Lawmakers warned: Wear proper attire or be marked absent

Lawmakers who will not wear appropriate attire during session will be marked absent. This was the warning given by the Secretariat of the House of Representatives through an advisory issued Wednesday, three days after the 15th Congress opened its session. The advisory cited Section 92 of the Rules of the House which states that barong Filipino or coat and tie for men and Filipina dress or business suit for women are the proper attire to be worn during sessions and committee meetings. During Monday sessions, female House members are encouraged to wear traditional Filipina dress while the male should wear barong Filipino. The officers and members of the Secretariat, on the other hand, are advised to wear their official uniform during sessions and committee meetings. Lawmakers welcomed the advisory. “Walang masama kung may advisory, kung merong na-overlook magandang paalala dahil bago ang Kongreso (I’ve no problem with the advisory since it will remind those who are new in the chamber)," said Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay. Lanao del Norte Rep. Fatima Aliah Dimaporo, although she agreed with the Secretariat, suggested that proper House attire should change with the times. “Nag-iiba fashion at nagbabago (fashion changes in time)," she said, “but I do agree with the secretariat to follow the rule in plenary and observe modesty. The House is the face of the Philippines." Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez recalled that in the 14th Congress, one of their female colleagues attended a session wearing jeans that matched her bag, belt and shoes. The female colleague allegedly told them that her attire was expensive. “We called her attention on that, you should not wear jeans in the session hall regardless of the brand," he said. Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMANews.TV