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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Koko vows to become 'quorum-checker' once MWF reaches Senate plenary

Koko vows to become 'quorum-checker' once MWF reaches Senate plenary

Published Dec 10, 2022 11:03 pm

The proposed Maharlika Wealth Fund (MWF) is so contentious that there should always be a quorum in the Senate if and when the time finally comes to discuss it in the upper chamber.

Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III (Facebook)


Thus, said Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on Saturday, Dec. 10 amid the seeming rush of the House of Representatives to have the sovereign wealth fund approved.

"Dapat hindi minamadali ito. Dapat ang House mag-take ng time para i-discuss nila ito dahil ganun din mangyayari sa Senate. Dapat may quorum, dapat present lahat ng senador (We shouldn't rush this. The House should take its time in discussing this since that's what will happen in the Senate anyway. There should be a quorum, all senators should be present)," Pimentel told DWIZ radio in an interview.

There are two legislative chambers in the Philippine bicameral Congress--the 24-member Senate and the 312-member House of Representatives.

A quorum is achieved when more than half of the solons from each chamber is present. I fact, a plenary session from either chamber cannot start without a quorum.

Although a session can begin with quorum on any given day, solons may come and go in the plenary during deliberations. The use of virtual means or videoconferencing, which became prevelant during the Covid-19 pandemic, has made the quorum dynamic more complicated.

That's why there have been habitual quorum-checkers, especially in the House, which is the bigger chamber. Former Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, to a lesser degree, Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman, come to mind as quorum-checkers.


Pimentel gave additional warning to his House colleagues regarding the push for the controversial MWF.

"Ang dami na nating kaso ng waldas ng pera, epekto ng korapsyon (We've had a lot of cases of fund misuse, the effects of corruption)," he said.

"Hinay-hinay lang tayo, pag-aralan nang mabuti, i-debate nila (Let's take it slow, study carefully and debate on it . Sa senate (In the Senate), as minority leader, I will ask for quorum to be present on the floor all the time.

The is currently no counterpart bill for the MWF in the Senate.

Related Tags

Senate quorum aquilino koko Pimentel III House of Representatives mwf 121022 quorum-checker maharlika
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