This year, the Filipino people saw how the son and namesake of the late President Ferdinand Marcos won the country’s presidency by a landslide. The shift in the Philippines’ political landscape was undoubtedly a reversal of fortunes that may have come as a shock to some sectors.
But the Senate is and was, as always, prepared to absorb that “shock” even after a grueling May 2022 election campaign that saw the entry of three neophyte senators, namely, Senators Robinhood “Robin” Padilla (an actor), Rafael “Raffy” Tulfo (broadcast journalist), and Mark Villar (former public works secretary). Padilla’s entry into the Senate also marked the first time a Muslim was elected a senator since 1995.
It was also this year that the Senate saw former members returning to the fold—Senators Loren Legarda, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, and his half-brother Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito.
Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri was elected by his peers as the Senate President this 19th Congress, and took his oath as the 24th leader of the Upper Chamber in July, 2022. Of the 24 senators that compose the Upper Chamber, only two emerged as members of the Senate minority bloc—former Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III who became the minority leader, and fellow opposition senator Risa Hontiveros, his deputy minority leader.
The rest of the senators identified themselves as part of a Senate majority bloc that has vowed to support Marcos Jr.’s administration’s policies, agenda and direction in the next six years.
For 2022, Zubiri said senators were able to lay down the foundations for an effective and productive Senate since the start of the 19th Congress in July. He is also proud that the Senate was able to support and spearhead the country’s continued efforts to recover from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
At the same time, the Senate leader said the Upper Chamber was able to look beyond economic recovery and into further growth—jobs, accessible educational and medical services, better food and utility prices and genuine peace and security for the people.
Also as proof of its solid support to the new administration, the Senate prioritized the passage of the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) which contains the P5.268-trillion funding for next year.
“I am proud of how we have built productive working relationships with our partners in the House of Representatives, as well as the Executive. The remarkably swift passage of the 2023 General Appropriations Act is testament to this, and hopefully sets a precedent for the smooth and unproblematic passage of laws in the new year,” Zubiri said in a statement.
“With better coordination between the executive and the legislative, we will see less vetoes, and we will be able to focus our time and resources on measures that will really be of service of the people,” he further said.
At the same time, Zubiri said senators have continued to uphold the proud independence of the Senate, providing checks and balances through efforts such as the Senate Oversight Committee for Confidential and Intelligence Funds.
“We have also pursued necessary investigations into pressing issues such as the unauthorized signing of Sugar Order No. 4, the rampant criminality within the POGO industry, and the procurement of overpriced laptops for the Department of Education (DepEd),” the Senate leader noted.
“Even on our last day of session this year, we looked into the concerning aggression of the China Coast Guard against our own Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea,” he stressed.
From the time the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress was convened on July 25, 2022 until December 14, 2022, the Senate passed a total of 1,610 bills and 388 resolutions, and these included pro-people legislation, such as Republic Act No. 11934, or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act.
“Performance-wise, the work of the Senate is already in action. This week, our telecommunications companies (telcos) have already begun the process of SIM registration, as part of the implementation of the SIM Registration Act, which was the first law passed under this Congress,” he said.
“With the successful implementation of this law, we will be able to cut down on the use of anonymous SIMs for criminal activities such as scams, identity theft, and even terrorism,” the senator stressed.
The Senate also approved Republic Act No. 11935, which rescheduled this year's Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Elections to the last Monday of October, 2023.
Senators, likewise, supported the campaign for safe, sustainable and healthy modes of transport in the country, passing on third and final reading Senate Bill No. 1290, or the proposed “Walkable and Bikeable Communities Act.” Its counterpart bill is still pending in the House of Representatives.
The Senate also approved the concurrent resolution supporting the Marcos administration's 2022-2028 Medium Term Fiscal Framework, whose targets shall guide Congress' legislative agenda.
Likewise, the Chamber approved the resolution establishing the Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum, as mandated by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (Republic Act No. 11054), to foster cooperation and coordination between the national government and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The Senate also was not remiss in recognizing the many artists, scientists, athletes, and statesmen who were able to bring honor to the country.
In 2023, Zubiri said the Senate will continue to champion innovations while protecting and helping poor Filipinos.
“The productivity has not been confined to the Senate. In the Commission on Appointments (CA), we have already confirmed the ad interim appointments of almost all appointees, with only two more Cabinet posts remaining unconfirmed,” he said.
“I promised the people that this will be a Senate oriented towards national reconstruction, and that remains our gaol as we move into the new year,” Zubiri stressed.
Senate minority bloc’s remarkable ‘interventions’
Also during this year, the two-member minority bloc in the 24-man Senate played its role to the hilt in plenary sessions, committee hearings and official statements in the current first regular session of the 19th Congress to maintain a system of “check and balance” in the Upper Chamber.
Pimentel, as the official leader of the bloc, fulfilled his responsibilities remarkably during the Senate’s deliberation on the 2023 GAA where he questioned the P149-billion in lump sum appropriations, the P150-million confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) lodged in the Department of Education’s (DepEd) budget, the P500-million (CIFs) for the Office of the Vice President, and the P4.5-billion CIF lodged under the Office of the President.
The Senate minority chief expressed his belief that despite the Senate’s formation of an oversight committee on CIFs, the budget deliberations should not stop ordinary Filipino taxpayers from questioning the propriety of appropriating CIFs to agencies that have no mandate to utilize them.
Nevertheless, Pimentel promised that the minority bloc will not get tired of sifting through problematic affairs in government and finding ways to keep the national budget in check in 2023.
“As I’ve told Sen. Risa (Hontiveros), we will even be better next year, because what we learned this year is still applicable next year. More intensive and down to the numbers (scrutiny of the budget) next year,” Pimentel said in an interview before the Senate went into recess.
Hontiveros, who was the only opposition senator able to secure a second term in the Senate, said she remains undeterred even in the coming year.
While 2022 was a challenging year, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality, said it presented timely opportunities to advance the welfare of workers, women, and children.
Both Pimentel and Hontiveros made remarkable interventions during the Senate’s hearings on the sugar importation fiasco, the overpriced laptop deal, the hearing on the missing “sabungeros” or cockfight enthusiasts, the hearings on the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (POGO)-related crimes, and human trafficking in Myanmar.
Hontiveros was ecstatic that, this year, the Senate was able to give top priority to legislation that would significantly improve the lives of women and children, including the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act or RA No. 11862, in relation to the incidents of illegal trafficking of Filipinos in Myanmar.
She also championed the passage of the RA No. 11648 which raises the age of sexual consent to 16, and RA No. 11861, or the law expanding the coverage and benefits of solo parents. Likewise, she pushed for enacting stricter enforcement measures against Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (OSAEC) via the Anti-OSAEC law (RA 11930).
Hontiveros was also active in throwing incisive questions during the Commission on Appointments (CA) hearings and made presidential appointees squirm at their seats during the deliberations.
“Sa pagpasok ng bagong Kongreso, hinding-hindi tayo hihinto sa pagtatrabaho upang gampanan at maging tapat sa mandato ng Konstitusyon sa Senado bilang institusyon (As the new Congress enters, we will never stop working to fulfill and be faithful to the mandate of the Constitution in the Senate as an institution),” she said in a statement.
“Magiging mata tayo sa mga anomalya kasabay ng pagsusulong ng mga batas para sa pag-unlad ng bawat Pilipino, as promised (We will keep an eye on anomalies while promoting laws for the development of every Filipino, as promised),” Hontiveros said.
More priority health measures in 2023
In 2023, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said he foresees the Senate taking up the priority measures of the Marcos administration such as the establishment of the Virology Institute, Medical Reserve Corps, and the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Villanueva also said the move for the condonation of agrarian reform payments, as well as the House bill on the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) are also on top of the Senate’s legislative agenda.
“As chair of the subcommittee on Senate Bill No. 129 or the Trabaho Para sa Lahat ng Pilipino Bill, we are also prioritizing the institutionalization of the National Employment Recovery Strategy,” Villanueva said.
For 2023, Zubiri also said part of the bills already lined up as priorities in the Senate include the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and the AFP amendment on fixed term.
Zubiri also said the Senate will tackle the controversial Maharlika fund bill “not as a priority measure, but as a measure for deep discussion and careful consideration.”
“The Senate will build on our good start in 2022. Having identified our priority legislations, and having established the pace of committee and plenary proceedings, we are ready to improve our coordination and we are ready to work harder to address the needs of our people. It is onward and upward from here,” the Senate chief stressed.