ILOILO City — Seven lawmakers from Western Visayas have distinguished themselves in the 20th Congress by maintaining perfect attendance in plenary sessions, earning them a place among only 98 members of the House of Representatives being formally commended for their attendance record.
The seven are Iloilo City lone district’s Cong. Julienne Baronda; Iloilo 1st District’s Cong. Janette Garin; Antique lone district’s Cong. Antonio Agapito Legarda; Aklan 1st District’s Cong. Jesus Marquez; Aklan 2nd District’s Cong. Florencio Miraflores; Guimaras lone district’s Cong. JC Rahman Nava; and Capiz 1st District’s Cong. Howard Guintu.
They are among 78 district representatives and 20 party-list lawmakers included in House Resolution No. 1394, which seeks to commend House members who recorded perfect attendance in plenary sessions.
The resolution was recently introduced by House Speaker and Isabela 6th District’s Cong. Faustino “Bojie” Dy III, Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st District’s Cong. Sandro Marcos, Minority Leader and 4Ps Party-list’s Cong. Marcelino Libanan, and Committee on Ethics and Privileges chairman and 4Ps Party-list’s Cong. JC Abalos.
The distinction puts the seven Western Visayas legislators among the 98 lawmakers with perfect attendance out of the 318 sitting members of the House of Representatives.
Congress holds plenary sessions every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The authors of the resolution underscored the importance of lawmakers consistently attending plenary proceedings.
“Regular attendance in plenary sessions, a fundamental duty of every lawmaker, safeguards active participation in legislative debates, the timely enactment of vital laws, and strict oversight of government functions,” they said.
The measure added that the unwavering presence of lawmakers “directly contributes to the swift deliberation and passage of priority national legislation, ensuring that the wheels of governance move without delay”.
“A perfect record of attendance in plenary sessions demonstrates a firm commitment to actively represent the voice and interests of one’s constituency in any legislative discourse, debate, or division of the House,” it added.
Under the resolution, each lawmaker on the perfect attendance list would receive a copy of the resolution and an official Certificate of Commendation “as a permanent record of their exemplary service and devotion to the country.”/PN
