SC junks petition questioning session that ousted Cayetano as Senate president

13. Senator Chiz Escudero joins the new Senate majority bloc on June 3, 2026.

Angie de Silva/Rappler

'The Court resolved to dismiss the Petition for Certiorari for failure to show sufficiently that the respondents committed grave abuse of discretion in holding a session on June 3, 2026,' the SC says

AT A GLANCE

• The Supreme Court dismissed a petition challenging the Senate's June 3, 2026 session, where Senator Sherwin Gatchalian was elected Senate president pro tempore.
• The Court found no evidence of grave abuse of discretion by the Senate majority in holding the session, which was deemed in accordance with applicable law.
• The session was significant as it allowed the Senate minority to reach a quorum and declare all positions vacant, leading to Gatchalian's election as Senate president.

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MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) junked a petition questioning the Senate’s June 3, 2026 session – the day when Senator Sherwin Gatchalian was elected Senate president pro tempore and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano was ousted as the upper chamber’s head.

“The Court resolved to dismiss the Petition for Certiorari for failure to show sufficiently that the respondents committed grave abuse of discretion in holding a session on June 3, 2026, which, on the contrary, appear to be in accord with the facts and applicable law and jurisprudence,” the SC said based on a document posted by Senator Kiko Pangilinan.

𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗘𝗪𝗦
𝗦𝗖, 𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗠𝗜𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗚 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗬𝗢𝗡 𝗟𝗔𝗕𝗔𝗡 𝗦𝗔 𝗝𝗨𝗡𝗘 𝟯 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗢𝗡

Sa resolution na may petsang August 26, 2026, ibinasura ng Korte ang petition for certiorari na inihain nina Atty. Valeriano S. Loon at Atty. Zigfred… pic.twitter.com/SXAZKUG4xT

— Kiko Pangilinan (@kikopangilinan) October 1, 2026

In their petition docketed as GR No. E-07032, lawyers Valeriano Loon and Zigfred Diaz filed the certiorari petition against the current Senate majority members questioning the June 3 session. Certiorari is a legal action filed to seek a review of another body’s decision or to seek grave abuse of discretion.

The SC’s resolution is dated August 26, but was made public on Thursday, October 1.

The then-Senate majority led by Cayetano skipped sessions to avoid reaching a quorum of 12 – or the minimum number of senators present to do official business. This rendered the Senate paralyzed.

But, on June 3, the then-minority finally reached a quorum when Senator Chiz Escudero, now impeachment presiding officer, appeared at the upper chamber to join the session.

Since a quorum had been reached, the senators present moved to declare all positions vacant and elected Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore (in essence, acting Senate president), and the new chairpersons of committees. Gatchalian was later elected as Senate president.

The minority’s basis was the 1949 Supreme Court (SC) case of Avelino v. Cuenco, where the High Court ruled that the quorum of 12, during a Senate session on February 21, 1949, was valid. In that ruling, the SC said that 12 was enough to reach a quorum because the available senators then were only 23, not 24.

Further, the SC said in the Avelino doctrine that the wording “majority of each House” in the 1987 Constitution to reach a quorum did not mean “all” the members. So by computing the required number to reach a quorum, the Senate looked into the number of available members, not all of its members.

Meanwhile, Cayetano had filed a similar petition with the SC on June 16, asking the High Court to recognize him as Senate president. The status of this petition, however, has not yet been clarified. – Rappler.com