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The new majority that ousted Senate President Manuel Villar on Tuesday delivered the Senate presidency to Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile with a carte blanche.
Loren Legarda, who was in the core group of senators that were disgruntled with Manny Villar?s leadership, said, ?We must have a Senate that is committed to fairness, statesmanship, and we must put national interest above political gain or expediency.? She said the plotters worked hard to get the numbers to oust Villar to ?strengthen the institution.?
Panfilo Lacson, another member of the core group, said, ?Senator Enrile is the only one we saw to make the Senate an independent institution. He told us he will fight for the independence of the Senate.?
Villar also spoke in terms of the independence of the Senate. In tendering his resignation after seeing that Enrile had the numbers, Villar congratulated Enrile and pledged his support ?in seeing to it that this chamber continues to maintain its unquestionable independence and its solid reputation as a bulwark of democracy.?
These statements reflect the primacy concern of the senators in effecting leadership change: preserving the independence of the Senate from the executive department, the historical source of threat to the tripartite separation of powers and the senators? right to conduct inquiries into scandals involving corruption in the executive department and their oversight into executive actions.
But of more concern to the public is whether the Enrile assumption of the Senate presidency would lead to the transformation of the Senate from an inquisitorial institution that has served as a forum for senators to act as tormentors of witnesses summoned to testify at their hearings. During such hearings, witnesses, including those testifying over public transactions or officials whose appointments are subject to confirmation, are bullied and humiliated by senators. This is what the public is concerned about more than the epic battle between the executive and legislature in the dynamic of the system of checks and balances among the three departments of government.
Related to this question is: Will an Enrile presidency make the Senate less oppressive to witnesses in its inquiries, or enhance his powers to protect or promote his business interests, such as his enclave at Port Irene in Cagayan province?
The former chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who abstained from voting, pointed to three issues as keys to Enrile?s direction as Senate president: the moves for constitutional change, the Senate investigations into scandals rocking the administration, and the replacement of seven retiring Supreme Court justices. Enrile will be closely watched as he positions the Senate in relation to the Arroyo administration, which has been fighting for its life amid a series of political crises. ? Amando Doronila, Inquirer
