New party-list reps: Homeless in the House, lacking P2.45B

MANILA, Philippines - Porkless and roomless. The new 32 party-list House members may have to occupy their seats without funds, rooms, and staff. At least P2.45 billion needs to be appropriated for party-list nominees who will join the 14th Congress following the Supreme Court’s ruling that increased to 55 the number of House seats for party-list groups. According to the Office of the Speaker, each of the 32 representatives will have to be allotted with P70 million worth of priority development assistance fund or the so-called pork barrel or a total of P2.24 billion until the end of 2009. They will also have to be provided with a total of P200 million for staff maintenance and operational costs for the eight remaining months of the year, excluding provisions for their offices and electricity costs, among others. Each new lawmaker should also receive a monthly salary of about P35, 000 from May to December 2009, or a total of P8.96 million. While the new lawmakers will be welcomed at the House, they won’t have a “home" at the spacious Batasan Complex in Quezon City. Speaker Prospero Nograles said the construction of Batasan’s South Wing annex building would not be completed until next year. "We will have to ask [for a supplementary budget] or file whatever to release funds for new congressmen," he said in a text message to GMANews.TV on Wednesday. Two party-list nominees from Bayan Muna and Bantay hope that the House will be able to immediately address the problem. “Having one’s room is not that essential. Serving our constituents is the more important thing to do. However, that would be compromised if the party-list lawmaker who is supposed to serve the marginalized sectors would be the one marginalized in the House," lawyer and Bayan Muna nominee Neri Javier Colmenares told GMANews.TV on Wednesday. Retired Army Major Jovito Palparan Jr., Bantay nominee, said the House “by all means, has to find solution." “Pero kung wala pa, magtitiis muna kami. Gagawin na lang na parang eskwelahan muna, pero di muna doon mag-o-office. Our constituents will understand that. Kung may meager resources, pagkakasyahin muna," he told GMANews.TV in a separate interview. [But if the funds are not yet available, we will make do with what we have. We won’t hold office there, but we will go there like going to school. Our constituents will understand that. We’ll just stretch our meager resources.] - GMANews.TV