Joint Session of Congress

At 4:12 p.m., the joint session of congress opened to deliberate on president gloria macapagal arroyo’s proclamation 1959, placing maguindanao province over martial rule. 18 senators were present. 192 members of the House of Representatives were present.
The senators will occupy the first two rows in the session hall. A part of the gallery was also reserved for Senators’ staff.
Palace officials, led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, will explain the basis for the declaration of martial law. Under the newly-crafted rules, the House of Representatives and the Senate will have 10 hours each to interpellate.
In an earlier press conference, House Speaker Nograles said he would like to stretch the interpellation into four session days, at about five hours each.

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