By Wilnard Bacelonia | Philippine News Agency
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian on Thursday said the Senate is moving past weeks of political turbulence and returning to its core work of legislation, oversight and constitutional duty as the chamber prepares for both priority bills and the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
“Tapos na ang Senateflix. Back to work na tayo,” Gatchalian told reporters while the Senate is holding the pretrial conference for Duterte’s impeachment case.
Gatchalian said the Senate will use the coming weeks to lay down priority measures identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) while also completing logistical, security and procedural preparations for the impeachment trial set to begin on July 6.
He said senators have been asked to proceed with committee hearings during the legislative break following the election of committee chairpersons, vice chairpersons and members.
“So in the next few weeks, we will focus also on the bills. We will request the senators to already proceed with their hearings,” he said.
Gatchalian said the goal is to ensure that once sessions resume, the Senate can immediately take up LEDAC measures and other priority bills of individual senators.
He noted that the Senate has only two years left in the current Congress, while the usual legislative cycle for a bill could take about one and a half to two years.
“Kaya yesterday, pag may bills, talagang I talked to the chairman, I talked to the people who will debate para makita natin kung ano yung pwede nating solution and matapos yung bill,” he said.
At the same time, Gatchalian said preparations for the impeachment proceedings are already underway, particularly on security and logistics.
He said the Senate has met with the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Pasay City government, National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Bureau of Fire Protection and other enforcement agencies.
The Senate chief said the impeachment trial will require tight coordination because the personalities involved are political figures and the Senate building has limited space.
“The biggest challenge is the logistics portion. Kasi maliit ang Senado eh. Ang pinaka-problema natin dito, space,” Gatchalian said.
He said both the prosecution and defense panels are expected to require their own rooms for huddles, media, staff, witnesses and documents, while senators and the public must also be accommodated in an open constitutional proceeding.
Gatchalian said the Senate would hold weekly security briefings with law enforcement agencies to assess preparations for the trial.
He said the chamber’s immediate task is to restore normal programming while carrying out its constitutional responsibility as an impeachment court.
“Magiging dalawa ‘yung trabaho namin, impeachment and legislation,” he said.
Gatchalian said the Senate may not always agree on bills and resolutions, but debates must return to the floor and committees.
“Hindi man kami mag-agree on certain bills and resolutions, but at least napag-debatehan natin at napag-usapan natin,” he said.
