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Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima during the impeachment proceedings of Sara Duterte at the House of Representatives of the Philippines on April 14, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File

Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima during the impeachment proceedings of Sara Duterte at the House of Representatives of the Philippines on April 14, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

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<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/177986587094820260414-house-committee-justice-vp-sara-impeachment-MT2.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Mamamayang Liberal Partylist Rep. Leila de Lima during the impeachment proceedings of Sara Duterte at the House of Representatives of the Philippines on April 14, 2026. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span>MANILA — The Senate majority bloc&#x27;s push that will allow remote voting for senators with &quot;justifiable&quot; reasons cannot be compared to the partly similar call for then-senator Leila De Lima to participate in sessions electronically, Sen. Risa Hontiveros said Wednesday.</div><p>When De Lima, now a House member, was senator and detained during the Duterte administration, her allies at the time proposed to allow her to participate in Senate sessions remotely, which was denied.</p><p>Now, Hontiveros said, the Senate rules are seemingly being amended to allow a senator who refuses to submit to a lawful arrest to continue to legislate, vote, debate, influence public policy, and accept &quot;institutional benefits&quot; even without a physical presence at the chamber.</p><p>The move is seen to allow Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, who is <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/27/pnp-cidg-to-refer-obstruction-of-justice-raps-vs-robin-padilla-over-bato-escape-0804">wanted by the International Criminal Court</a>, to participate in Senate sessions remotely.</p><p>&quot;Effectively magga-grant ang Senate ng procedural privilege [sa] hindi abot-kamay ng ordinaryong mamamayan,&quot; she told ANC.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/27/hontiveros-senate-walkout-1148">&#x27;Masamang Senateflix&#x27;: Hontiveros questions alleged rush to amend Senate Rules</a></div><p>On the contrary, De Lima at &quot;all times&quot; has &quot;mutual respect&quot; for legal authorities, Hontiveros noted.</p><p>&quot;Unfortunately, yung kasama kong senador ngayon ay nagpapakita ng walang respeto sa legal authority,&quot; she said, without naming anyone.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/27/palace-denies-targeting-senate-majority-with-legal-cases-1254">Palace denies targeting Senate majority with legal cases</a></div><p>In a separate Facebook post, Hontiveros pointed out that the Senate rules allowed videoconferencing during the COVID pandemic, which was a national health emergency.</p><p>&quot;To whom much power is given, much responsibility is expected. Kaming mga senador ay dapat pumasok, humarap sa publiko at magtrabaho,&quot; she also said.</p><p>Hontiveros and other members of the minority bloc walked out of the Senate plenary Tuesday in protest of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta&#x27;s proposal amending the Senate Rules.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/5/27/drilon-suggests-supreme-court-intervention-on-proposed-senate-rules-change-1332">Drilon suggests Supreme Court intervention on proposed Senate Rules change</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>Senate majority to pursue rule change</strong></div><p>Senator Imee Marcos on Thursday said the majority will pursue the amendment of the Senate rules to allow offsite participation and voting of senators in Senate proceedings through electronic platforms.</p><p>Marcos slammed the minority for &quot;double standards,&quot; citing the De Lima case.</p><p>&quot;Yes, uh, pupursigehin namin yung, uh, pagboto sa Zoom. Nakita naman ninyo noong mga panahon nila. Nagpila naman si Senator Hontiveros, si Senator Sotto, Senator Ping, Senator Kiko Pangilinan. Eh, nung panahon naman na may nakakulong o hinuhuli sa kanila, pagkaalaala ko Senator De Lima&#x27;t saka Senator Trillanes, nag-motion rin naman sila na mag-remote voting. Eh, bakit ngayon may remote participation? Nagtataka ako ngayon kung bakit tutol na tutol sila diyan, nag-walkout pa. Meron naman silang pinagfa-file noon. Eh, andito nga. Nakita ko. Kaya ako nagtataka, eto, may mga Resolution 658. Andiyan, ang dami. Resolution 51. May mga resolution sila noon dati tungkol sa remote participation. Bakit ngayon tutol na tutol? &#x27;Di ba dapat patas?&quot;</p><p>Marcos added that the Senate has leeway to make its own rules.</p><p>&quot;The Senate has great leeway in the Constitution and upheld repeatedly by the Supreme Court in formulating its own rules for impeachment. Ang Senado mismo ang gumagawa ng kanilang mga patakaran para sa impeachment. Kaya kung mag-agree ang Senado na ito ang karapat-dapat, pwede naman talagang gawin. Wala naman bawal doon eh. Kaya pinagtataka ko, napakarami na ng precedent diyan. May precedent rin sa walkout. Alam rin natin na yung Korte Suprema nag-ruling na rin diyan na pwedeng ituloy-tuloy ng ramp session.&quot;</p><p>Marcos called out the minority for &quot;unparliamentary remarks&quot; and its walk out over discussions on the proposed rule change.</p><p>&quot;Ngayon, kung ano ang itutuloy, inaasahan ko na mag-uusap-usap sa mga susunod na araw at, ah, sana magkasundo na kasi hindi naman maganda itong, ah, sila na ang nag sabi ng napaka-Unparliamentary na kulong na ang dalawa sa inyo kaya pinagpipilitan ninyo. May ganun eh. Eh hindi ba unparliamentary at offensive naman yun? Ikalawa, sila pa yung nag-walkout. Sila pa ang may tapang mag-walkout. Tama ba yun?&quot;</p><p>Marcos hopes they can set politics aside and work.</p><p>&quot;Ako yung see hope springs eternal. Kaya pinag-aasahan ko, inaasahan ko na kahit papano we&#x27;ll be be able to go back to work.&quot;</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong><strong>:</strong></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RQI227sfYH0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9bSn70HxICk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><br/></div>

<p>Hontiveros pointed out that the Senate rules allowed videoconferencing during the COVID pandemic, which was a national health emergency.</p>

Hontiveros pointed out that the Senate rules allowed videoconferencing during the COVID pandemic, which was a national health emergency.

Majority's remote voting push can't be compared to case of De Lima, Hontiveros says

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Majority's remote voting push can't be compared to case of De Lima, Hontiveros says

ABS-CBN News

Published May 27, 2026 06:05 PM PHT

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Leila De Lima

Risa Hontiveros

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