Latest news with #ChizEscudero
GMA Network
11 hours ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Chiz: House passed wage hike bill in last days of session
Senate President Chiz Escudero on Friday criticized the House of Representatives for 'passing the buck' over the non-passage of the legislated wage hike in the 19th Congress. In a statement, Escudero said the House passed the P200 legislated increase in the minimum wage in the "last session days" before Congress adjourned sine die, and expected the Senate to hurry in passing the measure. The Senate President has said that the Senate passed its version of the legislated wage hike – a P100 increase – more than a year earlier in February 2024. Escudero issued the statement a day after House spokesperson Atty. Princess Abante said that it was the Senate that killed the wage hike bill after it didn't respond to the House's call for an immediate bicameral conference committee meeting before the session adjourned. According to Escudero, the Senate immediately acted upon it. He and Senator Joel Villanueva also separately met with House legislators to request that they adopt the Senate version of the bill. Escudero said he and Villanueva were told that the House was amenable to adopting the Senate's version but received no word until the last session day of the Congress on June 11. 'Bakit ba kung kailan huli biglang sasabihin dine-delay namin at wala kaming oras para i-adopt 'yung kapapadala lang nila. Kung pinadala nila bago kami mag-adjourn noon pa, e 'di mas madaling pag-usapan 'yun at mapag-aralan,' Escudero said. (Why do they act on this belatedly, then accuse us of delaying its passage? They did not pass this on time.) 'Talaga bang ganito na ang gagawin ninyo? 'Yong impeachment pinadala niyo huling araw na lang ng sesyon namin. Ito ganoon din huling mga araw ng mga sesyon namin tapos ayan na naman kayo, mamadaliin niyo na naman kami na parang kami ang may kasalanan,' he added. (Is this what they would always do? They also submitted the impeachment to us on our last session day.) 'Pinasa namin itong wage hike na P100 February 2024, mahigit isang taon nilang inupuan ito. Tapos bigla ngayon sila 'yung gigil na gigil at nagmamadali,' said Escudero. (We passed the P100 wage hike in February 2024. They sat on it for a year, then they will force us to act immediately?) 'May proseso kung gusto talaga nilang i-adopt 'yong bersyon ng Senado. Simpleng mosyon lang 'yan sa plenaryo ng Kamara at diretso na 'yan sa opisina ng ating Pangulong Marcos,' he added. (There is a process to adopt the version of the Senate. One motion and this will be delivered to the Malacañang.) –NB, GMA Integrated News
Washington Post
3 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Senators return the impeachment case against Sara Duterte to the Philippine House
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine senators set themselves as an impeachment court Tuesday for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over corruption and other criminal allegations, but voted to send the raft of complaints back to the lower House of Representatives due to legal questions. Dozens of activists protesting outside the Senate condemned Senate President Chiz Escudero and 17 other senators for voting to send back the impeachment complaint to the House instead of immediately bringing Duterte to trial. Five senators rejected the move.
Associated Press
3 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Philippine senators send impeachment case against VP Sara Duterte to lower chamber
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine senators set themselves as an impeachment court Tuesday for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over corruption and other criminal allegations, but voted to send the raft of complaints back to the lower House of Representatives due to legal questions. Dozens of activists protesting outside the Senate condemned Senate President Chiz Escudero and 17 other senators for voting to send back the impeachment complaint to the House instead of immediately bringing Duterte to trial. Five senators rejected the move. The Senate action will delay the start of Duterte's impeachment trial but it's unclear what other impact it would have on her case. 'There is no `remand' or `return' in the constitution,' said Sen. Risa Hontiveros, who has demanded an immediate trial of the vice president. 'Our obligation is to try and decide.' Escudero said the move did not mean that the impeachment complaint was being dismissed and underscored that point by issuing summons for Duterte to appear before the impeachment court when the trial proceeds. Duterte was impeached by the House in February on a range of accusations that include plotting to assassinate President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and large-scale corruption. Many legislators who backed Duterte's impeachment were political allies of Marcos and her impeachment deepened a bitter political rift between the two highest leaders of one of Asia's most rambunctious democracies. The vice president's supporters have said the legislators violated the constitution and congressional rules to force her impeachment and prevent her from running in presidential elections in 2028, when Marcos' six-year term ends. Duterte, 47, is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte who was arrested in March and flown to The Netherlands to face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. The Hague-based court had ordered the former president's arrest through Interpol, the global police organization, after accusing him of committing a crime against humanity over deadly anti-drug crackdowns he oversaw while in office.
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Philippine senators face mounting pressure over delays to VP Duterte's impeachment trial
Mounting calls from legal scholars, civil society and protest groups are putting the Philippine Senate under pressure to launch an impeachment trial against Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio – even as her allies move to have the case dismissed. The House of Representatives transmitted the Verified Complaint for Impeachment to the Senate on February 7 – just before the 19th Congress adjourned ahead of midterm election campaigning – triggering a constitutional requirement for the upper chamber to convene as an impeachment court 'forthwith'. However, Senate President Francis 'Chiz' Escudero has repeatedly delayed proceedings, citing scheduling constraints and the need to tackle priority legislation first. The Senate resumed session on June 2, but Escudero has said the impeachment trial will only begin on Wednesday, just days before Congress again goes into final recess on Friday. That would leave the trial to be resumed, if at all, by the incoming 20th Congress in late July. 02:02 Philippine VP Sara Duterte to fight impeachment case in escalating clash with Marcos Jnr Philippine VP Sara Duterte to fight impeachment case in escalating clash with Marcos Jnr A lawyer by training, Escudero has drawn scrutiny for his interpretation of the constitutional term 'forthwith'. He told reporters it did not mean 'immediately' but rather 'within a reasonable period', arguing that if the framers of the 1987 Constitution had meant instant action, 'they should have used the word 'immediately''.
