PASAY CITY —After a bold walkout protest by the Senate minority bloc on May 27 over a divisive motion manifested on the floor, another fierce standoff gripped the Senate session once again on June 1, as the Senate majority bloc staged a “no-show” in the plenary following the voluntary surrender of Senator Jinggoy Estrada to the PNP-CIDG.

Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano on his social media account urged both majority and minority lawmakers to let the Senate "go quiet" to protest what he framed as an outside assault on the institution’s independence. 

“I am asking you to join one deliberate act — to let the Senate go quiet, together and by choice, so the country is made to ask why a co-equal branch would fall silent rather than be made to serve.” SP Cayetano wrote on his social media post.

He challenged his colleagues to stand together, warning that trading the legal standing of its members would diminish the Senate and, ultimately, the Republic.

“This is not an accusation. I am speaking truth that each senator already knows — the independence of this institution, and the legal standing of any of its members, are not currencies. The day they become things to be traded, is the day that the Senate is diminished. And after the Senate, the Republic.” He continued.

Meanwhile, the 11-member minority bloc immediately fired back and issued a joint statement, rejecting the call and branding the majority's absence from the scheduled 5:00 p.m. session as a "boycott of duty." 

“This is not Senate independence but a boycott of duty. The Solid Bloc 11 minority senators were present today for the 5 p.m. resumption of session, ready to work, ready to vote on pending bills and ready to keep the Senate running, but the majority led by SP Cayetano chose not to show up.” Minority senators said in a joint statement.

Minority senators showed up ready to work, only to find an empty floor. 

They slammed Cayetano for failing to extend the basic courtesy of informing them of the cancellation, stating that the Senate belongs to the Filipino people and not to whoever holds the gavel.

“They did not even have the courtesy to inform us when they ignored the rules, and could not extend the basic decency of telling the minority that they had no intention of convening.”

The minority group, who called themselves as the Solid Bloc 11, argued that the suspension of work has paralyzed vital legislation. 

“Ang Senado ay hindi pag-aari ng iisang may hawak ng gavel. Institusyon ito ng taumbayan at napakadaming mahalagang panukala ang nabibinbin dahil sa drama ng mayorya.”

The group pointed out that unresolved measures now hang in the balance, including the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers, the Anti-Hospital Detention Bill, crucial military promotions before the Commission on Appointments, and pending citizenship bills. 

“Important measures were left hanging because of the majority’s boycott, including the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers, the Anti-Hospital Detention Bill, the confirmation of generals before the Commission on Appointments and the bills granting Philippine citizenship to Bennie Boatwright III and Matthew James Ramos.”

The bloc emphasized that the arrest of Estrada stems from a lawful process regarding flood control investigations by the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan, which no politician should control.

“This is a boycott because of the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada, and the public should not be asked to believe another convenient line from a leadership that has repeatedly twisted the truth.”

Accusing Cayetano of using institutional pride as a shield to avoid a leadership challenge, the minority questioned if the Senate President is repeating past tactics from his tenure in the House of Representatives to evade a "test of numbers" on the floor. 

“The public has every right to ask whether SP Cayetano is repeating what he did in the House of Representatives, when questions were raised about a leader refusing to step aside, refusing to convene and holding up proceedings when the numbers were no longer certain.”

The minority bloc demanded that the majority return to work for the remaining session days, declaring that no amount of political drama can erase a senator's basic duty to show up and serve.

“The Senate should open its doors, call the session to order and return to work, because no Facebook post, no appeal to institutional pride and no political drama can erase the basic duty of senators to show up, follow the law and serve the people.”