The Senate formally on Monday opened the third regular session of the 16th Congress with 19 senators present and five absent.
Present when session opened at exactly 10 a.m. were Senate President Franklin Drilon, Senate Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto, Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and Senators Juan Edgardo Angara, Paolo Benigno “Bam’ Aquino IV, Pia Cayetano, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Teofisto Guingona III, Lito Lapid, Loren Legarda, Ferdinand “Bong-Bong” Marcos Jr., Aquilino Pimentel III, Grace Poe, Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV and Cynthia Villar.
The four opposition members—acting Senate Minority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and Senators Gregorio Honasan, Nancy Binay and Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito—were also in attendance.
As in the past year, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Ramon “Bong’ Revilla Jr., who have been detained at the Camp Crame in Quezon City since 2013 over the pork barrel scam, were absent.
READ: Senate opens session minus Enrile, Estrada, Revilla
Also absent was Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who has been on sick leave due to stage 4 lung cancer.
Senator Sergio Osmena was also not present at the opening.
At 4 p.m., the Senate and the House will hold a joint session at the Batasang Pambansa to listen to President Aquino’s last State of the Nation Address, or Sona.
The leaders of the Senate and the House met last week and agreed to pass at least six priority measures, including the controversial Bangsamoro Basic Law and the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill.
The FOI bill has already been approved by the Senate but it has been pending at the lower chamber.
READ: Drilon passing of FOI a priority before Aquino’s term ends