House names Villafuerte head of ad hoc panel committee
To study possible transfer of House to BGC area near Senate
THE House of Representatives has named Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte 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.
“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, who chairs this ad hoc committee, with Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga, and Deputy Majority Leader David Suarez of Quezon as vice chairmen.
The House is 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), and which is now where the National Museum of Fine Arts is located.
Villafuerte, who is president of the National Unity Party (NUP), said the 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 NUP president along with Gonzales and Suarez had 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—according to HR 1390—“better communication and coordination of legislative work.”
This would-be new building, as far as the budget may allow, should “be iconic and one that we can be proud of, a modern infrastructure that respects green spaces, vibrant, forward-thinking but still uniquely Filipino,” according to HR 1390.
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.”
It said that a key consideration for all legislators, employees and guests of the House should be “accessibility of public transport through efficient transportation options, including buses, shuttles, and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) system, excellent connectivity to major thoroughfares, airports, and other key areas in Metro Manila.”
HR 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.
