Drilon says Senate must elect new leader before VP Sara impeachment trial

MANILA, Philippines — Electing a new Senate president during the special session is both appropriate and necessary to ensure stability in the Senate, especially as the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte draws near, according to former Senate President Franklin Drilon.

Drilon said he sees nothing wrong if an election takes place during the special session on Wednesday, June 17, to formally install a new Senate leader, adding that it is just as important as addressing key measures stalled by the leadership dispute.

“Sa akin po wala namang masama kung sabihing iyan po ay para lang magkaroon ng bagong pangulo ng Senado at tama po 'yan, kailangan natin ‘yan,” Drilon told dzBB on Tuesday, June 16.

(For me, there’s nothing wrong with saying that [the special session] is just for electing a new Senate president, and that’s right, we need that.)

Both the camp of the vice president and the House prosecution panel submitted their pretrial briefs to the Senate on Monday, June 15. Meanwhile, the pretrial conference is scheduled for June 18.

The impeachment trial of Duterte over allegations of graft and corruption, unexplained wealth, bribery and grave threats is set to formally begin on July 6.

The Senate will serve as the impeachment court in Duterte’s trial, with senators acting as judges.

Validating committee chairmanships

Drilon added that the leadership of various Senate committees would also be validated if an election is held during the special session, thereby resolving the ongoing dispute over the Blue Ribbon Committee.

“‘Yung leadership ng mga committee, hindi lang Blue Ribbon kun’di lahat ng komite sa Senado, iyan po ay mare-resolve na with finality pagdating ng special session at magkaroon ng botohan,” Drilon said.

(The leadership of the committees, not only the Blue Ribbon Committee but all Senate committees, will be resolved with finality during the special session once a vote is held.)

According to Drilon, Sen. Erwin Tulfo’s chairmanship of the Blue Ribbon Committee under the Gatchalian bloc would become a moot issue once an election or appointment is made during the special session.

“Iyan po ay maging academic pagbukas ng special session dahil ako po'y nakakasiguro na ang unang item ay ang paghalal ng Pangulo ng Senado at committee chairmanship,” Drilon said.

(That [the issue of Tulfo’s chairmanship] will become academic once the special session opens because I am certain that the first item on the agenda is the election of the Senate president and committee chairmanships.)

The leadership and composition of the Blue Ribbon Committee are currently being disputed as the Cayetano-led bloc conducts a “hearing” outside the Senate premises on the alleged flood control anomalies.

However, Sen. Erwin Tulfo, whom the Gatchalian bloc recognizes as chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, said Cayetano’s unofficial “Blue Ribbon hearing” is “illegal” and “unauthorized.”

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MANILA, Philippines — Electing a new Senate President during the special session is just apt and necessary to establish Senate stability, especially that the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte draws near, according to former Senate President Franklin Drilon. 

Drilon said he sees nothing wrong in case an election takes place during the special session on Wednesday, June 17 to formally install a new Senate leader, adding that it is just as important as addressing the key measures that were stalled due to leadership dispute.

“Sa akin po wala namang masama kung sabihing iyan po ay para lang magkaroon ng bagong pangulo ng Senado at tama po 'yan, kailangan natin ‘yan,” Drilon told dzBB on Tuesday, June 16. 

(For me, there’s nothing wrong with saying that [the special session] is just for electing a new Senate president and that’s right, we need that.]

Both the camps of the vice president and the House prosecution panel already submitted their pretrial brief at the Senate on Monday, June 15. The pretrial conference, meanwhile, is scheduled on June 18.

The impeachment trial of Duterte for cases of alleged graft and corruption, unexplained wealth, bribery and grave threat is set to formally begin on July 6. 

The Senate serves as an impeachment court for Duterte’s trial, in which the senators will act as the judges.

Validating committee chairmanship

Drilon added that the chairmanship of different Senate committees will also be validated in case of an election at the special session, thus resolving the ongoing Blue Ribbon Committee dispute.

“‘Yung leadership ng mga committee, hindi lang Blue Ribbon kun’di lahat ng komite sa Senado, iyan po ay mare-resolve na with finality pagdating ng special session at magkaroon ng botohan,” Drilon said. 

(The leadership of the committees, not only the Blue Ribbon but all the Senate committees, will be resolved with finality at the special session when an election happens.)

The chairmanship of Sen. Erwin Tulfo of the Blue Ribbon Committee under the Gatchalian-bloc will only become “academic” through an election or appointment at the special session, which is certain to happen, according to Drilon. 

“Iyan po ay maging academic pagbukas ng special session dahil ako po'y nakakasiguro na ang unang item ay ang paghalal ng Pangulo ng Senado at committee chairmanship,” Drilon said. 

(That [the chairmanship of Tulfo] will be academic once the special session commences because I am certain that the first item [on their agenda] is to elect a Senate President and committee chairmanship.)

The leadership and composition of the Blue Ribbon Committee is currently being disputed as the Cayetano-led bloc conducts a “hearing” outside the Senate premises for the alleged flood control probe.

However, Sen. Erwin Tulfo, the chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee under the Gatchalian-led bloc, said that Cayetano’s unofficial “Blue Ribbon hearing” are “illegal” and “unauthorized.”