Senate fails to convene after Cayetano bloc skips session

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 8:28 p.m.) — The Senate failed to convene Monday, June 1, after the majority bloc and the chamber’s presiding officers did not show up for session, moments after Sen. Jinggoy Estrada surrendered to authorities over a plunder case.

The plenary session was supposed to start at 5 p.m., but Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano and other majority senators did not appear on the floor. Members of the minority bloc attended the session and waited for more than an hour, but the Senate could not proceed without the presiding officers.

At 6:21 p.m., Sen. Kiko Pangilinan was the only senator left in the plenary before minority senators returned minutes later to take a photo and allow invited singers to lead the national anthem.

Cayetano later said on social media that the majority’s non-attendance was a way to express that the Senate must remain independent, although he did not make clear from which interests the chamber was supposedly asserting "independence."

In a statement, the "Solid Bloc 11" minority senators rejected Cayetano’s framing, saying the majority’s absence was "not Senate independence but a boycott of duty."

"The Solid Bloc 11 minority senators were present today for the 5 p.m. resumption of session, ready to work, ready to vote on pending bills and ready to keep the Senate running, but the majority led by SP Cayetano chose not to show up," the minority said.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri told reporters afterward that in his 14 years in the Senate, it was the first time he had seen no presiding officer appear for session.

The minority said important measures were left hanging, including the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers, the Anti-Hospital Detention Bill, the confirmation of generals before the Commission on Appointments and bills granting Philippine citizenship to athletes Bennie Boatwright III and Matthew James Ramos.

"Ang Senado ay hindi pag-aari ng iisang may hawak ng gavel. Institusyon ito ng taumbayan at napakadaming mahalagang panukala ang nabibinbin dahil sa drama ng mayorya," the bloc said.

(The Senate does not belong to one person holding the gavel. It is an institution of the people, and many important measures are being delayed because of the majority’s drama.)

Deadlock

This comes at a precarious moment for Cayetano’s leadership. The majority bloc has been effectively reduced to 11 members after Estrada’s arrest earlier Monday and the continued absence of Sen. Bato dela Rosa, who has not returned to the Senate since leaving its protective custody while facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.

The thin margin also leaves Cayetano’s control of the chamber exposed, with no majority leader yet named and the majority’s edge on key votes wiped out if members are absent or unavailable.

After the walkout. Monday’s stalled session followed the minority bloc’s walkout on Tuesday, May 26, aiming to prevent a quorum when majority member Sen. Rodante Marcoleta moved to amend the rules to allow senators who are not physically present to participate and be counted in plenary decisions.

Minority senators objected to the proposal, saying it violated the Senate’s own rules and appeared designed to benefit absent members of the majority. The walkout deprived the chamber of a quorum and forced adjournment. — with reports from John Marwin Elao