Senator Grace Poe, in a privilege speech, extolled the work and dedication of the Senate officers and her colleagues during plenary session Tuesday, May 31, 2022. “It’s never easy to say goodbye, especially to colleagues you admire and are grateful for. Eight or one-third of the seats around us will soon be vacated. Many of those who will answer the role for the last time, began as work colleagues, who later became allies in causes fought and ended up as great friends,” Poe said.

The Senate and the House of Representatives adjourn sine die late today.

Poe said she could not imagine a Senate without its three top leaders, namely, the Presiding Officer (Senate President Vicente . Sotto III, who was“equally firm and fair” in the use of the gavel, the Minority Leader (Franklin M. Drilon) who knew when to stand his ground and when to strike common ground and a President Pro-Tempore (Raph G. Recto) who has the interrogatory and intimidatory skills of a terror teacher but from whom she learned so much.

Poe praised Sotto, whom she said was classified as medically vulnerable due to his age, did not fail to show up at the Senate during the pandemic to report for duty, which Poe said allowed the other senators to work from home.

“When the pandemic bred confusion, he kept us cohesive so that we will still be able to churn out laws in the same deliberative fashion that did not sacrifice scrutiny for speed. He never pulled the plug on any of us when he would have done so and abbreviated debates with the pandemic as a convenient excuse. This makes this musical legend a great conductor of the symphony of legislation,” Poe added.

‘’Senator Frank (Drilon) teaches by example. No need for a tutorial. Just watch and learn. Especially on how to raise the quality of bills without raising one's voice and everybody else’s blood pressure. The Senate is his classroom where he teaches us how to compose laws without having to lose one's composure,’’ she pointed out.

‘’He’s a legal powerhouse that dispenses advice pro bono, often privately, so that your pet bills have been improved and constitutionally armor-plated even before they reach plenary,’’ she added.

Poe said one should not go up against Recto in debates unprepared because he kept us awake at nights preparing and kept us on our toes on the floor when he is carpet bombing us with questions.

‘’He can numb you with statistics and neutralize you with novel theories. He treats bills as needlework and examines each thread carefully. And sometimes it is easier for a carabao to pass through the eye of a needle than for a bill to pass through Senator Ralph,’’ she stressed.

‘’Beginning with the lady behind bars but who keeps on fighting the good fight. Senator Leila (de Lima) is unbroken, but her incarceration is proof that our justice system is— broken,’’ she said.

‘’Senator (Richard) Dick (Gordon) is one senator who repaid the two Senate terms the people had given him with fearless fiscalizing in the Senate’s finest tradition. He would wade into issues without fear of stepping on the toes of the powerful, as bravely as he would wade into floodwaters to help typhoon victims,’’ she added.

‘’To Senator (Francis) Kiko (Pangilinan). I see that you have gone back to farming. You indeed plant what you preach. You leave behind an orchard of laws that will put food on the table of people you have never given up fighting for since your UP barikadadays,’’ Poe said.

‘’Senator (Emmanuel) Manny (Pacquiao) , ikaw ang tunay na GP—Ginoong may Puso. Your life story is inspiring. Hindi ka nagpa-knockout sa kahirapan, your fights are legendary, ni-knockdown mosila. But what will enshrine you in the Hall of Fame up there is you sharing your blessings with people who are struggling like you were once before. Ibinangon mo at binago mo ang buhay ng marami,’’ she stressed.

‘’Senator (Panfilo) Ping (Lacson) take your well-deserved R&R after 55 years of service to the Republic—panahong mas mahaba pa sabuhay ko,’’ she said.

‘’From guardian of the peace to guardian of the purse is one great career that was only made possible because you called a spade a spade, and you spoke truth to power and to the people uncomfortable with that truth,’’ she emphasized.

‘’All of the eight, every one of them, will leave a void in this Chamber as big as the one in my heart. . It is now up to us to fill this with the same dedication and industry they had shown when they walked and worked with us,’’ she said.

‘’For that is how we honor the labors of departing colleagues—not by remembering their deeds and pine that they are sorely missed, but by working as hard as them so that their spirit lives on,’’ she said.