Gatchalian: Senators willing to work on Saturdays amid impeachment trial, budget deliberations

Senate President Win Gatchalian admitted that work in the Senate has proven "more challenging" amid Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial and the looming budget deliberations.

“Hindi ako magsisinungaling at sasabihin na hindi malaking hamon iyon. Dahil nga papasok and budget at kailangan ma-approve ‘yon on time, mayroon tayong 50 na LEDAC (Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council) bills, nag-submit din yung mga senador naitn ng priority measures na napakahalaga rin. Tapos yung impeachment,” Gatchalian said in an interview with Super Radyo dzBB reporter Nimfa Ravelo.

(I will not lie and say that it is not a challenge. Because once the budget enters, it needs to be approved on time, and we have 50 LEDAC bills, our senators submitted priority measures that are very important. Then there's the impeachment trial.)

Gatchalian, however, says that he has discussed the matter with his fellow senators.

“I am speaking with our senators, They are ready to sacrifice. In fact they are also looking to work on a Friday and Saturday,” Gatchalian said.

One of these senators who said that they were willing to extend workdays is Finance Committee Chair JV Ejercito, Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian said that Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays may be reserved for hearings and technical working groups.

The Senate president said that the impeachment takes away a large portion of the day, averaging four to six hours.

While he initially projected the impeachment trial to last six to seven months, Gatchalian admitted that the actual running time of the court proceedings is taking longer. He initially gave that estimation based on having one witness per day. However, some witnesses have required two days each.

“You will have to double that, the six to seven to eight months, then it will be 14 to 16 months. Almost one and a half," Gatchalian said in a mix of English and Filipino.

The Senate is also mulling a change in the impeachment trial schedule.

The initial agreement was to allow the House prosecution to present all their witnesses and evidence for each of the articles of impeachment before the defense delivered their response.

However, Gatchalian said that he and Senate impeachment court presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero are considering allowing the defense to already deliver their presentation right after each article.

This would allow each side to see if there are redundant witnesses that they could remove.

Less senators, more work

A total of 92 trial days have been allotted for the proceedings, with the impeachment court only finishing 10 of these days as of writing.

The budget season usually begins when the executive branch transmits their proposed budget—called the National Expenditure Program—to Congress in August. Lawmakers then begin the months-long deliberations with each agency before passing their own version of the budget called the General Appropriations Bill before the year ends.

With around 82 trial days remaining, the impeachment process will likely coincide with budget deliberations.

All of this while the Senate is short on three lawmakers. Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta have been arrested and taken into police custody over corruption charges, while Sen. Bato dela Rosa is on the run following the issuance of a warrant from the International Criminal Court for his role in the drug war.

This leaves only 21 out of 24 senators to handle both the impeachment trial and their other legislative duties.

While Gatchalian emphasized the importance of impeachment as a system for accountability, he emphasized that legislation remains a priority to address the needs of the country. —VAL, GMA News