Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano called on the minority bloc to unite in defending the independence and integrity of the Senate amid the controversies and pressure facing the institution.
Cayetano made the statement after the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division ordered the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada.
According to Cayetano, it is crucial to maintain the independence of the Senate as a separate and co-equal branch of government.
“The Senate is a co-equal branch of government. It is not a prize to be claimed — by anyone,” he said.
He also stated that while there are existing disagreements within the Senate, these should be resolved inside the institution itself and not through outside influence.
The Senate President also emphasized that the legal standing of the senators and the independence of the Senate as an institution should never be used as bargaining chips in political negotiations.
“I am speaking truth that each senator already knows — the independence of this institution, and the legal standing of any of its members, are not currencies. The day they become things to be traded, is the day that the Senate is diminished. And after the Senate, the Republic,” he said.
According to Cayetano, what the Senate is currently facing is not just a simple political disagreement, but a deeper issue regarding the institution’s ability to remain independent amid external pressure and influence.
At the same time, he mentioned the successive pressures and threats of arrest against members of the majority, including Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Senator Rodante Marcoleta, and Senator Joel Villanueva.
The events of May 11 and May 13 also became part of the issue, where the Senate itself and some of its staff were the ones being investigated, while the roles of the National Bureau of Investigation and the new Minority bloc in the events that caused tension within the Senate were being ignored.
Instead of jailing the masterminds behind the flood scam involving Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, led by Henry Alcantara, the senators have now become the targets.
According to Cayetano, it is important to ensure that investigations and legal matters against members of the Senate do not become instruments of political pressure.
He said that once fear and political pressure begin to prevail within the institution, the independence of the Senate—as one of the primary pillars of democracy—is put in jeopardy.
“So I put one question to you, not as the majority but as the chamber: will you stand for the Senate’s independence?” Cayetano asked the minority bloc.
He also challenged the senators to stand up for the Senate as an institution and not just for the interests of any political group or alliance.
Cayetano also proposed a “deliberate act” where the Senate would voluntarily go silent as a symbolic move against any form of outside interference.
“I am asking you to join one deliberate act — to let the Senate go quiet, together and by choice, so the country is made to ask why a co-equal branch would fall silent rather than be made to serve,” he added.
According to Cayetano, it is in the hands of every senator how they will protect the institution they belong to amid the current challenges.
“The door is open. What you do with it is yours to answer — to this institution, and to the people watching it,” he concluded.
