Congressmen told not to politicize oversight power before midterm elections

By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter

THE House of Representatives should not abuse its oversight powers for political purposes, a political analyst said, as the chamber vowed to continue congressional investigations before midterm elections in May.

Speaker and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez last week said the chamber would exercise oversight by continuing inquiries of pressing issues including food smuggling and expensive power prices.

“The oversight function of the Legislature, like holding committee hearings in aid of legislation, is also prone to being politicized by a faction,” Arjan P. Aguirre, who teaches political science at the Ateneo de Manila University, said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “It can be instrumentalized to malign or demonize rivals in the government.”

The House of Representatives has launched high-profile investigations of issues from Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio’s alleged misuse of secret funds to persistently steep rice prices.

The chamber also formed a joint committee to look into ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s bloody drug war and operations of illegal online casinos.

“Recent investigations involving the unexplained spending and the drug war can easily be criticized for singling out the Dutertes,” Mr. Aguirre said.

The House could have expanded the scope of its investigations more by focusing on “important issues about our institutions” rather than concentrating on personalities, such as the Dutertes, he added.

The Duterte camp has had a falling out with the government of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. due to policy differences including on foreign policy and the President’s push to boost security ties with the US.

Tensions between the two camps boiled over last year, when Ms. Carpio publicly lashed against Mr. Marcos, calling him a weak leader and issuing threats against the Marcos family.

The House will continue its investigation of issues that hounded the Duterte presidency next week, scheduling a hearing into illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators, drug killings and concerns over the influx of Chinese nationals into the country, according to the House website.

Filipino will choose a new set of congressmen for the House and 12 of the 24-member Senate on May 12, apart from other local government officials.

Congressional investigations “appeal to voters as they are televised, gaining wide public attention,” according to Jean S. Encinas-Franco, a University of the Philippines political science professor.

But lawmakers should not only focus on exercising oversight. “To focus only on this aspect would make legislators remiss in their jobs,” she said in a Viber message.

Edmund S. Tayao, president of Political Economic Elemental Researchers and Strategists, said exercising oversight over laws and government activities is a constitutional mandate for Congress and should not be treated separately from the lawmaking process.

“It is a fundamental function of the Legislature, especially of the House of Representatives, given that they have the ‘power of the purse,’” he said in a Viber message. “It is the Legislature’s duty to exercise it. It’s not something it can just choose not to exercise.”

“The exercise of oversight functions doesn’t mean it’s entirely different and separate from pending initiatives. It is in fact complimentary,” he added.

Congressional oversight functions include reviewing government programs, conducting inquiries recommending measures to enhance government efficiency, Mr. Tayao said.

“[These are done] with the end in view of promoting transparency, public participation, and democracy.”