What good is an institution that does much harm, has lost its way, and many of whose members steal from the people, circumvent the law, cause divisiveness and discord, pursue their vested interests, and entrench themselves further in power? Clearly, far from good. Nowadays, this is an apt description of the Philippine Senate: far from...
Tag: Senate
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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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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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House impeaches VP Duterte again, votes to send her case to the Senate for trial
For the second time, and now with an overwhelming majority, the House of Representatives voted on Monday to impeach Vice President Sara Duterte on accusations of misuse of confidential funds, unexplained wealth, and threats to have President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. killed. Duterte is the first Filipino official to be impeached twice. The first time was in 2025, with...
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Lacson confident of 9 senators’ signatures on blue ribbon committee’s partial report
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson believes he can get nine members of the blue ribbon committee that he chairs to sign its controversial partial report on the corruption in flood control and other infrastructure projects. So far, only he and three others — Senators Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros, and Francis Pangilinan — have signed...
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‘Jurassic’ Senate prez recounts how the coup attempt went down
Was the leadership of Senate President Vicente Sotto III truly in peril last Feb. 4, when rumors swirled that the 9-member minority had gathered more than the so-called “Magic 13” votes to unseat him? As the 3 p.m. session of the Senate began that Wednesday, Sotto presided over the calendar of business which included honoring the achievements...
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Marcos admin freed up ₱214B in unprogrammed funds for ‘priority’ infra in 2023-2024
The term “unprogrammed appropriations,” or UAs, sounds innocent enough. But to politicians, public works officials and contractors, they are an opportunity for graft. UAs are standby funds sourced from new or excess government revenues and foreign loans. These revenues were not expected and so were not included in the regular budget. In 2023 and 2024,...
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Escudero loses Senate presidency to Sotto as scandal over multibillion-peso flood projects rages
Francis Escudero lost the Senate presidency to Vicente Sotto III on Monday, just over a month after his reelection to the post—a sign that senators are listening to public opinion, according to a political analyst. The change in leadership in the Senate occurred in the face of growing public anger over the government’s multibillion-peso flood...
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Carpio urges the Supreme Court to reverse its ‘erroneous’ ruling on the VP’s impeachment
Retired senior associate justice Antonio Carpio is urging the Supreme Court to recognize and accept what he has argued are factual and legal mistakes in nullifying the articles of impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte, and to reverse its ruling in good faith. Carpio, who served 18 years on the Supreme Court, is a founder...
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Senate ‘kills’ Duterte impeachment case; law expert says accountability mechanisms weakened
The Senate voted on Wednesday night to archive the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte, “killing” it before it could reach trial and weakening accountability mechanisms for public officials, a law expert warned. Voting 19-4 with one abstention, the Senate agreed on the amended motion of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta to archive the articles of...