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ABS 2025
Leadership change at Senate
By Nidz Godino
Public witnessed eventful 2024 in Senate, including dramatic shift in leadership, rare appearance of former president Rodrigo Duterte as resource person at hearing, explosive revelations surrounding Alice Guo, Chinese national elected as mayor, as well as several high-profile investigations.
Adding year’s turbulence was Senate’s tug-of-war with House of Representatives over efforts to amend 1987 Constitution through people’s initiative. This contentious push for Charter change (Cha-cha), widely criticized as attempt to bypass legislative process, believed by some sectors to have triggered leadership change in upper chamber.
By yearend, relations between two chambers improved as Senate agreed to most of House’s proposals in P6.352-trillion national budget, including P1.3-billion cut to allocation for the Office of the Vice President.
Both houses also thumbed up controversial Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) after senators were given their fair share of program. House would get P21 billion while Senate would get P5 billion, or total of P26 billion.
Two days before second regular session of 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 controversial PDEA documents implicating high-level officials, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Zubiri said rumors that one of the reasons for his ouster was due to Senate’s lack of support for Cha-cha does not make sense, since his successor Escudero was very vocal against amending Constitution.
Before 2023 ended, House pushed for Cha-cha through people’s initiative, calling for Congress to vote as one body ,seen as move to weaken Senate’s influence by merging its 24 votes with over 300 congressmen.
House’s push for Cha-cha was tempered by Marcos, who emphasized Senate should take lead in amending Constitution. In response, Zubiri, along with Senators Loren Legarda and Sonny Angara, filed Resolution of Both Houses No. 6, sought to amend Charter’s economic provisions, particularly on public services, education sector and advertising industry.
Although Senate committee on constitutional amendments, chaired by Sen. Robinhood Padilla, spearheaded discussions, Zubiri designated Angara, lawyer to lead subcommittee. Angara’s subcommittee conducted several public hearings on proposed amendments. However, proceedings were cut short when Escudero assumed Senate presidency, halting further deliberations.
In rare occurrence, former president Rodrigo Duterte appeared before Senate as resource person, marking significant moment in Philippine political history. Duterte’s presence underscored gravity of issues being investigated, particularly those related to controversies from his administration, such as war on drugs, allegations of extrajudicial killings and links to Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGO).
Duterte’s presence came as House quad committee conducted parallel inquiry, implicating both Duterte and his long-time allies, Senators Ronald dela Rosa and Bong Go, both snubbed hearings.
Citing long-standing tradition of parliamentary courtesy, two senators declined House’s invitation. Instead, they called for Senate to conduct its own probe.
Senate committee on women, children and family relations, chaired by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, launched investigation into alleged scamming and human trafficking activities within POGO hub in Bamban, Tarlac. Probe uncovered alleged involvement of then mayor Alice Guo, senators later revealed to be Guo Hua Ping, Chinese national spoke fluent Tagalog.
Not only did Guo possess fake documents – including birth certificate, passport and other proof of Filipino identity but her father and siblings were also found to have falsified their records.
When authorities closed in, Guo and her companions attempted to evade capture by fleeing to Indonesia, but they were eventually arrested and deported back to the Philippines.
Following 16 marathon hearings, senators concluded their investigation, leading to Guo’s dismissal as mayor. She is now detained and facing multiple charges across various courts, including allegations of human trafficking, document falsification and involvement in illegal POGO activities.
Senate’s inquiry not only exposed Guo but also uncovered broader criminal operations using POGOs as front for human trafficking, money laundering and illegal immigration.
In response, President Marcos ordered total ban on POGOs by yearend, signaling decisive move to address national security risks and social issues posed by these controversial operations.
Scandal also sparked calls for stricter immigration policies and document verification processes, with lawmakers urging reforms to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Just days after assuming office as Senate President, Escudero ordered suspension of new Senate building’s construction due to its skyrocketing costs. Originally budgeted at P8.9 billion, Escudero revealed project cost had ballooned to P13 billion, with additional P10 billion needed for completion, bringing total estimate to P23 billion.
In strategic move, Escudero appointed Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano as chair of Senate committee on accounts, replacing Sen. Nancy Binay, who previously held position. Decision reignited longstanding rivalry between Cayetano and Binay families, rooted in territorial dispute between Makati City and Taguig over Embo barangays, Supreme Court ruled in Taguig’s favor.
International Criminal Court is reportedly pursuing its investigation against Duterte and Dela Rosa, among others, over thousand of deaths in war on drugs. Duterte called ICC to speed up its probe against them.
Escudero raised questions about Duterte’s call, considering that the former president led Philippines’ withdrawal from ICC in 2019.
Dela Rosa, considered architect of war on drugs, vowed to cooperate with Department of Justice (DOJ) investigating alleged extrajudicial killings committed during Duterte administration.
Dela Rosa respects jurisdiction of DOJ which formed task force to look into violation of Republic Act 9851, also known as Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide and Other Crimes Against Humanity.
Despite Escudero securing 15 votes to claim Senate leadership from Zubiri, persistent rumors of coup against him continue to circulate. Escudero dismissed speculation, also been denied by several senators.
Another high-profile Senate investigation, led by Sen. Risa Hontiveros, focused on allegations of human trafficking and sexual abuse against controversial religious leader Apollo Quiboloy, founder of Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Both Senate and Pasig Regional Trial Court issued arrest orders, prompting law enforcement to stake out Quiboloy’s Davao property for several days. He eventually surrendered and appeared before Senate, where he denied all accusations leveled against him.
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