Early yesterday morning, the Senate fracas ended when administration senators agreed on the passage of three of the four bills approved by the opposition during the June 3-6 rump session, while the minority recognized the primacy and authority of the administration bloc "on all other matters."
The administration bloc agreed to pass on third and final reading three of the four bills passed on second reading by the opposition session on June 3-6. This means there would be no changes to be made in the bill on the Philippine- Hispanic Friendship Day, the Chainsaw Act and the Free Patents Act.
The fourth bill, the proposed Absentee Voting Act, will be recalled to enable administration senators to interpellate and introduce amendments before it is approved on second and third readings.
"The opposition was very reasonable on the absentee voting bill," Senate Majority Leader Loren Legarda said.
"All’s well that ends well," said Senate President Franklin Drilon, after the adoption of Senate Resolution No. 391 about 1:30 a.m. yesterday.
Sen. Edgardo Angara, president of the opposition Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino, said the agreement embodied in the resolution represents a comprehensive settlement of the issues that divided the senators for the last two months.
Legarda was upbeat on the resolution which was agreed upon after the "silent war" waged during the eight-hour-long suspension of session ended.
She revealed that she and Drilon, Angara and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. ate 12 duck’s eggs sent by Sen. Renato Cayetano while they deliberated on Senate Resolution No. 391.
Legarda declined however to give a breakdown of how many balut each senator consumed. The Filipino delicacy is reputed to invigorate those not squeamish enough to eat it.
The "silent war" was precipitated by Drilon’s suspension of the session despite objections from Pimentel, and ran from 5:03 p.m. until Legarda, Drilon, Angara and Pimentel started to talk after midnight.
"This is a comprehensive, lasting and fair solution. There is no loser, everybody is a winner," Legarda said. "Now the Senate can move on and buckle down to work."
Pimentel said the opposition agreed to the resolution "to get the Senate moving on the substantive areas of legislation for the welfare of our people."
The agreement also meant that all Senate posts and committee chairmanships prior to the June 3 session of the minority would be recognized. In the questioned session, the opposition elected a new Senate president pro tempore, Senate majority leader, Senate secretary, and 25 new committee chairmen.
The protracted suspension of the session led to the cancellation of yesterday afternoon’s session, as the weary legislators decided to rest instead and conserve their energy for this afternoon‘s session.
Legarda said that there would be new heads of the committee on finance, with the resignation of Sen. John Osmeña, and of the committee on foreign relations, with the appointment of Sen. Blas Ople as foreign affairs secretary.
Senators Ralph Recto, Ramon Magsaysay Jr. and Manuel Villar have all expressed interest in heading the finance committee, Legarda said.
All previous committee assignments, including those of the minority, would remain, she said.
"There is no reason why we should take away the chairmanship from some minority senators. We need to share work and responsibilities," she said, echoing a theme of Angara during the impasse.
There would be an all-Senate caucus Monday to discuss proposed items to be included in a common legislative agenda, and other matters.
Legarda said the resolution adopted early yesterday morning also meant the joint committee report on the alleged involvement of Sen. Panfilo Lacson in money laundering and the proposed Special Purpose Asset Vehicle would no longer be recommitted to their respective committees.
The resolution recommending that Lacson’s case be forwarded to the Department of Justice would now go to the floor for deliberations.
"The resolution that broke the impasse recognized the substantial output of the senators in the June 3 to 6 sessions," Angara said.
He said that the minority senators will remain cooperative on measures of national interest but will continue with their fiscalization work.
"We were able to solve the impasse because there was no interference from Malacañang," Angara said.
He said that a similar impasse would not happen in the future as long as the chamber asserts its independence and integrity.
The senators said they were aware of the adverse public reaction to the impasse and the "silent war."
Legarda said that the best way to recover the public esteem is for the Senate to push for important legislative measures.
Meanwhile, Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) Secretary Gabriel Claudio told The STAR yesterday that President Arroyo has set a meeting of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) on Aug. 5. The meeting will also be attended by Cabinet members and congressional leaders led by Drilon and House Speaker Jose de Venecia.
Claudio said Senate and House opposition leaders would also be invited.
"The President decided to convene more often the LEDAC, possibly once a month, to foster better working and inter-personal relations not only between the legislative and executive (branches), but even among the legislators themselves," Claudio said.
The President is mandated by law to convene LEDAC at least once every quarter.
Mrs. Arroyo had only convened the LEDAC once after she became president in January 2001. — With Marichu Villanueva