The new majority in the Senate solidified its grip on Wednesday after forming a 13-member bloc that elected Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president. The vote was unanimous for Gatchalian, who on June 3 was elected Senate president pro tempore by the then 12-member bloc. This time he was voted president of the chamber during the...
Tag: Alan Peter Cayetano
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Tenderness and ‘heroes’ at the Cayetano bloc’s blue ribbon committee hearing
There was tenderness galore on Thursday at the blue ribbon committee hearing of the bloc led by Alan Peter Cayetano, by his own declaration “the legitimate, legal and moral Senate President.” Ignoring the changes made on Wednesday in the chamber’s power structure by the 12-member majority led by Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian, Cayetano...
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A time for sacrifice, a time for statesmanship
The strength of a democracy is measured not only by the quality of its leaders but also by the resilience of its institutions. Among these institutions, the Senate occupies a unique place. Designed by the Constitution to be a deliberative body and a check against the excesses of power, it is expected to rise above...
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When the Senate majority senators stage a ‘boycott’
The majority senators led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano were nowhere to be seen at the scheduled start of the 5 p.m. session on Monday and well into the evening. There was neither word nor explanation to the minority bloc (all 11 present and accounted for). Shortly the man posted online that the minority...
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Sotto: Any Senate leadership change should occur before Congress adjourns next week
Any change in the two-week-old, controversy-plagued Senate presidency of Alan Peter Cayetano should happen in the last three session days next week, before Congress goes into sine die adjournment on June 6. And with Congress out, the Senate leadership becomes even more crucial as the chamber is set to embark on one of its important roles:...
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Senate impeachment court convened, VP Duterte summoned to respond
Amid loud rumors of another shakeup in its leadership, the Senate convened on Monday as an impeachment court to try Vice President Sara Duterte. The court immediately ordered that a writ of summons be issued to Duterte to respond to the articles of impeachment against her. She had skipped the entire impeachment proceedings of the House...
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The Senate’s accountability gap in 4 points
The May 11 drama in the Senate was surprising only for its theatrics—a leadership coup in the afternoon, a fugitive senator hiding in the chamber’s inner recesses by early evening, and law enforcers kept at bay by closed doors and barbed wire. The Senate has long been the place where senators charged with serious crimes...
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Still trying to put out the flames
The new majority in the Senate began the week like a house on fire and they’re still trying to put out the flames. After persuading Bato dela Rosa to come out from under the rock he was hiding and add to the vote ousting Tito Sotto as Senate president, Alan Peter Cayetano has his hands...
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Consider the new Senate majority
Consider the Senate majority now led by Alan Peter Cayetano after the power seizure on Monday. It’s nearly identical to the grouping led by Francis Escudero that famously did in the first impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte. The Cayetano sibs. President Marcos Jr.’s estranged manang. The mother of the young Batangas lawmaker slapped...