Bagong Alyansang Makabayan condemns the Duterte-led Senate bloc for conspiring to twist rules in order to allow absentee members to participate and vote during plenary sessions. This is clearly intended to benefit fugitive Senator Bato dela Rosa, and other members of the majority who could soon face arrest over corruption and plunder charges. It reveals the tenuous hold of the pro-Duterte majority on the Senate leadership that can collapse anytime its corruption-tainted members are called to account.
This latest maneuver of the shaky majority is a desperate attempt to retain control over the Senate and turn the impeachment trial into a platform to acquit the vice president and boost her candidacy. At the same time, it is a shameless bid to enable impunity and make the Senate a sanctuary for its corrupt members and recidivist human rights violators.
The proposed revision of rules undermines the people’s demand for truth, accountability and justice.
Bayan calls on our people to actively oppose the machinations of the Duterte gang in the Senate. Let us troop to the Senate grounds on June 1 to express our indignation over the barefaced attempt to allow VP Sara Duterte, Senator Bato de la Rosa and other members of the majority to evade accountability. Should the pro-Duterte gang persist, let us make clear they will pay a high political price for their brazenness.