Absentee Sorsogon SP members to be Fined

Sorsogon City-  Members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Sorsogon would soon find themselves being penalized whenever they go absent during regular sessions.

This was agreed upon by the board members after they failed for the third time in as many months to muster a quorum for its session.

Vice-Gov Antonio Escudero, Jr. said they have decided to make use of the provision of the council's internal rules which imposes a fine on members who would go absent without official leave.

He said a part of the rules state that a member of the board who fails to attend a session without official leave shall be imposed a fine of P500 to be deducted from his salary. The amount goes back to the coffers of the government.

Escudero urged his colleagues to be sincere in their sworn duty to serve the people.

Based on the records of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan it failed to muster a quorum twice last August and once this September.

Board Member Angel Escandor, one of the two board members who have not registered any absence yet, said it's just fair to impose penalty on erring members so that they would be reminded of their duty.

Escandor said every session counts since they only convene once a week and there are a lot of important matters that have to be acted upon.

Escudero said this would be the first time in his long political career that they would be imposing fines on absentee board members.

He stressed that although elected officials are not covered by civil service rules and regulations they still need to follow certain guidelines in the conduct of their duties, one of which is the internal rules and regulations of the SP.

Escudero reminded his colleagues of the dictum "public office is a public trust."