MANILA, Philippines (AP) — An impasse in the Philippines between two factions of senators that shut the Senate for two consecutive days ended on Wednesday when one side gained a quorum and allowed the upper chamber to reopen.Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano and 10 allied senators have failed to show up since Monday after two other senators allied with Cayetano were sidelined due to legal issues, leaving the 24-member chamber with just 22 active members. Cayetano said he and his majority bloc of senators did not show up at the Senate partly as a “protest” and to prevent rival senators from wresting control of the upper chamber. The 11 senators who oppose Cayetano criticized the decision and called on him to resign.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appealed for the absent senators to immediately return to work, saying the Senate impasse would stymie legislation needed by the poverty-stricken country to overcome an energy emergency sparked by the war in the Middle East.
The deadlock ended when Sen. Francis Escudero, who was previously aligned with Cayetano, showed up in the Senate, providing a quorum which allowed a session to be held before Congress goes into a weekslong recess.
3 MIN READ
