Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson on Tuesday raised concerns over “procedurally infirm” motions made on the Senate floor shortly after the change of leadership in the chamber last Monday.
Lacson questioned the move to cite in contempt of the Senate the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents who pursued Sen. Ronald dela Rosa through the Senate hallways Monday – and a separate move to amend the Senate rules without referring it first to the Committee on Rules.
“Procedurally incorrect or infirm ang ating ginawa. Kaya ko lang pino-point out para i-correct lang natin ang ating sarili (What was done was procedurally incorrect or infirm. I am pointing it out so we can correct it in the future),” he said in his manifestation at Tuesday’s regular session.
But he stressed that his manifestation should not be mistaken to be a show of sympathy for the NBI agents concerned, as dela Rosa is a fellow Cavalier of the Philippine Military Academy and his former subordinate in the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF).
“Let it be placed on record that my manifestation does not in any way show sympathy with the NBI agents who grappled with our colleague here. In the first place, Senator De La Rosa is a fellow cavalier, not to mention a former subordinate in the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force, and he’s a fellow senator. So just to set the record straight,” he said.
Lacson cited Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo in pointing out that individuals accused by Congress of giving false or evasive testimony during committee hearings must be accorded strict due process protections.
In the case of the NBI agents, he said they should have been asked to explain first before being cited in contempt of the Senate, and thereafter taken under the custody of the Senate.
Lacson questioned as well the motion made by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta proposing that Rule 14, Section 41B of the Senate Rules be amended by including a new Section 41C. He pointed out any proposed rule change must be referred first to the Committee on Rules.
“While I commend the Senate President for deferring action on the motion of (Sen. Marcoleta), but still, we should bear in mind that if we amend our rules, necessarily we should refer it to the Committee on Rules. We cannot just decide in plenary to right there and then amend the rules. If I am correct in that regard, Mr. President,” he said.
Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano replied: “You’re not only correct. That’s what happened. I referred it to the Committee on Rules.”
