Rival Senate blocs on Thursday continued to clash over the chamber’s leadership, with both sides asserting competing claims on quorum, authority and the validity of recent proceedings.
Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano maintained that he remains Senate president, saying the bloc led by Sen. Vicente Sotto III lacked the 13 votes needed to elect a new set of officers.
“I became Senate president with 13 people with different political beliefs,” Cayetano said during the flood control hearing conducted by his bloc.
Cayetano said the Senate rules require officers of the chamber to be elected by a “majority vote of all its members,” which he said means 13 senators must vote to replace the sitting Senate president.
He rejected the move of the Sotto bloc, which declared all elected Senate positions vacant after Sen. Francis Escudero joined them, bringing their number to 12.
“So, the legitimate Senate President Pro Tempore is Loren Legarda. Our Senate secretary is Jose Luis Montales,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano said an acting Senate president may only take over in cases of resignation, removal or death. He said none of those conditions applied to him.
“Nahalal na po ba yung kapalit ko? Yung nag-presscon po kanina, nahalal na siya bilang Senate president? Hindi po. Siya mismo nagsabi, naghihintay pa sila ng trese,” he said.
Sen. Pia Cayetano also questioned the validity of Wednesday’s session, saying the Constitution provides that the Senate is composed of 24 senators and that a majority is needed to conduct business.
She said the 1949 Supreme Court ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco, which was invoked by the other bloc to justify a quorum of 12, does not apply to the current situation.
“Twelve is not 13. Alam ng Grade 1 student yan,” Pia said.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who is detained, also said Cayetano remains Senate president. He said he and Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa should still be counted among the 24 senators because neither of them resigned.
“Ang ini-invoke nila, some senators are saying that 22 na lang yung mga senators ngayon because Sen. Bato is nowhere to be found and I am in detention. That is incorrect,” Estrada said.
On the other side, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said he is acting Senate president after all elected Senate positions were declared vacant and he was elected Senate President Pro Tempore.
“In the absence of a Senate President, I can perform the duties to keep the Senate administratively functioning,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian defended the legitimacy of Wednesday’s proceedings, saying the Avelino ruling remains the controlling Supreme Court case on quorum.
“From 1949 to now, the Avelino case is the only Supreme Court case related to quorum. Wala nang iba. So, until now ginagamit pa rin yan in cases of determining quorum,” he said.
He also called on Senate employees to follow the duly elected “majority.”
Gatchalian said the flood control proceeding held by the Cayetano bloc could not be considered an official committee hearing because Senate committees still have to be organized under the new leadership.
He said he would also preside over the impeachment court as acting Senate president, following the adoption of amendments to the impeachment rules.
“Under the rules, since ang Senate President Pro Tempore assumes the acting Senate President, tayo ang magpi-preside ng impeachment,” Gatchalian said.
He said a special session may be needed during the sine die break once their bloc secures at least 13 senators to elect a Senate president.
Gatchalian added that the impeachment court may still convene during the sine die adjournment because it is separate from the Senate’s legislative function.
“The impeachment court takes a life of its own. Separate naman siya from the legislative body,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson criticized the Cayetano bloc’s flood control proceeding, calling it a bogus Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.
Lacson also denied any link to allegations raised during the proceeding involving supposed cash deliveries through a helicopter.
“Disgraced ex-SP Cayetano desperately dragged my name in a bogus BRC hearing without an iota of evidence or even a tiny bit of basis or reason except to pull me into a corruption controversy,” Lacson said on X.
Lacson said photos showing him riding a helicopter were taken during his 2022 presidential campaign, when his team contracted Asian Aerospace for air services.
He said the proceeding held at the Senate session hall should not be treated as official, especially since the Senate had already adjourned sine die and no committee secretariat was present to record the activity.
“Bilang senator, hindi sila pwedeng pigilan na pumasok sa Senate kasi nandiyan ang office nila, so they can do what they want pero sino mag-record ng proceedings na sinasabi nila?” Lacson said in a radio interview.