Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez 鈥擨NQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Face the reality and admit the Senate鈥檚 shortcomings.
This was the message of House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to Senate President Aquilino 鈥淜oko鈥� Pimentel III as he lamented the priority bills passed by the House of Representatives have been lingering in the Senate.
鈥淎lam mo, yung sinasabing ganyan, depensa na lang iyan,鈥� Alvarez said in a statement Thursday.
(You know, what he鈥檚 saying, he鈥檚 being defensive.)
鈥淎ng tagal-tagal naman ng pag-aaral na iyan, walang mangyayari sa atin kung mag-aaral tayo habang buhay, matatapos na lang yung termino natin nag-aaral pa rin tayo,鈥� he added.
(They have been studying it for a long time, nothing will happen to us if we study for life. Our terms will soon be over yet we鈥檙e still studying.)
Pimentel said on Wednesday the Senate focuses more on the quality of measures passed to improve the Filipinos鈥� standard of living.
鈥淟et us not judge lawmaking in terms of number of laws passed but in terms of how the laws we pass improve the quality of life on earth in general and the quality of life of Filipinos in particular,鈥� he said.
READ: Pimentel urges Alvarez to change mindset: 鈥楺uality over quantity鈥�
Alvarez聽earlier called the Senate as the 鈥渕abagal na Kapulungan鈥� (slow Congress).
The Speaker said the death penalty bill, one of聽President Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 priority measures, has been gathering dust in the Senate after it was passed by the House on third and final reading in March last year.
鈥淗irap na hirap kami dito sa House of Representatives, nag-o-overtime yung mga congressmen para lang maipasa yung isang panukalang batas,鈥� Alvarez said.
(We鈥檝e been working hard and overtime here at the House of Representatives just to pass the proposed measure.)
鈥淧agdating naman sa Senado sumasabit, nakabinbin doon. Tingnan mo yung death penalty, hanggang ngayon nandoon pa rin, inaamag na 鈥榶un,鈥� he added.
(When it reaches the Senate, it stalls. Look at the death penalty bill, until now it鈥檚 stuck there, gathering mold.)
But despite the criticisms on the Senate鈥檚 performance, Alvarez said it was 鈥渘othing personal鈥� and he remains friend with Pimentel.
鈥淢agkaibigan kami. Alam mo sa akin kasi, trabaho lang. Ito, lahat ito trabaho lang,鈥� Alvarez said.
(We are friends. You know, it鈥檚 just work. All these are just work.)
Alvarez said the slow passage of important legislations could be addressed through a shift to a federal form of government, which Duterte has been pushing for.
鈥淜apag聽 ganyan, isulong na natin yung pag-revise ng ating Saligang Batas para mapabilis naman yung ating proseso dito sa ating bansa,鈥� Alvarez said.
(If it鈥檚 like that, let鈥檚 just revise the Constitution to fast-track the legislative process in the country.) /je