President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday expressed optimism that the Senate would return to normal functioning and focus on its mandate of legislating priority measures under the leadership of Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.
Speaking to reporters before his flight back to Manila, Marcos expressed hope that with Gatchalian’s appointment, the Senate would study, deliberate on, and pass his administration’s priority bills without delay.
“Well, that is exactly what we have been all hoping for – that things become more orderly, na maging maayos ang takbo ng Senado. Alam ng lahat ng tao kung ano yung nangyari (that things become more orderly, that the Senate runs smoothly. Everyone knows what happened),” he said.
“I will support whoever the Senate chooses, as long as the process that they undertook in making a choice is proper, is legal, is constitutional, then that’s fine with me.”
Gatchalian was elected Senate president during a special session on Wednesday, ending a two-week stalemate in the upper chamber after Senator Alan Peter Cayetano refused to give up the Senate presidency and acknowledge a leadership reorganization.
Marcos noted that delays in Senate sessions had halted progress on bills and stalled important appointments, causing significant concern.
He cited the importance of efficient lawmaking, especially amid external economic pressures.
“Sana naman sa paglagay ni Senator Sherwin bilang SP, mabalik naman tayo sa normal na patakbo ng Senado (Hopefully, with Senator Sherwin becoming Senate president, we can return to the normal operations of the Senate) and that they can take care of the business of government, the business of legislation, and all these necessary legislation(s) that we listed to show that (these) are priority – some of them are from before, some of them are new in response to the oil crisis in the Middle East,” he said.
Marcos expressed his readiness to work with the Senate to fast-track the passage of the priority bills.
“I will definitely do whatever we can to work together with the legislature, with the Senate in particular, to make sure that things go smoothly and we move away from the chaos that we have been seeing in the Senate. I hope that the new reorganization will achieve that,” he said.
Marcos, through Proclamation 1318 signed on Monday, ordered lawmakers to hold a special session on Wednesday to act on priority measures aimed at strengthening social protection, education, and healthcare, and to ensure urgent government responses amid ongoing challenges, including the recent Mindanao earthquake. (PNA)