Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday called on his colleagues to defend the independence of the Senate, saying recent developments involving one of its members have put the institution’s autonomy under scrutiny.
In a statement addressed to senators in the minority bloc, Cayetano stressed that the Senate, as a co-equal branch of government, should be allowed to settle its own affairs without outside interference.
“Events of the past few days may have blurred this distinction, but what happened with one of our colleagues today brings it sharply back into focus,” he added.
While Cayetano did not identify the senator he was referring to, the statement came hours after the Sandiganbayan issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Sen. Jinggoy Estrada for plunder related to the so-called “Floodgate” scandal.
Estrada was arrested on Monday along with three other co-acused while a fifth person impleaded by the Ombudsman, ex-Public Works chief Manuel Bonoan, was hospitalized under guard for blood pressure spikes.
The anti-graft court had earlier issued a separate warrant against Estrada on a graft charge. The senator surrendered on Friday and was released after posting bail.
Cayetano said disagreements over Senate leadership should not undermine the institution’s independence.
“That we differ on the leadership of the Senate is not in question. And it is a fair point of discussion. But no matter our disagreements, we must all agree that it is the Senate’s own business to settle,” he said.
He also warned against treating the legal standing of senators or the Senate’s institutional independence as political leverage.
“The independence of this institution, and the legal standing of any of its members, are not currencies. The day they become things to be traded is the day that the Senate is diminished. And after the Senate, the Republic,” he said.
