Now we’re talking

In no uncertain terms, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. (PBBM) strongly indicated he might call for special sessions of the 20th Congress. The Chief Executive expressed such strong possibility for a special session a few hours before both chambers of Congress adjourned sine die their first regular session last Wednesday (June 3).

As he indicated, PBBM is considering this option more deliberately in response to the latest turn of events at the Senate. The “new majority bloc” led by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and presidential sister Imee Marcos unilaterally decided to stop attending sessions on its last three remaining days of sessions.

The no-show of his senator allies, Cayetano cited, was a “parliamentary tool” they used to get back at their fellow senators, who made a dramatic walkout of the session hall last May 27.

“Get back to work,” PBBM told the senators, expressing his utter dismay at their legislative antics against each other.

He shared his sentiments on the Senate imbroglio after his meet-and-greet with Batang Maynila presidential scholars held that day at the Rizal Memorial Complex in Malate.

By a twist of fate, the Senate was able to officially adjourn sine die on that last day of session when Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero from the majority bloc showed up and provided the needed quorum. Headed by Senate minority leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, there are now 12 senators who elected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore and concurrently “acting” Senate chief.

On the other hand, the House of Representatives headed by Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III wound down their session and cleared all pending legislative measures, including the transmission to the Senate of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte. Dy officially took over as Speaker on Sept. 17 last year, succeeding Martin Romualdez following the alleged “ghost” flood control projects scandal.

The House completed approval of more than half of the 52 priority bills in the common legislative agenda with the administration of PBBM. All these newly House-approved bills will clog up in the legislative mills at the Senate’s end. All other previously approved bills remain pending while the senators on opposite sides wrangle on who holds the real leadership – Gatchalian or Cayetano.

Per agreed joint congressional calendar, the Senate and the House will convene its second regular session on July 27 this year. And as it is traditionally observed, it will be a joint session of the Senate and the House to listen to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the President at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City.

At the height of the Senate impasse last week, PBBM finally broke his hands-off stance on the still raging senators’ row. While he initially distanced from the “alleged Senate attack” claim of Cayetano on the May 13 gunfire exchange, PBBM called it “fake” in his last public statement.

At this point, we can draw from the President’s sentiments which Senate side he officially recognizes.

As he enters the last three years of his term of office, PBBM naturally wishes he will have a lot of good news and accomplishments to report to the Filipino nation. Of particular interest to the public would be PBBM’s previous year’s SONA, when he vowed to send to jail all those involved in alleged “ghost” flood control projects.

As of this writing, former senator Ramon Revilla and incumbent Senator Jinggoy Estrada are cellmates again on their respective new graft and plunder charges. The two bosom buddies are currently cooling their heels at the Quezon City Jail in Payatas, along with dismissed engineers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). Although among the co-accused in the flood control scam, erstwhile Marcos Cabinet, ex-DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan has been allowed by the Sandiganbayan hospital detention due to his reported age-related ailments.

Amid the adverse impact on the Philippine economy of the continuing Middle East (ME) conflict, PBBM revealed the executive department may ask for “supplemental budget” to the Congress-approved 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA). The unforeseen ME conflict that erupted on Feb. 28 this year triggered unprecedented increases in domestic pump prices of gasoline and other refined oil products in reaction to the disruption in the global oil supply.

The budgetary resources of the Philippine government carried the load of spending for various “ayuda” or cash subsidies and other financial assistance to the seriously affected sectors, from public transport utilities to other marginalized sectors of farmers and fisherfolk dependent on fuel-operated equipment. These were distributed through the Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food and Transport (UPLIFT) program that PBBM activated, with his key Cabinet members on top of it.

PBBM created UPLIFT on March 24 this year under Executive Order 110, which simultaneously declared a state of national energy emergency in response to global oil supply disruptions. As far as Malacañang is concerned, the strategies undertaken by the administration under the UPLIFT program has tempered a bit the country’s inflation rate in May.

As monitored by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the country’s inflation slowed to 6.8 percent in May from 7.2 percent in April. The PSA explained the slower inflation rate was primarily driven by the deceleration in transport costs, food prices and housing-related expenses.

“We had a meeting sa UPLIFT committee. And marami tayong kailangan pagawa sa mga batas. We were thinking baka magka-supplemental budget,” the President pointed out.

Being a former Ilocos Norte congressman and later a senator, PBBM disclosed having sought out his former colleagues in Congress in trying to make sense on how to end this stalemate at the Senate.

“All these events that we have been witnessing has thrown the Senate and its leadership…the whole Senate into disarray. It has discredited the leadership and it has stopped the essential business of legislation in government,” the President bewailed.

Now we’re talking real politics and statesmanship at its finest hour. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

‘Get back to work,’ PBBM told the senators, expressing his utter dismay at their legislative antics against each other.