Opposition party-list Akbayan on Tuesday hit out at Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano and the majority bloc over their boycott of the chamber’s plenary session for the second straight day.
In a statement, Akbayan president Rafaela David said this move has “delayed crucial legislation and exposed the lengths to which Cayetano is willing to go to preserve their hold on power.”
On Monday and Tuesday, only the minority bloc showed up at the Senate’s session hall.
“Cayetano’s actions have earned him a new place in the Senate’s history. He is now remembered both as the Senate’s attacker and hijacker. He is hijacking and taking hostage an entire institution in a desperate bid to keep himself in power. Just as he clung to power during his controversial tenure as House Speaker, he is now willing to immobilize the Senate itself rather than respect its democratic processes,” David said.
She added that the boycott “is an insult to the Senate and to the Filipino people.”
“By deliberately refusing to attend the session, Cayetano has once again chosen selfish political interests over public service. Important measures are being delayed, urgent concerns remain unaddressed, and the Senate has been prevented from performing its constitutional duties, all because Cayetano is determined to keep himself in power,” the Akbayan president stated.
“This boycott serves no public purpose. It is not about defending the Senate. It is not about protecting democratic processes. It is simply about preserving Cayetano’s grip on the Senate presidency. The Senate does not belong to Cayetano. It belongs to the Filipino people. Every day the chamber is held hostage is another day that workers, students, farmers, commuters, and ordinary citizens are denied the action and representation they deserve,” she added.
David would later call on members of the current majority to abandon Cayetano and to position themselves as independents.
“The Filipino people deserve a functioning Senate, not a hostage Senate… Those who deliberately sabotage the institution to preserve their positions and shield their allies from accountability betray the public trust. The Senate must immediately resume its work, and senators who still value its integrity must refuse to allow it to be reduced to a mere instrument of one man’s political ambitions,” she said.
