Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said Friday the Senate’s performance for the third regular session of the 14 regular session was ‘’laborious and gainful’’ having passed more bills than the 11th, 12th and 13th congress combined.

“It was hard work but we are duty-bound to perform our mandate as duly elected Senators of the Republic,” Enrile said.

In an unprecedented way of ending the plenary session because of lack of quorum last Wednesday for the Senate and the House of Representatives to go into a three-month recess starting yesterday, the Senate failed to take up for plenary debate on the ZTE deal.

It also stopped the Senate from voting on the report of the Senate Committee of the Whole chaired by Enrile that recommended that Villar should be censured and ordered to reimburse to the State P6.1 billion that his real estate business benefited from the re-alignment of the P400-million C-5 road project.

The two legislative chambers, however, reopen their doors for the resumption of their reguiar plenary session from May 31 to June, more to act as the National Board of Canvassers to canvass the results of the May 10, 2010 presidential and vice presidential elections. They will later adjourn their session sine die.

Enrile described the month of December as particularly “grueling,” as both Houses of Congress were faced with the daunting task of passing the proposed 2010 national budget, while, at the same time, having to convene a historic joint session to deliberate on Proclamation No. 1959, declaring a state of martial law and suspending the Writ of Habeas Corpus in the province of Maguindanao.