EDITOR IN CHIEF, Manila Times