MANILA, Philippines —The Senate minority bloc on Tuesday night said they walked out to condemn what appears to be an attempt to "rush" a major change in the Senate rules without enough deliberation on the matter.
In a joint statement, the 11-member minority group said they walked out because "what happened on the floor looked less like orderly deliberation."
The minority is composed of Senators Vicente Sotto III, Bam Aquino, JV Ejercito, Win Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Panfilo Lacson, Lito Lapid, Kiko Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Raffy Tulfo, and Migz Zubiri.
The group said that several of their members "still wanted to speak and raise serious questions on the floor."
"What's the rush? What's the reason for dividing the house if there are still senators who are asking about the process?” they said.
"Was the rule change being rushed because they wanted to allow Senator Bato [Dela Rosa])? Now there are reports that some majority senators might be arrested,”
the minority said.
