Inquiries, leadership change at the Senate

The public witnessed an eventful 2024 in the Senate, including a dramatic shift in leadership, the rare appearance of former president Rodrigo Duterte as a resource person at a hearing, the explosive revelations surrounding Alice Guo, a Chinese national elected as mayor, as well as several high-profile investigations.

- By CECILLE SUERTE FELIPE and MARC JAYSON CAYABYAB

Adding to the year's turbulence was the Senate's tug-of-war with the House of Representatives over efforts to amend the 1987 Constitution through people's initiative. This contentious push for Charter change (Cha-cha), widely criticized as an attempt to bypass the legislative process, is believed by some sectors to have triggered the leadership change in the upper chamber.

By yearend, relations between the two chambers improved as the Senate agreed to most of the House's proposals in the P6.352-trillion national budget, including the P1.3-billion cut to the allocation for the Office of the Vice President.

Both houses also thumbed up the controversial Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) after senators were given their fair share of the program. The House would get P21 billion while the Senate would get P5 billion, or a total of P26 billion.

Senate coup

Two days before the second regular session of the 19th Congress last May, Senate President Francis Escudero unseated then Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri amid political maneuvering and investigation into leaks related to sensitive investigations, including the controversial PDEA documents implicating high-level officials, including President Marcos.

Zubiri said rumors that one of the reasons for his ouster was due to the Senate's lack of support for Cha-cha does not make sense, since his successor Escudero was very vocal against amending the Constitution.

Before 2023 ended, the House pushed for Cha-cha through people's initiative, calling for Congress to vote as one body - seen as a move to weaken the Senate's influence by merging its 24 votes with over 300 congressmen.