PASAY CITY—Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano issued a powerful call to action on May 25 plenary session, urging both majority and minority senators to transcend factional politics and restore the chamber's dignity as democracy’s "last line of defense." 

Pushing back against critics who claim the institution's integrity has eroded under his leadership, Cayetano championed an independent Senate that acts as a robust check and balance to the executive branch. 

He emphasized that the Senate must anchor its work on a sacred oath of impartiality, shifting the public discourse away from political infighting and toward critical national crises.

Instead of engaging in partisan confrontation, Cayetano proposed a collaborative yet independent relationship with the executive branch to rebuild public trust. 

“Why can't we bind together - minority and majority - and be an independent senate? Not to confront the executive but to collaborate and also as checks and balances?" The Senate President said.

He pressed his colleagues to refocus their legislative energy on pressing economic issues directly impacting Filipinos, including skyrocketing inflation, agricultural smuggling, and ongoing controversies surrounding flood control funds. 

Maintaining strict discipline inside the session hall, he argued, is essential to safeguarding the chamber's autonomy and effectively addressing the country's urgent priorities.

However, the session also highlighted deep ideological rifts within the chamber as Senator Imee Marcos took to the floor to launch a fierce defense of the current system. 

Delivering a passionate privilege speech, Marcos expressed her staunch opposition to proposed amendments to the 1987 Constitution. 

Invoking her family's political legacy, she declared it her duty as a public servant and the daughter of the late President Ferdinand Marcos to stand firm and protect the nation's foundational law, drawing a clear battle line over the future of the country's constitution.

“At bilang Pilipino, bilang isang lingkod bayan, bilang isang kaisa-isang anak ni Ferdinand Marcos na may lakas ng loob na tumindig para sa ating bansa, dapat protektahan natin ang saligang batas ng Pilipinas,” the lady Senator said.