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[THREAD] EX OFFICIO EXPRESS: How the House leadership can influence legislative dynamics at the committee level
According to Rule IX, Section 30 of the Rules of the House of Representatives, “[t]he Speaker, the six (6) Deputy Speakers, the Majority Leader, the eight (8) Deputy Majority Leaders, the Minority Leader and the five (5) Deputy Minority Leaders...
...and the chairperson of the Committee on Accounts or a Member deputized by any of the aforementioned officials shall have voice and vote in all committees.”
In simpler terms, any of the House leaders mentioned can sit in a committee hearing as ex officio members and vote on any matter being deliberated.
In the past, there were only 6 Dep Speakers. There were even times when there were only 3. Traditionally, 3 of the Dep Spkrs are Congressmen from the ruling party representing Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. The other 3 come from the 3 other major parties allied with the ruling party
In the 17th Congress, there were 14 Deputy Speakers—more than twice the usual number in past Congresses—elected in different days since the opening of the session. In initial reports, there were supposed to be 12. Then Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas told reporters in Aug 2016...
...that “[t]he matter of increasing the number of Deputy Speakers was discussed in the Majority caucus because the thrust of the Duterte Admin is into federalism. We looked at this as a possible creation of states, which we would become our federal states and we came up with 12.”
All in all, in the 17th Congress, there were 33 House leaders who can act as ex officio members in committee hearings.
According to the Rules of the House, they can also deputize any Representative to participate and vote on their behalf in all proceedings of committees.
According to the Rules of the House, they can also deputize any Representative to participate and vote on their behalf in all proceedings of committees.
Deputizing a Representative simply entails the submission of a letter signed by the ex officio member to the Chairperson and secretariat of any committee before or during the hearing.
Another circumstance to consider is how the committees commence their proceedings. In usual instances, meetings begin when there is a quorum—meaning there is a majority of members present (50% + 1). However, Rule IX, Section 37 of the Rules of the House...
...provides a different definition of quorum for committees—“One-fifth (1/5) of all the Members of a committee or sub-committee shall constitute a quorum.” The likely reason for this is that it would be difficult to impose a 50%+1 quorum rule when multiple committee hearings...
...are held simultaneously during the Monday to Thursday working days of the House. In the past Congress, there were 58 standing committees and 14 special committees. The number of members for each committee ranged from 20 to as high as 125.
With nearly 300 Reps, it would be an arduous task to muster a quorum based on the usual 50%+1. The assumption is that it is easier to conduct business in a committee with a quorum of 1/5. For example, a meeting of a committee composed of 20 members can commence once 4 are present
With all of these in mind, we now have a clearer picture showing how a bill supported by the House leadership and Majority can breeze through the legislative mill at the committee level.
This was apparent in the hearing of the House Committee on Justice on December 7, 2016 where the proposal to reinstate death penalty in the form of a subcommittee report was placed in the agenda. 6 committee members voted against the measure.
Only 5 committee members voted in favor of the bill, but they were still able to claim victory because 7 out of the 8 ex officio members who attended sided with them, making the affirmative votes 12 in total. 3 of the 7 are Deputy Speakers, while 4 are senior members...
...of the Comm on Rules. The lone ex officio member who did not vote in the affirmative abstained.
Clearly, the House leadership, along with the Executive Branch that controls the ruling party and its allies, can indeed influence the outcome of voting at the committee level...
Clearly, the House leadership, along with the Executive Branch that controls the ruling party and its allies, can indeed influence the outcome of voting at the committee level...
...by ensuring that they have the numbers using ex officio members.
Fastfoward to this 18th Congress, we have 22 Deputy Speakers all in all. Yes, 22. Now, imagine what these ex officio members can do in a committee hearing on, for instance, legislative franchises like ABS-CBN.
Fastfoward to this 18th Congress, we have 22 Deputy Speakers all in all. Yes, 22. Now, imagine what these ex officio members can do in a committee hearing on, for instance, legislative franchises like ABS-CBN.
