Former Senate President Franklin Drilon backed the minority bloc's walkout on Tuesday, 26 May, following a rules amendment allowing senators facing detention to vote remotely, calling the move a "tyranny of the majority."
In a statement, the former Senate chief said the recent proposal is a clear move directly connected to the impeachment case of Vice President Sara Duterte, noting that the articles of impeachment were transmitted to the upper chamber on 13 May, and the Senate convened as an impeachment court on 18 May.
Drilon supported Senator Erwin Tulfo, who questioned the urgency of the matter. This comes as three members of the 13-seat majority bloc may be unable to vote: Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa is currently "hiding" from an International Criminal Court arrest warrant, while the Office of the Ombudsman recently announced that Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva face detention over their alleged involvement in a flood control project anomaly.
"Halimbawa, yung bank record ni Vice President. Kung humingi ng subpoena ang prosecution at hindi payagan ng presiding officer tapos i-appeal sa impeachment court, kailangan makakuha siya ng support ng majority kaya very crucial ito kaya minamadali (For example, the Vice President's bank records. If the prosecution requests a subpoena and the presiding officer denies it, and it is then appealed to the impeachment court, they need to get the support of the majority; that is why this is very crucial and why it is being rushed)," Drilon said.
"This is ugly. I have never seen this kind of bastusan in the history of the Senate," he added.
He noted that the proposed amendment was first presented on 11 May but was referred to the Committee on Rules for further review following an objection from Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri. Despite this, the proposal was still pushed by Representative Rodante Marcoleta on Tuesday for immediate approval.
"Patay na ang malayang diskurso sa Senado (Free discourse in the Senate is dead)," he said.
"Sa aming kasaysayan, ito ay tyranny of the majority (In our history, this is the tyranny of the majority)," he added.