A Senate ‘under fire’ awaits Tito Sotto
MANILA, Philippines — Controversy is nothing new to the Senate, but as public tensions over massive corruption continue to rise, newly seated Senate President Tito Sotto has his work cut out for him.
On Monday, Sen. Chiz Escudero was ousted from the Senate’s top spot. In a media interview, Sotto reasoned that all of the accusations that were thrown at each senator reflected on the entirety of the Senate.
While Sotto is a veteran lawmaker, he returns as the Senate president during a complicated time. Corruption has become people’s top concern as more and more budget anomalies and ghost projects are unveiled.
“Most of us look at the Senate as a losing battle. It was like all of the allegations being thrown at us, the whole Senate was being hit. We all wanted to preserve the integrity of the Senate,” Sotto said in a mix of English and Filipino during an interview on Headstart.
Political scientist Cleve Arguelles agreed with Sotto.
“Sotto inherits a Senate facing a crisis of trust,” Arguelles told Philstar.com.
So what exactly awaits Sotto with a Senate under fire?
Restoring balance
Sotto admitted that the “Senate was under fire”, and a new leadership would allow it to be more balanced and independent.
He also alluded to a certain level of dissatisfaction that some of the senators had when it came to the committees they were handling.
Sotto did not mention specific names. But from the get-go, pro-Duterte senators who voted for Escudero were rewarded with powerful committees.
For example, Sen. Imee Marcos held the Cooperatives Committee, Foreign Relations Committee, and the Labor Committee. Other Duterte-allied senators also got two or more committees.
Meanwhile, Sens. Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan, both of whom also voted for Escudero, were initially just granted one committee each.
Aquino and Pangilinan retained their spots in the majority under Sotto, and while the official document is not out yet, it would be safe to assume that they indeed voted to oust Escudero.
“His first task is to signal that the chamber will no longer operate as a shield for allies of the former Duterte administration but as a credible and fair fiscalizer. That means ensuring that Senate investigations, particularly into corruption, proceed with impartiality and transparency,” Arguelles said.
“If he fails, the Senate risks further eroding public confidence. If he succeeds, he can restore the Senate’s institutional role as a check on government excesses,” he added.
Impeachment chances
Under Escudero, the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte was delayed for several months. While he cited caution, legal experts have slammed Escudero for allegedly defying the 1987 Constitution’s mandate for the Senate to take up impeachment complaints "forthwith".
Prior to his election and even after, Sotto has been a consistent critic of the way that the Senate handled Duterte’s impeachment.
While senators debated on what to do with Duterte’s impeachment, Sotto also warned that delaying the impeachment could land them in legal trouble.
Despite this, Sotto has stated that the archived articles of impeachment versus Duterte will remain untackled as long as the Supreme Court has revoked its decision to declare them unconstitutional.
Arguelles said that the playing field has still changed; however, should the House of Representatives impeach Duterte again?
“If the House transmits articles of impeachment again, the Duterte bloc is now less influential in the Senate. That clears a path for an impeachment trial that was previously blocked by Escudero’s leadership,” Arguelles said.
While an impeachment trial under Sotto is not a guarantee (since the House can only try to impeach Duterte again in February), there has been a change in the dynamic that would allow the process a better chance at advancing.
Transparency woes
Sotto also inherited a Senate during one of the biggest corruption scandals in the present administration. The systemic corruption in the country’s flood control project has triggered public outcry and protests.
It was ultimately Escudero’s ties to one of the top-earning flood control contractors, Lawrence Lubiano, that likely got him ousted from the Senate presidency.
Sotto acknowledged the growing rage at the corruption.
“Corruption is now perceived by our people to be in the whole of government. But with the political will of those in position and together with the vigilance and clamor from the public, we can fight this and bring transparency and true accountability that our nation deserves,” Sotto said.
Before ascending to the Senate presidency, Sotto, together with Sens. Ping Lacson, Risa Hontiveros, Loren Legarda, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Kiko Pangilinan and Bam Aquino filed a resolution seeking an open bicameral conference committee or “bicam”.
Anomalies in the national budget have largely been attributed to the bicam after last-minute insertions were made during closed-door meetings. This has caused many to doubt Congress’ ability to be transparent in the budgetary process.
“The institution itself risked losing credibility. Senator Tito Sotto had long been seen as a ‘Senate President-in-waiting,’ and his seniority and reputation for leadership made it easy for colleagues to switch their support,” Arguelles said.
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