The House of Representatives has yet to implement a Sandiganbayan suspension order against Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo because members must agree to suspend her first.
In a compliance report submitted to the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division on September 23 but only made available to media on Friday, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said that the order has been sent to the House Committee on Rules, chaired by Majority Floor Leader Neptali Gonzales, so that it can be scheduled in the Order of Business during plenary hearings.
“The Speaker, in compliance with the order of the Honorable Court, has transmitted and referred the same to the Majority Floor Leader for the action of the House of Representatives,” Belmonte said, attaching a copy of the transmittal record.
Belmonte pointed out that as a collective body, implementation of any order from the court must first pass the approval of the other members of the House through deliberations in the plenary.
“Consistent with the rules and procedure of the House of Representatives, an order from the court or judicial tribunal is transmitted to the plenary for its collective action,” Belmonte said.
