RIVAL factions within the Senate clashed again Thursday, this time over separate hearings on anomalous flood control projects, further highlighting the growing schism within the chamber between the group under Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano and newly installed Senate Pro Tempore and acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.
The Cayetano faction pushed through its own hearing on the flood control fund scandal, challenging the authority of the newly elected Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Sen. Erwin Tulfo, who had declared Thursday’s hearing illegal.
Cayetano insisted that he is still Senate president while his elder sister, Sen. Pia Cayetano, remained the Blue Ribbon chairman, as they refused to recognize the authority of the new majority.
Also present at the inquiry were Senators Loren Legarda, Rodante Marcoleta, Imee Marcos and Robinhood Padilla.
Sen. Pia Cayetano opened the inquiry, but she later allowed Marcoleta to lead the probe after he was designated chairman of the Blue Ribbon subcommittee on flood control controversy.
It was not certain whether the hearing held by the Cayetano bloc was valid since no official and personnel from the Senate Blue Ribbon Oversight Management Office (Broom) were present to provide documentary requirements.
The Broom secretary was the one tasked to require invited guests or witnesses to take their oath before testifying. No one came forward yesterday to fulfill that role prompting Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano to assume that role.
The public hearing was not livestreamed by the Senate information bureau, giving the impression that the hearing was not an official business.
Tension flared when the Senate security tried to prevent the 18 former Marines from entering the Senate premises. They were invited by the Cayetano bloc to testify at the inquiry. Video footage also showed Padilla pushing Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla as he was heading into the Senate. Remulla said he was at the Senate at the request of the acting Senate leadership to protect the premises and maintain order. Padilla shrugged off the incident as an accident.
Sen. Pia Cayetano had to “fetch” some of the Marines who were being held at the Senate lobby. The other former Marine soldiers were accompanied by their lawyer Levito Baligod and former congressman Mike Defensor.
The Marines reiterated their previous testimony that they delivered suitcases filled with millions of pesos to the residents of some politicians, including Rep. Martin Romualdez and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The Cayetanos used the first few minutes of the hearing to question the Senate leadership change which materialized after the “old” 11-member minority bloc gained an additional member following Sen. Francis Escudero’s decision to abandon Cayetano’s group. Escudero’s move shifted the numbers in favor of the old minority, who now led the Cayetano group, 12-10.
Special session
Meanwhile, the Palace said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was inclined to call for a special session of Congress to pass the administration’s priority bills, including a supplemental budget to cushion the impact of the war in the Middle East.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro issued the statement after Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian said senators are studying the possibility of holding a special session to act on pending bills and appointments delayed by the recent leadership impasse in the Senate.
“Yes, the President is inclined to give in to the official request for the special session,” Castro said during a press conference.
“Well, anyway, they said they will request for a special session. So, as soon as the new leadership sends the official request for a special session address to the president, the president will act immediately on that,” she added.
Castro explained that Marcos was open for a special session, considering the measures and priorities that were delayed due to the developments in the Senate.
“The president does not want the work of the Senate to be disrupted or delayed,” the Palace official said.
“Provided that the official request contains valid grounds for calling a special session,” she added.
Castro did not specify which measures would be prioritized should a special session be called but noted that Marcos wanted to ensure the passage of the anti-political dynasty bill.
She said the president remained committed to fulfilling a constitutional provision that seeks to prohibit political dynasties as defined by law.
“There is a version from the House of Representatives, and there will also be a version from the Senate. So, the president will review it because once it is passed and presented to him, he will ensure that it remains one of his priority measures because he truly wants the anti-political dynasty bill to be enacted during his administration,” Castro said.
The Palace official also denied claims that Marcos may refuse to sign the proposed anti-political dynasty bill because members of his own family occupy elected positions.
She recalled that during a Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council meeting attended by lawmakers, including Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Marcos personally pushed for the measure and expressed his desire to see it enacted within his term.
“You can see that some people simply want to portray the president negatively. It was the president himself who said this should be prioritized,” Castro said.
The anti-political dynasty bill was among the 21 priority measures approved by the Ledac earlier this year.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Gatchalian said the newly formed Senate majority had agreed to request the president to call a special session involving both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Gatchalian said the proposed special session would enable lawmakers to proceed with several urgent legislative functions, including the confirmation of promotions of officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and deliberations on pending measures awaiting congressional action.
“The Senate must continue performing its constitutional duties despite recent challenges,” Gatchalian said, emphasizing the need to prevent delays in matters affecting national security and governance.
Gatchalian also clarified that no Senate committee hearings would be conducted on Thursday, including the much-publicized inquiry into the alleged anomalies involving government flood control projects.
Despite his statement, the Cayetano bloc pushed through with its hearing Thursday.
In a joint statement, the “new” 12-member majority bloc, which called themselves the “legit” Senate, said that Cayetano’s bloc “refused to attend legitimately called sessions.” “Now, they are grandstanding in an unofficial and unauthorized gathering. The Filipino people deserve senators who show up for work, not for drama,” the majority said led by Gatchalian.
Cayetano’s bloc became the minority as they were reduced to 10 members following the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada for plunder. The decision of Escudero to switch to Gatchalian’s group led to the creation of the new 12-member majority bloc.
“What we are seeing is a naked grab for power dressed up as ‘inquiry’ and ‘oversight,’” the majority said.
“It is nothing more than a self-serving spectacle meant to cling to positions they have already lost in a valid and constitutional reorganization of the Senate,” they added.
Addressing the minority group, the majority said in Filipino, “The people do not deserve what you were doing.” Sen. Pia Cayetano opened the inquiry as she insisted that she remains chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC).
However, Sen. Erwin Tulfo, the new BRC panel head, announced that he will resume a similar probe on Monday, June 8.
The majority bloc said the Senate’s mandate “is to uphold the Constitution, check abuses and pass laws for the people’s welfare.” “We urge our colleagues to abandon this ‘bogus hearing,’ respect the rules, the quorum and the duly constituted leadership of the Senate,” they said.
It was “an insult to the institution and to the Filipino people who pay for every minute of this circus with their hard-earned taxes,” they said.
“Even worse, they are reportedly threatening Senate employees with cases if they are not obeyed. These are civil servants who are simply trying to do their jobs in accordance with the law and the duly constituted leadership of the Senate,” the group said.
They said that, as pointed out by Gatchalian, as acting Senate president, there are no official Senate hearings scheduled for Thursday.
The “hearing” convened by the Cayetano group “has no basis in the rules, calendar or authority of the Senate,” they said.
“Instead of participating in regular sessions, working on laws that lower prices, create jobs and protect farmers, workers and vulnerable families, they have chosen to waste public funds and public time to advance their own political agenda,” the majority said.
