‘Attend special session, settle leadership row’

MANILA, Philippines — Former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel III challenged the faction of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano to attend a special legislative session with “100 percent” attendance and settle the chamber’s leadership dispute through a formal floor vote, rather than resorting to boycotts.

Speaking over radio dwIZ, Pimentel emphasized that the Senate is a collegial body where leadership is strictly determined by numbers.

“They need to have a plenary session, both groups need to show discipline, 100 percent attendance so we will finally know. Whoever the biggest group chooses as the leader, that person runs the Senate, the plenary,” he said.

Pimentel argued if a Senate president is constantly overruled by a larger faction, it proves he has lost the chamber’s mandate and should step down.

Malacañang earlier said President Marcos is ready to call for a special session of Congress to pass priority measures, derailed by the ongoing political ruckus and leadership row in the Senate.

Pimentel criticized the Cayetano bloc’s strategy of deliberately skipping plenary sessions to freeze floor operations and hold on to their positions.

“They boycotted a session and that is wrong. You should want the work, not the position,” Pimentel said.

With the ongoing absence of detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who is still in hiding, Pimentel noted the active floor balance currently stands at 12-10 in favor of the newly installed bloc led by acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian.

If Cayetano insists on presiding over a fully attended 12-10 floor, Pimentel pointed out that the new majority could simply repeat the reorganization process right in his face and win the vote.

Should Cayetano’s 10-member bloc continue to boycott a legitimately called special session, Pimentel said the Gatchalian-led majority would effortlessly proceed with the chamber’s business, which would ultimately validate the legitimacy of their initial takeover.

Blue Ribbon

Sen. Rodante Marcoleta on Friday defended the minority bloc’s disputed “Blue Ribbon committee hearing,” portraying the Thursday proceedings as a step toward accountability while accusing the newly installed Senate majority of executing a “naked power grab.”

Despite the new chamber leadership declaring the gathering unauthorized, Marcoleta claimed the event was necessary to allow the 18 men – supposedly former soldiers and security aides of former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co – to publicly allege that cash-filled suitcases were delivered to top officials, including President Marcos, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez.

“For a long time, we were challenged to present evidence. Now that witnesses are coming forward and speaking under oath, there are blatant attempts to stop them from being heard,” Marcoleta said.

While acknowledging that the statements remain unproven allegations, Marcoleta insisted they demand a “fair, independent and transparent probe,” adding that “mere denials are not enough.”

Marcoleta further claimed that the recent 12-member Senate reorganization, backed by the faction of former Senate president Sotto, was orchestrated specifically to hijack the Blue Ribbon committee and suppress the testimonies of the 18 men.

“These allegations involve billions of pesos of the people’s money. That’s precisely why the hearings must continue,” Marcoleta said.

Unconstitutional

Meanwhile, Sen. Loren Legarda yesterday branded Gatchalian’s election as acting Senate President unconstitutional and a violation of Senate rules.

In a statement addressed to the public, Legarda maintained that she is the legitimate second-in-command of the upper chamber, signing off as “Your Senate President Pro Tempore.”

Legarda argued that the 12-vote bloc led by Gatchalian fell short of the absolute majority required by the 1987 Constitution and the internal Rules of the Senate, which mandates 13 votes out of the 24-member chamber to enact leadership changes.

Legarda anchored her stance on Article VI, Section 16, Subsection 1 of the 1987 Constitution, which explicitly states: “The Senate shall elect its President by a majority vote of all its Members.”

Legarda also invalidated the newly installed majority’s move to declare committee chairmanships vacant.

She cited Article VI, Section 16, Subsection 2 of the Constitution, which requires a majority (13 members) to constitute a quorum to do business.

The Gatchalian bloc previously justified their 12-member quorum by invoking the 1949 Supreme Court ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco, which calculated the quorum based on the active members within the chamber’s coercive reach, excluding those who are detained or abroad.

“The Avelino ruling cannot be used as a shortcut to make the number of senators to make a Senate quorum, election and reorganization fewer,” she said.

Legarda warned that validating the 12-member takeover would cripple the stability of the Senate.