Villar on holding privilege speech in Senate: Study well

Lawmakers, especially the neophytes, should study and prepare well should they decide to deliver privilege speeches at the Senate, according to Senator Cynthia Villar on Tuesday.

"Kapag topic mo, dapat pag-aralan mong mabuti. Kapag ikaw hindi ka magaling sa topic mo, kasalanan mo iyon hindi ka nag-aral," Villar said during a press conference.

"Ako I only go to the floor if the topic is my topic, agriculture and environment," she added.

Asked about her thoughts on the debate between Senators Francis Tolentino and Franklin Drilon on Monday regarding the verbal agreement between President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the West Philippine Sea issue, Villar said that it can be a positive learning experience for newbies in the 18th Congress.

"Mabuti rin iyong nagga-ganyan para alam mo what to expect. Talagang you learn your lesson from experience. So siguro gusto rin nilang ma-experience para alam nila. There is nothing wrong with that," Villar said.

"Kaysa naman hindi ka na magsasalita, hindi ka na mag-aaral. Talaga namang we have to study," she added.

On Monday, Tolentino—a holder of master's degrees in national security administration and international law—defended the verbal fishing agreement of Duterte and Xi and claimed that it was binding despite the absence of approval from the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Drilon, however, countered his stance and said the legislators do not even know the parameters of the said verbal agreement.

"How can we say it is valid under international law, that it is valid under our Constitution, when we do not even know what are the parameters of this agreement? Before we get into this debate, what exactly are we debating on?" Drilon said.  

Tolentino admitted that he doesn't have a copy of the verbal pact and said that he based his conclusion on "several anecdotal reports." — BAP, GMA News