EXPLAINER: What is the Senate's rule on teleconferencing and remote participation?

Senators again had a heated exchange on Tuesday, this time over the proposal to amend the rules to allow members to remotely participate and vote during sessions. This resulted in the dramatic walkout of the new minority senators, who questioned the validity and motive for the motion.

The debates on Tuesday started when Senate Majority Floor Leader Joel Villanueva introduced to the plenary a proposal by Senator Rodante Marcoleta to amend Senate rules and allow lawmakers to attend sessions through teleconferencing.

While the proposal has been referred to the Committee on Rules, the minority senators argued that the panel has yet to be constituted, as all committee posts were declared vacant following the change in leadership on May 11.

After saying both sides had already presented their arguments, Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano moved for the plenary to tackle the proposal, drawing strong objections from minority senators.

They questioned whether the push to amend the rules was linked to the absence of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and other senators facing legal cases who could potentially benefit from remote participation.

But what do the current rules of the Senate say about teleconferencing, and was this practice allowed in the past?

Rule XIV, Section 41 (b) of the Senate Rules states that the session may be convened and be held 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 the occurrence of a national emergency as determined by the majority of all the members of the Senate.

These identified circumstances may prevent the convening of the Senate or the physical presence of its members in the session hall.

Meanwhile, senators who choose to be physically present during the conduct of the teleconference session may still personally attend and participate in the session inside the plenary hall.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, the Senate had adopted a resolution allowing the conduct of hybrid sessions and hearings.

During the course of hybrid plenary sessions, senators were allowed to vote, sponsor committee reports, and participate during the interpellation and period of amendments, regardless if their attendance was physical or online.

Two years later, when the pandemic eased, the chamber stopped holding hybrid sessions, as then Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III said that there was "no longer an emergency" that was forcing senators to join the proceedings virtually.

De Lima’s case

The recent proposal for online voting was also reminiscent of the case of former senator and now House Senior Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima, when she was detained over drug charges.

In 2017, several opposition senators filed a resolution seeking to allow De Lima to participate in sessions and other functions of the Senate pending the trial on her cases. The option for her to attend the session through teleconferencing was not specified in the resolution.

In 2019, there was a renewed call for the same. That time, former minority leader Franklin Drilon and Senator Panfilo Lacson specifically called for De Lima’s participation in Senate deliberations via teleconferencing.

The resolution was also backed by Sotto, who expressed his approval for De Lima to join the plenary sessions through available technology.

The proposals did not prosper, but De Lima was eventually released from detention in 2023 and was cleared of all drug charges against her. –NB, GMA News