CRANE-Caramoan

AQUACULTURE & FISHERIES PROGRAM President Arroyo shows off a copy of the 10-year Comprehensive Aquaculture and Fisheries Program presented by Cong. Luis R. Villafuerte (right) as Chairman of the House Committee on Aquaculture and Fishery Resources. Also in photo are (from left) Rep. Eduardo Zialcita (1st Dist., Parañaque), Rep. Salacnib Baterina (1st Dist., Ilocos sur) Speaker Jose de Venecia, BFAR Director Malcolm Sarmiento and Agriculture secretary Domingo Panganiban.

A young opposition legislator was making a show in the House of Representatives at the height of the raucous debate on the second impeachment case against President Arroyo. He was to stage a dramatic climax to his rhetorics by offering three “balut” eggs to the administration, a taunt that, of course, amused congressional spectators as well as hundreds of thousands hooked on television.

Promptly, Congressman Luis R. Villafuerte, described by the Philippine Daily Inquirer in its editorial on August 27, 2006 as “administration stalwart”, stood up and replied: “I accept these three balut eggs. I hope they’re not rotten.”

The gallery roared in laughter. Even the most ardent oppositionists were stultified by the quick, sharp wit that effectively drowned the gimmickry of the young legislator who was seeking the media mileage even as his arguments lacked substance and logic.

In his TV debate early this month with former Senator Renato Saguisag, the latter strayed miserably away from the Charter Change issue, sounding like a broken record, as he was unable to pierce Congressman Villafuerte’s iron-clad arguments on the constitutional issue. In the end, Saguisag who lost his cool said he did not want the People’s Initiative and Constituent Assembly and was only for the Constitutional Convention as the mode of amending the Constitution, forgetting that all three options are provided for in the Constitution and it was not what Saguisag wanted but what the people wanted that would matter.

When the fuss over the alleged fertilizer scandal rose to a crescendo, Congressman Villafuerte sought the COA report on the list of government officials who received allocations. The Opposition had demanded that those who had received fertilizer shares should inhibit themselves from the impeachment proceedings. But Congressman Villafuerte found out that many supposed recipients belonged to the Opposition who were vociferously trying to ramn through the impeachment proceedings even if their number had lamentably dwindled way below the needed 30%.

In his column on August 14, 2006, Amando Doronila recalled that Congressman Villafuerte whom he dubbed “veteran” although actually serving just his first term as congressman, effectively silenced the Opposition with his subtle reminder “People living in glass house should not throw stones”, a crippling jibe at the opposition.

As the House deliberated on the supplemental budget last week of August, Congressman Villafuerte deftly and successfully steered the inclusion of P700 million for research and development programs (R&D) and the establishment of a science infrastructure complex and science and technology human resources development center. He also hiked the DepEd allocation from P8.5 billion to P9.5 billion for additional school buildings. In her last State of the Nation Address, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo cited the Camarines Sur solon for forcefully and convincingly advocating that “for the country to step into the future it must have well-funded research and development initiatives”.

Since he set foot in Congress in July, 2004 Congressman Villafuerte has always been on center stage, assiduously and vigorously pushing his side of every national issue. Almost every week he is invited to appear in television interviews, tangling with and outsmarting legal luminaries of the Opposition. Obviously, his views and opinions are highly respected and are invariably sought not just by the media but by the decision-makers in the government. Foreign embassy representatives routinely seek his views on issues of international concerns.

Indeed, the Second District of Camarines Sur has a representation in Congress the constituents could be truly proud of. Three organizations have already conferred on him the Most Outstanding Congressman Award not merely on the basis of his frequent exposures but on his actual performance in Congress. He filed one of the biggest if not the biggest number of bills and resolutions filed in the present Congress as principal author of 112 bills and 29 resolutions of local and national applications. He is also co-author of scores of other crucial bills. Significantly, most of his bills have been passed by the House of Representatives and are now in the Senate where the legislative mill, however, grinds very slowly. The Senate is, of course, now beyond his jurisdiction but still he has endeavored to talk to his friends in the Senate who could help expedite passage of at least the most urgent ones.

Even though he had been cabinet member twice as Minister of Trade and as Chairman of the Presidential Commission on Government Reorganization, assemblyman for two successive terms and governor of Camarines Sur for nearly 15 years, he is astonishingly even more dedicated to his current legislative function. He is one of very few congressmen who had never been absent from the very first session day in July, 2004. He has also religiously and diligently attended committee meetings and deliberations.

First termers in Congress are normally not given chairmanship of any House committees. But Congressman Villafuerte has broken that tradition. As the House committees were being reorganized he was able to get the chairmanship of the Aquaculture and Fishery Resources Committee where he immediately put in place the ten-year aquaculture and fisheries program.

He came out still as vice-chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Basic Education Committee, Information and Communication Technology Committee and the Local Government Committee. He is also member of twelve more vital committees: Agriculture and Food, Banks and Financial Intermediaries, Constitutional Amendments, Energy, Foreign Affairs, National Defense and Security, Oversight, Public Works and Highways, Science and Technology, Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, Trade and Industry and Ways and Means. In the next Congress it is predicted that largely because of his enviable performance and leadership some of the key committees will be chaired by him, perhaps including the Committee on Appropriations.

When Congressman Ronaldo Puno, Kampi president, assumed as Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Congressman Villafuerte who was the executive vice president of the pro-administration party, succeeded him to the highest position in the party echelon as party president. This all the more elevated Congressman Villafuerte’s leadership status that placed him at the vortex of day to day issues of national concerns and international implications. Quite interestingly, Kampi itself has steadily grown in number and strength. Within the next few weeks nearly a dozen congressmen and governors are slated to be sworn in to the party that already has 36 congressmen and hundreds of key local officials.

Bills filed by Congressman Villafuerte are a mix of urgently needed legislations in the areas of education, environment, agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries, land reform; art, culture and heritage, tourism, youth and sports, trade and industry, energy, health, banking and finance.

Already approved in the House of Representatives but delayed in the Senate, for instance, are bills converting the Bicol College of arts and Trades (BCAT) into a state college to be known as Bicol State College of Applied Science and Technology and the Camarines Sur State Agricultural College into a state university to be known as Central Bicol State University of Agriculture (CBS-UA).

Among education bills of national application are an act institutionalizing pre-schools as an integral part of basic education, an act prescribing English as the medium of instruction in all curriculum subjects except Pilipino, and an act prescribing Required Minimum Knowledge and Competencies (RMKC) for every subject in every grade and year level.

He had filed bills for the establishment of a science high school at Cadlan, Pili, an information and communication technology high school, an agro-fishery high school and the Bicol Sports Academy.

Congressman Villafuerte (center) link arms with Congress leaders including Speaker Jose de Venecia (3rd from right) during a meeting for Charter Change. Also in photo from left are Rep. Maria Amelita Villarosa (Lone Dist., Occ. Mindoro), Rep. Douglas Cagas (1st Dist., Davao del Sur), Rep. Arthur Defensor (3rd Dist., Iloilo), Rep. Constantino Jaraula (Lone Dist., Cagayan de Oro City) and Rep. Jose Solis (2nd Dist., Sorsogon).

Separate bills have been filed to detach from their mother schools and convert to independent high schools Quipayo High School, West Coast Annex High School, Sabang Annex High School in Calabanga; San Jose High School, Caroyroyan High School, Bagong Sirang High School and Himaao High School all in Pili; Hanawan Annex High School in Ocampo; Siembre High School in Bombon; Tinago High School and Pacol Annex High Shool in Naga City.

Congressman Villafuerte’s heavy inclination towards education never waned. Even while he was governor he always placed education on top of his priorities firmly believing as he does that education is the best road to better life.

He has continued to augment funding allocation for his scholarship program which includes masteral and doctoral degrees in education. He has launched a new program for nursing graduates to be able to attend review classes for examinations to qualify to work abroad. His concerns for the protection of the environment, the preservation and enhancement of art and culture and increased food productivity still remain among his major preoccupations to this day even as his waking hours have been lengthened by increasing interactions with media and speaking engagements outside the halls of Congress.
Wherever he is he instantly makes waves, all for the good of the people, pumping up the pride of constituents in the second district of Camarines Sur as well as all residents of the province and all Bicolanos for that matter.