What is force majeure?

Amid efforts to amend Senate rules to allow senators to participate in plenary sessions through teleconferencing, Senator Robin Padilla cited force majeure as a possible basis for the proposed changes.

In a Facebook post, Padilla argued that the armed conflict in the Middle East and the threat of a Super El Niño phenomenon may be considered force majeure events that could justify the amendment of Senate rules.

"War/gera/digmaan sa Gitnang Silangan na nagreresulta na ng terorismo sa iba't ibang parte ng mundo, ang napipintong pagkadawit ng Pilipinas sa China-Taiwan conflict. Hindi po ba ito force majeure?" Padilla said.

(The war in the Middle East that resulted in terrorism in other parts of the country as well as the looming unrest in China-Taiwan, is that not a force majeure?)

Force majeure is defined as an event or effect that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled. This includes war, calamities, terrorist attacks, health crisis such as pandemic, and civil unrest

Under Senate Rules Section XIV 41(b), senators may convene and hold the session 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 which may prevent the convening of the Senate or the physical presence of its members in the session hall.

On Tuesday, minority senators prevented a vote on a motion to tackle in the Senate plenary a proposed amendment to its rules to allow senators to participate remotely in sessions, after they walked out.

Meanwhile, UP professor Paolo Emmanuel Tamase said detained senators would still need court approval or permission from custodial authorities before they could join sessions online, stressing Senate rules alone cannot compel courts, jail authorities, or international bodies to allow detained lawmakers to participate remotely. — VDV, GMA News