To clarify, the new majority elected Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore, because they still lacked the 13 votes needed for him to become Senate President.
In the absence of a Senate President, he becomes “Acting Senate President.” | @mjaysoncayabyab
Tito Mon Tulfo says a Senate coup will happen on Monday with one mataray and one kilay joining the Solid 11.
While I hope that’s true, my tweety bird says that mataray is still 50-50 because galit na galit na daw sya kay BBM over recent events. 🦋
#SenateCoup
‘THERE’S AN ONGOING EFFORT TO BUILD UP CASES AGAINST THE PRESENT SENATE MAJORITY’
WATCH: Senator Imee Marcos claims she and her colleagues in the 13-member Senate majority bloc are “being targeted,” with legal cases allegedly being built up against them.
“Maraming tumatawag, maraming nagtetext sa amin, taga-DOJ (Department of Justice), taga-OMB (Ombudsman), na sinasabi… kine-case buildup na raw kaming labintatlo. All 13 of us are being targeted,” she said in a media forum.
NewsWatch Plus has reached out to the DOJ and the Ombudsman for comment. | @eimorpsantos
Can someone pls jail this pug-faced asshole. Ano naman ba kung lawyer ka pero ginagamit mo sa pagmamaliit. Mas marunong pa si SenRi sayo. Gago na pangit pa
WATCH: Minority senators walkout of the session hall as debates got heated on Sen. Marcoleta's motion to allow a senator to remotely join its sessions. | @MAgerINQ
DUTERTE TO REMAIN IN DETENTION
#BREAKING: The ICC Trial Chamber III has decided that former president Rodrigo Duterte should remain in detention.
In an eight-page decision dated May 22, the trial judges said there is a real and substantial risk that Duterte “could abscond or obstruct justice either on his own or through his associates.”
“The Chamber finds that the Accused’s physical condition and cognitive capacities referred to by the Defence do not constitute factors which outweigh the risks outlined above,” the ruling read.
Nicholas Kaufman, Duterte’s former defense counsel, earlier said that the former president’s supposed deteriorating condition constitutes a change of circumstance that could warrant his release from detention.
But the trial judges noted the previous examination conducted by court-appointed medical experts, “whose reports… do not contain any information that warrants modifying the Accused’s detention.”
“The Chamber further observes that the Defence’s and the Registry’s Observations do not present information that constitute new facts or a change in circumstances in comparison to the information provided in the Panel’s Reports,” the ruling added.
The trial judges also cited Duterte’s refusal to attend his confirmation hearings, saying his statement that he does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction “demonstrates at its lowest that the [he] will not comply with any orders that might be made in respect of a release from custody.” | @jvrmateo
‘PAANO MO BA NAMAN KUKUMUSTAHIN ANG MGA MASASAYANG NAGKAKAINAN, NAGKAKAPE AT NAKA FB LIVE PA’
Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Thursday, May 21, posted on X quoting: “Wala man lang nangumusta sa amin!” He added in the same post, “Paano mo ba naman kukumustahin ang mga masasayang nagkakainan, nagkakape at naka FB live pa para pagbintangan ang minority bloc na may alam daw sa putukan ng baril sa Senado?”
The post came amid continuing tensions in the Senate following the May 13 shooting incident that triggered a lockdown and prompted scrutiny over how senators responded during and after the disruption.
In a recent plenary session, Sen. Risa Hontiveros urged the chamber to confront the aftermath of the shooting rather than move on as if nothing happened. Sen. Pia Cayetano later expressed frustration on the floor, saying: “Wala ni-isa sa inyo nangumusta sa ’min.”
Sen. Erwin Tulfo later said messages of concern were exchanged in a Senate group chat shortly after the incident, countering claims that no outreach was made.
Related: https://t.co/POAXktBsZo
🚨 LIVE: Sen. Pia Cayetano is crying her heart out against Sen. Risa Hontiveros’s statement na “parang walang nangyari” – which seems to be taken out context by Pia, whose feelings are valid.
But the truth is still the Senate was not under attack. 🫣
#Facts#Emotions
🚨JUST IN: Bilyonaryo News Channel reports that if a Senate coup succeeds on Monday, the new Senate President could be Migz Zubiri.
Tito Sotto and Win Gatchalian are also contenders.
If Zubiri makes a comeback, makakabawi na sya kay Chiz! 😂
#GameOfThrones
Ano pa ba sasabihin ko. TANGINANG GOBYERNO NA TO. TANGINA MO DUTERTE TANGINA MO BATO TANGINA!!!!! WE DESERVE MUCH BETTER THAN THIS!!! WE DESERVE REAL LEGISLATION NOT OUR LEADERS CONCOCTING DRAMA ALL FOR A FAMILY WHO SIPHONED BILLIONS OF PESOS FROM US!!!
‘GUSTO KO PO SANA IREKLAMO SI SEN. PANGILINAN SA PAGSIGAW’
LOOK: Sen. Robin Padilla asked whether the Senate has rules about shouting at a fellow senator after he and Sen. Francis Pangilinan got into a heated exchange earlier during the plenary session. | 📷: Senate
Watch the live stream here: https://t.co/klWQX30IUF
Follow live updates here: https://t.co/GITeFNM2oq
We are innocent. This was a setup.
Over the last five months, PGMN completed immense, comprehensive, painful research on the breathtaking national corruption of Martin Romualdez while he was Speaker of the House.
What we have is devastating.
The episode was filmed several weeks ago. It has been fully edited — it is 90 minutes-long, packed with hard evidence, and ready for release.
That is why this is happening.
There was no extortion. There were ZERO threats from us. That’s all bullshit. The “evidence” provided showed one side of the story. We committed NO CRIME: AND WE CAN PROVE IT.
Romualdez did this to silence us — why? Because the timing of the release of our exposé would leave him in a desperate situation, particularly with his vast current troubles with the Ombudsman hanging over his head, as President Marcos signals that he’s clearly listening to what the whole country wants, and is at last willing to hold accountable the man widely believed to have sabotaged the first three years of his administration.
Days before our arrest, we had been privately warned multiple times by powerful close friends who were aware of the situation that there is legitimate concern for our physical safety in that any or all of us could be hurt or killed by hitmen.
In light of this, even before the arrest, I gave specific/explicit instructions that if anything — literally ANYTHING, be it fatal or injurious — happens to any of us in any capacity, our legal teams and trusted allies are to fully publish the 90-minute exposé on every major social media platform for everyone in the Philippines to see.
We at PGMN have always taken profound and sincere pride in going after the bad guys. Yesterday we made the difficult choice to go after the worst of them all.
And now we are where we are.
If this is the price to pay to do what’s right, then so be it. I want my five-year-old and two-year-old sons to look back at these decisions when they’re older and see the kind of man their dad was.
Dear Martin,
You know what you did to the country. We know what you did to the country.
Soon, hopefully, everyone will too.
- Franco Mabanta
Vice President Sara Duterte called the attention of the Office of the President for what she calls ‘last-minute’ issuance of her travel authority, saying that her plans have changed “due to uncertainty whether I will be permitted to depart.”
"You will be receiving a new request soon. Please ensure that the necessary documents be processed and issued promptly, allowing sufficient time for travel preparations rather than only a few hours before the intended departure,” she said. (📷: OVP) | via @HarleneDelgado
MAWAWALAN NG PONDO 'PAG INALIS ANG TRAVEL TAX
Maaari raw maapektuhan ang pondo para sa tourism infrastructure, education, at preservation sakaling alisin ang travel tax, ayon kay Tourism Sec. Christina Frasco.
Kasunod ito ng panukalang batas na inihain ni House Majority Leader at 1st District Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos na layong ipatigil ang paniningil ng naturang buwis sa mga biyahero. | via Gerard de la Peña
Last na talaga ito. Masyado na siyang exposed! Sigh of relief ba, mga DOT employees? Matitigil na ba ang pagsusuka niyo? Maria Esperanza Christina Garcia Frasco, will probably go down in history as the MOST EPAL cabinet secretary this nation has ever had.