Senator Cayetano asks Supreme Court to void disputed Senate session, says Constitution and truth at stake

MANILA — Senator Alan Peter S. Cayetano has asked the Supreme Court to nullify the disputed June 3, 2026 Senate proceedings that installed a rival leadership structure, saying the case is not merely a leadership dispute but a constitutional test of the Senate’s independence and its ability to pursue the truth.

In a Petition for Certiorari and Prohibition under Rule 65, with a prayer for a Status Quo Ante Order, Cayetano and his co-petitioners asked the high court to restore the Senate to the state of affairs immediately before the June 3 proceedings. The petition names as petitioners Cayetano, Senators Lorna Regina B. Legarda, Pilar Juliana “Pia” S. Cayetano, Jinggoy E. Estrada, Christopher Lawrence T. Go, Rodante D. Marcoleta, Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” R. Marcos, Robinhood C. Padilla, Camille A. Villar, and Atty. Jose Luis G. Montales.

The respondents include Senators Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, Francis Joseph “Chiz” Escudero, Sherwin Gatchalian, Ana Theresia “Risa” Hontiveros, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Erwin Tulfo, Rafael “Raffy” Tulfo, Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, Atty. Renato Bantug Jr., and retired PMGen Alfredo Corpus.

Cayetano, in a statement accompanying the filing, said the petition was brought before the Supreme Court because “numbers change” but “the Constitution does not.” He said the controversy should not be reduced to a fight over Senate posts, arguing that leadership positions are temporary while the Constitution and the institutions it protects must endure.

“This is not about a Senate leadership issue,” Cayetano said. “Leadership positions are temporary stewardship. Leaders holding high government positions come and go. Political alliances change. Majorities rise and fall.”

The petition centers on the June 3 session in which, according to the pleading, only 12 senators were physically present despite the Senate having 24 sitting members. The petition states that none of the 24 senators had died, resigned, or been removed from office, and argues that 12 senators did not constitute the majority required to transact Senate business.

According to the petition, Cayetano was elected Senate President on May 11, 2026 with 13 affirmative votes. It says the dispute escalated after Senator Jinggoy Estrada was arrested on June 1 pursuant to a Sandiganbayan warrant, prompting the Cayetano-led majority bloc to absent itself from sessions in protest of what it described as selective persecution and an intrusion into Senate independence.

The filing says Senator Sherwin Gatchalian called the June 3 session to order, directed the roll call, and declared a quorum even though only 12 of 24 senators were declared present. The petition further states that no senator was excluded from the roll and that no adjustment was made to reduce the quorum base from 24 senators.

After the quorum declaration, the petition says the senators present moved to declare all elective Senate leadership positions vacant, elected Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore, designated him as Acting Senate President, elected Zubiri as Majority Leader and chair of the Committee on Rules, and installed Bantug as Senate Secretary and Corpus as Senate Sergeant-at-Arms.

The petition also challenges the reorganization of committee chairmanships, the adoption of amendments to the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials, and the adoption of a concurrent resolution adjourning the First Regular Session of the 20th Congress sine die. The petitioners asked the Supreme Court to declare these acts, along with the June 3 session and the quorum declaration, null and void.

At the heart of the petition is the argument that the Constitution and Senate rules require 13 votes, or a majority of all 24 senators, for the election of the Senate President and other Senate officers. The petition says Gatchalian, Bantug, and Corpus were not validly elected because they did not receive 13 votes, and that Cayetano remains Senate President, Legarda remains Senate President Pro Tempore, and Montales remains Senate Secretary.

The petitioners also dispute the use of Avelino v. Cuenco as basis for recognizing a 12-member quorum. They argue that the June 3 proceedings did not involve circumstances that would justify reducing the Senate membership denominator, noting that no senator was shown to be outside the country and that no compulsory process was first used to compel absent senators to attend.

Cayetano framed the case as an institutional issue affecting the Senate’s ability to perform its oversight functions, including its ongoing inquiry into the alleged flood control corruption scandal. He said the Filipino people deserve to know what happened to billions of pesos allocated for flood control projects, why communities continue to flood despite years of spending, whether public funds were used as intended, who benefited if they were not, and who should be held accountable.

The petition similarly links the leadership dispute to the Blue Ribbon Committee’s flood control investigation. It says the absence of Cayetano-aligned senators was intended to prevent a takeover that, in their view, would derail scheduled Blue Ribbon hearings meant to “ferret out the whole truth” behind the alleged flood control scam.

Cayetano also said the case involves broader constitutional safeguards, including the protection of the Senate from Malacañang influence, the integrity of an impartial impeachment process, and the need to prevent what he described as a “sinister Charter Change.”

The petition argues that the disputed proceedings could affect the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte, particularly because the Senate President and Senate Secretary perform key functions in impeachment proceedings. It says uncertainty over the lawful authority of the presiding officer and Senate Secretary could imperil the validity and integrity of the impeachment process.

In its prayer, the petition asks the Supreme Court to issue a Status Quo Ante Order directing respondents to stop exercising functions arising from the June 3 proceedings, stop enforcing measures approved during that session, and restore the Senate leadership and offices to their condition immediately before the disputed proceedings. Specifically, it asks that Cayetano be recognized as Senate President, Legarda as Senate President Pro Tempore, and Montales as Senate Secretary while the case is pending.

Cayetano said the Supreme Court’s role is not to choose sides in a political dispute, but to determine whether the Constitution was followed. He said constitutional clarity would serve all sides, regardless of political affiliation.

“The issue before the Supreme Court is therefore not merely legal. It is institutional,” Cayetano said. “If constitutional rules can be disregarded whenever they become inconvenient, then every future investigation, every future oversight function, and every future effort to hold power accountable becomes vulnerable.”