Senators Loren Legarda and Pia Cayetano slammed the Senate’s recent session led by Senate President Pro Tempore Win Gatchalian. The session was convened to establish a quorum and elect new committee chairpersons after a two-day suspension, despite only 12 senators being physically present.
Citing Article VI, Section 16(1) of the 1987 Constitution, Legarda noted that the Senate should only elect its President by a majority vote of all its respective Members.
She argued that since the Senate is composed of 24 senators, the majority should be 13, pointing out that the body fell short of this number so they could not validly elect a Senate President or authorize any Senator to act as Senate President.
Legarda added that under Rule II, Section 2 of the Rules of the Senate, the officers of the Senate should also be elected by the majority vote of all its members.
“This means that the Senate President Pro Tempore, the Senate Secretary, and the Sergeant-at-Arms also required at least thirteen votes,” she explained.
She noted that this rule was openly acknowledged by those who abstained from the vote.
“That is why the minority Senators did not vote for a Senate President: they lacked the required 13 votes. In the same way, they could not have legally elected a Senate President Pro Tempore because they also lacked the required 13 votes,” she continued.
Legarda insisted that without 13 members, the Senate cannot legally conduct business or reshuffle committee chairmanships.
“The temporary absence of some members should not become a reason to lower their representation or weaken the mandate of the people who elected them,” Legarda emphasized.
“Until there is a vacancy, resignation, expulsion, final disqualification, or other legal basis recognized by law, their seats remain part of the Senate’s full membership,” she added.
Echoing this stance, Senator Pia Cayetano—whose brother, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, was recently ousted as Senate President—challenged the legality of the 12-member gathering on June 3, 2026, maintaining that it failed to meet the required quorum.
Cayetano highlighted the 1987 Constitution’s mandate that the Senate consists of 24 members and that “a majority of each House shall constitute a quorum to do business.”
She also reiterated that Senate rules require officers to be chosen by a true majority of all members.
“So today, when 12 senators convened and purportedly held session, how can that be valid?” the lawmaker said.
She dismissed attempts to justify the session using legal precedents like Avelino vs. Cuenco, which some cited to argue that 12 members could constitute a majority.
“They cite the case of Avelino vs. Cuenco where the Supreme Court considered 12 as the majority. But as any freshman law student knows, you can’t pull out the rationale of a case and use it to suit your needs. The specifics of the case are different,” she cited.
The controversial session took place after Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero unexpectedly broke away from Cayetano’s bloc to join forces with Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III’s faction, providing the numbers needed to hold the session and officially adjourn sine die.