12 lawmakers attend Senate session on COVID-19

Only twelve senators attended the special session at the Philippine Senate on Monday to address the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) situation.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said a quorum was met with this number of attendees, which included Senators Pia Cayetano, Christopher Go, Panfilo Lacson, Lito Lapid, Manny Pacquiao, Grace Poe, Ralph Recto, Ramon Revilla Jr., Francis Tolentino, Dick Gordon, and Acting Senate Majority Leader Sherwin Gatchalian.

Senator Nancy Binay, who had tested negative for the virus, extended her isolation period while Senator Leila De Lima was not within jurisdiction of the Senate due to detention.

Minority Leader Franklin Drilon clarified that the absence of minority senators was not a boycott but a result of self-quarantine measures following exposure to an infected colleague.