Hinamon ni Camarines Sur Representative at Deputy House Speaker Luis Raymond Villafuerte ang mga kongresistang may posisyon sa Kamara de Representantes na bumoto kontra sa  Anti-Terrorism bill na magbitiw sa kanilang puwesto.

“My personal opinion is that those who voted against the measure and are part of the majority leadership holding key positions and chairmanships should have the professional decency and ethical standard to resign from their leadership posts for voting against the majority position, especially it was certified as urgent by the President who leads the majority coalition,” pahayag ni Villafuerte.

Ayon sa kongresita, walang miyembro ng Kamara na pinuwersang bumuto ng pabor sa kontrobersiyal na panukalang batas, na naghihintay na lang ng pirma ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte para maging ganap na batas.

Umani ng kritisismo ang panukala dahil sa paniwala ng iba na lalabagin nito ang karapatang pantao at magamit para gipitin ang mga kritiko ng gobyerno. Kabilang sa kinukuwestiyong probisyon sa panukala ang pag-aresto at pagkulong ng ilang araw sa pinaghihinalaang terorista at kasabwat kahit walang arrest warrant.

Sa botohan, ilang kongresista na kabilang sa mga co-author ng panukala ang umatras. May iba rin na dating sumuporta ang hindi na lang bumoto.

“It was a conscience vote and choice for everyone. However, if it’s in your conscience to oppose the measure, you should also have the conscience to resign from your leadership position. You cannot be a member of the majority and oppose its position and stand,” ayon kay Villafuerte.

Ayon pa Villafuerte, hindi na rin maaaring baguhin ang boto na ginawa sa plenaryo.
“Fellow congressmen who announced publicly that they changed their votes regarding the Anti- Terrorism bill has no bearing and they cannot just change their vote by announcing to the public,” aniya.

“There are rules and procedures they have to follow to change their vote and in this case it has to be formally changed and registered in the plenary,” patuloy ng kongresista.

Nagtapos nitong Hunyo 5 ang first regular session ng Kongreso at magbabalik ang ikalawang regular na sesyon sa Hulyo 27.-- FRJ, GMA News