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By Maricel V. Cruz, Reporter
First of two parts
Committee chairmanships are fundamentally the
same with the House under the leadership of Speaker Prospero
Nograles as it was under former Speaker Jose de Venecia.
But, a source told The Manila Times, the House
leadership will soon carry out a re-organization in chairmanships
and memberships of some committees as part of its reform agenda.
An administration lawmaker told The Manila Times
that the revamp could affect some powerful posts in the Lower House
but hastened to add however that such a movement is intended to
further strengthen the functions of the key posts.
The lawmaker, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, added that “it is likely not to be a total revamp, just
a few changes.”
Prospero Nograles is almost three months in
office as Speaker of the House after the dramatic ouster of
Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia in February. Since then, Nograles
has not yet made any changes or shuffles in committee chairmanships.
Don’t rock the boat
“Because there is no need to rock the boat,”
Speaker Nograles said in an earlier interview. “The House is still
in the process of reviewing the performance of the committees,” he
added.
According to the source, there would be
movements in the composition of several oversight committees.
Definitely, the House contingent to the
bicameral Commission on Appointments will have a new head soon.
Speaker Nograles was the head of the House contingent before his
election as House Speaker.
In the present, the Fourteenth Congress, there
are a total of 73 standing committees, special committees and a few
ad hoc committees.
The CA is a most powerful congressional body.
The person to be appointed head of the CA should of course be a
rabid administration ally.
Powerful committees
The Committee on Rules, also very powerful, is
always headed by the majority leader. All bills fall under the
Committee on Rules.
As stated in the rules of the House, “the
rules committee has the power over all matters relating to the Rules
of the House, Rules of Procedure Governing Inquiries in Aid of
Legislation, Rules of Procedure in Impeachment Proceedings, Order of
Business, Calendar of Business, the referral of bills, resolutions,
speeches, committee reports, messages, memorials and petitions, and
the creation of committees and their jurisdiction. The Majority
Leader shall be the Chairman, the Deputy Majority Leaders shall be
the Vice-Chairmen and the Minority Leader shall be a member of this
committee.”
Majority Leader Arthur Defensor of Iloilo, a
staunch Arroyo ally and leading member of the ruling Lakas-CMD,
heads the rules committee.
Other powerful committees are:
The Committee on Accounts, whose jurisdiction
pertains to the internal budget of the House including budget
preparation, submission and approval; disbursements; accounting; and
financial operations. It has 55 members.
The Committee on Appropriations, which attends
to all matters relating to the expenditures of the national
government including the payment of public indebtedness, creation,
abolition and classification of positions in government, and the
determination of salaries, allowances and benefits of government
personnel. With 125 members, it makes the annual government budget.
The Committee on Energy, which deals with the
exploration, development, utilization or conservation of energy
resources, and entities involved in energy or power generation,
transmission, distribution and supply. It has 65 members.
The Committee on Justice, which gets the
limelight every time there is an impeachment case filed against
public officials, including the President. It has 55 members.
The Committee on Legislative Franchises, which
handles matters relating to the grant, amendment, extension or
revocation of franchises. It has 45 members.
To be continued
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