13th Senator Jumping To Gatchalian Bloc?

Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian’s bloc may have already secured the 13th vote necessary to officially cement its control over the chamber, Sen. JV Ejercito said on Monday, June 8.

Asked if Gatchalian and his allies have recruited another senator to break the deadlock with the faction of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, Ejercito hinted at such possibility.

“We don’t know. Maybe. Anything can happen – with this thin (numbers). No knowledge yet,” he said.

Reports of more senators jumping to Gatchalian’s bloc have been swirling even before Sen. Francis Escudero’s surprise attendance during last week’s last session day.

While there is no confirmation yet, Sen. Joel Villanueva is believed to be among the senators eyeing to join Gatchalian’s bloc. Like Escudero, Villanueva is facing the possibility of being criminally charged for the flood control mess.

Ejercito, meanwhile, pushed back against the recent suggestion of former Senate president Franklin Drilon that President Marcos formally intervene and resolve the chamber’s leadership dispute that paralyzed pending bills.

Ejercito maintained that Marcos understands constitutional boundaries and prefers to leave the internal reorganization to the lawmakers.

“To my knowledge, President Marcos respects the Senate because he had served here and he knows how the Senate behaves, he knows the characters,” he explained.

Instead of relying on Malacañang to break the gridlock, Ejercito is urging his warring colleagues to step back from political brinksmanship.

“I making this appeal. I’m saying I hope we forgo our personal differences. Let us save the institution more than anything,” he said.

Ejercito said the chamber has not yet received any official word regarding a possible special legislative session.

But discussions are underway regarding a possible special session, Malacañang said on Monday as it continues to push for priority bills now in the doldrums because of the political drama in the Senate.

“Meetings are already being held with regard to that,” Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said at a press briefing, when asked whether President Marcos is now planning to meet with lawmakers to discuss the holding of a special session.

Last week, Castro said the President is “inclined” to call for a special session of Congress to pass priority measures, including bankrolling initiatives that would mitigate the effects of the war in the Middle East.

She reiterated that Marcos recognizes Gatchalian’s leadership in the Senate. The Palace press officer also described as a “good suggestion” Drilon’s suggestion that Marcos intervene in the ongoing political dispute in the chamber. “The President is not closing his doors to those kinds of suggestions,” Castro said. “The question is: Will the suggestion work in the likes of Sen. Alan Cayetano?”

Asked to react to the view that the best option to end the leadership row is a Supreme Court intervention, Castro replied: “If this is brought to the courts... it would be up to them. But as far as we are concerned, as far as the Palace is concerned we are only recognizing the leadership of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.”

Castro also admonished Cayetano not to play victim with his asking Gatchalian not to allow himself to be used by Malacañang.

“We hope that official will not act as if he was the victim,” Castro said at a press briefing on Monday, referring to Cayetano.

“Many became victims of the chaos in the Senate. The first victims were the people who believed in the integrity of the Senate. This chaos happened under the leadership of Senate President Alan Cayetano,” she added.

At a briefing, Cayetano said his bloc is open to the convening of a special session to address the urgent needs of earthquake victims in Mindanao. “Any special session that will redound to the good of the Filipino people is welcome. The special session is in the Constitution,” he said. — With Alexis Romero