Marcos to Senate: Get back to work

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday called on senators to return to work amid the ongoing impasse in the Senate, warning that the chamber’s inability to hold sessions has disrupted essential legislative functions and undermined government efforts to address pressing national concerns.

According to the president, the administration is exploring all legal and constitutional options to address the situation, but stressed that resolving the deadlock ultimately depends on the cooperation and commitment of the Senate leadership.

READ: Palace warns: Nonstop Senate chaos to delay Marcos priority bills

“Get back to work,” Marcos bluntly answered when asked about the Senate’s failure to hold sessions for the past two consecutive days and the uncertainty about whether it would resume sessions before adjourning this week.

“Because it’s important. We have so many things to do in the government,” he said following a meet and greet with presidential scholars at Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.

“I’m afraid all these events that we have been witnessing has thrown the whole Senate into disarray. It has discredited the leadership, and it has stopped the essential business of legislation and government,” the president said.

Marcos, a former lawmaker who served both as senator and Ilocos Norte district representative, was puzzled about how the current Senate got into a chaotic situation.

“The executive continues to work. The judiciary continues to work. Why does the legislature decide to stop working? I don’t understand that,” he said.

READ: Senate minority bloc to Cayetano: Resign!

“I talked to my fellow senators at the time I was a senator, and we cannot figure out why and how we got into this situation,” the president added.

According to Marcos, he needed the Senate to resume work as the executive branch plans to seek Congress’ approval for a supplemental budget and amend some laws to be able to provide help to Filipinos amid the persistent oil and price shocks brought by the Iran war.

He said the executive was trying its best to achieve some form of stability so that Filipinos can get on with their lives despite the Middle East crisis, and they can count on the assistance of the government during this time of an emergency.

“We cannot do that if the legislature decides to stay at home and have a vacation. That is anathema to everything that governance is about,” the president said.

“I never imagined in my entire life — my entire political life — that such a thing could happen, especially to the august — it’s no longer august now — body of the upper house, the Senate of the Philippines,” he added. “It’s a very, very sad situation to have to watch.”

Senators of the minority bloc called on Tuesday for the resignation of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, saying he could “no longer function” as the chamber’s leader following the majority bloc’s absence from the Senate plenary session for the second consecutive day.

READ: Zubiri: Blocking of Senate hearings, ‘figment of their imagination’

The majority had earlier failed to show up on Monday in the wake of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s arrest for plunder charges, which reduced the majority bloc from 12 to 11 members, in a virtual tie with the minority.

With only the 11 minority senators left on the Senate floor, the Senate could not reach a quorum of at least 13 senators, making it paralyzed and unable to conduct any business.

But Marcos criticized the reasons of the majority bloc as insufficient to suspend Senate proceedings.

“I don’t think that accompanying a senator to go to a particular destination would be a justifiable reason to cancel a Senate session,” he said.

“That’s just one session [on Monday]. But they again cancelled another session [on Tuesday]. I don’t understand how they can accomplish any work with that,” he added.

Drawing from his experience as a legislator, Marcos noted that legislative rules and the Constitution require advance notice and a valid justification before a session can be canceled.

Under Article VI, Section 16(5) of the 1987 Constitution, neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives may adjourn for more than three days while Congress is in session unless the other chamber agrees.

The first regular session of the 20th Congress is set to adjourn sine die on June 6.

The second session will open on July 27, coinciding with President Marcos’ fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona).

READ: Lacson: Cayetano, disgusting, selfish for leading Senate boycott

Despite the suspension of the Congress session, the president can also call for a special session “at any time” to consider urgent legislative measures or subjects they designate, under Article VI, Section 15 of the Constitution.

Asked what he could do to break the Senate standoff, Marcos said: “We’re examining all our options. We’re looking at the law, we’re looking at the constitution and to see how we can remedy the situation.”

“But it requires the cooperation and the commitment of the Senate leadership to continue with their work,” the president said, noting that the executive is coequal to the legislature.

“We cannot tell them what to do. We cannot punish them for what they are doing. They have to regulate themselves. And they haven’t been doing much of a good job right now,” he added./dp /atm