Photo courtesy of Ping Lacson/Facebook.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson claimed Thursday that the Senate spent about Php 700 million during the 28 days that Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano held the chamber’s top post.
Lacson described Cayetano’s brief Senate presidency as a waste of public funds, citing the turmoil that marked the period.
He said the Senate’s expenses during those 28 days produced only disorder, including a gunfire incident, session boycotts, disputed hearings, and the escape of Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa despite an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
Cayetano became Senate president on May 11 after Dela Rosa resurfaced in the chamber and gave him the 13th vote needed to replace then Senate President Vicente Sotto.
Cayetano later placed Dela Rosa under Senate protective custody, but the senator left the premises after the gunfire incident at the Senate.
The chamber then slid into a leadership deadlock after Dela Rosa’s disappearance and the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, leaving the rival blocs with 11 senators each.
The stalemate shifted on June 3 when Sen. Chiz Escudero attended session with the Gatchalian group, allowing 12 senators to declare all leadership posts vacant and elect Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore.
The impasse ended during the June 17 special session after Sen. Joel Villanueva joined Gatchalian’s bloc, giving it the 13 votes needed to formally elect Gatchalian as Senate president. Lacson’s Php 700 million estimate was based on the Senate’s reported daily operating cost of about Php 25 million.