The camp of embattled Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano has initiated efforts to ease tensions with the group led by Acting Senate President Win Gatchalian by opening discussions aimed at protecting Senate operations from the effects of the ongoing leadership conflict.
Cayetano instructed Senate Secretary Jose Luis Montales to begin talks with Renato Bantug Jr., who is aligned with the Gatchalian camp, to explore possible arrangements that would allow the Senate bureaucracy to continue functioning while the dispute remains unresolved.
In a letter addressed to Montales, Cayetano reiterated his position regarding the Senate proceedings held on June 3, 2026.
”Our position regarding the proceedings conducted on 03 June 2026 remains clear and unequivocal. We believe that the acts undertaken during that session constitute patent and serious violations of the Constitution and the Rules of the Senate and are therefore without legal basis or effect.”
Despite maintaining that stance, Cayetano acknowledged that the controversy could ultimately be settled by the courts.
”Mechanisms like this do not mean we are backing down. Nevertheless, because these events have now given rise to a controversy that may ultimately require judicial resolution, the Supreme Court will have the final authority to determine the issues arising thereform.”
He also stressed the importance of ensuring that legislative and public service functions continue despite the dispute.
”Whatever our differences regarding the events of 03 June, the Senate must constitute to function, public service must continue uninterrupted, and the impeachment proceedings must be allowed to move forward in an orderly, credible and timely manner.”
As part of the proposed solution, Cayetano directed Montales to discuss a possible “workable interim administrative arrangement” with Bantug.
Among the options cited was the adoption of a dual-signatory or joint-certification system for official documents, including vouchers, checks, disbursements, contracts, personnel actions, and other records necessary for Senate operations and impeachment proceedings.
”Under such an arrangement, documents requiring approval or certification may, where practicable, bear the signatures of the officials presently exercising the relevant functions and those asserting authority to perform the same functions. The objective of such a mechanism is not to confer, concede, recognize, or validate authority in any person, but rather to ensure continuity of operations, protect Senate personnel from conflicting directives, preserve public funds and institutional processes, and enable the Senate and the Impeachment Court to function while the controversy remains unresolved.”
Cayetano emphasized that any temporary arrangement should not be interpreted as a surrender or recognition of either side’s legal claims and positions related to the events of June 3.
Following the directive, Montales formally sought a meeting with Bantug to discuss potential solutions.
”With this in mind, may we respectfully request a meeting with you today, 8 June, at a mutually convenient time and place? We would like to discuss a possible way forward that may preserve the continuity of institutional operations and allow the impeachment proceedings to move forward in an orderly manner, without requiring either side to waive, concede, or prejudice its respective position regarding the legality or effects of the 3 June proceedings.”
The proposed discussions come as both camps seek ways to maintain the uninterrupted operation of the Senate and the impeachment court while questions surrounding the June 3 proceedings remain under dispute.