Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano advised Senate President Pro-Tempore and acting Senate President Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian regarding the controversial leadership change in the Senate following events during the plenary session on June 3.
The issue began when Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero attended the session and helped complete the quorum of 12 senators, allowing the Senate session to proceed. This opened the matter of leadership and temporarily vacated some positions in the Senate. Among these was the position of Senate President Pro Tempore, which was elected to Gatchalian and later declared as acting Senate President. Malacañang also recognized Gatchalian as acting Senate President on Wednesday.
However, Cayetano said that Gatchalian should carefully consider the position he accepted. "If I were Sen. Win, I will not act as acting president because he knows it's illegal. It will ruin his entire career in the future," Cayetano said.
He added that Gatchalian should just wait for the right time for a higher position in the Senate. "Wait for your time. If what you are being asked to do is illegal, don't do it. You will only get into trouble," the senator added.
Despite this, Malacañang continues to recognize Gatchalian in that position while the issue over the actual leadership of the Upper House remains unresolved.
