The Senate minority bloc has agreed to oppose at least four measures that President Duterte and his allies are pushing.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said these are the bill reimposing the death penalty as capital punishment, the proposed postponement of the barangay elections in October, the proposed lowering of the age of criminal responsibility, and the move to change the 1987 Constitution or Charter change.
“The minority bloc in the Senate will oppose all four. That was what we agreed upon before Congress went on a break,” Trillanes said in a press conference at the Senate.
Congress went on recess for the Holy Week last March 16, and will resume on May 2.
The Senate minority group is made up of senators Franklin Drilon, Leila de Lima, Risa Hontiveros, Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, and Trillanes.
Duterte earlier scored Pangilinan whom he largely blamed for the passage into law of the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act or Republic Act No. 10630 saying syndicates used the law to use youth offenders to carry out nefarious activities.
Trillanes said he believes it is very unlikely that Duterte’s plan to appoint barangay officials and postpone the local elections would push through.“Well based on my information, even during the meeting of the (Senate majority) bloc, no one agreed to it,” he said.
“So that’s unlikely. The barangay elections, for all intents and purposes, will push through by October,” Trillanes said.
“And that’s better, because then we will know. The people themselves would judge, if their barangay captain is indeed involved in drugs then they should vote for another one,” he said. (Hannah Torregoza)