By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Senate’s legislative machinery is facing an internal bottleneck, with 26 of its 41 standing committees still without complete minority representation—a power-sharing problem that is now spilling into the handling of pending legislation.
Only 15 committees have finalized their minority membership, according to the latest Senate roster, leaving the majority of the chamber’s panels still waiting for the minority bloc to complete its seats.
The unfinished lineup has become a political and procedural headache as senators attempt to move pending committee reports and priority measures to the plenary.
Deputy Minority Leader Sen. Imee Marcos has begun filling the vacancies, with minority representatives already manifested for several panels.
Five committees have consequently completed their minority membership: Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation; Cultural Communities and Muslim Affairs; Culture and the Arts; Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation; and Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change.
But 26 committees remain in limbo.
The dispute has already affected the movement of committee reports.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said 10 reports were being held back to ensure that minority senators were given the opportunity to examine and comment on the measures before they advanced.
That restraint is now being relaxed following an agreement between Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri and Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.
Zubiri said committees can continue hearings and prepare reports even when their minority membership is incomplete, provided Cayetano signs off on the reports.
Gatchalian said the pending reports can now proceed to the signature stage, clearing the way for committee chairpersons to sponsor them on the Senate floor.
The minority, however, will retain its power to scrutinize the measures once they reach plenary.
Minority senators can still interpolate, debate, comment and vote for or against every report.
The unfinished committee assignments have already triggered accusations inside the Senate.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo previously accused Cayetano of “holding hostage” committee positions and several priority bills under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.
Cayetano was absent from Wednesday’s session after being excused due to illness, but Zubiri said he had communicated with the minority leader and that discussions on the remaining committee assignments were continuing.
Zubiri said he would continue working with Cayetano to complete the minority membership in the remaining panels.
Committee assignments may appear to be an internal Senate matter, but they directly affect how legislation is scrutinized, reported and brought to the floor.
The Senate cannot afford to let a dispute over political representation become a bottleneck for measures that affect millions of Filipinos.
The leadership now has to prove that the chamber can separate political maneuvering from legislative responsibility.
With 26 committees still awaiting minority members, the Senate has a choice: finish the power-sharing arrangement—or risk making the nation’s legislative agenda wait for the politicians to finish theirs.
ia/xf
