Paralyzed Senate: Majority no-show at session after Estrada’s arrest

MANILA, Philippines – Members of the Senate majority bloc failed to appear for the Senate session scheduled at 5 pm on Monday, June 1, leaving only the 11 senators affiliated with the minority bloc inside the session hall.

Without a quorum — or at least 13 senators physically present — the Senate could not conduct business.

Minority senators waited until 7 pm, or two hours after the scheduled start of the session, before leaving the chamber. While waiting in the plenary, Senator Raffy Tulfo said that the airconditioning system was turned off and the WiFi connection was cut off.

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Minority senators decided to leave the plenary after Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano released a statement addressed to minority senators, urging them to stand for what he described as the independence of the Senate.

The majority bloc’s failure to show up came on the same day Senator Jinggoy Estrada was arrested over plunder and bribery charges linked to the alleged corruption in flood control projects.

“To my colleagues in the minority: The Senate is a co-equal branch of government. It is not a prize to be claimed by anyone. Events of the past few days may have blurred this distinction, but what happened with one of our colleagues today brings it sharply back into focus,” Cayetano said.

“I am asking you to join one deliberate act — to let the Senate go quiet, together and by choice, so the country is made to ask why a co-equal branch would fall silent rather than be made to serve,” he added.

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During a quick press briefing before going to Camp Crame, Estrada claimed he had received offers to leave the Senate majority in exchange for the dismissal of his cases. He didn’t identify who made the supposed offers.

Cayetano accompanied Estrada in Camp Crame. Rappler also saw senators Camille Villar and Imee Marcos — both members of the majority bloc — follow Estrada when he went to the ground floor of the Senate.

‘Boycott of duty’

Minority senators criticized the majority bloc’s absence, describing it as a “boycott of duty.”

“This may be the first time in decades that Senate work stopped because the presiding officer himself refused to work. Even during typhoons and the height of the pandemic, work was suspended only out of necessity or because systems still had to be set up — not because the leadership chose a boycott of duty,” the minority bloc said in a statement.

The minority bloc also questioned why the majority bloc “did not even have the courtesy to inform” them that they — the majority bloc — “had no intention of convening.”

The minority also claimed that Cayetano’s call to suspend Senate proceedings was an attempt to retain his position as Senate president while avoiding “the real test of numbers on the floor.”

With the arrest of Estrada and absence of the majority bloc, the minority senators asked Cayetano if he is “now questioning the rule of law.”

With Estrada under detention and Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa in hiding following the issuance of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court over alleged crimes against humanity, the 13-member majority bloc has effectively been reduced to 11 senators who can attend sessions in person — the same number as the minority bloc.

Reports have also circulated about a looming challenge to Cayetano’s leadership.

Because of the lack of a quorum, minority senators said several important measures and appointments were left pending. These included the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers, the Anti-Hospital Detention Bill, the confirmation of military and police officials before the Commission on Appointments, and bills granting Philippine citizenship to Bennie Boatwright III and Matthew James Ramos.

The Senate is also scheduled to adjourn this week, with sessions scheduled only until Wednesday, June 3.

“Let us focus on the work, because the Senate has serious business before it. If the majority wants to protest, deliver privilege speeches, or defend its position, the proper place to do that is on the floor, not by making the chamber stand still,” the minority bloc said.

In the session hall gallery, at past 7 pm, economist Winnie Monsod and several others held up a blue banner with the message, “Serve with integrity.” They also clapped for the majority senators as they left the hall. – Rappler.com