BY LEONARDO V. MICUA
Resignation of 2 House members
Days after the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte, two party-list congressmen who supported the articles of impeachment resigned from their positions.
The resigning members are Nathaniel Oducado from the 1 Tahanan party-list and Franz Vincent Legazpi from the Pinoy Workers party-list. Their names have since been removed from the rolls of congressmen in the House of Representatives. Both were newly elected congressmen.
Their resignation surprised even their colleagues in the House, as it occurred just a few days after they participated in a vote that resulted in 257 in favor, 25 against, and nine abstentions regarding the impeachment.
According to Inquirer.net, Oducado has an impressive record for his less than one year in office, having filed 114 bills. His proposals include measures to strengthen election campaign finance rules and amend the law that liberalized the country’s energy sector.
Legaspi, on the other hand, authored 43 bills primarily focused on worker protections, such as safeguarding remittances from overseas workers and strengthening the rights of freelance workers. He was a member of both the justice and labor committees and served as chairman of the land use panel.
Oducado was previously associated with a party-list group backed by Senator Bong Go, who acknowledged that some supporters of the group were frustrated with Oducado’s vote to impeach Vice President Duterte.
However, when interviewed by reporters the day after his resignation, Oducado indicated that it was due to his failing health. There was no explanation from Legaspi regarding his resignation.
Given that their resignations came shortly after their vote in favor of the impeachment of Vice President Duterte, many speculated that very likely, both congressmen might have been troubled by their conscience over voting with the majority on such a significant.
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Last weekend, Dagupan experienced heavy rainfall for two consecutive nights,resulting in flooded low-lying streets and swollen rivers and creeks. But this was followed by several days of sweltering heat, which called for limited exposure to the sun when it is at its hottest, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.While this downpour provided some relief from the oppressive summer heat that residents had been enduring at home and at work, the weather bureau, PAGASA, stated that the dry season has yet to officially end.PAGASA explained that the country is currently in transition from the dry to the wet season. They previously mentioned that the El Niño phenomenon is not expected to occur until June to August.How can there be an El Niño during the rainy season? According to PAGASA, there may be lower than normal rainfall during the rainy season from June to August.Those who are knowledgeable believe that the current sweltering conditions could be a precursor to the impending El Niño phenomenon, which is anticipated to persist and potentially intensify until August, typically our rainy month.While drought continues to plague our region, Mindanao is facing severe rainfall and flooding. Just days ago, Davao City—home to the Dutertes—experienced devastating floods that resulted in a tragic death due to electrocution and drowning, along with the destruction of a concrete bridge built in 2017.During a flag-raising ceremony on Monday at the city plaza, Councilor Jalice Cayabyab, the only physician in the Dagupan Sangguniang Panlungsod, urged city government employees to stay hydrated amidst the ongoing heat wave. She warned that prolonged exposure to extreme heat could lead to severe health issues such as heat exhaustion or heat stroke, which can be fatal.In light of these concerns, Mayor Belen Fernandez’s directive for a four-day workweek remains in effect as part of ongoing energy conservation efforts and to mitigate health risks for workers.The message is clear: summer is far from over, and El Niño—despite the rains—is looming on the horizon.