Joint session sought on Proclamation 216

THE SENATE MINORITY on Monday, May 29, filed Senate Resolution No. (SRN) 390 seeking to convene Congress in a joint session to deliberate on President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Proclamation 216 declaring Martial Law in Mindanao.

Also on Monday, Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana and Armed Forces chief Eduardo M. Año briefed senators in a closed-door meeting on Proclamation 216.

Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III said of the minority’s resolution: “It will be referred to a certain committee; and the committee chairman must tackle it immediately given that there are only two days left (before the first regular session ends). The chairman knows that there are only last two days of session left, so (the chairman) will act upon it immediately.”

In an ambush interview, Senator Francis “Kiko” N. Pangilinan, cited the need for a joint session, even without any intention by Congress to revoke the proclamation.

“We believe that this [is] in the intent of the Constitution. This is also the intent of the framers of the Constitution: to conduct a joint session of Congress,” said Mr. Pangilinan, who is also president of the opposition Liberal Party.

“But if there is no intention to revoke, how will it be reflected? Just because they say so? It should be reflected in [ an] official proceeding and there should be a public record regarding this issue. It is not acceptable that [they] just had coffee and agreed not to discuss [ Martial Law], not to hold session,” he added.

Mr. Pangilinan also cited another option by the minority. “In this case, there is an alternative based from our Constitution: to forward the issue on what really is the basis of Martial Law to the Supreme Court.”

The Senate minority also filed a separate resolution yesterday expressing support for detained Senator Leila M. De Lima’s request to be able to take part in the Senate vote. The resolution cited the liberties granted to detained former senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr., Jose “Jinggoy” Ejercito Estrada, and Juan F. PonceEnrile.

For his part, Mr. Pimentel said about SRN 390: “Wednesday is the end of our regular session in the Senate and... in the House [of Representatives]. But if we make a decision that we need to do something else after Wednesday, that is valid as long as we make the decision before we end on Wednesday.”

Mr. Pimentel also clarified that the resolution will depend on the committee assigned to it.

Also sought for comment regarding Mr. Duterte’s recent remarks that he will ignore the Supreme Court and Congress regarding his proclamation, Mr. Pimentel said: “We are alarmed but we don’t need to act.” —