House of Representatives

[OPINION] Our House is on the market

Gino Leocadio Paje

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[OPINION] Our House is on the market
'What a waste of taxpayer money to have a co-equal rubber stamp, much more two Speakers who bicker in Congress but kowtow all the same to one power in Davao'

Perhaps no institution of the Philippine government is more representative of its people than the House of Representatives. In the United States’ political structure, of which ours is a mere derivative, the membership of the House of Representatives is meant to be directly elected by the people, and thus subject to public opinion, while the Senate membership is representative of the States and thus more deliberative – less affected by variances in the public sentiment of the time.

The members of our own House of Representatives are also directly elected. They are supposed to represent their voters in each geographical legislative district, or sector and minority deemed politically significant by the people. From the House of Representatives emanates the expression of our sovereign will by their enactment of the laws of the land.

If our politics is a borrowed structure, then we can assume that the House of Representatives of the Philippines acts like its US counterpart, reflecting most of the values of the people predominant at the time.

And what a splendid reflection is cast!

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HIGHLIGHTS: House Speakership fight between Cayetano and Velasco

HIGHLIGHTS: House Speakership fight between Cayetano and Velasco

As I write, there are two Speakers of the House, one clinging to power by holding office at the Batasang Pambansa, and another taking oath at the Celebrity Sports Plaza. Each one holds up the urgency of passing next year’s national budget as the motivating spirit behind their actions. The national budget after all is the law that says which government programs will get public spending.

But to me, these Representatives kuno are just showcasing how they value position over integrity, and politics over governance – all at the expense of a populace while it suffers from the pandemic of the century.

Perhaps I could grant that this is an extraordinary event happening during an extraordinary crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic does raise very particular circumstances in all aspects of society. So it does in governance, as the State’s response will spell the difference between a flat curve and a democide. Who leads Congress will be of paramount national concern as they enact the national budget meant to address COVID-19 response efforts for the next year.

But in a matter of 3 years, we will have witnessed two ousters in the position of Speaker of the House. The ouster of Cong. Pantaleon Alvarez by Cong. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo certainly happened before the pandemic. And we have yet to see if the row between Speaker(s) Alan Peter Cayetano and Lord Allan Velasco does not escalate into a full-blown constitutional crisis.

So clearly, it is not the pandemic that has caused the election of a Speaker in Celebrity while the one in Batasan yet presides. This is a power struggle that today has become the standard in the House of Representatives, and it is staged at our expense. Taxpayer money supports two separate sessions of the lower house of Congress. It divides the national attention and takes away from matters of life-threatening urgency.

To me, these tumults in Congress are mere symptoms of a sickness in our institutions. We elect no longer our representatives to august Halls of Congress but deign to sell our votes to the highest bidders in a noisome marketplace.

And this is worsened by a tendency of the Chief Executive and his cohorts to support padrinos in a branch of government in which they have no business meddling. It is said after all that Alvarez was ousted after a quarrel with Mayor Inday Sara Duterte – the same presidential relative who is said have been upset by the Speaker in Batasan. Now, the same presidential relative who backed Arroyo in ousting Alvarez is thought to back the Speaker in Celebrity.

It is enough that we must deal with a President who has no qualms about acting like a dictator. We cannot afford to have a legislative branch that answers to him and his relatives. We cannot have a law-making power answering to the one that will execute it. What a waste of taxpayer money to have a co-equal rubber stamp, much more two Speakers who bicker in Congress but kowtow all the same to one power in Davao.

By virtue of our constitutional design, there exists a separation of powers where the co-equal branches must refrain from influencing each other. This is necessary for each one to act separately as the check and balance to the others.

But what does this all mean for us really? Going back to my thesis statement, no institution represents more the Filipino people than the House of Representatives.

A representative merely reflects the character and powers of their principal.

The marketplace I spoke of is our House of Representatives. It is our House we now witness become a marketplace, with our consent given through our vote. To say that this is on us is an understatement. THIS IS US. – Rappler.com

Gino L.S. Paje is a law graduate working for the environment department. He believes that a civil servant should be beholden to the people, and not the government that appoints them.

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