The Manila Times
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson took a dig at a colleague who belittled another for her lack of "legal background" at Tuesday night's plenary, marked by a walkout of the minority bloc. While Lacson did not name the senator, he was referring to Sen. Rodante Marcoleta who berated Sen. Risa Hontiveros during a debate on amending the rules to allow voting through video conferencing. "In a condescending tone, a colleague, who is a lawyer took issue with Sen[ator] Hontiveros' lack of 'legal background.' I have a simple message — it's the rules stupid," Lacson said in a separate X post. Lacson also said that the walkout of the minority bloc Tuesday night demonstrated how to score a victory "by retreating." The group walked out of the plenary to object to the majority bloc's move "to rush" amending the Senate rules as they sought for more deliberations In a joint statement, the 11-member minority group said they walked out because "what happened on the floor looked less like orderly deliberation." The minority is composed of Senators Vicente Sotto III, Bam Aquino, JV Ejercito, Win Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Panfilo Lacson, Lito Lapid, Kiko Pangilinan, Erwin Tulfo, Raffy Tulfo, and Migz Zubiri. "They may have superior numbers but we have the rules on our side," Lacson wrote on X. The controversy stemmed from a proposal Marcoleta to permit senators to vote electronically and participate remotely in Senate proceedings. The measure was first raised on May 11 following the return of Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, who had been absent for six months and was reportedly facing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The proposal was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules before being brought to the plenary on Tuesday. However, minority senators questioned the legitimacy of the process, arguing that the committee had not yet been formally constituted following the recent reorganization of Senate leadership and committee assignments. Lacson led the opposition, asking whether the Committee on Rules had been properly formed before the measure was elevated to the plenary. “Has the Committee on Rules been formed?” Lacson asked, noting that all Senate leadership posts and committee memberships had recently been vacated. Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano defended the move, citing Rule 51 of the Senate rules, which allows amendments through a motion approved by a majority vote of senators present during session. Lacson, however, challenged the procedure, questioning whether the Senate was “neglecting the committees” by bypassing the normal review process. “The Committee on Rules has no members because we vacated all positions,” Lacson emphasized.
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