This is one particular time when you would thank the gains of information technology in this age of the internet, mobile phones and cellphone cameras.
Showing a high degree of boredom during the first session of the House of Representatives during which the distinguished congressmen are scheduled to elect the officers of the 20th Congress, two members of the House opened their CPs and checked the results of online gaming in e-sabong and billiards.
One of them, the one interested in sabong, identified himself as Rep. Nicanor Briones of the Agap party-list.
Briones offered the explanation that his pamangkin texted him asking him to be a sponsor in a cockfight derby and he had to reply. It would seem that this request is urgent for it to merit his full attention, away from the voting process of whether Leyte First District Rep. Martin Romualdez will retain the speakership of the House or not.
Then, again, if it was just a text message from the sabong-obsessed pamangkin, why is Briones caught watching an online sabong match in its entirety? A simple text message reply would have sufficed.
As of press time yesterday, the other congressman who showed contempt of the House procedures (it is their own House) has not found his balls to identify himself in the video and admit responsibility for the offensive act.
What does this say about the leadership of the newly elected Speaker, the leadership of its Ethics Committee, and the Quadcomm members who had been so loose in churning out contempt orders (detention orders actually) to journalists and bloggers who were just exercising their freedom of speech/expression.
Under Speaker Martin Romualdez’s very nose, congressmen are misbehaving like high school students. Senator Erwin Tulfo is correct in pointing out that these public servants are being paid by the people to do legislative work, and if they are indeed inveterate gamblers, they should indulge in gambling after their work in the House is done.
Strong words from a House colleague who is now in the Senate, thanks to being once (and still is) a loyal and servile sidekick of Martin Romualdez. May we ask—how is your disqualification case in the Senate electoral tribunal filed/prepared to be filed, by former lawyer Berteni “Toto” Causing, my friend.
Toto affirmed that he wanted to prevent an American citizen from serving as a senator of the Republic. Well, my friend Toto might as well accept that in a country where the Defense Secretary can also be Maltese, these things do happen.
But I might be digressing here. Or, am I?
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