Tensions flared in the Senate on Tuesday, May 26, as members of the minority bloc staged a walkout during the plenary session, protesting what they described as a rushed attempt to amend the chamber’s rules.
The dispute centered on Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s proposal to insert Section 41-C into the Senate rules, allowing senators to attend and participate in sessions remotely via teleconference or videoconference.
The motion was returned to the floor by acting majority leader Senator Joel Villanueva, but minority senators argued that the Committee on Rules had not yet been constituted, making the process irregular.
Senators Panfilo Lacson, Vicente Sotto III, Risa Hontiveros, and Francis Pangilinan all raised objections, citing provisions that require committee deliberation and a one-day notice before amendments can be acted upon.
Pangilinan warned against “railroading the process,” while Lacson insisted that majority numbers could not simply “ram down our throat” a rule change.
The debate escalated when Marcoleta suggested that some senators lacked the legal background to grasp the proposal, prompting Senator Erwin Tulfo to call a point of order, accusing Marcoleta of ad hominem remarks.
Tulfo further questioned the majority’s urgency, speculating that the rule change was being pushed to allow colleagues facing possible arrest to continue voting remotely.
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri then urged minority members to leave the plenary, calling the proceedings a “travesty of Senate rules.”
Shortly after, Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda adjourned the session.
In a joint statement, the minority bloc said they “strongly condemn what appears to be an attempt to rush a major change in the Senate Rules” and explained their walkout as a stand against the “tyranny of the majority.”
They stressed that the proposed amendment affects how senators exercise their mandate and should undergo proper committee review and public debate.
The bloc emphasized that no Committee on Rules had been organized, making any action premature.
“We walked out because what happened on the floor looked less like orderly deliberation… If the proposal is truly defensible, then let it pass through the proper route,” the statement read. (Dhel Nazario)
