By Ade S. Fajardo
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. called Congress to a special session, purportedly to act on key measures that were sidelined as a casualty of the Senate’s leadership dilemma.
Earlier this weekend, Senator Joel Villanueva expressed willingness to attend such a special session, if ever one is called by the president.
The urgent pieces of legislation that have supposedly prompted the special session include the anti-political dynasty bill and the establishment of the National Center for Geriatric Health.
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Verily, these bills can wait for the regular session headlined by the president’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July.
The unspoken item in the agenda is the election of the new Senate president, with at least 13 members of the Senate in attendance to dispel all doubts on quorum to transact business.
Senator Villanueva’s recent statement is the obvious signal that the number needed to stabilize the Senate has been reached. There should be no quarrel over who must be seated behind the president as he delivers the SONA.
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In the meantime, the group identified with erstwhile Senate President Allan Peter Cayetano has announced the conduct of a blue ribbon committee hearing, set at 10:00 o’clock in the morning.
What is telling about the announcement is that the hearing will be conducted at a private venue, i.e., as announced, the Doublegem EDSA Garden Events Place.
What this implies is that there will likely be no regular Senate staff to record the proceedings and legitimize them as official acts of the upper chamber.
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The group identified with Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian undoubtedly has physical control of the Senate premises. The new sergeant-at-arms is discharging his functions in accord with the mandate granted by the plenary.
It also has control of the official bank accounts of the Senate and can disburse salaries and other daily expenses.
Add to that the official recognition by the executive department and the House of Representatives, and Gatchalian is, for all intents, the legitimately chosen acting Senate president.
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The only remaining branch yet to recognize Gatchalian is the judiciary.
While this will likely soon be moot and academic, the Supreme Court is essentially a passive body that will not look into an issue unless it is squarely raised in an actual case that is susceptible to judicial review.
The only petition filed so far was that of a serial filer that was quickly ordered dismissed for lack of personality or legal standing on the part of the petitioner — said to be a school teacher who does not stand to be directly injured by the Senate impasse.
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What to make therefore of the blue ribbon committee hearing set by Senator Rodante Marcoleta, et al.?
Aside from the speakers or resource persons rendering themselves vulnerable to libel and other criminal charges, as their speech do not enjoying the mantle of parliamentary protection, the so-called hearing has no discernible value except to serve as a platform to advance the “maleta” narrative in the flood control scandal./WDJ