Senate minority: Majority’s absence is a ‘boycott’ not independence

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate minority bloc said the absence of the majority during Monday’s session was a boycott following the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, not a call for Senate independence as Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano claimed. All 11 minority senators, or the Solid Bloc-11 (SB-11), waited two hours for the 5 p.m.