Escudero: President called for special session to end Senate leadership dispute

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. called for the special session last week to resolve the leadership dispute in the Senate, Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero said Wednesday.

Escudero made the position in a Chiz Wiz podcast. "Under the Constitution, the President has the authority to call for a special session for any reason," he said.

"There is no need to have a specific reason. They said the reason for calling a special session is for the passage of important laws. Pero alam natin lahat, huwag na natin ikaila na ang rason kaya nagka-special session ay para maayos ’yung gusot, sigalot, bangayan, pagkakaroon ng dalawang ulo ng Senado. Para matapos na ‘yun,” he added.

(Let us not kid ourselves here as to why there was a call for a special session: for the Senate leadership dispute, disagreement, shouting match…over the Senate having two leaders. So that situation would end.)

Escudero was initially a part of the bloc led by then-Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano that skipped the Senate plenary session on June 1 and 2, preventing the Senate from conducting a session due to lack of quorum.

The impasse broke on June 3, when Escudero showed up to attend the plenary session alongside the 11 then-Minority bloc Senators. Subsequently, a quorum was declared, a motion to declare all positions
vacant was approved, and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian was elected Acting Senate President and Senate President Pro Tempore.

During the special session on June 17, Gatchalian was elected Senate President. The same Senate session also enabled the Senate to pass three measures on third and final reading: Senate Bill 2091 or an Act Declaring the Waling-waling as the National Orchid of the Philippines; House Bill 6639 granting Philippine citizenship to basketball player Bennie Francis Boatwright III; and House Bill 6644 granting Philippine citizenship to wrestler Matthew James Ramos.

Escudero is now part of the Senate majority bloc led by Gatchalian.

“Para sa akin hindi na dapat tinatago yun. ‘Yan ang marahil isa sa pinakamabigat na konsiderasyon kung bakit nagpatawag ng special session. Sang-ayon man tayo o hindi kay Senate President Alan, Senate President Sherwin, kailangan masettle yung issue one way or the other, hindi pwedeng manatiling ganoon ng Senado na may dalawang ulo,” he said.

(We should not hide it. That could be the biggest consideration why the Special Session was called. Whether or not we agree with Senate President Alan or Senate President Sherwin, the Senate cannot
go on having two heads.)

“Hindi naman monster ang Senado na may dalawang ulo, tatlong ulo, apat na ulo. Dapat, isa lang,” Escudero added.

(The Senate is not a monster which has two, three, four heads. There should only be one.)
— BM, GMA News