FORM, NOT SUBSTANCE?
It was during the 2007 Christmas break of Congress, that Nograles took up the challenge to oust five-time Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.

	THE foyer at the Speaker's conference room, adorned with trellises. [photo by Tita Valderama]

Backed by lawmakers loyal to Arroyo, Nograles, ex-majority leader of De Venecia, on February 5 took control and pledged to pursue long-overdue reforms for the House of Representatives that has proved consistent in one thing — scoring low in its public approval rating.

Six months on the job, Nograles is showing that more than the substance of reforms, he is given to form and big spending.

Apart from his reconstruction efforts, Nograles also recently disbursed additional monetary benefits for about 3,000 House employees, and promised further to raise their salaries and benefits at par with employees of the Senate.

SPEECH PITCHES
Ironically amid the grandeur of his renovation project, Nograles will convene the second regular session of the House on Monday with a strong pitch for the values of hard work, simple living, transparency, and integrity in use of public funds.

An advanced copy of Nograles's speech obtained by the PCIJ enrolls these words of the Speaker: “Let us give back to the government and to our people every minute of the hours paid for by our salaries and other compensation in hard work and the performance of our mandated tasks.”

“The worst form of thievery and waste of government resources,” according to Nograles's speech, “is being paid for not having worked.”

Nograles's speech continues: “Let us use resources of government judiciously and wisely. Every centavo must count. Funds must be spent where they are most needed and where they can bring the most benefit to the greater number of our citizens.”

“Let us ensure that public funds are used only for public purposes. Let their use be transparent and those allowed to use them, as well as those who authorize their use, be fully accountable to the people.”

COMPROMISED
Why the Nograles House launched a massive reconstruction program without firm and full appropriations support raises a lot of questions, according to University of the Philippines Prof. Leonor Briones.

Amid rising oil and commodity prices, depressed wages and joblessness, “at this point in time, every financial outlay matters, and calls for transparency and accountability grow stronger,” says Briones, who heads the civil society groups Social Watch Philippines and Alternative Budget Initiative.

“In the final analysis, it is not how beautiful Congress is but how committed and efficient it is in being a co-equal branch, in its fiscalizing role,” Briones adds. That Nograles got P200 million from President Arroyo to co-finance the renovation project does not speak well of the House.

Briones adds: “There's so much money under the control of the President, about 70 percent of the budget. Congress should be held to account for allowing the Executive to go overboard with its prerogatives.”

All appropriations, tax and tariff should emanate from the House, which is designated in law to exercise “the power of the purse.” Given this role, Briones says, “ang papel ng Congress dapat distant. Will its customary independence be compromised with all these 'loving' activities going on?”

Speaker Nograles says the long years of disrepair of the Batasan complex have made the renovation project necessary.

“After 31 years we have to do repairs...approved last February but implemented only during long break now,” explains Nograles in a text message to PCIJ.

“We can’t schedule/predict storm or crisis but repairs (were) long overdue and long-scheduled for (the congressional) recess,” he says in response to criticisms that the renovation was ill-timed as thousands of people suffer from the heavy damage of typhoon Frank, including hundreds who lost their relatives in the sinking of Sulpicio Lines’ Princess of the Stars in Romblon.