Manila, Philippines — In the past three weeks, the Senate have been through a lot starting with a surprise coup, a gunfire incident, and heated debates which even resulted in walk-outs.
And among the most heated topic right now is the debate on whether to allow remote or via teleconferencing participation and voting of senators during the impeachment trial.
Minority senators repelled this proposal, which they called a rush move from the members of the majority.
Senator Erwin Tulfo directly pointed out the evident motive behind this move.
Presently, nine out of the solid 13 majority senators are either facing formal charges or are currently under investigation.
First on the list is Senator Ronald Bato Dela Rosa who was absent for about six months, after the Ombudsman announced that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against him.
ICC named Dela Rosa as a co-perpetuator in the crimes against case of former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.
On May 11, Dela Rosa came to office in a surprise appearance to vote in favor of the change in Senate leadership.
After the gunfire incident, Bato escaped the senate presmises despite being under the Upper Chamber’s protective custody.
Presently, the arrest warrant against the Senator is activety being implemented following the Supreme Court’s denial of his plea for a Temporary Restraining Order.
In connection to his escape, the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation Group filed a related case against Senator Robin Padilla.
Padilla is charged with obstruction of justice over allegedly helping Bato escape from authorities’ arrest.
Based on the record of the Senate Secretariat, Padilla was the last to time out after the gunfire incident—around 2:30 am, which is the supposed time of Bato’s escape.
Padilla admitted that Bato rode with him to exit the Senate, but denied that he was an accessory to the escape.
Aside from them, two more senators were charged with separate cases this week—both are the new vice chairs of the Senate Blue Ribbon COmmittee.
Senator Rodante Marcoleta is under plunder, indirect bribery, and violation of Presidential Decree No, 46 allegations over an issue linked with an election offense.
This is due to the P75 million campaign declaration undeclared in his Statement of Contributions and Expenditures. He and 3 others are now placed under precautionary hold departure order and are barred from leaving the country.
Senator Jinggoy Estrada meanwhile is formally charged of plunder and graft cases over alleged involvement in the flood control corruption scandal.
Ex-DPWH Bulacan engineer Brice Hernandez implicated Estrada in the mess accusing the senator of receiving kickbacks from flood control projects.
On Friday, the Sandiganbayan Second Division issued the arrest warrant against Estrada.
Still in the issue of flood control controversy, the Office of the Ombudsman said that in the coming weeks, a separate plunder case may be filed against Senator Joel Villanueva, while Senator Chiz Escudero is currently under preliminary investigation stage.
On the other hand, other majority senators are also facing issues—with Senator Bong Go named as a co-perpetuator on Duterte’s ICC case, and Villar’s sibling facing allegations of market manipulation, insider trading, at inconsistent disclosures from the SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC).
Senator Imee Marcos described these cases as an attack to the majority, which the Palace has denied.—Mia Layaguin, Eurotv News