MANILA: Malacañang raised concerns that the weeks-long political turmoil in the Senate may impede the passage of priority measures of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before Congress takes an almost two-month break starting on Saturday (June 6).
“At this point, we know what the priority bills are — not just two, not just one, not just three, but many. But if this continues in the Senate, it will be difficult not only for the president but also for the people,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a briefing on Tuesday.
“The public is affected here, and even the economy will be affected by the noise and chaos in the Senate,” she added.
The first regular session of the 20th Congress is set for sine die adjournment on June 6.
The second session will open on July 27, coinciding with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona).
The Senate failed to resume its session on Monday after the 13-man majority bloc stood up to the minority senators, who walked out of the plenary last week.
Only the 11 minority senators were left on the Senate floor. But without a quorum of at least 13 senators, the Senate became paralyzed and could not conduct any business.
The no-show of the majority bloc senators, led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, came after the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on plunder charges.
Another majority member, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, remains in hiding after authorities attempted to arrest him last month over a warrant of arrest issued by the International Criminal Court, leaving the majority at 11 members at most to be present.
During the third full meeting of Ledac on Feb. 10, Marcos approved 21 priority measures to be passed by Congress ahead of his fifth Sona, including bills to fully abolish the travel tax and to ban political dynasties.
The executive-proposed Unified Package for Livelihoods, Industry, Food, and Transport (Uplift) law, which is a priority measure of Marcos as the national government’s response to the price and energy shocks caused by the Middle East crisis.
Malacañang said the president expected the Congress to still pass these bills by June despite the change in Senate leadership and other issues in the upper chamber.
Despite the suspension of the Congress session, the president can call for a special session “at any time” to consider urgent legislative measures or subjects they designate, under Article VI, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution.
Castro earlier said Marcos would have no problem working with anyone regardless of who are the leaders of the Senate or House of Representatives.
There is no new date yet for the fourth full meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) in Malacañang, where lawmakers and Cabinet members are expected to discuss priority policies and government programs that would improve the country’s socioeconomic conditions.
The meeting was originally scheduled on May 19 but was canceled for still undisclosed reasons.
Marcos was supposed to meet the new Senate leaders headed by Cayetano during the Ledac meeting. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
