President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday expressed hope that the Senate would return to normal operations following the election of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president during a special session.
Speaking to reporters, Marcos said the reorganization of the chamber should allow lawmakers to resume work on priority legislation and pending government appointments that had been delayed during the leadership dispute.
“Sana naman, sa paglagay ni Senator Sherwin bilang SP ay mabalik naman tayo sa normal na patakbo ng Senado,” Marcos said.
“And that they can take care of the business of government, the business of legislation, and all these necessary legislation that we listed to show that are priority.”
The president said the smooth conduct of the special session was what the administration had been hoping for amid weeks of uncertainty in the Senate.
“Well, that is exactly what we have been all hoping for, that things become more orderly, na maging maayos ang takbo ng Senado,” he said.
Marcos noted that several priority measures identified during meetings of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council had already been approved by the House of Representatives and were awaiting Senate action.
He also cited pending confirmations and appointments, including those involving officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs and military officers, which were affected by the Senate impasse.
“All of those just came to a dead stop noong nagkakagulo,” Marcos said.
The president said the government is seeking the immediate passage of key measures, including bills aimed at addressing the impact of the ongoing Middle East oil crisis.
“Some of them are from before, some of them are new in response to the oil crisis in the Middle East. Iba-iba pero lahat kailangan. At lahat eh kailangan na ngayon,” he said.
Marcos also commented on the possibility of Sen. Francis Escudero serving as presiding officer of the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.
He said he would support whoever is chosen by the Senate, provided the selection process is legal and constitutional.
“As long as the process that they undertook in making the choice is proper, is legal, is constitutional, then that’s fine with me,” Marcos said.
He added that Escudero’s capability to preside over the proceedings should not be in doubt, noting that the senator authored the impeachment rules adopted by the Senate during previous proceedings.
“I will definitely do whatever I can to work together with the legislature, with the Senate in particular, to make sure that things go smoothly,” Marcos said.
“And that we move away from the chaos that we have been seeing in the Senate.”
