Palace: Pinoys beginning to see Senate as irrelevant, useless

The people are beginning to see the Senate as "irrelevant and useless" because of the senators’ alleged inaction and opposition to urgent bills, Malacañang said yesterday.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the administration has been seeking the Senate’s cooperation in the passage of many vital bills, among them this year’s proposed P1.053-trillion national budget, the Anti-Terrorism Bill, and the Biofuels Bill.

"In every situation but the fact that they (bills) are unacted upon shows they (senators) have practiced themselves to be stumbling blocks," he said.

"With these vital bills unacted upon, I think the people are now beginning to see the real roles they (senators) are playing now," Bunye said.

However, Bunye said the executive branch would do what it can do to implement its socio-economic programs despite the intransigence and the "destructive politics" of senators.

"The President would not be distracted from her focus on bringing economic upliftment to the poor and the countryside while upholding the rule of law," he said.

Bukidnon Rep. Juan Miguel Zubiri on Saturday slammed the Senate for politicking in blocking government efforts to pass his Biofuels Bills aimed at pushing alternatives to expensive imported crude oil and save the country some P35 billion annually.

Zubiri said the country could have started its journey towards "energy independence" had the Senate approved the long-delayed bill that would allow the country to partially substitute local and renewable plant-derived fuels for gasoline and diesel, and bring down pump prices, generate employment, reduce pollution and save billions of pesos.

"With oil getting expensive, (the Senate) cannot afford to sit on a measure that promises relief to our motorists," he said. "Otherwise, it will leave the public very frustrated and fuel the clamor for (the Senate’s) abolition."

Malacañang earlier called for the abolition of the Senate.

Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio said as Congress adjourned last June 9, the House of Representatives was able to pass 71 bills of national importance. Among them are the rationalization of the fiscal incentives, the Billion Trees Act, and the Biofuels Bill.

Claudio warned that the Senate might find itself isolated and ignored by the people, who want less politicking.

"We hope the Senate realizes that with or without their cooperation, the rest of the nation is determined to get on with the urgent business of alleviating poverty, establishing political stability, and resolutely moving itself on the road to economic progress," he said.

Claudio said the administration has been trying to help improve the economy and bring about stability to the country, he added.

"But the nation’s welfare cannot be held hostage by the Senate’s inertia and inaction," he said.

"Now this is what the growing clamor and popular support for Charter change is all about, this is why it will succeed."

Apart from shifting the form of government, the administration is pushing for Charter change to lift restrictive economic provisions that hamper the entry of foreign capital. — Paolo Romero