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MANILA, Philippines — In the wake of the disturbance caused by the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada yesterday, the Senate floor was emptied of members of the majority, forcing a cancellation of plenary session as the minority senators later decided to leave.
The Senate quorum bell, a traditional signal summoning lawmakers to the floor, rang for more than two hours beginning 4:50 p.m., before the 11 members of the minority bloc stood from their seats to leave the session hall.
While the minority bloc was in full attendance, the left aisle of the plenary hall – usually packed with majority bloc senators – was left entirely empty.
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda and the other majority senators – Pia Cayetano, Francis Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Rodante Marcoleta, Robinhood Padilla, Bong Go, Imee Marcos and siblings Mark and Camille Villar – did not appear at the plenary. Sen. Ronald dela Rosa remains in hiding.
The Senate President accompanied Estrada, who was arrested by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group at past 3 p.m.
Marcoleta, Marcos and the Villars were last seen during Estrada’s press conference announcing his “surrender.”
At about 5:30 p.m., Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri stood up from his seat to approach the rostrum to speak to Secretary Jose Montales, who reportedly told him that Cayetano has yet to give instructions as to whether or not to proceed with the session.
No one from the majority was able to explain their absence, but Cayetano issued a statement at about 6:20 p.m. daring the minority to deliberately “let the Senate go quiet, together and by choice,” following Estrada’s arrest.
“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,” the Senate President said.
While not explicitly stating a boycott, Cayetano challenged the minority to leave. “The door is open. What you do with it is yours to answer – to this institution, and to the people watching it,” he added.
Shortly before Cayetano’s statement, minority senators exited the plenary hall to enter the Senate lounge.
Applauded
They returned to the floor at 7 p.m. to take a group photo in front of the rostrum, where they were met with applause from people in the gallery – who included economist WInnie Monsod and former ACT Teachers Party-list representative France Castro.
Upon learning that the choir designated to sing the National Anthem in plenary was still in the holding area, Zubiri, Sens. Vicente Sotto III, Sherwin Gatchalian, JV Ejercito, Erwin Tulfo, Raffy Tulfo and Francis Pangilinan allowed choir members to sing and lead the plenary – filled with Senate employees, legislative staff and the press – in singing the National Anthem.
The absence followed a highly volatile session last week, where the 11-member minority walked out to protest the supposed railroading of rule amendments that would allow absent lawmakers to participate and vote remotely.
Speaking to reporters, Sen. Erwin Tulfo questioned the absence of the majority – asking whether it was a boycott due to Estrada’s arrest.
“So disgusting another waste of taxpayers’ money, our colleagues from the majority did not show up today. If it’s government employee, there’s suspension, dismissal. But if it’s us, no penalty, violations,” he said.
“And this is the first time and there’s no force majeure like typhoon, earthquake, pandemic. They did not cite a reason,” Tulfo said. “Boycott, just because Jinggoy was arrested?”
His brother Sen. Raffy Tulfo shared his sentiments, saying his appreciation of Cayetano’s dare to the minority reads like a boycott.
Gatchalian said they were not given notice that the majority, including the Senate President, would be absent.
“First of all, this is a violation of the rules because you can’t suspend or cancel session without consultation with the majority,” Gatchalian said.
Ejercito said while he was saddened by his brother’s situation, public servants like lawmakers need to allow the law to take its course. “We pray that he will have the strength to face the accusations against him, but as I said, justice and truth should prevail,” he said.
At about 7:30 p.m., Cayetano’s office confirmed there would be no session that night. The legal implications of the Senate’s failure to hold session remain unclear.
Shameful
Meanwhile, family members of pre-martial law senators have branded today’s Senate as “shameful” for being a “camp of blatant lawbreakers.”
“This is not the Senate that we first knew,” they said yesterday in a statement signed by 11 family members of former senators. “The mothers and fathers of our Republic who once sat at this chamber weren’t thirsty for applause, attracted to attention and pitifully begging for the public’s faith. They know that their office is not a theater. It is a responsibility. It is sacred,” they said.
Previous generations of senators, they said, were known for their integrity and that they meticulously studied measures, faithfully watched over the nation’s coffers and left a legacy unstained by corruption.
Today’s members of the majority “brought nothing but shame for the country,” they said.
“Count the lawmakers who are lawbreakers. Count the men and women who are flaunting the Constitution while they desecrate its spirit. Count those who ask for respect that they do not deserve,” the relatives said.
More than half of majority bloc members led by Senate President Cayetano are linked to various criminal offenses. Two senators are named co-perpetrators in the crimes against humanity case against former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court (Dela Rosa and Go).
Three – Estrada, Villanueva and Escudero – are facing raps over their alleged involvement in the flood control mess. The siblings Villar are accused of insider trading and market manipulation, and Legarda is the mother of a congressman facing business violations for reportedly failing to deliver commitments in a renewable energy project.
“History is brutal to those who think living without punishment means a license to indulge forever. Filipinos have managed to oust a bigger brag than them – and they can manage to do it again,” they said.
Some of the 11 signatories include Serge Osmeña III, who was a post-EDSA senator and son of the late former senator Sergio Osmeña Jr.; former deputy speaker Erin Tañada, son of former senator Lorenzo Tañada; former college dean Sylvia Estrada-Claudio, niece of former senator Eva Kalaw; pulmonologist Dr. Ricardo Salonga, son of former Senate president Jovito Salonga, and historian Maria Serena Diokno, daughter of former senator Jose Diokno.
Osmeña Jr., Tañada, Kalaw, Salonga and Diokno were all part of the 7th Congress when martial law was declared in 1972. — EJ Macababbad
