No numbers as yet FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 06/19/2010

No numbers as yet

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 06/19/2010 As things stand in the fight for the Senate President’s seat, neither blocs will likely have the numbers with which to get their bets the top seat, in which case, the result may be a compromise candidate where some members of each bloc may gravitate toward the compromise bet. The problem is the lack of numbers in the Senate members. While there are supposed to be 24 senators in every Congress, the upper chamber almost always lacks one or two members, since a senator decides to run for a higher office and wins. Of course, if he loses the race, and still has three years more to his term, then he goes back to his seat after the loss. Examples are Sen. Loren Legarda, who lost her vice presidential bid and returns to the Senate, and Noynoy Aquino, who won the presidential race, but still had three years to his term.  In this case, the Senate has one less senator plus two more, or a total of three.  Compounding the problem is the fact that as things stand, there are two more senators who are not expected to be able to cast their vote. One is Sonny Trillanes, who is incarcerated and banned by the military and the high court from attending Senate sessions as well as voting; and two, Ping Lacson, who is on the lam, owing to an arrest warrant issued against him, as he is charged with having allegedly murdered publicist Bubby Dacer and his driver, Emmanuel Corbito. The talk is that Lacson will probably return to face the charges, but only under a new administration which has been made possible with the entry of the Aquino ll administration a few days from today. But even if he does return before Congress opens sometime in July, the arrest warrant is still out, and the law-enforcers, even with a new President in Malacañang, may well serve him with it and promptly place him in detention — until such time a hearing on bail — if such charge is bailable, is scheduled.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100619com2.html

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