The bloc led by Sen. Vicente Sotto III moved on Wednesday to declare all elected Senate positions vacant after mustering 12 senators on the floor, escalating the leadership crisis in the chamber on the final session day before the sine die adjournment.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, acting as presiding officer, declared a quorum based on 12 senators present after the deputy Senate secretary conducted the roll call. Senate Secretary Jose Luis Montales had earlier declined to call the roll.
“Let me put on record that the secretary refused to call the roll. Let the deputy secretary for legislation call the roll,” Gatchalian said.
“With 12 senators present, I declare a quorum,” he added.
Sotto then moved to declare all elected positions in the Senate vacant. With no objection heard, Gatchalian approved the motion.
The group proceeded to elect Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore, while Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri was elected chairman of the Committee on Rules, automatically making him majority leader.
Former Senate secretary Rey Bantug was elected Senate secretary, while retired police major general Alfred Corpus was elected Senate sergeant-at-arms. Both were sworn in by Gatchalian.
The bloc also elected new committee chairmen, including Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito for Finance, Sotto for National Defense, Sen. Panfilo Lacson for Public Order and Accounts, Sen. Erwin Tulfo for Blue Ribbon and Social Welfare, Sen. Raffy Tulfo for Public Services, Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino for Basic Education, Sen. Francis Pangilinan for Agriculture, Sen. Risa Hontiveros for Health, Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid for Games and Amusement, Sen. Francis Escudero for Housing, and Zubiri for Foreign Relations.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano was no longer the chamber’s leader after the vote to vacate all elected positions.
“With 12 senators present, a quorum was declared out of the base number of 22 since Sens. Dela Rosa and Estrada are outside the ‘coercive power’ of the Senate. Hence, we voted to declare all positions vacant, although we could not yet elect a new SP because we lacked the 13 votes required under the Constitution,” Lacson said on X.
Gatchalian said the group was compelled to convene after Cayetano and members of his bloc failed to appear during the June 1 and June 2 sessions.
He cited Article VI, Section 16(5) of the 1987 Constitution, which provides that neither chamber may adjourn for more than three days during session without the consent of the other.
“The Senate has been adjourned and unable to resume session for the past two days, placing us on the brink of Constitutional violation had we not convened today,” Gatchalian said.
He said the quorum of 12 was based on 22 senators over whom the Senate could obtain jurisdiction, citing Avelino v. Cuenco and a May 5, 2015 Senate precedent.
The Senate also adopted Senate Resolution No. 430, amending the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials to provide for the election of a presiding officer in impeachment cases not involving the President.
It likewise adopted Proposed Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 10, which set the sine die adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 20th Congress not later than midnight of June 3.
Gatchalian declared the Senate adjourned sine die at around 3:34 p.m.
Cayetano rejected the proceedings and insisted that the session was illegal.
“Ang majority po ng 24 ay 13 po,” Cayetano said on Facebook Live, arguing that the Sotto bloc could not conduct business with only 12 senators.
Cayetano said Avelino v. Cuenco did not apply because the Senate had adjourned on May 26 and was scheduled to resume on June 1.
He also said the Constitution requires at least 13 senators to elect a Senate President and Senate President pro tempore.
“Hindi po sila maka-elect ng new president dahil wala po silang 13. Uulitin ko, pag may 13 po sila, ako pa mag-oath sa kanila,” Cayetano said.
He maintained that he remained the “legitimate, legal, moral Senate President of the Republic of the Philippines.”
Meanwhile, Erwin Tulfo, the new Blue Ribbon Committee chairman, said the panel’s hearing on flood control projects would be reset to Monday, June 8.
Cayetano earlier said the hearing would resume Thursday, June 4.
Tulfo said all senators would be named members of the panel to avoid allegations of a whitewash. He said invited resource persons, including former Speaker Martin Romualdez, lawyer Levito Baligod, 18 Marines and others, would first be reviewed before being allowed to testify.
Cayetano accused the Sotto bloc of changing committee chairmanships to delay the Blue Ribbon hearing and prevent the Marines from testifying.
He also claimed the Vice President’s impeachment trial would be delayed after the bloc amended the impeachment rules.
“Ang problema, illegal po ang sesyon kanina,” Cayetano said. “You can try to stop us, but you will be stopping the Filipino people.”