Passing bill with no quorum should be criminalized

Passing bill with no quorum should be criminalized

By Atty. Romulo B. Macalintal

The imperative need for a quorum to pass a bill in Congress (Senate and House of Representatives) was not placed in the Constitution for nothing nor to merely serve as a motherhood provision.  Quorum or the number of legislators required to approve a bill is legally required to insure that the same has been properly and intelligently deliberated upon by a majority of our elected officials on behalf of their respective constituencies.

And it is sad to note that the present Congress has to be “threatened”  by one of its members, Congressman Toby Tiangco, to remind them of the legal implication if one will raise the issue of lack of quorum.  This only goes to show that in most instances there is no quorum in most session days of Congress
And to think that the members of Congress meet only on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays and yet they still shortchange our taxpayers by not attending sessions and practically showing no concern at all whether a bill is passed with or without quorum.

Perhaps, it is now high time that we criminalize any act of members of Congress passing a bill without quorum or without the presence of the actual required number of its members. The constitution should likewise be amended or a law be passed making it an impeachable offense as culpable violation of the constitution and/or betrayal of public trust for a President to sign into law a bill knowing fully well that it was passed by Congress without the required quorum. This is the only way that would compel attendance in Congress of our legislators and for them to be more serious in their duties of performing and enacting proper and legal legislative matters.