The Senate plenary session failed to push through on Monday after members of the majority bloc led by Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano did not appear on the floor, leaving the chamber without a quorum.
The 11-member minority bloc was in full attendance.
Senate sources said members of the now 11-member majority bloc left the Senate building one after another before the session, which had been moved to 5 p.m. from the usual 3 p.m.
Under Senate rules, the chamber cannot conduct legislative business without a quorum.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said the minority was not formally informed that there would be no session, adding that they only learned through a social media post that the plenary would not push through.
“We demand na magtrabaho ang Senado. Bukas, gusto namin magkaroon ng quorum, gusto namin magkaroon ng presiding officer para magtrabaho tayo,” Gatchalian said in a chance interview after the minority senators left the session hall.
“We demand that the Senate do its job. Tomorrow, we want a quorum and a presiding officer so we can work,” he added.
Gatchalian said the majority violated Senate procedure by effectively canceling the session without consulting other members.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri said Cayetano’s social media post appeared to signal a protest by the majority bloc.
“If you see his post, parang it’s a sign of protest on their part. On our part, we just want to work. Why are they holding the Senate hostage?” Zubiri said.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo said the majority should not drag the minority into its boycott.
He said the minority’s earlier walkout was different because it was done in protest of what they described as an attempt to railroad the motion of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta allowing remote participation in plenary proceedings.
Cayetano, in a message to the minority, said the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was a matter that should concern all senators.
“That we differ on the leadership of the Senate is not a question. And it is a fair point of discussion. But no matter our disagreements, we must all agree that it is the Senate’s own business to settle,” Cayetano said.
“This chamber answers to God and the people who sent us here and to no one outside these walls,” he added.
Cayetano said the Senate must protect its independence as a co-equal branch of government.
“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,” he said.
“The door is open. What you do with it is yours to answer, to this institution and to the people watching it,” he added.