A POLITICAL realignment within the Senate unfolded dramatically when the majority bloc, then composed of 13 senators (MB-13), staged a deliberate two-day boycott of plenary sessions, effectively paralyzing Senate business by denying the chamber a working quorum. The standoff ended when Sen. Francis Escudero broke ranks and crossed over to join the solid bloc, then numbering 11 senators (SB-11). Escudero’s pivotal defection shifted the balance of power on the Senate floor, dissolving the gridlock and allowing sessions to resume on June 3, 2026. With his transfer, the majority bloc shed a member and shrank to 12 (MB-12), while the solid bloc gained one and rose to 12 (SB-12) as well — transforming what had been an uneven standoff into an evenly matched, and potentially volatile, 12-12 split that now defines the new political landscape of the upper chamber.
While no single penal provision expressly criminalizes a legislative boycott, the act may be characterized as obstruction of the constitutional processes of government under the broad sweep of the Revised Penal Code provisions on crimes against public order, particularly where the intent is to coerce a political outcome by paralyzing a constitutional body.
I still believe that the Filipino people are not that powerless. The Constitution itself is a people’s document — it begins with “We, the sovereign Filipino people.” Sovereignty resides in the people, not in the Senate. While legal remedies are limited and slow, the combination of legal complaints, public pressure, civil society action and electoral accountability remains the most potent force a democracy places in the hands of its citizens.
Anyway, several readers sent their reactions to this column published on May 16 – “Abolish the Senate of the Philippines.” I am reproducing here one of those messages sent by a Toronto-based reader.
CCG reacts to this column
“What you’ve written is [a] sharp, impassioned piece that reflects a real and growing frustration among many Filipinos, especially within the legal and political elite, watching the Senate’s recent unparliamentary conduct.
“1. The Senate has become a sanctuary for the corrupt, not a check on power. You ask, ‘Can we simply abolish the Senate?’ You acknowledge this is constitutionally difficult under Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, but noted two long avenues: constitutional amendment or constitutional replacement. A provocative, almost rhetorical line — citizens could simply storm the Senate (which no serious legal mind would advocate as a real solution, it reads as frustration, not a legal proposal). This I do understand. Your premise: if this is what the Senate has become, why keep it?
“2. You touched on the legal reality: Abolition is not impossible, but extremely difficult. You correctly argued that the Senate cannot be abolished under the current Constitution. Article VI explicitly establishes a bicameral Congress: The Senate (24 members) and the House of Representatives. To abolish the Senate, you would need to change the Constitution itself. Under the 1987 Constitution, there are three ways — constituent assembly (Congress voting as one); constitutional convention (elected delegates); or through a people’s initiative (citizen-led).
“Even if a new constitution were drafted creating a unicameral legislature, the Senate’s abolition would have to be express and deliberate — not an accident of reform. It is not impossible, but the path is long and arduous.
“I believe we share the same logos — bicameralism may not be the culprit but the bad actors themselves.
“Many countries with unicameral legislatures (e.g., New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark) function well but they have strong party discipline, independent judiciaries and mature political cultures. The Philippines does not yet have all three and may take another 1,000 years to build this type of ethos.
“Abolishing the Senate without fixing political dynasties, campaign finance and party system reform would merely move the rot to a single house, not remove it. IMHO, the country must focus on targeted reform than full abolition would be:
“a. Convert the Senate into a nonpolitical, advisory or review chamber, similar to Germany’s Bundesrat or France’s Senate (which has a role but less power over budgets and treaties).
“b. Or, more radically, reduce the Senate’s powers to only treaties, amnesties and constitutional appointments, stripping its ability to shield corrupt members through leadership manipulations.
“Abolition is a nuclear option. Sometimes that is necessary. But it also eliminates any check on the House.
“Bottom line, you’ve correctly diagnosed a malignant Senate. But abolition is like burning down a hospital because the doctors are corrupt. The better question is: How do we remove corrupt senators without destroying the institution? If the answer is ‘we can’t,’ then yes — abolish it. But prove first that no other remedy works. Your column assumes that point has been reached (keep in mind there are still 11 that appear to have a semblance of doing what is right). Many Filipinos would agree with you.
“A bicameral system with honest leaders works. A unicameral system with honest leaders works. A parliamentary system, a presidential republic, even a well-intentioned commune — all function only as long as the people inside them choose integrity over self-preservation.
“And conversely: Any system, no matter how beautifully designed, will rot from within if the actors are corrupt. The apostle Paul says, ‘If one part of the body suffers, the whole suffers with it’ (1 Corinthians 12:26). This is not just theological, it is the truth.
“In a human body, a single infected organ left untreated will lead to sepsis, then organ failure, then death. You do not cure sepsis by redesigning the skeleton. You cure it by removing the infection, cleansing the blood and restoring health to the afflicted part.
“The same is true of a republic. The Philippines does not need a constitutional convention to redraw the legislative map. It needs a detoxification of the political class. And detoxification is not a structural reform, it is a moral and legal one.”
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