The performance grading report for this administration will be out soon as the President delivers his second State of the Nation Address, or SoNA, this coming July 24th.
It will be interesting to see how our government fared in the eyes of the public, and while the attention will be on the Executive Branch and the Cabinet of President Bongbong Marcos Jr., we will also get the chance to assess the performance of the VP, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Judiciary as well.
And every time this comes up, we always raise the question of whether we are truly represented and heard by our government.
Of course, in the Executive, there is no doubt about this, as there is a Cabinet portfolio for every sector of our society, and it’s not really a question of existence but of performance and delivery.
As for the Senate, we are supposed to have 24 senators, and it would have been ideal if they were voted on a regional basis, meaning one for each of the 17 regions, plus perhaps an additional one for each of the autonomous regions and NCR. But the current setup is far from ideal, and we vote for the senators at large, so we are not really represented as far as the prevailing national interests are concerned.
Personally, I find it redundant, and we should really bat for better representation in the Senate.
For the House of Representatives, it is res ipsa loquitur. Three hundred and sixteen (316) congressmen currently are supposed to be occupying seats in the Batasang Pambansa, with an amalgam of administrative, autonomous, sectoral, and marginal representation.
In our ideal notion, it is in the HOR where we ordinary citizens can really seek answers to questions —generally on our welfare and development, and particularly on our need for basic services. In the British Parliament, the equivalent of the HOR is called the House of Commons, so you can already deduce why is it called that.
Still, we ask — are we and our interests as citizens of this nation being represented by our congressmen? Are we being heard?
And is there equality in representation? Take the case of the Zamboanga del Norte’s 1st congressional district, which comprises seven municipalities plus the city of Dapitan.
Currently, it has no representative sitting in the House, even if there is an elected one (Romeo Jalosjos Jr). Why is the House leadership not acting on this case to seriously resolve the issue?
Right now, no one is attending to the needs of the district’s constituents, and the LGUs have been calling out Speaker Martin Romualdez to address this concern, lest there be suspicions of political flexing and power play.
With the upcoming SoNA comes the resumption of Congress sessions, and it will be a great disservice to the people of the Zamboanga del Norte 1st district if they do not have a voice in the only chamber of government where they can truly be heard.
It is unfair to them, especially at a time when most of the regions in our country have been moving forward. It is an injustice that they are being left behind and abandoned like children without a parent or guardian. Figuratively, this is an anomaly that should be corrected as soon as possible.
As it is with all the other cases in Congress of a similar nature.
Because we all deserve the representation that we are entitled to.
It is not a privilege, but a right.
Mark my word.