The minority senators on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, perhaps fed up with the political tactics of the majority bloc, called for the resignation of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano over the majority bloc’s continued refusal to attend the plenary session on Monday and Tuesday.
Reports have it that the majority senators did not show up in the plenary on Tuesday, a day before the Senate adjourns sine die. Congress will resume its session in July. Does this mean VP Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial will also be delayed, if not derailed?
In a joint statement read by Sen. Erwin Tulfo, the minority bloc said: “Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano should resign as he has shown that he cannot function as the leader of the Senate.”
The minority bloc senators claimed that what the majority bloc senators did was “a clear abandonment of responsibility, a dereliction of duty and a blatant disregard of the rules that govern this institution.”
The minority bloc called it a “boycott of duty,” while Cayetano described it as a protest to defend Senate independence.
The minority bloc senators said that under Rule XIV, Sec. 41 of the Rules of the Senate, the Senate president may postpone the holding of the session after consultation with the majority leader and the minority leader. The minority said they were not consulted on the majority’s refusal to attend the plenary session.
As a lawyer, SP Cayetano is presumed to know that he does not merely lead senators. He leads the Senate. And when the Senate cannot function, the question is no longer political — it is institutional.
He is not merely another senator with a vote. He is the presiding officer of one of the highest legislative bodies in the land. He safeguards the rules, maintains order and ensures that the Senate performs its constitutional responsibilities.
Cayetano, in a Facebook Live, stated that the majority bloc did not attend the session to protect the integrity of the committees and to ensure the Senate Blue Ribbon legislative inquiry into the flood control mess would resume. Or are they just scared of another coup?
But the 11-member minority bloc belied Cayetano’s claims, saying it was a “figment of their imagination.”
Meanwhile, Senator Pangilinan said the minority bloc would “exhaust all legal remedies” to resolve the impasse. “We will exhaust legal remedies to address itong impasse na ito,” Pangilinan said.
Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, in a statement, said, “Walang pinipigil na hearings. Figment of their imagination ang ginagawa nila. Wala kaming ginagawang hadlang sa proseso ng Senado at mga agenda ng Senado.”
The minority senators appealed to the majority bloc to join them in reaching a quorum and allowing Senate proceedings to continue. In the absence of the Senate president, the Senate president pro tempore may call the session to order. The majority floor leader may also perform the duty.
Walkouts are common in most parliamentary democracies. Legislators leave the hall to deny a quorum. But it is far less common for the Senate president, as presiding officer, to be absent, effectively preventing the Upper House from opening its doors for business. Veteran senators were reportedly awed, as they had never witnessed such a situation before.
We do not elect senators to perfect political tactics. We elect them to perform public duties. The Senate may survive fierce debates, bitter rivalries and shifting alliances. What it cannot survive is the normalization of absenteeism by the majority bloc senators.
What happens when the Senate president entrusted to lead an institution becomes part of the reason it cannot function? Your guess is as good as mine. No doubt, however, the Upper House is unable to conduct business.
For a nation accustomed to political dramas, this may seem like just another episode in the endless rivalry among competing factions. One side calls it a principled stand. The other calls it a boycott. Supporters cheer. Critics condemn.
The Senate is not a private club whose meetings may be cancelled at the convenience of its members. It is a constitutional body funded by taxpayers and entrusted with powers that affect the lives of millions of Filipinos.
The public expects disagreement. What the public does not expect is paralysis. At a time when the nation faces pressing economic concerns, infrastructure challenges, public transportation issues, the rising cost of living and continuing political tensions, the last thing we need is a legislature consumed by internal warfare.
Leadership is not demonstrated when circumstances are easy. It is demonstrated when leaders choose duty over tactics and institutions over factions. The Senate president is free to hold political opinions. Every senator is. But the office he occupies demands something more than political loyalty. It demands stewardship.
Senators regularly remind public officials that public office is a public trust. That principle should apply equally to the Senate itself. For if accountability is demanded from everyone else, who holds accountable those entrusted to lead the institution demanding accountability?
If refusing to convene the Senate becomes an acceptable political tactic, then future majorities may employ it against future minorities. Future minorities may do the same in return.
The result is a dangerous cycle where institutional stability becomes hostage to political convenience. Democracies do not collapse only through dramatic events. Sometimes they weaken gradually when institutions stop performing their basic functions.