Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Tuesday, August 5 denied reports that the Senate will not allow members of the media to cover the impeachment debates inside the session hall.

This came after some Senate reporters got verbal instructions that the media would not be allowed to enter the plenary hall.

On August 6, Wednesday, the Senate will deliberate on the Supreme Court’s decision deeming the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte.

During their 3 p.m. plenary session, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros stood up to clarify the report and whether or not the media would be barred from entering the session hall.

“Mr. President, we'd like to clarify reports from the Senate media that verbal instructions were given to them to the effect that they would be limited from covering the session tomorrow. Ang sabi sa kanila, pwede kayo pero kailangan nakaupo. Eh ang kaso po, Mr. President, wala namang upuan (They said, you can enter, but you need to sit. But the problem Mr. President is that there are no seats available for them),” Hontiveros said.

“So para sa madami nating mga kaibigan sa media, parang hindi sila pinapahintulutan sa session hall, taliwas po sa tradisyon at nakasanayan. So maaari po bang bigyan ng kalinawan, Mr. President, ang tanong na ito para on the record, madinig ng mga kaibigan nating mamamahayag at maiwasan ang kalituhan bukas, Mr. President (So for our friends in the media, it seems they are not allowed to enter the session hall, which contradicts tradition and the usual process. So can Mr. President clarify this so it can be put on record and our friends in the media can hear and we can prevent confusion tomorrow),” she said.

Escudero, however, denied the allegations and said this was already explained to the media by Senate Secretary Renato Bantug to the media.

According to the Senate leader, there was a miscommunication with the officials of the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau (PRIB) and the media.

“Rektang pinaliwanag yan ang Senate Secretary sa mga miyembro ng media na hindi totoo, hindi accurate at hindi naunawaan yung naunang sinabi ng PRIB. So wala pong ganon (The Senate Secretary directly explained it already to the members of the media that it was not true. It was not accurate and that they did not understand what the PRIB office initially said. So there’s nothing like that),” Escudero said.

“Kung anong meron ngayon, available din sa media yun tulad ng ordinaryong araw at sesyon natin (Whatever is available now, it will be made available to the media just like in any ordinary day or session),” he said.

Hontiveros, for her part, welcomed the Senate president’s assurance: “So, ibig sabihin po, nakatayuman sila or nakaupo ay papayagan po (it means, whether they are standing or sitting they will be allowed inside).”

Escudero pointed that usually, members of the media cover the session from their office at the media center “because they get to see from all angles from cameras provided by PRIB what's going on in the session hall. They're usually not inside the session hall all the time.”

Hontiveros agreed but said that given the importance of the debate on Duterte’s impeachment trial on Wednesday afternoon, she hope that the Senate will not limit members of the media to cover tomorrows session of the Senate.

“Kaya ko po hiniling ang ganitong kalinawan na papayagan po silang makapasok at makapag-cover ng session bukas ng hapon, Mr. President (That’s the reason why I asked to make sure they can enter and cover the session tomorrow afternoon,),” she said.

To which Escudero replied: “They can as they usually do, Your Honor, and I don't think there's any reason for us to limit or inhibit that.”