Senate of the Philippines. Photo courtesy of PNA.
The Senate was paralyzed for a second straight day on Tuesday after the majority bloc again failed to appear, preventing the chamber from convening.
Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said the session was set to proceed at 3 p.m., but it quickly became clear that the numbers would not be enough to form a quorum.
Minutes into the scheduled proceedings, Zubiri disclosed that Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano had already decided that the majority would skip the session.
He said Cayetano informed the Senate secretary that they would no longer attend, effectively shutting down the day’s plenary.
Without the presence of the majority, the minority bloc was left with no choice but to abandon the session.
The 11 minority senators instead retreated to the Senate lounge, where they held a closed door caucus to assess their next steps.
This marked the second consecutive day that the majority bloc did not show up, halting legislative work.
The earlier absence on Monday came after the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada, adding to the political strain inside the chamber.
With only a few session days left, the repeated no shows have intensified uncertainty over whether the Senate can still carry out its remaining agenda.