MANILA, Philippines — Senators from the minority bloc walked out of the Senate plenary session Tuesday night in protest over a move to immediately vote on a proposal allowing senators to participate in sessions and cast votes through online channels.
The walkout occurred after Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, presiding over the session, entertained efforts to bring Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s proposal to the floor 15 days after it was introduced.
Senate Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III remained in the session hall to question the existence of a quorum. After confirming there was none, Legarda adjourned the session.
Minutes later, Francis Pangilinan said in a social media post that minority senators opposed what they described as an attempt to fast-track a major amendment to Senate rules.
“We walked out because what happened on the floor looked less like orderly deliberation,” Pangilinan said.
Marcoleta formally introduced the proposal after Sen. Ronald dela Rosa resurfaced publicly on May 11 following months of absence. Dela Rosa later returned to hiding after the International Criminal Court unsealed an arrest warrant against him.
The proposal had been referred to the Senate committee on rules before being elevated to the plenary Tuesday, prompting objections from several senators.
Former Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson questioned whether the committee on rules had formally convened to discuss the proposal before it was presented on the floor.
Lacson noted that Senate committees had been declared vacant following the election of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano and said the committee on rules had not yet been reconstituted.
Cayetano responded by citing Senate Rule 51, which allows amendments to Senate rules through a motion approved by a majority of senators present during a session.
Lacson challenged the move, asking whether the Senate was disregarding its committee process.
Senators Sotto, Pangilinan and Risa Hontiveros opposed efforts to proceed directly to a vote and urged the chamber to first convene the rules committee.
“I suggest that we constitute the Committee on Rules and discuss it there,” Sotto said during the debate.
Pangilinan also argued that the motion being introduced on the floor differed from the original proposal referred to committee and should therefore be taken up in a future session.
Despite the objections, Cayetano continued efforts to move the proposal to a vote, prompting minority senators and several people in the gallery to leave the session hall.