Veterans, popular neophytes take Senate seats

MANILA, Philippines — The exit of the old guard, return of veterans and the entry of popular neophytes after the May elections led to a leadership change in the Senate, with senators vowing to maintain the independence of the institution that is controlled by a super majority.

“Graduating” from the Senate on June 30 were the top three leaders: Senate president Vicente Sotto III, Senate president pro tempore Ralph Recto and minority leader Franklin Drilon. Leaving along with them were senators Leila de Lima, Richard Gordon, Panfilo Lacson, Manny Pacquiao and Francis Pangilinan.

As expected, then majority leader Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri was elected Senate president at the opening session of the 19th Congress last July 25 with some 20 senators on his side.

Sibling senators Pia and Alan Peter Cayetano abstained from voting, saying they will remain independent.

Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III became Senate minority leader with Sen. Risa Hontiveros rounding up the two-member opposition bloc.

Senators Loren Legarda, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Francis Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Revilla and Alan Peter comprised the returning members of the chamber.

First-time but popular senatorial candidates, actor Robinhood Padilla, broadcast journalist Raffy Tulfo and former public works secretary Mark Villar – son of Sen. Cynthia Villar – comprised the newbies.

Zubiri said the Senate in the first six months of the 19th Congress was productive, passing legislation that recognize and respond to Filipinos’ needs.

Of the numerous bills and legislative measures the Senate acted on, he said “most important” was the P5.268-trillion General Appropriations Act of 2023.

Since the start of session, a total of 1,610 bills and 388 resolutions were filed by the senators.

The chamber passed Republic Act 11934, or the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Act, which regulates the sale and use of SIMs to curb mobile-phone aided crimes in the country and the first law enacted by the Marcos administration.

The Senate also approved the rescheduling of barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections to the last Monday of October 2023, now Republic Act 11935.

Senators supported the campaign for safe, sustainable and healthy modes of transport in the country, passing on third and final reading Senate Bill 1290, or the proposed Walkable and Bikeable Communities Act.

The Senate adopted a total of 38 simple resolutions, which include the resolution creating the oversight committee on intelligence and confidential funds and an unnumbered resolution expressing the sense of the chamber on China’s continued harassment in the West Philippine Sea passed just before the chamber adjourned for the Christmas break.

In a concurrent resolution, senators backed the Marcos administration’s 2022-2028 Medium Term Fiscal Framework, whose targets shall guide Congress’ legislative agenda.

It approved the concurrent resolution establishing the Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum, as mandated by the Bangsamoro Organic Law, to foster cooperation and coordination between the national government and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Pimentel and Hontiveros were undeterred that they are only two in the minority bloc, which means they can be easily outvoted on issues that would have to be settled by voting.

The minority senators have vowed to work harder, saying they are in the chamber to test and improve administration-backed bills but the difficulty of just being two in the bloc was evident since the 19th Congress opened during the budget deliberations, and the numerous committee hearings that need their representation.

Hontiveros, who also chairs the Senate committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality, released a report on the accomplishments of her panel, including bills enacted under the 18th Congress in the first half of the year.

The bills include raising the age of sexual consent to 16 in Republic Act 11648; expanding the coverage and benefits of solo parents (RA No. 11861) and the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation law (RA 11930).

Investigations

The Senate in the 19th Congress conducted several inquiries, including on the so-called sugar fiasco; procurement of laptops by the Department of Education (DepEd); trafficking of Filipinos in Myanmar and procurement of COVID-19 vaccines by the Duterte administration.

In September, the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, chaired by Sen. Francis Tolentino, released a committee report recommending the filing of criminal and administrative charges against several former officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA) over their attempt in August to import some 300,000 metric tons of sugar that President Marcos immediately revoked.

The 75-page report came out after three hearings that started last Aug. 23, following the privilege speech of Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri condemning the issuance of Sugar Order No. 4 by the SRA last Aug. 9 in the middle of the harvest season.

The committee found there was preliminary evidence indicating that former DA undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian, former SRA administrator Hermenegildo Serafica and board members Roland Beltran and Aurelio Valderrama Jr. committed the administrative offense of “serious dishonesty, grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and gross insubordination.”

The panel also recommended the Office of the Ombudsman file criminal cases against the four individuals.

The committee effectively cleared Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez of any wrongdoing even as minority senators sought more accountability from him and believed the former officials were “fall guys.”