A House leader expressed disappointment yesterday over the Senate’s last-minute decision to move the presentation of the Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte from June 2 to June 11.
Deputy Majority Leader Paolo Ortega V likened the upper chamber’s move to “being stood up on a date.”
“It’s like having a date who didn’t show up, and asking if you could reschedule next week? It’s like that, isn’t it? You’re ready, you’re dressed, and then it turns out your date is cancelled. It feels that way,” Ortega said Friday.
The Senate’s decision to move the reading to the last day of session was received only recently, Ortega added, which raised concerns about time constraints and potential scheduling conflicts during sine die adjournment of the 19th Congress.
“Yes, it was received yesterday. But I said maybe there might not be enough time left? I said it’s a leadership call. But the important thing is that the Articles of Impeachment have been read and received by the Senate, that’s their call,” he added.
“My only worry is the time element. I guess the representative from the House, I said you should go there in the morning, maybe around lunchtime. That’s the only conflict, of course sine die, so there is also closing in Congress,” Ortega
Asked about the implications of the delay on the impeachment proceedings, Ortega said the Senate had already provided an explanation, and the House would take it at face value.
On whether the Senate’s explanation of prioritizing pending bills was acceptable, Ortega said they had no choice but to accept the reasoning, while emphasizing that all pending measures in Congress are important.
I don’t want to overthink. It seems like they have an explanation in the letter as to why they moved, so we’ll take it at face value,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, Malacañang yesterday assured that both chambers of Congress have committed to passing priority legislation that was identified by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., following discussions during the latest Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) meeting.
In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said four priority bills were highlighted during the meeting: the National Government Rightsizing Program, amendments to the Right-of-Way Act, amendments to the Cooperative Code, and the proposed National Disease Prevention and Management Authority.
“The House and Senate gave their commitment to push these measures forward,” she said.
The Palace spokesperson noted that the National Government Rightsizing Program, which aims to streamline government operations by eliminating redundant or overlapping functions, has already passed the House of Representatives and is now pending in the Senate.
“If passed into law, it will enhance public service delivery by reallocating resources to agencies that need more support,” Castro pointed out.
The proposed reforms are part of the Marcos administration’s efforts to improve bureaucratic efficiency and ensure better delivery of public services.
