Jamby, Pia in cat fight anew

For the nth time, Senators Jamby Madrigal and Pia Cayetano crossed swords – or is it sharpened claws – over the issue of quorum in the chamber, which a senior senator dismissed as nothing but a quarrel between “brats.”

If Senator Madrigal would have her way, she would rather have Senator Cayetano and her younger sibling Alan Peter, along with other members of the minority, arrested for being absent at the session especially when quorum was needed to pass legislative measures.

During Tuesday’s plenary session, Madrigal, upon seeing Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. call in vain for a quorum, moved “to have those senators who are not attending be arrested by the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms.” She named the Cayetanos and Sen. Manuel Villar Jr.

The motion apparently pissed off the older Cayetano. She said she was not around last Tuesday because she stepped out to have lunch after presiding over a hearing on accidents involving projects of the Korean firm Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Corp. in Subic.

“I was going to come down before I heard that there was a motion to have me arrested. And what I would like to know from the majority is whether it is now your policy to have the members of the minority arrested every time you cannot muster your own majority? Is a member of the minority no longer given equal rights as the majority to step out of session and to attend to any matter we deem necessary?” she asked.

Senators have actually been quarreling over quorum – or lack of it – during session in the last few days with Senator Pimentel even threatening to bring the issue to the Supreme Court so they could settle it once and for all.

“Can we not go to the bathroom? Can we not get a bite to eat? Can we not meet with important members of our constituents? Must we now be told that an order of arrest will be made against us when the members of the majority themselves are not present. And why are certain members of the minority being singled out? Why me? Why my brother? Why Senator Villar?” she said.

Cayetano said she would always tell the majority leader where she was and that her brother was not around because he was on leave to attend to their mother who was in hospital.

“I deserve enough respect not to be arrested,” she said.

This was not the first time that the two had a cat fight. On one occasion, Madrigal even called Cayetano a “horse” for joining different kinds of races such as marathon, biking and other sports.

On the matter of quorum, senators could not agree whether it was 12 or 13 in a 23-member Senate.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago laughed off the arguments and described it as fight of the “brats” which should be resolved by the senators themselves as an internal matter and no longer by the SC.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said it was all right with him to have the issue elevated to the SC. He also said the arrest of members was under Senate rules.

“That is in the rules. If we cannot muster quorum and it will stop our operation I will not hesitate to apply that,” Enrile said.

The Senate President said it was the practice during the time of Quezon, Quirino, Magsaysay, Macapagal, and even Marcos, to have senators arrested especially those who were in nightclubs.

“As of now there is no necessity. But when the time comes when there is a disruption of legislative function of the Senate to the detriment of the Filipino people —the interest of the Filipino people overrides all personal interests in this chamber —I will not hesitate to apply that rule. There must be some discipline in this chamber including myself. I’ll have myself arrested if will not attend the call,” Enrile said, adding this was practiced even in the US Congress.

In the end, Senator Madrigal retracted her move but even that didn’t sit well with Senator Cayetano.