Unpassed bills worsen Senate-House rift

The rift between the two chambers of Congress deepened further yesterday as the House of Representatives accused the Senate of stonewalling local measures that could have helped congressmen boost their re-election bid in their respective districts.

"Local folks will get angry because the rural health clinics or school buildings in their areas were not constructed. This is one of the reasons why the people are blaming the government for poor delivery of basic services," Negros Occidental Rep. Apolinario Lozada Jr. said.

House members have expressed dismay and disappointment over the "lack of concern" of senators in passing numerous local projects, who they said "did not calendar the bills" even if these have already been transmitted to the Senate "a long time ago."

Records showed only 51 of the 1,047 House bills have been passed by the senators, leaving behind 996 bills in the back burner.

On the other hand, 61 of the 66 bills that the Senate sent to the House have already been acted upon by the congressmen, which means only five are now pending.

Of the 66 Senate bills, 33 were enacted into law, 24 are up for signing by President Arroyo while four other measures are still with the bicameral conference committee.

The House of Representatives earlier disclosed that only 76 of the 1,165 total bills that it passed have been signed into law by Mrs. Arroyo.