Senator Win Gatchalian on Friday maintained that personal reasons should not qualify as “force majeure” under Senate rules as he opposed proposals seeking to expand remote participation and teleconferencing during Senate sessions.
In a television interview, Gatchalian explained that the chamber’s rules only permit teleconferencing during extraordinary situations that are beyond human control and impossible to foresee or prevent, such as wars, natural disasters and pandemics.
“Sabi sa Section 41, papayagan lang ang teleconference kapag may ‘force majeure.’ Ibig sabihin mga bagay na hindi natin kontrolado gaya ng pandemya, gyera, o lindol,” he said.
“Dapat i-determine ng majority na talagang may force majeure para hindi lang sino-sino ang nagsasabi na may force majeure,” he added.
The senator said the strict requirements were intentionally crafted to prevent possible abuse of remote participation privileges in the Senate.
Gatchalian cautioned against broadening the definition of force majeure to include personal matters, arguing that doing so would create vague and subjective standards that could be difficult to regulate.
“Yan ang iniiwasan natin yung mga personal circumstances kasi unlimited yan. You can have one million and one personal circumstances kaya very strict ang conditions ng teleconference,” he said.
“Kasi kung papayagan natin ang personal circumstances, sinong magtitimbang kung mas mabigat ang personal circumstances ng isang senador o hindi? Para hindi maging arbitrary ang paggamit ng teleconference, very strict yung conditions at yung use ng teleconference,” he added.
He also pointed out that in-person attendance has historically been the standard practice in the Senate, with remote arrangements only temporarily adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The issue has sparked tensions within the chamber following proposals to amend Senate rules to allow electronic voting and remote participation during official proceedings.
On Tuesday, members of the minority bloc walked out in protest, accusing the majority of attempting to fast-track the proposed amendments.
The proposal was initially raised by Senator Rodante Marcoleta on May 11 after Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa reappeared at the Senate following a six-month absence to participate in the election of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President.
Dela Rosa later went back into hiding after the International Criminal Court confirmed that it had issued an arrest warrant against him in connection with the killings linked to the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign.