MANILA, Philippines—The principal sponsor of the reproductive health bill (RH bill) in the Senate reminded her colleagues on Wednesday that the impending impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona should not be used as an excuse to ignore the controversial measure.
“Those who are vehemently objecting to the RH bill can offer every conceivable excuse to further push back plenary deliberations on this measure,” Senator Pia Cayetano said in a press statement. “It is our job to continue our work even with the trial. We know we can do better than that by using efficient time management.”
Cayetano was apparently referring to a warning aired earlier by Senate majority leader Vicente Sotto III that the chamber’s legislative work would be drastically affected by the impeachment trial set to start in January.
The senators agreed to schedule hearings in the impeachment trial of Corona at 2 p.m. from Monday to Thursday.
Legislative sessions in which the lawmakers would scrutinize and approve bills will be held in the mornings on Mondays and Tuesdays once the trial starts.
Wednesday mornings are for the hearings of the Commission on Appointments.
The Senate does not hold sessions on Thursdays and Fridays.
“I take exception to one anti-RH senator’s statement suggesting that our lawmaking duties would have to be sidelined by the impeachment trial,” Cayetano protested.
She recalled that when the Senate was faced with the impeachment trial of then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, “the chamber agreed to adjust its schedule so it could take up legislative matters in the morning from Monday to Wednesday, while conducting the trial as an impeachment court in the afternoon from Monday to Thursday.”
“I can’t see why we can’t adopt a similar approach for the impeachment trial of the Chief Justice,” she added.
Cayetano has complained that Senate leaders, specifically Sotto and Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, have been sitting on the RH bill despite the availability of time for discussion.
As it is, the senator is also saddled with the possibility of defending the RH bill by herself since her co-sponsor, Senator Miriam Santiago, has been elected judge on the International Criminal Court and would take her oath of office in March.
Cayetano was able to pressure the chamber into resuming debates on the RH measure this month despite an earlier agreement to do so in January.
The Senate has been deliberating on the RH bill since June.