The plenary debate on the RH bill started on Tuesday, and the debate on the impeachment case is to begin next week. And House Minority Leader Edcel Lagman fears that there would not be enough time to hold debates on the two issues before Congress goes on recess on March 24.

“If they intend to use the impeachment case to delay the RH debate, we will counter their move and block them as well,” said Lagman, the main author of House Bill No. 4244, the proposed Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011.

Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay said it would be interesting to see whether the RH bill or the impeachment case would take priority over the other next week.

If that happens, it will betray Malacañang’s preference at this point—oust an uncooperative Ombudsman or control the population, she said.

Balance

Lagman said Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II should ensure a balance between the RH bill and the impeachment case against Gutierrez (which was being eyed for voting on March 22 or 23).

“The debates are necessary because it is necessary to convince the number of undecided congressmen to decide whether they will be pro- or anti-RH,” said Lagman, who abstained from voting on the impeachment case against Gutierrez last Tuesday.

But more than time and space at the plenary session, Magsaysay said the House leadership should ensure the presence of a quorum during the debates.

“What good is the passion in our speeches if nobody stays to listen? How can we convince them?” she said.

Gil Cabacungan Jr., Phil. Daily Inquirer