Senator Alan Peter Cayetano returns as Senate Minority Leader

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano has returned as Senate minority leader after the minority bloc formally designated him to the post during Wednesday's plenary session.

The announcement was made by Senator Loren Legarda, who spoke on behalf of the minority senators.

“On behalf of the minority, may I manifest for the record that Sen. Alan Peter S. Cayetano shall serve as the minority floor leader, likewise the minority members present here,” Legarda said.

“This is without prejudice to the final resolution of the case currently pending before the Supreme Court. And this manifestation is to ensure the orderly discharge of the functions of the whole Senate as an institution and the minority during the pendency of said case,” she added.

The move comes a day after Cayetano and eight other minority senators filed a petition before the Supreme Court of the Philippines seeking to invalidate the Senate reorganization conducted on June 3, arguing that only 12 of the chamber’s 24 members were present during the proceedings.

That reorganization led to the installation of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore, a position he has held since taking over the role previously occupied by Cayetano.

Gatchalian's election as Senate president was formally confirmed during a special session on Wednesday attended by 13 senators.

Before becoming Senate president on May 11, Cayetano had served as minority leader since September 2025. He also previously held the position from 2010 to 2013.

-Paraluman News