Majority senators defend absence from sessions, cite quorum and probe concerns
The members of the Senate majority bloc have broken their silence on their absence from plenary sessions on June 1 and 2.
The senators said in a statement shared by the Philippine STAR that the move is intended to "protect the integrity" of ongoing Senate investigations amid a change of numbers in the chamber.
According to the majority, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada's arrest and the continued absence of Sen. Bato dela Rosa caused an "unusual situation," which caused a shift in the balance of votes in the Senate.
"While these developments do not provide sufficient numbers to change the Senate leadership, they may allow changes in committee leadership through the votes of senators present during session," they said.
"The issue is not the Senate presidency but whether ongoing investigations, particularly those involving allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds, will be allowed to continue without interruption or political interference."
The majority bloc singled out the flood control investigation as one of the chamber's most significant inquiries, which involves key officials and billions of pesos in public funds. They claimed that changing committee leadership could jeopardize the continuity of these proceedings
"Any effort to alter the leadership of committees conducting these investigations inevitably raises questions about motive and timing," the statement read.
The senators also criticized a so-called "double standard of reactions to parliamentary tactics," referring to the minority bloc's walkout over the majority's insistence on discussing amendments to the rules on electronic voting.
"Previous walkout by members of the Minority [was] widely defended as legitimate expressions of principle, while the Majority's decision to withhold quorum is now being portrayed as an abandonment of duty."
They maintained that withholding quorum was a "lawful parliamentary tool meant to prevent temporary shifts from altering ongoing investigations."
Legislative work was once again disrupted as the majority bloc remained absent on June 2's plenary session amid Sen. Jinggoy Estrada's arrest for his plunder cases.
The minority bloc has since urged Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano to resign, calling the cancellation of sessions a "direct violation of the rules of the Senate."
"He has shown that he cannot function as leader of the Senate anymore," Sen. Erwin Tulfo said.
The Senate President or a presiding officer and a quorum of 13 members are needed to convene a Senate session.
