Drilon: Senators can say anything in privilege speech

MANILA, Philippines - There should be rules on the language used in privilege speeches since lawmakers can't still be prevented from saying what they want to, Senate President Franklin Drilon said Thursday.

In an interview with radio dzRH, Drilon said the right of senators to express themselves is part of parliamentary tradition.

"[S]aang parlyamentaryo sa mundo ka pumunta, ganyan po ang tradisyon. You can speak anything under the sun. We can take the situation na hindi sangayon ang sambayanan sa sinabi ng isang mambabatas sa Kongreso, kesa pigilan natin ang karapatan ng isang opisyal na hinalal ng bayan na magbunyag ng kanilang damdamin," Drilon said.

On Wednesday, Senator Miriam-Defensor Santiago retaliated to the attacks of Senate Minority floor leader Juan Ponce Enrile in a privilege speech last week.

(Related article) Enrile: Miriam an 'obsessive hater'

Santiago accused Enrile of being a king of smuggling, illegal logging and gambling and called him a "psychopathic hypersexualized serial womanizer."

In a privilege speech last week, Enrile called Santiago an "obsessive hater."

In an interview with ANC's Headstart, Senator Francis Escudero said the use of unparliamentary language remains prohibited.

He said the Senate record on Wednesday should be reviewed to determine the unparliamentary words that should be stricken off the record.

"Ang panget naman, 10 years, 20 years down the road babasahin ng mga kababayan natin yung records ng Senado... at kung anu-anong mga salita ang andun. Hindi naman maganda yun," Escudero said. - Louis Bacani