TIMELINE: Thursday, June 4, Senate showdown escalates

MANILA, Philippines — With growing tensions and mounting confusion, the Senate halls seemed to have fully turned into a battleground (or really, a puzzle) between two rival blocs that have extended beyond the traditional majority-minority divide: one side led by acting Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian and the other by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.

This as Thursday, June 4, marked the upper chamber’s first day since Gatchalian’s bloc seized leadership the day before, while Cayetano continues to refuse to relinquish the Senate presidency.

Immediate confusion resulted from the changes since Wednesday evening as the new majority decided to suspend the blue ribbon committee hearing originally scheduled on June 4, and even authorized Senate employees to work-from-home.

Cayetano’s bloc, however, committed to push through with the hearing, reflecting his leadership’s original plans.

Timeline

The tension at the Senate was already apparent in the morning of Thursday with Gatchalian opening the day with a press conference maintaining that no official Senate business was scheduled, meaning no hearings, no sessions. 

READ: Gatchalian: No hearing, no resource persons allowed in session hall

Cayetano’s bloc, however, continued with their plans. Even as Gatchalian was still holding his briefing, personnel inside the Senate plenary hall were already setting up for the very hearing the acting Senate president said was already called off.

Instead of outrightly blocking the proceedings when informed about the plans, however, Gatchalian opted to draw a quieter line: declaring that senators could enter the building freely, but resource persons would be denied access as no hearings are officially scheduled on the Senate’s agenda.

But Cayetano and the rest of his allies quickly tested this line as the declaration did not stop them as they arrived one by one at the Senate plenary hall.

But due to Gatchalian’s order to prohibit resource persons from entering the Senate, Sens. Pia Cayetano and Robinhood Padilla had to personally pick up one of their invited resource speakers for the hearing at the Senate entrance: the 18 alleged former Marines—as the Cayetano bloc senators waited for the hearing to begin, 

After picking them up, the two senators and the “marines” encountered Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

What followed was caught on video: Remulla, appearing to say “sir,” was shoved by Padilla resulting in the former to retaliate.

As the altercation went on, the group pushed past him. Pia Cayetano claimed that Remulla was there to block them, even lamenting how it was her first time to have someone deny her entry from the Senate.

READ: Sen. Padilla, DILG chief Remulla figure in Senate scuffle

But Remulla later denied this, explaining that he was alone and had no way of blocking both senators, their staff and the 18 “marines” by himself.

While it’s still uncertain who exactly was the instigator, what’s for sure though is that once the “marines” got through, the hearing went on

Before proceedings officially began, Cayetano during the oath-taking part of the hearing even issued a pointed warning to Senate employees: that anyone who blocks resource persons from entering could face criminal prosecution.

READ: Cayetano tells Senate staff: Choose ‘with conscience’ whom to follow

Once the hearing officially commended the 18 alleged former “marines” reiterated their accusations that lawmakers, including Senators Tito Sotto III and Erwin Tulfo, received money from the office of former Ako Bicol  Rep. Zaldy Co.

READ: ‘Ex-marines’ repeat kickback claims; Sotto, Tulfo named

At the middle of the hearing, however, Cayetano turned all attention to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) after he read on the spot a breaking news from INQUIRER, which said that NBI director Melvin Matibag, in a separate conference, bared that the NBI has received information that former congressman Mike Defensor bribed the “18 ex-Marines” P5 million each.

READ: Cayetano dares Matibag to attend blue ribbon hearing

Cayetano then challenged Matibag to appear before the committee and present evidence against the “Marines.”

Meanwhile, at the same time as the hearing, Gatchalian’s bloc issued a joint statement denouncing the proceedings as a “bogus” hearing and a “naked grab for power.” 

READ: Senate majority hits Cayetano bloc hearing: Bogus, naked grab for power

The majority senators called on their colleagues to abandon the session and “respect the rules, the quorum, and the duly constituted leadership of the Senate.”

Gatchalian also authorized through a separate advisory that on-site staff can leave as early as 10:00 a.m., which is  the same time the hearing began. This is on top of an earlier advisory where he allowed Senate staff to work from home.

READ: Senate employees sent home early for safety reasons

As the hearing came to an end, so did the first day of the aggressive feud between the two blocs in the Senate.

It essentially ended the way it began, with no resolution whatsoever in sight.

During a press conference after the hearing, Cayetano then once again reaffirmed his position as Senate president, even expressing that he’d be glad to step down once the new majority reaches the 13 required senators to oust him.

He also said he expects the next few weeks to bring more of the same: two rival versions of the Senate blue ribbon committee conducting parallel hearings.

Meanwhile, Sen. Rodante Marcoleta used the closing press conference to apologize to the media after calling journalists “paid hacks” during the hearing which garnered criticisms not just from Senate media but also from other media organizations. /jpv