Pacquaio’s other ‘sideline’

Manny Pacquiao. CMFR File Photo.

CHEERS TO the Philippine press for being consistently on the lookout for boxing champ and politician Manny Pacquiao’s physical presence — or the lack thereof — during House of Representatives sessions.

“4: Number of days Pacquiao reported in Congress in 2014,” the Philippine Daily Inquirer ran in its Jan. 14 front page.

“Boxing champion and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao showed up for work at the House of Representatives only four days last year,” the report’s lead said. It went on to explain in detail about his absences, as well as other top absentee representatives.

Other news organizations also carried similar reports, such as :

• ABS-CBN News Online (“Pacquiao, Ledesma top House absentees list”, Jan. 14)
• GMA News Online (“Manny Pacquiao, Jules Ledesma most absent congressmen in 2014“, Jan. 13)
• Manila Standard Today (“Top House absentee—title Manny won’t savor”, Jan. 14)

This was not the first time that Pacquiao — who, aside from boxing, has also been involved in acting, music recording, basketball, and business — was in the news for his notorious absenteeism from the House of Representatives, to which he was elected in 2010 as representative of Sarangani province. Over the years, Philippine news organizations have closely monitored his absences, along with other representatives who also have poor attendance records.

Former senator Rene Saguisag’s Dec. 20, 2014 letter to the Inquirer, in which he urged the House of Representatives to suspend Pacquaio for treating his House work as a “hobby” or a “sideline”, also recently provided additional buzz over his absences. (“House should consider suspending Pacquiao till term’s end”)

The low attendance of Pacquiao and other members of the House of Representatives has become a consistent problem, with priority measures and other bills not passed or moving along slowly if at all because of perennial lack of quorum.

But Pacquaio is not even ashamed of his absenteeism, justifying them by saying he had many commitments, including his boxing matches. “Hindi naman ako mahihiya diyan. Yes, marami akong absent because marami akong commitments at sa fights. Two fights a year, at sa training pa lang (I am not ashamed of it. Yes, I have many absences because I have too many commitments and fights. In a year, I have two fights, not to mention the training),” an ABS-CBN News Online report quoted him as saying.

“I don’t want to boast what I have done in my district, pero kung pakitaan nang accomplishment by the term sa distrito. Importante kasi ‘yung tao matulungan mo, at hindi ‘yung lagi kang naka-upo doon sa Kongreso. (I don’t want to boast about what I have done in my district, but you can see my accomplishments in my district. It’s important that you help your constituents and not just sit in Congress)”

“Puro batas ‘yung pina-file mo, wala namang pinakinabangan ang batas. Pero kailangan, you file the bill, ‘yung trabaho kailangan tulungan mo ang mga tao. Tapos ang term mo, tapos wala kang ginagawa sa mga tao (All you do is file bills, but the bills have no benefits to the people. But you are expected to file the bill, when your job is to help the people. Your term has already finished but you’ve never helped the people),” he added. (“Pacquiao: ‘Huwag nyo na akong iboto’“, Jan. 20)

Noting Pacquiao’s justification, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) asked: “But what exactly are the duties and powers of senators and congressmen?”

In a Jan. 21 blog post (“Pacquiao’s other job”), PCIJ shared an article in its MoneyPolitics website, saying: “(A)s one of the branches of the government, ‘Congress’s role, first and foremost, is to make laws. The Senate and the House of Representatives can craft a new law, amend existing ones, or repeal old ones’.”

The said article, “The Role of Congress: The duties and powers of Senators and Congressmen”, clearly spelled out the huge powers members of Congress have, including conducting investigations in aid of legislation, and attending to their constituents, among others. “Congress also enjoys awesome powers that rival those of the presidency,” PCIJ wrote. “Congress also has the power to impeach the President, the Vice President, members of the Supreme Court, members of the constitutional commissions, and the Ombudsman.”

Alas, about these powers Pacquiao seems to be mostly clueless.