Tag: Senate

Statements, TV, Videos

Lacson: With Cayetano No Longer Senate President, Time for Senate to Go Back to Work

Now that Alan Peter Cayetano is no longer Senate President and the chamber’s top post is temporarily vacant following Wednesday’s leadership change, it is time for the Senate to get back to work, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said.

Lacson said a quorum of 12 out of 22 senators was declared as Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada were outside the Senate’s “coercive power,” allowing the chamber to elect Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore and acting Senate President.

“Sen. Cayetano is no longer SP. With 12 senators present, a quorum was declared out of the base number of 22 since Sens. de la Rosa and Estrada are outside the “coercive power” of the Senate (Avelino v Cuenco. GR No 2821),” he said on X.

“Hence, we voted to declare all positions vacant, although we could not yet elect a new Senate President because we lacked the 13 votes required under the Constitution,” he added.

In Filipino: Lacson: Ngayong Hindi na Senate President si Cayetano, Panahon Nang Magbalik-Trabaho ang Senado

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Joint Statement of the New Senate Majority: Senate Back to Work for the Filipino People

We express our deep appreciation and commend the courageous decision of Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero to take the floor today and confront the issues facing the institution. His action sent a clear message: that his commitment to the country, to the Senate, and to the Constitution would prevail above all else.

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Lacson Appeals to Majority Bloc Members’ Sense of Duty – Except Cayetano – to Attend Final Session Day

After joining the minority bloc’s calls for Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano to step down from his post, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Tuesday appealed to the other members of the majority bloc to attend the Senate’s final session day on Wednesday out of a sense of duty.

Lacson said that while Cayetano’s situation is untenable due to his move to discourage other senators from attending sessions, the other majority bloc members could still choose differently.

“We appeal to the rest of the majority bloc. Huwag na si Senate President kasi mukhang untenable na si SP kasi siya yung nagsasabi sa mga kasamahan namin na huwag mag-attend ng session. So we now appeal to the rest of the members of the majority bloc. We appeal to their sense of duty, na sana mag attend sila ng session bukas (We appeal to the rest of the majority bloc to attend the Senate session Wednesday out of a sense of duty. We’re not appealing to the Senate President anymore since his situation has become untenable, as he discourages other senators from attending the session),” he said when the minority bloc fielded questions from the media Tuesday afternoon.

In Filipino: Lacson, Umapela sa Sense of Duty ng Majority Bloc Members na Dumalo sa Huling Araw ng Sesyon

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Lacson: Majority’s No-Show Aimed to Hold Legislation Hostage

The no-show of the majority bloc in Monday’s Senate session sought to hold legislation hostage over the arrest of Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada – but will not solve anything, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Tuesday.

Lacson said what happened Monday was not a case of standing up for the Senate’s independence but plain and simple dereliction of duty by the majority bloc led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.

“Standing up for the Senate’s independence does not place SP Cayetano and any senator above the law. It has nothing to do with non-adherence to the rule of law. Dereliction of duty will not solve this partisan gridlock. Its sole purpose is to hold legislation hostage,” he said in a post on X.

In Filipino: Lacson: Pag-Absent ng Majority sa Sesyon, Balak Gawing Hostage ang Legislation

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Solid Bloc 11: This is not Senate Independence But a Boycott of Duty

The Solid Bloc 11 minority senators were present today for the 5 p.m. resumption of session, ready to work, ready to vote on pending bills and ready to keep the Senate running, but the majority led by SP Cayetano chose not to show up.

They did not even have the courtesy to inform us when they ignored the rules, and could not extend the basic decency of telling the minority that they had no intention of convening.

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