SENATE LEADERSHIP CHANGE ‘UGLY’ REGARDLESS OF POLITICAL SIDE – LACSON

REGARDLESS of what one’s political side or persuasion may be, the leadership change at the Senate on Monday was ugly, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said Tuesday.

Lacson said that while he understood the reason for the now-majority’s surprise move, the accompanying drama – including Sen. Ronald dela Rosa’s claim of being pursued and “wrestled” by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) – was an unpleasant sight.

He also said Sen. Lorna Regina Legarda, who replaced him as Senate President Pro Tempore after Monday’s leadership change, could have at least informed the then majority, or then Senate President Vicente Sotto III, of her decision.

“Any way you look at it, regardless of your political persuasion, what happened on Monday was ugly. It was an unpleasant sight,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino in an interview on DZMM radio.

He noted that tradition dictates that once a bloc secures at least 13 senators, its members approach the sitting Senate President at noon and formally inform him/her that they have the numbers to effect a leadership change.

The sitting Senate President would then ensure a smooth transition by voluntarily stepping down at the start of the session, and even nominate his/her would-be replacement. The outgoing and incoming Senate Presidents would even vote for each other.

But Lacson said he understood now-Senate President Alan Cayetano’s move not to approach then Senate President Vicente Sotto III due to “security” reasons as they had to secure Sen. Ronald dela Rosa – who is the subject of an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.

Also, he noted that a Senate coup or change of leadership may be considered as a continuing effort and is “as common as the daily sessions in the Senate.”

“A Senate coup, like rebellion under Philippine jurisprudence, is a ‘continuing crime,'” he said on X.

* Sad over Legarda and ‘Political Reality’

Lacson said that while they accepted “political reality,” he felt sad that Legarda, one of the original members of the Sotto-led minority, and later majority, opted to join the new majority without informing them first.

He said that when Senators JV Ejercito and Sherwin Gatchalian opted to join them to form the majority at the time, they went to then Senate President Francis Escudero first to formally inform him of their decision.

“My sentiment and I think my colleagues in the former majority share this, it is sad that Sen. Legarda, one of our original  in the former majority, did not inform us of her decision,” he said.

“I am not taking anything away from her decision to join Sen. Cayetano but we just hoped she would at least have told us,  instead of surprising us,” he said.

When asked whether this had anything to do with her son Rep. Leandro Leviste, he said that was not the point. “The point is, she should have told us, even if it was one minute before the session started.”

* Bato ‘contained’

Lacson said that with dela Rosa’s entry to the Senate grounds, he is “effectively contained.”

“Sen. Dela Rosa’s problem is that while his freedom was limited when he was outside the Senate, he still had his freedom. Now that he’s in the Senate, he is effectively contained because once he goes out, there is the unsealed warrant of the International Criminal Court, but that’s another story,” he said.

He also said dela Rosa’s is a novel case that can set a good legal precedent as to whether a domestic or Philippine court’s order is mandatory for the enforcement of the ICC warrant.

Lacson also questioned any “mutual agreement” between the Senate leadership and law enforcement agencies on dela Rosa’s custody, saying there is already an arrest warrant.

On the other hand, he questioned the new Senate leadership’s move to cite in contempt of the Senate the NBI agents who pursued dela Rosa through the Senate hallways, saying their “offense” must simultaneously be committed while they are in the Senate, for them to be cited for direct contempt.

If the “offense” is not simultaneous and did not occur during a committee hearing, they should be cited for indirect contempt and ordered to show cause and explain why they should not be cited in direct contempt.

“To me, that is procedurally wrong,” he said, noting that during the Blue Ribbon hearings on the flood control anomalies, the committee did not immediately cite contractor Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya II in contempt but first told him to explain why he was lying to the panel.

“What happened Monday was procedurally faulty. The alleged offense of pursuing dela Rosa was already finished, before the motion to cite them in contempt of the Senate was made and immediately approved,” he added.