Following the decision of the House leadership to fast-track the passage of the death-penalty bill, lawmakers belonging to the opposition bloc have vowed to use the lower chamber’s perennial problem of absence of quorum to block the proposal to revive the capital punishment.
In a news conference, Liberal Party Rep. Edcel C. Lagman of Albay said it is still the responsibility of the House leadership to maintain the quorum to assure that the interpellations and debates on the pending bills would continue.
“We are willing to debate, to interpellate till kingdom come, but we will do this if we have quorum,” Lagman said. “It is a puzzle why the House leadership gets peeved when the absence of a quorum is raised considering that under the [House] Rules, no business can be conducted in the absence of a quorum,” he added.
Lagman said the advance voting was a reaction to the quorum calls of those objecting to the retrogressive measure.
He added that moving for adjournment due to absence of a quorum under Article 75 of Rule XI of House rules is a legitimate parliamentary motion, like calling for a nominal voting under Article 116 of Rule XV.
Earlier, Majority Leader Rodolfo C. Fariñas of Ilocos Norte said the leadership of the lower chamber has decided to put to an early vote the Durte administration-backed death-penalty bill.
He said the House Bill (HB) 4727 will be approved on second reading on February 28—a week earlier than the March 8 original schedule.
The opposition is continuously questioning the lack of quorum that delays the sponsorship and debate period.
Moreover, Lagman said he cannot understand why the lower chamber is rushing the voting on the very important, although retrogressive, measure.
“During the past Congresses de-bating the comprehensive agrarian-reform program, reimposition of the death penalty, the abolition of the death penalty [and] the reproductive-health bill, nobody was muzzled.
“This kind of muzzling has not happened before. This is a way of continuing the culture of violence, because suppressing freedom of expression is a form of violence,” he added.
“A train terminal has been installed menacingly in the plenary hall of the House of Representatives for the railroading of the approval of HB 4727 reimposing the death penalty.
The train’s arrival has been advanced from March 8 to February 28, when the death penalty bill has been scheduled by the House leadership for voting,” he said.
Akbayan Rep. Tom S. Villarin said the House leadership is railroading the passage of the death-penalty bill to propel President Duterte’s popularity. “That is the only pragmatic and political reason on why they want to rush this bill.”
Meanwhile, the so-called super-majority” has agreed to narrow down to 10 from 21, the number of heinous crimes punishable by death, which include drug-related offenses, plunder, rape and treason.
These drug-related cases include importation of dangerous drugs and or controlled precursors and essential chemicals; sale; trading; administration; dispensation; delivery; distribution and transportation of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals; and maintenance of drug den.
Also punishable by death are manufacture of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursor and essential chemicals; cultivation or culture of plants classified as dangerous drugs; unlawful prescription of dangerous drugs; criminal liability of public officer for misappropriation; misapplication or failure to account for the confiscated seized or surrendered drugs; and criminal liability for planting evidence.