Senate Pushes for Truce Amidst Impeachment Trial of VP Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Senators are pushing for a truce between warring colleagues to focus on a mounting legislative workload, including the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. In a weekend interview over dzBB, Blue Ribbon committee chairman Erwin Tulfo confirmed that peace feelers between Senators Panfilo Lacson and Alan Peter Cayetano were discussed during a recent majority bloc caucus. The Senate Blue Ribbon committee is also considering yielding its investigation into the alleged flood control anomalies in Taguig to the Office of the Ombudsman. With the Senate currently sitting as an impeachment court for Vice President Sara Duterte, the majority agreed that internal bickering must take a back seat. “So that there’s no more conflict, let’s just work together so we can finish this episode. Instead of fighting each other, why don’t we spend our time on the impeachment trial and the pending laws that need to be passed,” Tulfo said. Because of the Senate’s packed calendar, Tulfo disclosed that he would convene the Blue Ribbon committee members within the week to reach a consensus on whether to formally drop the planned probe into the Taguig infrastructure projects flagged by Lacson. Tulfo pointed out that conducting a parallel investigation alongside the Office of the Ombudsman might be redundant. He clarified, however, that the Senate would still step in if fresh evidence or new personalities surface. For his part, Lacson brushed off Cayetano’s invitation to inspect Taguig’s infrastructure, referencing a recent drowning incident in the area. “Maybe some other time when the flood control program in Taguig is already functional. I have long been out of practice in swimming; I might drown in floodwaters there. Lol!” Lacson posted in his X account. Cayetano, however, said Lacson would not drown in floods in Taguig, but in the truth. Lacson recently submitted the results of an independent fact-finding probe to the Office of the Ombudsman, alleging that anomalous infrastructure projects were inserted into the 2025 national budget for Taguig. The tension between the two escalated across social media platforms after Cayetano initially accused members of the Senate majority of having their own ghost projects. Cayetano declared he is ready to face jail time if necessary, as he vowed to fight the allegations surrounding Taguig’s multibillion-peso flood control projects. In a Facebook Live broadcast yesterday, Cayetano addressed the looming legal battles. “So yes, we are ready for the cases. If they will jail me, then so be it. But that doesn’t mean we will volunteer. Of course, we will fight for the truth,” Cayetano said.