The Solid Bloc-12 (SB-12) on Wednesday maintained that Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano is no longer Senate President after a simple majority of senators voted to declare all leadership positions in the chamber vacant.
In a statement, the bloc said 12 senators were present when the Senate declared a quorum based on the recognized base number of 22 senators under the Supreme Court ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco.
“For clarity, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano is no longer Senate President after the Senate, with 12 senators present and a quorum declared based on the recognized base number of 22 under Avelino v. Cuenco, voted to declare all positions vacant, including the presidency of the institution,” SB-12 said.
The group, however, clarified that Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian has not been elected as the new Senate President because at least 13 votes are required under the Constitution.
“Hindi pa lamang naihahalal si Sen. Win Gatchalian bilang bagong Senate President dahil kailangan pa ng 13 boto sa ilalim ng Konstitusyon,” the bloc said.
SB-12 stressed that while Gatchalian had yet to secure the required number of votes for the Senate presidency, the previous leadership had already been removed from office.
“Pero ito ang malinaw at mahalaga ngayon: bakante na ang lahat ng posisyon, tapos na ang dating liderato at dapat magpatuloy ang trabaho ng Senado para sa taumbayan,” it added.
The bloc said the Senate must continue functioning despite the leadership dispute, saying the chamber’s work should proceed in the interest of the public.