MANILA, 9 February 2003 — The passage or non-passage of the absentee voting bill (AVB) is in the hands of House Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr. (JDV), Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said.
The AVB has been reconciled by a bicameral conference committee.
It was ratified by the Senate and also needs to be ratified by the House of Representatives before it can be signed into law by President Gloria Arroyo.
So far, Rep. Didagen Dilangalen said, lack of quorum, which is also delaying hearings on amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) is stalling the bill’s ratification by the House of Representatives.
“We’ll just have to wait until JDV uses his clout to get a quorum in the House,” Pimentel told Arab News.
“JDV is the critical factor here. If he wants the AVB passed, he can get the House to approve it. The buck stops at his desk.”
Members of the House of Representatives would have to hold hearings on the amendments to the AMLA since the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has given Manila only until Feb. 12, 2003 to have law amended.
The FATF has a variety of sanctions against Manila if the deadline is not met, including possible loss of credit standing with financial institutions like the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Because of this, Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. reportedly said the AVB will be taken up “in about two weeks and definitely not before Feb. 12.”
Marathon hearings were supposed to have been held to meet the FATF deadline but apparently, solons are not too keen on the amendments either.
The marathon hearings never pushed through.
Meanwhile, the AVB, which has taken 15 years to pass and which advocates hoped would be signed into law before the middle of February, may reach the president’s desk for signing only after amendments to the AMLA have been made.
The bicameral conference committee signed the report Feb. 4 in the morning after three controversial sessions.
It was ratified by the Senate that afternoon but has since been lying stagnant in the House of Representatives.
Perhaps this was what Sen. Edgardo Angara, who headed the Senate panel in the Bicameral conference committee, meant when he said that the passage of the absentee voting law signaled the beginning of more tasks ahead.
“Our task is not ended. This is just the beginning of a wonderful experiment and political adventure for millions of our countrymen overseas who have contributed a lot in keeping our economy afloat,” Angara said.
