The Senate majority and minority blocs agreed Wednesday to call a ceasefire on the heated debate on the report of the Senate Committee of the Whole finding Sen. Manuel Villar guilty of unethical conduct to pass important bills and resolutions before Congress closes its doors next week for a three-month recess.

The ceasefire was first sounded by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who said that he views the passage of urgent measures more important than the Villar ethics case.

Enrile said bills that affect the people should be given more importance.

He said the Upper Chamber approved last Tuesday night the Immigration Bill and the survivorship bill of constitutional officers.

Others on deck are, among others, the National Telecommunications Commission Bill and the Cyber Crime bill, he said.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the ceasefire buys him time for the passage of about 50 pending bills, mostly local bills approved by the House of Representatives, on second reading.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel Jr. agreed to the ceasefire as long as the majority bloc does not reintroduce a motion seeking a resumption of debate on the Enrile report.

The Senate minority bloc’s resolution absolving Villar of any unethical conduct in relation to the controversial re-alignment of the state-funded C-5 project was sponsored on the Senate floor by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago who later refused to be interpellated by her colleagues. Santiago also supported Enrile’s ceasefire proposal.

The moratorium, according to Santiago, would give them time to pass important bills such as three treaties she plans to sponsor as the chairperson of the Senate foreign relations committee.

Both Zubiri and Santiago stressed that the Senate has to pass the important measures Wednesday because bills not certified as urgent by Malacañang require three days of printing copies of the bills.

In a radio interview last Wednesday, Villar rued the Senate’s image being destroyed by the internecine war between his allies and political rivals in the Senate majority bloc.

Being a former Senate president, Villar said he felt sad that the once-respected halls of the Senate are now being tarnished by unbridled use of undiplomatic terms or phrases by his political rivals.

“Maliwanag naman ito, lahat ng nag-akusa sa akin ay kandidato sa pagkapangulo o kaalyado nila. Buong-buo sila ang nag-akusa, sila ang gumawa ng rules at sila nag-hearing at sila rin ang nagdesisyon. Siyempre ang Senado, iyan ang pinakasentro ng katarungan subalit paano magkakaroon ng katarungan ang ganung sitwasyon na iyong nag-akusa ang magja-judge din,’’ he said.