Senate to stop holding hybrid sessions, hearings on final week of 18th Congress

The Senate will no longer allow the conduct of hybrid sessions and committee hearings starting Monday as the 18th Congress is set to adjourn next week.

During the Thursday session of the upper chamber, Senate President Vicente Sotto III raised the suggestion, explaining that there is "longer an emergency" that forces the senators to join the proceedings virtually.

He also warned that this set-up might be "inherited" by the 19th Congress.

"May we ask the Committee on Rules to look into the possibility of suspending our resolution on the virtual attendance? Masamang manahin ng susunod na Congress (It might be bad if the next Congress will inherit this)," Sotto said.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri backed Sotto's position, saying that the students are already attending the schools physically. Thus, the senators should also do the same.

"Actually Mr. President, 'yung mga anak nagpe-face-to-face na kasi, siguro pwede na rin tayong mag-face-to-face…If the body wishes to do so, we can recall the resolution and if there is a need, if there is again a pandemic or if the number COVID go higher, we can always move to reinstall or to re-sponsor the said resolution," Zubiri said.

(Actually Mr. President, our children are already attending face-to-face classes, maybe we can also do a face-to-face session... If the body wishes to do so, we can recall the resolution and if there is a need, if there is again a pandemic or if the number COVID go higher, we can always move to reinstall or to re-sponsor the said resolution.)

"You can table the resolution and you can make a ruling that starting Monday we will no longer be doing hybrid and do face-to-face in person sessions," he added.

Sotto then cited Rule XI of the Senate Rules which stated that the committee may conduct meetings or hearings through teleconference, video conference, or other reliable forms of remote or electronic means, using appropriate information and communications technology systems due to force majeure or occurrence of an emergency as determined by the majority of all the members of the Senate which may prevent the Senators from physically attending the committee meetings or hearings.

"Let me just read that into the records, what will happen is that anytime, in the 19th Congress or in this Congress which we have only three days left, you can pull it out anytime," Sotto said.

"In other words, we made use of this particular rule because there was an emergency. But there is no longer an emergency, the worst is Alert Level 1. So we have to show the people that we are working," the Senate president said.

At the height of the pandemic in May 2020, the Senate had adopted a resolution allowing the conduct of "hybrid" sessions and hearings.

"Face-to-face na e, bakit yung mga senador, hindi face-to-face, di ba? Baka sabihin nilang ganoon," Sotto said.

Zubiri then suggested to rule that hybrid sessions are no longer allowed starting Monday.

According to the majority leader, plenary action takes precedence if the senators will not object to Sotto's ruling.

"If there is no objection, we will have no hybrid on Monday," Sotto ruled.

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines will adjourn sine die on June 3. — RSJ, GMA News