A drawn-out fight over who controls the Senate appears settled, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signaled on Thursday that he expects the chamber to get back to legislating now that Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian holds the gavel.
Speaking to reporters, the President framed the leadership change as a return to order after weeks of paralysis. “Sana naman sa paglagay kay Sen. Sherwin bilang Senate President ay mabalik naman tayo sa normal na pagpapatakbo ng Senado, and that they can take care of the business of government, the business of legislation,” he said.
He cast the development as the resolution everyone had been waiting for. “That is exactly what we have all been hoping for: that things become more orderly, na maging mas maayos ang takbo ng Senado,” Marcos said.
Gatchalian secured the post during a special session that Marcos himself had cleared the way for, called so the chamber could recover ground lost while Cayetano and his allies stayed away. Those absences followed the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who faces a non-bailable plunder charge.
The President also waded into the separate question of who should preside over Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment court. Asked about complaints over how Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero handled the stalled proceedings the previous year, Marcos declined to fault him and pointed instead to the courts. “The reason that the impeachment trial [last year] came to a stop because of a Supreme Court decision,” he said.
He indicated he would defer to whatever the Senate decides on the matter, provided the selection holds up legally. “I will suport whoever the Senate chooses as long s the process that they untertook in making the choice is legal, unconstitutional… to make sure thsat things go more smoothly to move away from the chaos,” he said.
The turmoil Marcos referred to traces back to last month, when fugitive Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa surfaced in the chamber after a long stretch out of public view, lending his support to Cayetano’s bid for the leadership as Duterte’s impeachment loomed.
