SC junks petition vs. June 3 session that installed Gatchalian acting Senate President - GMA Network

The Supreme Court has dismissed the petition questioning the constitutionality of the Senate session on June 3, 2026, when 12 senators held a session, declared all seats vacant, and elected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian the new Senate President Pro Tempore.

Gatchalian, in the same session, assumed the post of acting Senate President as he could not be elected Senate President with fewer than 13 votes.

The Senate at that time could not hold sessions after the previous majority decided to skip the proceedings and kept the chamber without a quorum.

"The Court resolved to dismiss the petition for certiorari for failure to show sufficiently that the respondents committed grave abuse of discretion in holding a session on June 3, 2026, which, on the contrary, appears to be in accord with the facts and applicable law and jurisprudence," read the SC resolution dated August 26, 2026.

Gatchalian said his office received the notice about the resolution and said he respected the resolution.

"The Court found no basis to question the holding of that session, and noted that it appears consistent with the facts and the law. We respect the Court and its resolution," Gatchalian said.

"The resolution is consistent with what we have maintained from the start. On June 3, the Senate convened in accordance with the Constitution and established jurisprudence so that the chamber would not be left unable to function," he added.

"The proceedings of that day were likewise conducted in keeping with the established rules and precedents of the Senate. That responsibility belongs to every member, and the Senate will continue to carry it out as one institution," Gatchalian said.

Then Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano and the previous majority had skipped two session days before June 3, and after the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada for plunder.

With the previous majority opting not to attend the sessions, the 24-member Senate could not function without a quorum of at least 13.

Sen. Francis Escudero, a member of the previous majority, made a surprise appearance at the plenary on June 3 and helped reach a quorum. He was the only member of the previous majority bloc to attend the session.

Citing the Supreme Court jurisprudence on Avelino vs. Cuenco, the new majority bloc said they had a quorum with 12 members present.

"We're very fortunate that one of the members of the majority before—Senator Chiz Escudero—do not conform and believe in what they are fighting for," Erwin Tulfo told reporters at a media briefing.

Gatchalian was elected Senate President Pro Tempore after the Senate reconvened in the June 3 session.

Gatchalian presided over the session and called for the Senate secretary to call the roll. When the secretary refused, Gatchalian directed the deputy secretary for legislation to do the same.

He then declared a quorum with 12 senators present.

With no objections, the motion was approved.

Sotto made a motion to proceed with the election of the Senate President Pro Tempore, then nominated Gatchalian to the post.

Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri seconded the motion.

"Duly seconded, the motion is approved. Thank you dear colleagues," Gatchalian said.

Zubiri was then elected as chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules.

Once elected, Zubiri moved to proceed with Gatchalian’s oath-taking. He took his oath before Sotto.

Zubiri later declared that Gatchalian would serve as the acting Senate President.

"Let the record reflect that the chair, as Senate President Pro Tempore, shall serve as acting President pursuant to Rule 5... presiding officer of the Senate pursuant to Rule 5, Section 14(c) and 5 of the Rules of the Senate," he said.

Aside from the new committee chairmanships, the Senate also elected Ray Bantug Jr. as the Senate secretary and retired Police Major General Alfredo Sotto Corpus as the Sergeant-At-Arms.

Without physically appearing before the Senate session, Cayetano on June 3 declared the sine die adjournment of the upper chamber through a memorandum that was circulated to senators present at the plenary hall.

Former Senate Secretary Jose Luis Montales distributed the document dated June 3 to senators who were present at the plenary hall during the last session day of Congress.

Except for Escudero, no other member of the Cayetano-led bloc attended the plenary session, marking the third consecutive day the lawmakers skipped the proceedings.

That night, Cayetano warned of what he described as a brewing constitutional crisis, as he appealed for calm and urged that the Senate not be “padlocked” amid tensions over leadership and committee control.

“Do not padlock the Senate. Do not use the excuse that there is a rally; there is always a rally at the Senate anyway,” he said.

“Do not tempt the Filipino people to come out in thousands, [hundreds of] thousands, and millions,” he added.

In 2020, it was Cayetano who ordered the padlocking of the House of Representatives amid a leadership term-sharing dispute with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.

The embattled Senate President issued the remarks after another controversy erupted on Tuesday as 12 senators wrested control of the chamber, replacing key committee chairmanships.–NB, GMA News