Special session today to formally reorganize Senate

MANILA, Philippines — With a secure quorum, the Senate is poised to elect its president and other leaders as it holds a special session today – in accordance with Malacañang’s directive – to formally reorganize the chamber, clear the legislative backlog and rescue the expiring promotions of top military officers.

Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian told reporters that the session, which begins at 9 a.m., will have priority measures in its agenda until a suspension at 11 a.m. to give way to a Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmation of presidential appointees.

Gatchalian said he has secured full backing of the House of Representatives led by Speaker Faustino Dy III to ensure the CA reaches its required numbers to confirm the appointees.

He said the CA will adjourn after tackling the expiring promotion of military officers, and by 3 p.m. or 4 p.m., the chamber will reconvene to tackle additional measures.

Sen. Erwin Tulfo told dzBB yesterday that the morning portion of the session would be dedicated to appointing committee chairpersons.

The two lawmakers emphasized that the CA must immediately confirm five military colonels, whose promotions to general had been left hanging due to the month-long leadership deadlock.

While Gatchalian is calling for full attendance, Tulfo said he is confident the chamber would have the numbers to reach the constitutional threshold to conduct business. On Sunday, Sen. Joel Villanueva confirmed his attendance in today’s session, adding to the 12 comprising the majority.

But to Gatchalian, the chamber can already proceed with its official business even with 12 members present, based on the Avelino doctrine, a Supreme Court jurisprudence that establishes a working quorum based on the chamber’s active and capable headcount.

Also in today’s special session, the chamber will strive to pass several near-finished priority measures.

The legislative lineup includes the geriatric health bill, an expansion of the GASTPE education voucher system to cover elementary students from Grades 1 to 6 and two agriculture measures championed by Sen. Francis Pangilinan.

The agenda also covers the Anti-Hospital Detention Bill, a measure institutionalizing the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s crisis assistance funds, a nuclear safety treaty, two long-delayed citizenship grants and formal resolutions providing additional relief aid to victims of the recent Mindanao earthquakes and commending essential frontliners. — Delon Porcalla