Senate minority walks out as majority ‘railroads’ online voting rule

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'We walked out because what happened on the floor looked less like orderly deliberation,' says Senator Panfilo 'Ping' Lacson

MANILA, Philippines – The Senate minority walked out on Tuesday, May 26, after a heated debate over Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s motion to allow senators to participate in plenary sessions online.

Marcoleta filed the motion two weeks earlier, on Monday, May 11, seeking to allow senators to join sessions remotely under “justifiable” circumstances.

The proposal comes over two weeks since Alan Peter Cayetano was installed as Senate president and the reappearance of Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa — who has been evading an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court — at the Senate to vote for Cayetano.

Members of the minority bloc questioned the “rushed” process to amend the Senate rules.

“We strongly condemn what appears to be an attempt to rush a major change in the Senate Rules, especially when several members of the minority still wanted to speak and raise serious questions on the floor,” Senator Panfilo Lacson said.

Senator Kiko Pangilinan accusing the majority bloc of “railroading” the amendments to the Senate rules.

Cayetano later moved to put the issue to a vote but the minority members began walking out of the plenary hall. Without a quorum, the motion could not be voted upon.

“We walked out because what happened on the floor looked less like orderly deliberation. The proposed rule change affects how senators may attend sessions, participate in proceedings, and exercise their mandate through remote means, and such a measure should be opened to healthy public debate instead of being rushed by the tyranny of the majority,” Lacson said.

Loren Legarda, who was presiding over the session, later suspended proceedings, which will resume on Monday, June 1. – Rappler.com