House resumes session under ‘new normal’

The House of Representatives on Monday resumed its session after a seven-week Lenten break, but under what has been described as a "new normal" environment in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis.

The session started shortly after 3 p.m., with only 25 lawmakers in physical attendance with the rest participating through videoconferencing.

The tables and chairs of the lawmakers inside the plenary hall were also arranged in such a way that physical distancing will be observed.

Lawmakers in physical attendance also wore face masks as the House is implementing a no-face-mask, no-entry policy.

All in all, the roll call showed that 301 lawmakers attended the session, 276 of which via electronic means.

During the session, the House approved the motion of Majority Leader Martin Romualdez to allow members to register their attendance, participate and vote on any matter presented to the body through electronic means.

The House also authorized all committees to conduct meetings through online technologies during the COVID-19 crisis.

In his speech at the start of the session, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano emphasized the importance of asking the right questions in order to come up with the proper answers and solutions to the problems of the Filipino people amid the COVID-19 crisis.

"In the next four weeks we are called upon to provide answers and solutions but we can provide the right answers and the correct solutions only if we correctly identify the problem and if we ask the right questions," he said.

"We have to continue asking the right questions so that we, together with the executive, the local government officials, our scientists, our medical professionals, and the whole country can come together to provide answers," he added.

The Speaker pointed out that it is not the proper time for government bodies to work against each other. He said that the Filipino people will only win the battle against COVID-19 in working together.

"We gather here today to represent the Filipino people, to proclaim that with the grace of the Almighty, we will succeed, we will defeat COVID-19, we will pass the test, we gather to say that we refuse to fail, we refuse to be defeated by this disease and the consequences of fighting its spread," Cayetano said.

"But let's make it clear that we succeed only together. We pass the test only if we are one. In this crisis all around the world, there is no you, there is no I, there is no them, there is no us. It's either we succeed together or we fail," he added.

Prior to the resumption of the session, the House Defeat COVID-19 Committee held a series of technical working group meetings online to find solutions to the health crisis.

As of Sunday, a total of 9,223 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the Philippines, with 606 deaths and 1,214 recoveries. — RSJ/NB, GMA News