MANILA: The Philippine Senate faces a second day of deadlock after a member of its majority was arrested, throwing into doubt the progress of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
With the upper chamber’s rival groups now both fielding 11 members each, the majority group never opened the session on Monday, delaying regular business and even cancelling a planned visit by the top leader of neighbouring Vietnam.
"I’ve been with the Senate for 14 years and this is the first time the presiding officer did not show up,” said Juan Miguel Zubiri, who was among the minority members who waited hours for the session to open Monday (June 1), even after air-conditioning and Wi-Fi were turned off.
The Senate deadlock is the latest twist in the ongoing political turmoil in the Philippines, amid the rivalry between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his ally-turned-nemesis Sara Duterte.
The standoff deepens policy uncertainty in the South-East Asian nation, which is already grappling with a slowing economy and rising inflation due to the Iran war’s fallout.
It began after majority member Jinggoy Estrada was arrested on corruption charges Monday.
With another member of the majority, Ronald Dela Rosa, evading a warrant from the International Criminal Court, the majority bloc led by Duterte’s allies has been whittled down to 11 votes.
At stake is control over Duterte’s impeachment trial. The odds are already in favour of her acquittal, given the two-thirds hurdle needed for a conviction.
But her bid for the presidency in 2028 could be hurt if a long Senate trial - scheduled now to begin in July - releases a steady stream of embarrassing evidence.
In a Facebook post on Monday night, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano portrayed the majority’s no-show as a way of standing up for the Senate’s independence and protesting Estrada’s arrest inside the chamber’s building.
The minority, however, called the absence of the majority bloc a "boycott of duty” and questioned whether any Senate business could be accomplished.
The chamber is scheduled to hold another session at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
"The question now is just as serious: will they do this again for the next two session days, and will they keep the Senate idle simply to avoid facing the numbers on the floor?” the minority said in a statement, posted by Senator Francis Pangilinan.
After Wednesday, Congress will resume sessions next month.
A bill benefiting health workers, a measure naturalising athletes and a proposal to promote military generals were left pending because of Monday’s impasse.
Minority Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who chaired a Senate committee that reviews the government’s response to the Iran conflict’s economic impact, said he was also not able to deliver his speech outlining recommendations to support industries hit by the oil shock. - Bloomberg
