Rappler Recap: Senate majority no-show in plenary after Jinggoy Estrada arrest

[0:05] No show ang mga members ng Majority Block dito sa Senado ngayong Monday, June 1. [0:17] Hello, I'm Patrick Cruz. I'm reporting live dito sa Senate. [0:21] And again, another day, another kaguluhan dito sa Senado. [0:25] So, ayun nga, hindi nagpakita yung mga members ng Majority Block doon sa 5 p.m. session ng Senado. [0:32] Ang nagpakita lang doon ay yung mga members ng Minority Block, yung 11 members or 11 senators. [0:39] So, sila mismo hindi nila alam kung bakit nga ba hindi nagpakita yung mga membro ng Majority. [0:47] So, dahil nga doon sa absence ng Majority ay hindi nagkaroon ng session kanina. [0:54] So, for background, kailangan magkaroon ng at least 13 members o a quorum para mag-hold ng isang session. [1:02] So, even the Senate President wala doon sa session kanina. [1:06] So, again, 5 p.m. dapat yung simula ng session. [1:11] Pero ilang oras din nag-intay yung mga members ng Minority para magsimula yung session. [1:18] So, bakit nga ba umalis, hindi nagpakita yung mga members of the Majority Block? [1:25] We only have partial answers for now, pero we can only read or have a background doon sa series of events bago yung session kanina at 5 p.m. [1:38] So, at around 4.30 p.m., inaresto or simirender si Sen. Gingoy Estrada sa PNPC IDG. [1:49] So, kanina nagpakita rin dito si Interior Secretary John Vick Remulia. [1:53] So, bago umalis si Estrada or inaresto si Estrada dito sa Senado, ay nag-hold siya ng maikling press briefing doon sa mga Senate media. [2:08] So, doon sinamahan siya ni Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, Senator Aimee Marcos at Senator Marcoleta. [2:15] Mga senador na ito ay yung mga kaalyado ni Senator Gingoy Estrada doon sa Majority Block. [2:22] So, during the press briefing, sinabi ni Sen. Gingoy Estrada na he's willingly surrendering to the PNPC IDG [2:31] and that he will not use yung Senate Protective Custody at kusa siyang susuko doon sa mga otoridad. [2:40] So, kanina rin, meron siyang messaging na yung cases daw, yung plunder at draft cases against him are all politically motivated. [2:51] Meron din siyang pasaring or claim na sinasabi niya na yung case daw niya na plunder at draft [3:00] ay politically motivated at meron daw nag-offer sa kanya na iwanan yung members ng Majority Block [3:07] para lumipat doon sa Minority Block or essentially umalis doon sa Majority Block. [3:16] But then again, he vowed na mananatili siya na miyembro ng Majority Block. [3:22] So, in the past few days, we've seen yung girian sa pagitan ng Majority at Minority Block. [3:30] That started since nagkaroon ng kudita na nag-install sa Senate President kayo na si Alan Peter Cayetano. [3:39] So, ayun nga, bukod doon sa statement ni Sen. Jingo Estrada, [3:48] naglabas din ng statement si Sen. President Alan Peter Cayetano around past 6pm. [3:56] So, ilang oras na rin yung lumipas matapos mag-start dapat yung session at 5pm. [4:02] Basically, yung messaging niya ay addressed doon sa members of the minority [4:09] na nag-stay dito sa Senado at nag-iintay na magsimula yung session. [4:14] So, yung address nila or yung message ni Sen. President Alan Peter Cayetano [4:20] ay for the seemingly a challenge for the minority block to go on silent [4:26] or to stand for the independence of the Senate. [4:29] And how they could do that, let me read a quote from the statement of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. [4:39] He challenged the minority Senators, quote, [4:42] to let the Senate go quiet together and by choice [4:46] so the country is made to ask why a co-equal branch would fall silent rather than be made to serve. [4:53] So, ang sinasabi ni Sen. President Alan Peter Cayetano na meron daw banta doon sa independence ng Senado [5:01] and itong mensahe ni Sen. President Alan Peter Cayetano ay parati natin naririnig doon sa mga press briefing niya [5:11] in the past few weeks since he became the Sen. President. [5:15] Ang pinagmamayabang nga niya doon sa mga speech niya na yung Senate presidency or the Senate leadership this time [5:23] ay first time daw na walang influence ng Malacan niyang or ng the Marcos administration. [5:33] So, yun yung parang pinagmamalaki niya doon sa kanyang leadership bilang Senate President. [5:40] Although kanina, around 7pm, lumabas na yung mga members of the minority block [5:48] so nag-stay lang sila for a while doon sa session hall [5:52] and then eventually nag-stay doon sila sa lounge sa likod lang ng session hall [5:57] and then around 7pm, around 2 hours paglipas nga ng supposed start ng session [6:04] ay lumabas sila at nag-exit. [6:07] So, nakapanayam natin kanina Senator Irwin Tulfo saying or questioning yung [6:13] yung naging desisyon ng Senate majority na hindi magpakita dito sa Senado [6:20] dahil daw nasasayang yung oras ng mga Senador [6:24] yung mga importanteng bill, resolutions, discussions ay nape-pending or hindi na-de-discuss [6:32] kinompare niya yung mga Senador na nag-absent today doon sa session hall [6:40] doon sa mga ordinaryong Pilipino na pumapasok araw-araw na no work, no pay [6:46] na kailangan pumasok araw-araw para kumita at may panggasto sa araw-araw [6:52] samantalang itong mga Senador na high-paying ay uma-absent lang. [6:57] So, he also questioned yung desisyon na bakit napag-desisyonan ng members of the majority [7:04] kung bakit kailangan uma-absent just for the sake of a one Senador [7:08] na humaharap sa isang kaso na na-aresto. [7:13] On the flip side, ang messaging naman ng majority block, particularly Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano [7:21] ay he's calling for, in a way, a unity for the members of both the minority and majority [7:32] to stand together and in a way protest dahil nga yung katrabaho nila or colleague nila ay na-aresto. [7:41] Although, for a background, it's important to note na yung Senator Django Estrada [7:48] ay kumakaharap sa plunder at graft case [7:51] and hindi lang ito yung una niyang beses na kumaharap dito. [7:56] Ito na yung third time niya na kumaharap doon sa corruption allegation. [8:01] So, it has been chaotic weeks here in the Senate [8:07] since na-installed si Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano [8:11] Noong araw ng Kudita, May 11, nakita natin na nagpakita si Senator Bato Dalarosa [8:20] after a few months in hiding para lang i-install si Alan Peter Cayetano bilang Senate President [8:27] and in his way, here in the Senate ay sinubukan siyang hulihan ng NBI personnel [8:36] at i-serve yung warrant for the crimes against humanity from the International Criminal Court [8:42] in relation ito sa drug war ni former President Rodrigo Duterte [8:47] and following that, nagkarin nga ng shooting incident dito sa Senate sa pagitan ng NBI at Senate Security [8:55] and then following that, nakataka si Senator Bato Dalarosa sa tulong ni Senator Padilla [9:05] and si Senator Padilla is also under investigation. [9:10] So, a lot of members of the Senate majority are facing allegations of corruption [9:16] and other several issues. [9:18] Anjan si Senator Marco Leta na kumaharap sa plunder complaint. [9:24] Anjan si Senator Chisa Scudero, Senator Zingoy Estrada, as mentioned earlier, [9:30] Senator Joel Villanueva, these three Senators, Estrada, Villanueva, and Escudero [9:40] are all facing allegations of corruption linked to the flood control corruption. [9:47] Samantalang si Senator Bato Dalarosa kumaharap na ng warrant of arrest [9:52] from the International Criminal Court. [9:54] Samantalang Senator Bongo, again in relation to that ICC case, [10:00] ay humaharap din sa similar issue na allegedly ay indirect co-perpetrator daw siya [10:08] ng drug war ni Rodrigo Duterte. [10:11] So, given that numbers, six of the 13 members ng majority ay kumaharap sa legal issues. [10:20] Siguro to add to that, yung two Senators from the Majority Block as well, [10:24] the Villar siblings, Mark and Camille Villar, are also facing allegations of market manipulation [10:32] in relation ito dun sa business ng halang family or the real estate business of their family. [10:41] We also have Senator Padilla as mentioned earlier. [10:44] So, a lot of members of the Majority Block are facing allegations of corruption [10:53] or crimes and civil cases. [10:58] So, it has been chaotic weeks here in the Senate. [11:04] We're not sure if the Senate will hold a session next tomorrow. [11:09] So, for context, ito yung last week ng Senado bago mag-sinedie or mag-adjourn yung Senado. [11:20] So, it's an important week, especially para i-ratify or para ipasa yung mga pending bills, [11:28] pending measures na priority agenda ng administration or ng Senado. [11:32] So, again, we're not sure if magkakaroon ng session tomorrow [11:39] and how, especially given na mayroong pending trial na i-hold yung Senate bilang impeachment court. [11:49] So, kanina nga, sinend or nagbigay ng answer or reply yung Duterte Camp, [11:56] yung legal counsel ni Vice President Saro Duterte, [12:00] kaugnay nga ng articles of impeachment against her dito sa Senado [12:05] kasi today, June 1 yung deadline nun. [12:09] So, merong trial na magaganap soon sa July [12:14] and even before that, magkakaroon din ng pre-trial. [12:18] So, given the developments here in the Senate [12:21] and the calls of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano [12:24] for the Senate to quote-unquote, to go quiet, [12:28] Ang question natin ngayon ay kung ano ang kahihinatnan [12:33] or ano ang detekto nito sa impeachment trial ni Vice President Saro Duterte. [12:39] I'm Patrick Cruz, Rappler, Pasay City.