House of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. LRay Villafuerte has been designated as chairman of a newly-formed ad hoc panel tasked to study the possible transfer of the House of Representatives to the Bonifacio Global City (BGC) near the area where the Senate is now building its new home. 

Villafuerte, a former deputy speaker in the House, was the one who floated the idea of a transfer, along with Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga's 3rd district. 

The two earlier filed House Resolution (HR) No. 1390, which proposed to their peers in the bigger chamber to consider the possible relocation of the House to a place in the BGC near the new Senate offices to attain “better communication and coordination of legislative work". 

“The rationale behind this plan to put the House and the Senate close to each other is meant to facilitate better communication and coordination among the lawmakers of both chambers with regard to legislative work,” said Villafuerte, president of the National Unity Party (NUP). 

He said the ad hoc committee will tackle “all matters directly and principally relating to the relocation of the House of Representatives complex including the conduct and study of the construction of a new House of Representatives building". 

The 300-plus strong House is currently located at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City. 

The Senate, meanwhile, is housed at the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) complex in Pasay City, but is transferring to the soon-to-be-completed building in the BGC area where it is set to start partial operations in July 2024. 

Both chambers used to work under one roof at the old Congress building along Padre Burgos Drive in Ermita, Manila (near the Manila City Hall). It is now where the National Museum of Fine Arts is located.

The resolution recalled that both chambers “used to share space, before the war, in the Legislative Building, which was the origin of the term ‘upper house’ and ‘lower house,’ where the Senate had its session hall at the second floor, while the House had its session hall on the ground floor". 

HR No.1390 said the  “proximity to other government agencies, multinational corporations, leading local businesses, and tech startups", should also be taken into account “for access to different sorts of Filipinos from every walk of life". 

The availability of the fund source for the proposed site and building construction should likewise be considered, said the resolution.