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Tuesday, February 28, 2017
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ILOILO City – Sen. Franklin Drilon of the Liberal Party (LP) was ousted as Senate president pro tempore at the start of the plenary session yesterday afternoon.
Sen. Manny Pacquiao moved to declare Drilon’s post vacant.
“After 19 years in the Senate nothing surprises me anymore,” said Drilon.
Pacquiao also moved that the chairmanship of the committees on health, agriculture, and education – chaired by LP senators – be declared vacant.
Following their ouster, the LP senators left the majority bloc and transferred to the minority bloc.
“We are not kapit tuko. It’s a number’s game. They have the numbers,” said Drilon.
The committee on health was previously held by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, agriculture by Sen. Francis Pangilinan, and education by Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV.
After Pacquiao made the motion to declare Drilon’s post vacant, Drilon stood up but did not register his opposition.
“I will not interpellate Senator Pacquiao. I second the motion,” Drilon simply said.
Hontiveros, Pangilinan and Aquino also did not interpellate Pacquiao and instead seconded his motion to declare their committees vacant.
Hontiveros is actually a member of the Akbayan party-list group but ran for the Senate under LP.
Sen. Ralph Recto took Drilon’s place as Senate president pro tempore after 17 out of 23 senators present voted for this change.
The 17 senators who voted for Recto were Nancy Binay, Alan Peter Cayetano, Joseph Ejercito, Francis Escudero, Sherwin Gatchalian, Gringo Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Loren Legarda, Pacquiao, Pangilinan and Grace Poe.
Meanwhile, senators Ejercito, Cynthia Villar and Escudero became the new chairs of the Senate committees on health, agriculture and education, respectively.
“The majority decided, then be it; when you become part of the majority, ganoon din iyon. It’s a numbers game…The chairmanship of the committee is always the will of the majority. It’s up to them,” said Drilon.
Recto moved to designate Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV as the new Senate minority Leader to replace him temporarily until the new minority decides among themselves who will be their new leader.
Before the changes were made on the floor, some of the senators met in a caucus without the LP members and Hontiveros.
“Talagang hindi sila papayag dahil sa ‘ting pambabatikos sa mga patakaran ng pamahalaan lalo na dito sa extrajudicial killings (EJKs) pati sa death penalty,” said Pangilinan. “Ito ay kasama sa plano dahil hindi komportable ang administrasyon sa pagiging kritiko [namin] sa ilang mga bagay.”
For his part, Aquino said, “If this is the price to pay to show up on the streets of EDSA (on Saturday during the People Power anniversary), talking about democracy and the issue of violence of the streets, I’d gladly pay the price.”
The four senators marched along EDSA with former President Benigno Aquino III to join the EDSA People Power celebration.
The LP senators’ ouster and transfer to the minority bloc came two days after their party mate, Sen. Leila de Lima, was arrested by the Philippine National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on drug charges.
De Lima is currently detained in Camp Crame.
Pangilinan expressed concern that the Senate was not becoming independent anymore.
“The Senate has always been a bastion of independence and a check and balance sa ating executive department so ‘yun ang concern natin. Nawawala na ba ang pagiging independent ng Senado at magigiging sunud-sunuran na lang ba ang Senado sa ehekutibo?” he said./PN
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