Is it wrong to talk about changing Senate rules? – Cayetano

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano is now asking the public whether it’s wrong to talk about changing the rules, amid a public uproar over proposals from Sen. Rodante Marcoleta about allowing remote participation and voting on matters up for plenary consideration.

In a Facebook livestream on Friday, Cayetano raised this question while also clarifying that they were not yet discussing the actual proposal to amend the Senate rules, claiming that the discussions merely delved into whether the matter should be taken up during last Tuesday’s session.

“Let me clarify. We have not voted on the amendments to the rule that will allow teleconferencing or online voting. We were not there yet. What we were voting on was whether or not this should be discussed.  So again, to the heart of democracy, is there anything wrong with talking about changing the rules?” Cayetano said in Filipino.

“We’re not proposing murder. We’re not proposing abortion, which is inherently wrong, or things that we should not even be discussing because the Constitution says it’s wrong,” he added.

According to Cayetano, they were merely considering whether it is okay for senators to participate remotely, given what he claims were attacks against the Senate.

“What we were talking about is that, if we will allow this rule change because of recent times, given the threat to the Senate, given the different attacks on the Senate, given the different attacks on individual members of the Senate, our experience when we were in the minority, when we were being stopped from building a majority, the threats that we received,” he said.

‘If only they listened’

The Senate leader also took shots at the minority members, claiming that those who supported the likes of Senators Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan, Panfilo Lacson, and Erwin Tulfo may have been duped — or “na-onse” in local parlance, referring to the minority’s current strength of 11.

“If only they [minority] listened, if they stopped the drama even after the session, and instead tried to listen to each other, the motion was to take up the amendment. This means there will be a sponsorship, and then everyone can raise a question, make amendments, if they think it is wrong,” Cayetano said.

“The problem is that if you’re on their side, on the side of the 11, they may have duped you because they are claiming there is no chance to ask questions or explain. But we are not even there yet. So there’s a chance. They say it’s a tyranny of the majority. No, it’s an attack from Tulfo, from Lacson, from Pangilinan, from Hontiveros. Because they resorted to louder voices, instead of listening,” he added.

Minority walkout

Last Tuesday, the public saw another development in the Senate’s tense political landscape after members of the minority walked out of the session.

The walkout came after members of the majority bloc — particularly Cayetano and Sen. Joel Villanueva — asked that a motion from Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, which seeks to allow members to vote remotely for matters deliberated in the plenary, be taken up.

Several minority members opposed this, with Pangilinan asking why rule amendments were being made on the floor instead of being formalized through a resolution.

Hontiveros, meanwhile, said that Marcoleta’s motion is new, since the May 11 motion had already been referred to the committee on rules, and that said panel cannot bring it back, as the committee composition has not been finalized.

After Marcoleta pointed out the lack of a legal background on the part of his colleagues who opposed his motion, Tulfo said it was an ad hominem argument, later asking why the mmajority seems to be in a rush to amend the rules.

The minority bloc then walked out of the Senate’s plenary hall.

READ: Clash on Senate online voting ends in walkout

Tense moments since Cayetano takeover

The Senate has seen several tense moments since Cayetano took office.

On May 11, Duterte was impeached for a second time by the House after 257 lawmakers voted in favor of adopting House Resolution No. 989, which contains the articles of impeachment. However, news of Duterte’s impeachment was engulfed by storylines from the Senate, as more eyes were focused on Senator Ronald dela Rosa’s sudden return after six months of absence.

READ: Impeached anew: House OKs articles vs Sara Duterte again with 257 votes

Dela Rosa’s attendance was marred by rumors that an arrest order against him for crimes against humanity cases before the International Criminal Court had already been issued.

Eventually, dela Rosa’s presence proved to be important for the then-minority bloc as they were able to muster 13 votes — the minimum number needed — to oust former Senate President Vicente Sotto III and install Cayetano.

Then, on May 13, the country was rocked after several gunshots were heard inside the Senate building. Initial investigation showed that the warning shots came from acting Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Ma. O Aplasca, who fired on National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents stationed at the adjacent Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) building.

READ: CIDG chief: What Aplasca, team did was ‘an overkill’

Police investigators said that what Aplasca did was an overkill, but Cayetano and several majority senators came to the defense of the sergeant-at-arms.  Aplasca was eventually placed on preventive suspension by the Office of the Ombudsman.