MINORITY BLOC SEEKING AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
The minority bloc is seeking the adoption of certain amendments to the rules
of the Senate committee of the whole before it proceeds with the
investigation of the complaint against Sen. Manuel Villar.
Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. (PDP-Laban) said that there are no
specific rules to govern the committee of the whole in the probe of the
Villar case.
In fact, Pimentel said his legal staff found out that there is no set of
rules to govern the conduct of the Senate committee of the whole to
distinguish it from the functions of the ordinary committee.
In an ordinary committee, he pointed out that the Senate rules provide that
the presence of five but not less than two members is sufficient to
constitute a quorum.
Pimentel said that on matters of quorum, the rules governing the ordinary
committees should not apply to the committee of the whole because it is
composed of the entire membership of the Senate.
“According to the Constitution, this chamber should have 24 members and my
humble submission is that the quorum should be one half of the total
membership plus one,” he said.
The minority leader also pointed out that if a member of the Senate is
investigated and found guilty for misconduct and other cognizable offenses
by the ethics committee, its decision can still be appealed to the entire
Senate for final consideration.
But since the committee of the whole has assumed jurisdiction over the case
involving Sen. Villar, it would appear that if it renders a decision adverse
to him, there is no avenue left for him to appeal the verdict, Pimentel
said.
“One of the remedies that otherwise would have been available to Sen. Villar
would be an appeal from a decision of the ethics committee to the Senate.
But this time, since the matter was brought to the jurisdiction of the
committee of the whole, there is apparently no more avenue for appeal of
Sen. Villar within the context of the Senate rules under the circumstances.”
He said he and two other minority senators, Joker Arroyo and Alan Peter
Cayetano, who took part in the first meeting of the committee of the whole
on Monday (May 4), agreed that Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, as
presiding officer, acted judiciously on the issues that were raised. He also
noted that the Senate president agreed to consider the move of the minority
to propose certain amendments to the rules when the committee of the whole
holds its second meeting Thursday.
“We have raised this issue of the rules not because we want to delay the
process but we want to make sure that the rules are there not only for Mr.
Villar but for any member who may be haled before the committee of the whole
can benefit from a fair crafting of the rules under consideration,” Pimentel
said.
Pimentel also said the minority felt uncomfortable with the wording of the
notice on the second meeting of the committee of the whole issued by its
secretary which makes it appear that the complaint against Villar “would now
be considered in its sufficiency in form and substance” even before the
issues concerning the rules are fully resolved.
“Maybe something else is intended. But that is how it appears to us. Let us
talk about form and substance, but before we do that we are suggesting, and
the chair apparently agrees with us, we can raise points of amendments to
the rules.”
Date: May 6, 2009
Ref: Omeng Maglangit / (02) 5526733 |
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