Watch a live stream of the Senate special session here at 9 a.m., Wednesday, June 17
MANILA, Philippines – The Senate will meet in special session on Wednesday, June 17, to take up pending actions.
The special session comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday, June 15, calling on Congress to “immediately consider” the adoption of several bills.
The special session will also allow the Appointments Commission to take action on pending appointments to key positions in the Cabinet, the military and the foreign service.
The activity of some appointments and the adoption of several measures had been stalled due to the leadership conflict in the Senate.
The Senate is expected to elect a new Senate president during the special session. About an hour before the start of the session, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano announced in a social media post that he was no longer pursuing his bid for Senate presidency.
Cayetano’s allies did not arrive in the upper chamber during the scheduled sessions before Congress adjourned sine die, effectively. disable the activities of the Senate due to the lack of quorum. Cayetano, who was then president of the Senate, said the move was meant to ensure that his camp would retain control of the body.
Despite the absence of his camp, Cayetano was later expelled after his partner, Senator Chiz Escudero, joined the opposition wing that installed Gatchalian as acting president of the Senate and president of the Senate pro tempore.
Until the morning of the special session, he insisted that he remained the “legitimate” and “moral” president of the Senate, saying that there was no quorum during the leadership change. The claim was contested by the Gatchalian camp and legal experts, who cited a The decision of the Supreme Court regarding the quorum.
Watch the special Senate session here at 9 am. – Rappler.com
