Senate did more than enough, says Drilon as 16th Congress ends

Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO 

The Senate closed the 16th Congress on Monday sans six of nine senators, whose terms will expire on June 30, 2016.

Notably absent during the last session of the chamber were Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who has been confined at a hospital due to cancer; detained Senators Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.;  Senator Lito Lapid; Senator Teofisto “TG” Guingona III; and Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who lost in the just concluded vice presidential race.

The three outgoing senators who attended the session were Juan Ponce Enrile, Serge Osmeña, and Pia Cayetano, who was elected Representative of Taguig in the last elections.

Enrile and Cayetano gave their  farewell speeches but not Osmeña.

READ: Enrile reprises MacArthur: ‘Old politicians never die…’

In his closing speech, Senate President Franklin Drilon bade goodbye to the outgoing senators as he also welcomed the new members that will join the chamber in July.

“There is a time for everything. A time to sow, and a time to reap. There is a time to say goodbye to people we have broken bread with, as there is a time to welcome new faces,” Drilon said.

The Senate leader boasted of the hundreds of measures that the chamber passed during 16th Congress.

“I have been in the Senate for 18 years. I have been honored with the rare gift of being elected Senate president four times. I have been given the responsibility of steering our beloved Senate through the ebb and flow for a combined eight years and seven months. And having attended, and presided, in all of the 284 sessions of this 16th Congress, I believe that I would know whether we have done just enough. Or, more than enough,” he said.

“I can say with conviction that this Senate did more than enough. To my colleagues, let me  put on record my profound gratitude for the perseverance, hard work and unselfish support you have shown in the 16th Congress.

“With strong political will, this Senate cleared the hurdle of passing difficult but landmark measures that previously languished in the legislative mill for decades. Thus, we need not be afraid to face the verdict of our people and history. We have fared well,” he added.

Drilon noted that three years ago or shortly after they convened the 16th Congress, the chamber went through what he said might have been its “darkest period” in its 100 years of existence. He did not elaborate.

“The naysayers had written us off, and doubted if we could ever regain the trust of our people. It was difficult and challenging. But we listened. We persevered. We worked hard. We made difficult decisions. We implemented reforms. We stood as one,” he said.

“Not long after, a clear majority of our people, as reflected in the opinion polls, expressed satisfaction with the Senate’s performance. We had triumphed over adversity.”

Drilon, though, recognized that the 16th Congress might not be perfect. The Senate, he said, would not claim a “picture-perfect performance, as no one in the past, nor in the future, can possibly do so.”

“Yes, there remain areas that require fixing. Yes, we failed to tick all the items in our government’s bucket list, but we managed to cross out those that truly count,” he said.

The Philippines, he said, is now being hailed as one of the fastest growing economies in the world. From being dubbed as Sick Man of Asia barely six years ago, Drilon said, the Philippines is now “Asia’s Rising Star.”

READ: Q1 PH GDP growth seen highest in Asean at 6.2%

“This is a testament to our efforts to bring our beloved country to our development goals on the wings of good governance,” the Senate leader said. JE/rga