Senate minority: Majority’s absence a ‘boycott,’ not independence call

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MANILA, Philippines — The Senate minority bloc said the absence of the majority during Monday’s session was a boycott following the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, not a call for Senate independence as Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano claimed.

All 11 minority senators, or the Solid Bloc-11 (SB-11), waited two hours for the 5 p.m. session to commence, but no session took place due to the absence of all majority senators, including Cayetano.

“The claim that this is about Senate independence is false, because what happened today was about the rule of law, public accountability and a lawful process before the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan that no senator, no bloc and no presiding officer controls,” the minority bloc said in a joint statement.

“This is a boycott because of the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada, and the public should not be asked to believe another convenient line from a leadership that has repeatedly twisted the truth,” they added.