From the Senate's hybrid session

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MANILA - It was one senator's exclamation heard around the Internet.

At the end of Tuesday's hybrid Senate session, where several members attended via video conferencing, Sen. Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa happily told his fellow lawmakers as they said goodbye: "Sarap ng buhay! Sarap ng buhay! Ganito na lang tayo palagi ah!"

(This is the life! This is the life! Let's keep it this way!)

For the neophyte lawmaker, the session, which took just under two hours, apparently ended on a high.

As clip of the video made rounds online, some were not pleased, with netizens saying it was an insensitive remark as thousands suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Dela Rosa, a former police and corrections chief on his first term as lawmaker, said he made the remark because the current hybrid session setup seemed to make legislative work more efficient.

"Kaya nasabi kong ang sarap nang buhay kasi mas mabilis ang talakayan ng bills kapag nakawebex kami at mas maaga matapos ang session. Sa tingin ko mas efficient ang session via webex basta maganda lang ang wifi signal ng attendees," he said when reached by text.

(The reason I said life is good is because the discussion of bills was faster with web sessions and we finish earlier. I think sessions via web are more efficient as long as the wifi signal of attendees is good.)

The Senate on Tuesday tackled two bills: one on organic agriculture and another on amending the school calendar from 200 days to not more than 220 days.

The Senate shifted to hybrid sessions- where some members are physically at the session hall in Pasay City and others attend virtually from their homes- because of continuing precautions over the coronavirus disease.

Three lawmakers had earlier tested positive and recovered from the virus- Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, Sonny Angara and Aquilino Pimentel III- along with several Senate staffers.

The Senate tested its personnel when session resumed earlier this month.

• Several Senate staff test positive in COVID-19 rapid testing before session resumption

- with reports from Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News