The Manila Times
(UPDATE) SEN. Alan Peter Cayetano, who claims he is still the rightful Senate president, has instructed his close aides to ensure that the impeachment trial calendar proceeds unimpeded as he approved an “interim arrangement” to ensure continuity of Senate operations amid the leadership struggle in the chamber. The minority bloc on June 3 “ousted” Cayetano as Senate chief after it became the “new” majority bloc with 12 members after Sen. Chiz Escudero abandoned Cayetano’s group, which now have 10 members. The majority elected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore and acting Senate chief. They also named Renato Bantug Jr. as the Senate secretary, replacing Jose Luis Montales, who belonged to Cayetano’s bloc. In his June 7 letter, Cayetano directed Montales to discuss with Bantug Jr. a possible interim administrative arrangements that would allow the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, to continue its functions. Under Cayetano’s calendar, the impeachment court is scheduled to issue the notice of pre-trial on Tuesday, signaling the start of pre-trial proceedings. Cayetano said that while he maintains the June 3 reorganization was illegal in a “substantial and unmistakable” way, the controversy should not be allowed to paralyze the Senate, disrupt public service, or delay the impeachment trial. Montales wrote Bantug on June 8 to request a meeting “to discuss a possible way forward that may preserve the continuity of institutional operations and allow the impeachment proceedings to move forward in an orderly manner.” One possible interim arrangement raised in the letter is a dual-signatory or joint-certification mechanism for vouchers, checks, disbursements, contracts, personnel actions, and other documents necessary for the continued operations of the Senate and the impeachment court. Under the proposed mechanism, documents requiring approval or certification may, where practicable, bear the signatures of the officials presently exercising the relevant functions and those asserting authority to perform the same functions. Cayetano clarified that the proposed mechanism will be issued “solely as a practical and institutional measure” to ensure continuity of the Senate’s constitutional duty during an “extraordinary situation.” He raised the need to protect Senate employees from being placed in an “untenable position.” “They should not be subjected to pressure arising from matters beyond their duties and competence to determine,” Cayetano said. “Public servants who have faithfully served this institution for many years should not become collateral casualties or unwilling instruments in a legal and political conflict not of their making.”
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