Committee report on House Resolution 124 on hold due to technicalities on quorum

Miami
April 10, 2008
Story 1: Committee report on House Resolution 124 on hold due to technicalities on quorum

The committee report on House Resolution 124 was put on hold due to lack of quorum during the last committee hearing of the Committee on Foreign Affairs last March 11, 2008.

The House Resolution 124 was authored mainly by Gabriella Party list Rep. Liza Masa together with Gabriella Partylist Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan,Paranaque Rep. Eduardo Zialcita, Bayan Muna Reps Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casino, and Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran. The resolution is about urging the Japanese government to formally acknowledge, apologize and accept the responsibility over the sexual slavery of young women known as comfort women by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

According to the Committee Secretary of Committee on Foreign Affairs Millet Apostol, the resolution was not returned to them because technically it is still within the committee.

“Our chairman (Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco) told me not to make the committee report yet, as the resolution needed to be ratified by the other members of the committee,” Apostol said.

Cuenco admitted that they do not have proper quorum when they had their committee hearing last March 11. “We were only three then but we continued on the hearing because we want to hear what will Rep. Maza will have to explain with regards to her resolution and because we already scheduled it,” he said.

It can be recalled that most of the members of the committee did not attend the meeting because some of them attended the signing of National Budget for Year 2008 into law by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the Malacanang Palace.

The committee on Foreign Affairs has 55 members, and for them to have a proper quorum at least 11 of them should have attended the hearing. But during the March 11 hearing those who attended were Nueva Viscaya Rep. Carlos Padilla, author of the resolution Rep. Liza Maza and the Chair of the committee Rep. Cuenco.

Apostol narrated to Manila Shimbun that the day before the committee hearing (March 10) somebody from Japanese embassy asked if they can attend the committee hearing, Apostol said yes because the hearing is open to the public.

During the hearing the First Secretary of the Political Section of the Japanese Embassy named Yoshihisa Ishikawa attended the said hearing as an observer only. Apostol said she did not know if the Japanese Embassy representative talked to Cuenco or not.

According to Cuenco, Ishikawa asked him of their quorum because they were only three members present at the hearing. “I explained to him that whatever will be talked about or approved upon will be subject for ratification of other members,” Cuenco said.

Cuenco denied any negotiations from the Japanese embassy, he said he just want the resolution to be cleared from intrigues that is why he want other members to ratify the resolution if they are in favour of it before finalizing the committee report and submitting it to the plenary.
In fact, he also said that he is in favour of the resolution, but they do not have the proper quorum during the hearing that is why they have to wait for the ratification of other members.

Once the committee report is done, it will be submitted to Bills and Indexes for numbering then it will be submitted to Committee on Rules for scheduling and including it at the Order of Business in able to discuss it at the Plenary.

Once it is on the Plenary already, they will adopt the resolution through viva voce.