The 11-member Senate minority bloc on Monday night said several key measures were stalled after the majority bloc led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano failed to attend the 5 p.m. resumption of session following the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
In a joint statement, the minority senators said they were present and ready to work, vote on pending bills, and keep the Senate running, but the majority “chose not to show up.”
The bloc said measures left hanging included the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers, the Anti-Hospital Detention Bill, the confirmation of generals before the Commission on Appointments, and bills granting Philippine citizenship to Bennie Boatwright III and Matthew James Ramos.
“Ang Senado ay hindi pag-aari ng iisang may hawak ng gavel. Institusyon ito ng taumbayan at napakadaming mahalagang panukala ang nabibinbin dahil sa drama ng mayorya (The Senate does not belong to one person holding the gavel. It is an institution of the people, and many important measures are being delayed because of the majority’s drama),” the minority said.
The bloc rejected Cayetano’s call for the Senate to go “quiet” as a stand for institutional independence, saying the chamber should not stop work because of a lawful process before the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan.
They said the non-convening of the session was a boycott over Estrada’s arrest, not a defense of Senate independence.
“This is a boycott because of the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada, and the public should not be asked to believe another convenient line from a leadership that has repeatedly twisted the truth,” the minority said.
The minority said the proper place for the majority to protest, deliver privilege speeches or defend its position is on the Senate floor, not through inaction that keeps the chamber idle.
“Sa totoo lang, ang gusto nila ay kampihan, hindi prinsipyo. Gusto nila sumama kami sa boycott, patahimikin ang Senado at gamitin ang minority para manatili ang Senate President sa puwesto habang iniiwasan ang tunay na test of numbers sa floor (The truth is, what they want is loyalty, not principle. They want us to join the boycott, silence the Senate and use the minority so the Senate President can stay in his post while avoiding the real test of numbers on the floor),” the statement read.
Cayetano challenged the minority to stand for the Senate’s independence following the issuance of an arrest warrant against Estrada in a plunder case linked to alleged flood control anomalies.
In a Facebook post, Cayetano said the Senate is a co-equal branch of government and should settle its own business without outside pressure.
“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.
He asked the minority to join the majority in allowing the chamber to fall silent “so the country is made to ask why a co-equal branch would fall silent rather than be made to serve.”
The minority, however, urged the Senate to open its doors, call the session to order, and return to work, saying no political dispute can erase the duty of senators to show up, follow the law, and serve the people.
‘Dereliction Of Duty’
Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Monday’s events were not a case of standing up for the Senate’s independence but plain and simple dereliction of duty by the majority bloc led by Cayetano.
“Standing up for the Senate’s independence does not place SP Cayetano and any senator above the law. It has nothing to do with non-adherence to the rule of law. Dereliction of duty will not solve this partisan gridlock. Its sole purpose is to hold legislation hostage,” he said in a post on X.
Lacson said the arrest of Estrada is a step toward serving justice, either to the thousands of flood victims or Estrada, “since both parties will finally have their day in court after a long wait.”
He also reiterated his wish for the Senate to recover its integrity, dignity, reputation, and the public trust and confidence it once enjoyed.
“My only birthday wish is for the Senate to recover what is left of its integrity, dignity and reputation, but most of all, the public trust and confidence that our predecessors used to enjoy,” said Lacson, who turned 77 on Monday. (With a report from Leonel Abasola/PNA)