House to resume session on Monday with stricter COVID-19 protocols

After a two-week lockdown due to the increasing COVID-19 infections in the country, particularly in the National Capital Region (NCR), the House of Representatives is set to resume operations on Monday, January 17, with tighter health and safety protocols.

In a statement, the House said it would intensify the implementation of the HousePass System while plenary sessions would still be done in a hybrid manner.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said that only 20% of the workforce in each department and office in the House would be allowed to report for work starting Monday.

Under the HousePass system, a health and safety officer (HSO) assigned to each department and office could nominate staff members who would report for work daily and they would be the only ones allowed inside the House premises.

These chosen personnel would then fill out an online digital copy of their health declaration form and would be assigned a QR code that would be scanned upon entering the buildings at the Batasang Pambansa complex.

An antigen test would also be administered to those physically reporting for work at the start of every week.

Those who have symptoms or have received a positive test result need to consult a physician and isolate for at least seven days based on the recent guidelines released by the Department of Health (DOH).

Under the new policy, the isolation period for fully vaccinated probable cases with symptoms, mild cases, and asymptomatic cases was reduced from 10 days to seven days from the onset of symptoms or the day of the positive swab result.

Meanwhile, sessions will be held from Monday to Wednesday, with a limited number of House members and Secretariat personnel physically present inside the plenary hall.

The rest of the lawmakers would attend the session through video conference where all committee meetings, public hearings, and events in the House would be conducted.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said these protocols were necessary to protect House members and employees as the legislative chamber “continues to fulfill its mandate of producing laws designed to improve the lives of Filipinos.”

“This is not the time to be complacent. We needed to step up our health and safety protocols in the House so we could keep the legislative mill running even in the midst of what has been described as the worst surge in COVID-19 cases in the country,” he said.

Batasang Pambansa, home of the House of Representatives, was initially placed on a one-week lockdown to ensure the safety of House members, secretariat, and other employees, and to prevent the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant.

The lockdown was later extended by another week from January 10 to 16 following the continuous increase in the number of COVID-19 infections in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces.

Priority measures

After it resumes session on Monday, the House will adjourn again on February 5 before the start of the Eleksyon 2022 campaign period for nationally-elected positions on February 8.

“We only have three weeks or nine session days to finish some priority measures before we adjourn for the election period,” Velasco said.

He noted that the chamber is expected to pass on third and final reading the House Bill (HB) 10582 or the proposed Rural Financial Inclusion and Literacy Act, which seeks to uplift the lives of the marginalized sectors—small farmers, fisherfolk, and informal workers—by addressing the huge gap in reaching financial inclusivity.

Also up for final reading is the HB 10579, which aims to strengthen the field offices of the Commission on Elections by upgrading and creating certain positions, amending for the purpose Section 53 of Batas Pambansa 881 or the Omnibus Election Code, as amended, and providing funds therefor.

Velasco said concerned committees would work double-time to finalize the proposed Magna Carta for Barangay Health Workers and the National Housing Development Act, as well as the bill assigning health workers in every barangay across the country.

He also asked the Senate to act on at least a dozen measures that have already been approved on final reading by the House.

These include the proposed Internet Transactions Act and the Government Financial Institutions Unified Initiatives to Distressed Enterprises or GUIDE Act; the bills creating the Medical Reserve Corps, Philippine Virology Institute, and Center for Disease Prevention and Control; hiring of mental health professionals in basic education; increasing social pension of indigent senior citizens; and strengthening data privacy protection.

“We urge the Senate to expedite the deliberations and approval of these measures so we can pass them into law before the campaign period,” Velasco added. — DVM, GMA News