Minority senators on Tuesday questioned the cancellation of a scheduled Senate session, saying they were left waiting for hours without prior notice that members of the majority bloc would not attend.
Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito said minority senators arrived at the Senate expecting the regular session to proceed, only to learn later in the evening that it had been called off.
“This is what the public has been waiting for, the ‘Senateflix,’” Ejercito said, expressing disappointment over the developments. He added that the minority expected the session to push through because holding regular sessions is part of the Senate's constitutional duty.
According to Ejercito, minority senators were already at the plenary hall before the scheduled start of the session and remained there until nearly 7 p.m. He said they only learned between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. that Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano had issued a statement indicating that the session would no longer proceed.
“We were there waiting for the session. We only found out later that there would no longer be a session,” Ejercito said.
The senator said the minority was caught off guard because there had been no prior consultation regarding the cancellation. Drawing from his years in the Senate, he noted that sessions are typically suspended only under extraordinary circumstances such as calamities, emergencies or force majeure events, usually after consultations among Senate leaders.
Ejercito also disputed claims that the cancellation was intended to demonstrate Senate independence.
“The position of the minority is that this is not about the independence of the Senate,” he said. “It appears more like a boycott because of what happened yesterday.”
He was referring to the arrest of his brother, Jinggoy Estrada, which he believes may have influenced the majority bloc's decision not to attend the session.
Ejercito also addressed reports that the plenary hall's air-conditioning system had been shut down while senators were waiting, saying Senate officials later clarified that the disruption was caused by a power interruption that was eventually resolved.
Under longstanding Senate practice, Ejercito said both the majority and minority blocs are expected to be represented before proceedings begin, describing it as a "gentleman's agreement" observed within the chamber.
