Drilon urges colleaguesto set aside 2016 plans, focus on ‘Senate’s rebirth’

Senator Franklin Drilon INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines –  As the second regular session of the 16th Congress opened  on Monday,  Senate President  Franklin Drilon called on his colleagues to set aside their political aspirtions for 2016 and instead “work hand in hand for the rebirth of the Senate.”

Drilon said the Senate should  take this new chapter  as an opportunity to recover the people’s faith, trust and confidence in the institution.

“Though not within easy reach, I believe that with hard work and perseverance we would in time walk past the difficult path ahead,”  he said in his speech.

“It pains and saddens me to witness and bear that the events in the past 12 months, the intense public beatings, the avalanche of intrigues and the arrows of insults shot into our gates, may have succeeded in reducing the worth and the weight of the Senate in the minds and lives of our people.”

“I recognize that as public servants we must remain receptive to and tolerant of criticism. But should we as individuals and as a collegial body allow the Senate to continue to be casually scorned?”  Drilon asked.

He said the Senate as an institution remains a constitutional body “entitled to respect, even if some of its members may have been found to have erred through their individual acts.”

The Senate leader was apparently  referring  to detained Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla  Jr.,  who have been  charged with plunder and graft in connection with the “pork barrel” scam.

“I believe that it is the incumbent duty of each one of us to defend this institution from groundless and reckless assaults against its very dignity and integrity,”  Drilon said.

“We owe it to this chamber to combat falsehoods concocted by cowardly minds who spread their lies through proxy voices and pens; to speak up for the Senate even when it may seem to be more politically convenient and safer for us to be silent, to just wait for the tempest to pass,” he added.

Amid what he described as “political turbulence, “ Drilon urged  his colleagues to continue “to weave dreams for our country.”

“We must become the change we wish to see in the world,” he said.

Drilon also called on his colleagues to shun politics

“My dear colleagues, let us set aside 2016 and work hand in hand for the rebirth of the Senate,” he said.

Drilon recalled when the 16th Congress was convened last year, the Senate was already confronted with what he described a “formidable challenge that threatened to throw this traditionally tenacious institution off-balance.”

He was referring to the graft-tainted Priority Development Assistance Fund,  also known as pork barrel funds, which was later abolished by Congress even before it was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

“While the cynics were quick to see the political turmoil as the death knell of this august chamber’s long-standing preeminence, we seized and turned it into an opportunity for introspection and reform that would lead us to a higher level of public service,”  said the Senate leader.

“I am proud that we did not bend or break despite the enormous crisis that shook every fiber of our institution. Collectively, we faced the daunting challenges. We stayed in touch with the pulse of our people. We listened intently and responded to their clamor for meaningful change. We abolished the PDAF even before it was declared unconstitutional.”

He, however, said that the Senate’s abolition of the PDAF remained “uncredited.”

“Nonetheless, what matters is that we took serious account of what the people said and clamored for. And we will continue to do so,” said Drilon.

And as the chamber moved  forward to thesecond regular session,  the Senate leader promised to prioritize legislation that would stimulate the economy and generate more jobs, promote fair competition in business, increase the take home pay of our workers, strengthen our campaign against graft and corruption and criminality, expand access to health and education, and protect our country’s territorial sovereignty.

“As we begin the process of enacting the 2015 national budget, let me emphasize that we will not shirk from our constitutional mandate. We shall wield our power of the purse. We shall craft a budget focused on spending on the right priorities and with measurable results, keeping in mind our goal for inclusive growth,” he said.

Drilon also vowed to work on the Bangsamoro Basic Law that he said would put an end to the decades-old conflict in Mindanao.

“It is our hope that Malacañang can transmit to us the proposed basic law as soon as possible,”  he said.

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