Senate President Vicente Sotto III late Sunday affirmed an informal consensus was reached for senators to go on their version of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) mode for two weeks, as support for exhausted medical frontliners who have asked government for some respite.
“[We] will probably declare tomorrow,” the Senate leader told BusinessMirror in a text message, referring to the scheduled resumption of Senate session at 3 pm on Monday.
Sotto III said that several senators, including the minority, were also supporting the appeal of 28 medical profession groups for a two-week break as they reach the point of exhaustion, urging the government to put Mega Manila (the National Capital Region, Calabarzon and Central Luzon) under a two-week ECQ.
“Yes. The majority agreed,” the Senate President replied when asked to confirm if the move for the Senate to go on lockdown readily gained instant consensus, adding: “even Minority Leader Frank Drilon.”
Asked if this means an “open-close” Monday session, Sotto III replied: “Baka [Possibly]. Or [we] approve a motion to suspend for two weeks.”
Sen. Panfilo Lacson, in a separate reply to DWIZ, said a two-week “ECQ” for the Senate is very likely. “Since there appears to be a consensus among the majority of senators, including the minority bloc, we might formalize the decision during our 2 pm caucus and 3 pm session [most probably virtual] tomorrow.”
However, Lacson noted that, “Since we cannot adjourn for over three session days without the consent of HOR [House of Representatives] as provided under Art. VI, Sec. 16 (Paragraph 5) of the Constitution, we will have to resolve our way forward in this regard.”
Image credits: Joseph Vidal/Senate PRIB via AP
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