Senator Joel Villanueva said he is ready to join a special session in Congress if President Marcos asks for it, but the Senate remained divided on who should head the chamber.
Villanueva announced the ban during a Sunday church service of the Jesus Is Lord Church. He stated his responsibility to the Filipino people takes precedence above the infighting in politics.
“If there will be a special session, we will do our sacred duty under the Constitution. “We’ll be there,” Villanueva stated in a taped message.
The country is experiencing major issues and MPs cannot afford to be frozen by politics,” he added. “Whenever Filipinos are in distress, it is our obligation to help and serve. “I’m accountable to God and the nation more than politics,” he declared.
Villanueva said he will propose a resolution to secure cash for earthquake victims in Mindanao if there will be a special session. He also wants Congress to adopt pending legislation and approve long-delayed promotions for military personnel through the Commission on Appointments.
Villanueva is one of the senators who apparently is turning away from the faction of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano to the group of interim Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian. He would neither confirm or deny this but said the Senate’s internal struggle is already affecting public service. “The Senate staff must not be caught in the middle of this political fight,” he added.
Senator Panfilo Lacson welcomed Villanueva’s public promise to appear in the session and called on other senators to do the same. “I respect Senator Joel, he takes attending the session as sacred. Hopefully the others will follow suit,” Lacson said in a radio interview.
Lacson also said Gatchalian’s bloc is preparing for future difficulties on the Senate floor. Cayetano, he claimed, could try to wrest control of the podium during the special session to impose himself as Senate president.
Lacson linked the situation to an earlier event in the House of Representatives, where Cayetano allegedly closed down Congress to avoid being dismissed as Speaker.
He can do anything, preferably not because it would not look good if two persons are up there standing in the podium,” Lacson said.
Cayetano is growing more isolated as key institutions have already recognised Gatchalian’s leadership, Lacson said. Senators are still waiting for an official announcement from President Marcos whether he will call a special session.
