A proposal to let senators participate and vote remotely has run into resistance from Malacañang, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.—himself a former member of the chamber—declaring he opposes the idea.
“I disagree with that. I don’t see any good reason to allow it now,” Marcos said.
He took particular aim at the prospect of Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa weighing in on Senate matters without setting foot in the building, saying the senator’s vote should not count unless he is physically there.
“Kung importante sa iyo makaboto, dumating ka sa Senado,” the President said.
The remote-voting question has gained urgency because Dela Rosa has gone into hiding to avoid an International Criminal Court arrest warrant tied to alleged crimes against humanity committed during the drug war under former president Rodrigo Duterte. Authorities mounted a manhunt for the senator across Luzon on May 27, and he is among 13 senators counted as allies of Vice President Sara Duterte, whose impeachment trial is set to open on July 6.
The measure at the center of the dispute came from Senator Rodante Marcoleta, a Dela Rosa ally, who moved to revise Senate rules so that lawmakers could attend and take part in sessions through video conferencing when there are justifiable reasons to do so. That motion was endorsed to the committee on rules, where it remains pending. Existing chamber rules permit remote participation only during force majeure or national emergencies.
When Marcoleta brought the proposal to the floor, minority senators walked out after a drawn-out procedural debate, leaving the plenary one member short of the 13 needed to act and forcing adjournment until June 1. Conviction in the upcoming trial requires 16 votes in the 24-member Senate, while acquittal needs only nine.
Legal scholars have flagged a separate obstacle for Dela Rosa regardless of how the rules question is settled: he has not taken his oath as a senator-judge, an act the Constitution requires before he can sit in judgment of an impeachment case.
