MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., a former senator, said on Friday, May 29, that he is opposed to the proposal to allow online voting in the Senate.

“I disagree with that. I understand that we had to do it in COVID because there was a health risk. But I do not see any particularly good reason for us to allow it now,” Marcos said in a press briefing in Tokyo, Japan, on Friday, March 29, in response to questions.

Marcos pointed out that the proposed amendment to the Senate rules “seems to be only applicable to Senator [Ronald “Bato”] dela Rosa.”

Dela Rosa has been in hiding following the issuance of an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant tied to crimes against humanity allegations linked to Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war.

“For someone who is actually a fugitive from justice, na hinahanap ng pulis, na hinahanap ng Interpol at may arrest warrant galing sa ICC, palagay ko hindi siya dapat bumoto hangga’t dumating siya doon sa Senado,” Marcos said.

(For someone who is actually a fugitive from justice, being hunted by the police, wanted by Interpol, and facing an arrest warrant from the ICC, I don’t think he should be allowed to vote, unless he physically shows up at the Senate.)

“The long-standing tradition of the Senate is that if you are not physically present on the floor when a vote is taken, that you cannot in fact vote,” Marcos added.

Dela Rosa appeared in the Senate on Monday, May 11, after months of hiding, to back a coup that installed his ally Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president. This happened on the same day that the House of Representatives impeachment Vice President Sara Duterte.

Dela Rosa sought shelter in the Senate for three days until he escaped in the wee hours of Thursday, March 14, after a shooting incident in the upper chamber.

On Tuesday, May 26, members of the Senate minority bloc walked out of the plenary to protest how the leadership was handling the proposal to amend the chamber’s rules to allow online participation in the session under “justifiable reasons.” Minority senators criticized the process, accusing the majority bloc of attempting to “railroad” the measure. – Rappler.com

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المصدر: Rappler (PH)