The House of Representatives has put on hold the transmittal of the approved divorce bill to the Senate.
House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said he was unable to sign the measure for Senate transmittal because he is currently on official mission abroad.
“I may be able to sign the letter of transmittal to the Senate as soon as I return to Manila this weekend,” Velasco clarified.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, one of the authors of the bill, said on Wednesday that he was informed that the Office of the Secretary General deferred the transmittal of the bill to the Senate to correct the voting cast on the measure.
Similarly, Manila Rep. Benny Abante Jr., who voted against the bill, said that the House deferred its transmission to the Senate “to allow those like myself to raise our concerns regarding the vote taken on this measure.”
But Velasco clarified “It was not deferred. I wasn’t able to sign the letter of transmittal because of my official travel abroad.”
The House approved on final reading House Bill 9349 or the “Absolute Divorce Act” by a 126-109-20 vote.
But Velasco reported the next day that a total of 131 lawmakers voted in favor of the bill.
But Lagman said that there was “no need to wait” because “the irreversible fact is that the affirmative votes got the majority of those who voted, with the presence of a quorum and without the abstentions being counted.”