MANILA, Philippines – Hinimok ni Senador Erwin Tulfo nitong Martes, Hunyo 2, ang mga kasamahan sa mayorya ng Senado na magpakita at magtrabaho kahit na galit sa mga pangyayari katulad ng pag-aresto kay Senador Jinggoy Estrada.
Ang sesyon na dapat sana ay isinagawa alas-5 ng hapon ng Lunes, ay hindi dinaluhan ng 13-member majority na pinangungunahan ni Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano at naiwan ang lahat ng 11 minority senators nang walang quorum.
Tinawag ng minorya ang hakbang na ito na pag-boycott dahil sa pagkakaaresto ni Estrada, at hindi isyu ng kalayaan ng Senado katulad ng pinalalabas ng mga nasa mayorya.
“Our suggestion is for you to attend the session. If you want, we can have a debate later. Go ahead and use up your time during the privilege speech. Express your anger at the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan,” sinabi ni Tulfo sa panayam ng DZMM.
“You can vent all you want there, that’s fine. At least the public can see that we still come to work and get paid, even if we argue and debate. You can keep ranting as long as you like—until your tongue and your whole being are exhausted with anger, it’s fine,” dagdag pa niya.
Mas nakukumbinsi umano si Tulfo na hindi kayang pamunuan ni Cayetano ang Senado dahil sa mga pinakahuling pangyayari.
“He can’t even control it. If he’s really competent, he should have said, “Alright, let’s go in, boys. There’s nothing we can do—let’s just pray for Sen. Jinggoy. Let’s offer it to God since he is very prayerful anyway. We could have just prayed, right?” sinabi ni Tulfo.
“We should have knelt yesterday. We should all have knelt and prayed, offering half an hour to pray together. That wouldn’t have been a problem for us. Then let’s pray, since you are the Senate president. We pray for Jinggoy’s safety, etc., that he may be exonerated—fine. But you should still have gone inside, right? Just don’t say that we should spend the whole night praying,” dagdag pa.
Bagamat umaasa pa na matatauhan ang mayorya sa kanilang mga ginagawa, duda naman si Tulfo dahil tila “blind loyalty” na lamang umano ang umiiral sa mga ito para sa iilang grupo o tao.
Kinwestyon din ng senador ang prayoridad ng kasalukuyang liderato ng Senado dahil kapansin-pansin ang pagtutok nito na depensahan ang pag-aresto kay Estrada at Senador Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa na wanted naman sa International Criminal Court dahil sa madugong war on drugs ng Duterte administration. RNT/JGC
