GLIMPSES & GAZES

By Severino C. Samonte

Streets names with legislative connotations

December 22, 2022, 12:26 pm

Do you know where in Metropolitan Manila or the National Capital Region (NCR) can you find a place whose roads bear names related to the lawmaking functions of the Philippine Congress?

Go to Barangay 171- Bagumbong in Novaliches, North Caloocan City where the Senate Village is situated. Most of those residing in the village are employees of the Senate and their families.

The names of the roads in the village are mostly related to the process of enactment of national laws and resolutions by the Senate and the House of Representatives as provided for in the 1987 Constitution.

Such street names include: Legislation, Amendment, Bill, Caucus, Session, Conference, Quorum, Sponsorship, Adjourn, Journal, Recess, and Blue Ribbon Committee.

The main street of the village itself is called Senate Avenue.

The Senate Village, located about 25 kilometers north of Manila, is a neighbor of the Congress Village-Barangay 173 which was established in the early years of martial law in September 1972.

Some of the other streets in the two villages bear the names of former lawmakers of the country, including those of the late Senate Presidents Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. and Mariano Jesus Cuenco; House Speakers Sergio Osmena Sr., Cornelio Villareal and Ramon Mitra Jr.; Senators Francisco Sumnulong, Gerardo Roxas, Wenceslao Lagumbay and Ambrosio Padilla; and Congressmen Bartolome Cabangbang, Ramon Bagatsing, Aguedo Agbayani, Antonio Raquiza, Vicente Peralta and Delfin Albano.

Following is a glimpse at the names of some of the streets and their parliamentary meanings although not actually indicated in the Senate Village street signs:

* Legislation -- A law or set of laws that is being considered or created.

* Blue Ribbon Committee -- A group of exceptional people appointed to investigate, study or analyze a given question.

* Session --A period of meeting or a series of meetings of a legislature for the transaction of official business.

* Amendment -- An addition or alteration made to a legislative bill or resolution.

* Sponsorship -- Act of officially supporting a proposal or suggestion.

* Bill -- A draft of a proposed law presented to the legislature for discussion.

* Caucus -- A conference of members of a legislative body who belong to a particular party or faction.

* Recess -- A period of time when the proceedings of a legislature are temporarily suspended.

* Conference -- A formal meeting of several people to discuss a particular topic.

* Adjourn --To suspend indefinitely or until a later date.

* Quorum -- The smallest number of people who must be at a meeting for official decisions to be made by voting.

* Journal -- A daily record of occurrences, experiences or observations.

The Senate Village and the Congress Village are located along the Congressional Avenue in the first congressional district of Caloocan City.

The Philippine Congress, as provided in the Constitution, convenes for its regular session every year beginning on the 4th Monday of July. A regular session can last until 30 days before the opening of its next regular session in the succeeding year. The President may, however, call special sessions which are usually held between regular sessions to handle emergencies or urgent matters.

The present 19th Congress adjourned its regular session on Dec. 14 to give way for the Christmas break and set to resume on Jan. 23, 2023.

Comments

About the Columnist

Image of Severino C. Samonte

He began his journalistic career by contributing to the Liwayway and Bulaklak magazines in the 1960’s. He was the night editor of the Philippine News Service when Martial Law was declared in September 1972. When the Philippine News Agency was organized in March 1973, he was named national news editor because of his news wire service experience.

He retired as executive news editor in 2003. He also served as executive editor of the Malacanang-based Presidential News Desk from 1993 to 1996 and from 2005 to 2008.