Gatchalian: Power-sharing deal in Senate not possible

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian has shot down a possible power-sharing deal in the upper chamber amid the ongoing gridlock in the Senate.

“In the June 3 session, it was clear who was elected Senate president pro tempore and who was designated as acting Senate president,” Gatchalian said in an interview over DZRH.

“So it was clear, there who were designated and elected. And that is us — just one. That is why power-sharing is not possible because only one person was elected,” he added.

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Twelve senators, including Gatchalian, formed a quorum on June 3 despite the alleged boycott of 10 senators, including then Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.

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The absence of Cayetano’s group in the last three session days had also prompted the new majority to install a new set of officials in the Senate, including Gatchalian.

However, Cayetano asserted he remains the Senate leader. And while they were debating over the Senate leadership, Cayetano offered possible interim administrative arrangements to Gatchalian’s group supposedly to protect the Senate personnel from conflicting directives and at the same time “enable both the Senate and the impeachment court to continue functioning.”

One possible interim arrangement, Cayetano said, is the “adoption of a dual-signatory or joint-certification mechanism for vouchers, checks, disbursements, contracts, personnel actions, and other documents necessary for the continued operations of the Senate and the Impeachment Court.”

Gatchalian insisted he is now the presiding officer of the impeachment court, which was convened on May 18 to try the case of Vice President Sara Duterte.

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READ: LOOK: Tentative schedule for Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial

“It is clear that the Senate president serves as the presiding officer, and in the absence of the Senate president, the Acting Senate president takes over. So, by operation of our rules, the Acting Senate president becomes the presiding officer,” he said in Filipino.

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Gatchalian also said they would still follow the same timeline they approved in a caucus when Cayetano was still the Senate president.

Based on their timeline, the trial against  Duterte is set to start on July  6. /mcm /atm

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