Neophyte lawmakers want the House of Representatives to activate the P70-million electronic attendance and voting system that has become a virtual white elephant due to the refusal of past leaderships of the chamber to use the system.

Earning accolades from Speaker Feliciano Belmonte for helping the chamber register “record attendance” in the past six session days, new congressmen said the expensive biometrics attendance and voting system should be put to full use before newer technologies make it obsolete.

House newcomers said the new House leadership should not allow the P70 million spent by the chamber in 2008 to go down the drain mainly because some congressmen want their absences in legislative proceedings concealed by inefficient manual roll calls.

“Lifespan of technology especially hardware component is two to three years. Baka obsolete na iyon. Concept wise, I am in favor of using biometrics for HOR attendance and voting,” said Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Benitez.