The Gatchalian bloc has asserted that their move to change the Senate leadership on June 3 is in accordance with existing precedents and the Supreme Court ruling in the case of Avelino v. Cuenco, which recognized the validity of a quorum despite incomplete attendance of members.
It will be recalled that the leadership change in the Upper Chamber was based on the three-day absence of the Cayetano bloc from scheduled sessions, leading to the declaration of all Senate positions as vacant. This leadership change was acknowledged by the House of Representatives and Malacañang.
However, the Cayetano bloc strongly opposed this, insisting that 13 votes are needed to declare Senate positions vacant, based on the total 24 members. This count includes Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, both of whom were not actively attending sessions.
“They don’t have 13. Even a Grade 1 student can count. 13 is needed. So they have no authority to do what they did,” said Cayetano.
Meanwhile, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), which includes Dela Rosa, Bong Go, and Robin Padilla, is set to file a petition before the Supreme Court to question the legality of the leadership change.
On the part of Malacañang, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro stated that the Cayetano bloc has the right to bring the issue to the Supreme Court, but emphasized that there was a precedent in the 2015 Senate session where a 12-member quorum was recognized without objection in court.
