SC ruling on June 3 Senate session hailed

MANILA, Philippines — Majority senators welcomed the Supreme Court’s dismissal of a petition challenging the legality of the Senate session on June 3 that resulted in the ouster of then-Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.

In an en banc resolution dated Aug. 26, the high court dismissed the petition filed by lawyers Valeriano Loon and Zigfred Diaz for failure to sufficiently show the respondents committed grave abuse of discretion in holding the June 3 session.

The court said the session, on the contrary, appeared to be “in accord with the facts and applicable law and jurisprudence.”

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READ: Cayetano on ouster talks: If they have 13, congratulations

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Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who was among those named respondents, said the 12 senators who attended the session had made sure they had sufficient legal basis to proceed with the reorganization.

“We were certain then and it is now validated by the Supreme Court that we stood on solid legal ground when we reorganized the Senate by removing Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and elected Sen.

Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore and Acting Presiding Officer having a clear majority of 12 in our bloc,” Lacson said in a statement on Friday.

Gatchalian also welcomed the resolution, saying it was consistent with the position maintained by his camp from the beginning.

“The Court found no basis to question the holding of that session, and noted that it appears consistent with the facts and the law,” he said. —ISABELLE PECHAY