Blue Ribbon Committee hearing led by Pia Cayetano pushes through
The Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on flood control, led by Sen. Pia Cayetano, pushed through on June 4.
This is despite an announcement from Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, who was elected Senate president pro tempore on June 4, that there would be no hearing for the committee on Thursday.
"Walang pagdinig ngayon," he emphasized at around 9 a.m., adding that he did not plan to lock the Senate.
"Ako, 'di ako mahilig sa padlock, basta sundan lang ang protocol," Gatchalian continued. "May protocols tayo for security. For example, kung walang hearing, walang resource persons, wala rin arrangements kung walang hearing."
During his press conference, senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Robin Padilla, and Rodante Marcoleta appeared in the plenary hall for the Blue Ribbon meeting.
Gatchalian added that he sought the help of Interior and Local Government Secretary Johnvic Remulla to maintain security in the Senate grounds, albeit there is no particular person to watch out for.
"Pre-emptive action ito, wala kaming tinituro kung sino nanggugulo," Gatchalian said, while denying DILG would arrest anyone.
Scuffle in Senate
After Gatchalian's press conference, at around 9:45 a.m., a scuffle broke out on the first floor of the Senate as Remulla tried to block Padilla and Pia, who brought in with her 18 ex-Marines allegedly involved in the delivery of billions of pesos in kickbacks to administration officials.
News5's live video showed Padilla pushing Remulla, and the senators made their way to the plenary hall.
Once seated, Pia formally opened the hearing, slamming the incident.
"May nagsasabi na 'di dapat papasukin ang ating mga resource persons, so kailangan ko silang sunduin," she explained her earlier action.
"I never thought the day would come na someone would prevent me from getting into the Senate. This is my office... This is the Senate. [These are] the halls of democracy. We [will] hold our hearing, and we will continue," she added.
For his part, Remulla denied that he attempted to block the senators from entering.
"I was pushed aside," he said, according to a Philippine STAR report. "I was walking out when I was pushed aside. I was alone. I was about to go home."
Hearing or no hearing?
On June 3, Gatchalian announced that the Senate will have no official business on June 4 while a work-from-home setup is allowed for Senate staff. He issued an advisory authorizing all on-site Senate employees and officials to leave the office starting at 10 a.m.
"This measure is being undertaken to prioritize the welfare of Senate personnel while allowing offices to continue carrying out their functions through appropriate work arrangements," the letter read.
New Blue Ribbon Committee chair Erwin Tulfo moved the hearing on alleged anomalous flood control projects to June 8. However, Alan Peter said that the scheduled committee hearings would push through on Thursday.
"[Tuloy] ang hearing ng Blue Ribbon Committee. I am still the legitimate, legal, moral Senate President of the Republic of the Philippines," he said. "There is still functioning committees. We have to hear the testimonies, invited po, pati po yung mga gumawa ng illegal ngayon."
The hearing invited 18 ex-Marines who claimed to have delivered billions of pesos in alleged kickbacks to administration officials.
