SENATORS belonging to the group led by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) seeking the declaration of the June 3, 2026 plenary session null and void.
The petitioners which include Cayetano and Senators Loren Legarda, Pia Cayetano, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Go, Rodante Marcoleta, Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, and Camille Villar as well as Attorney Jose Luis Montales filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition, urging the SC to issue a Status Quo Ante Order in relation to the June 3 plenary session where Senator Win Gatchalian was elected as the acting senate President and Senate President Pro Tempore.
The petitioner calls for the issuance of a Status Quo Ante Order that will revert the parties and conditions before the June 3 session, which yielded the following events:
*The supposed session called to order by respondent Senator Gatchalian on June 3, 2026;
*The declaration of the existence of a quorum;
*The approval of the motion and declaration that all elective positions in the Senate are vacant, restoring instead all Senators and affected officers to their positions and offices prior to the reorganization;
*The election of respondent Senator Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore and his designation as Acting Senate President;
*The election of respondent Senator Zubiri as Majority leader;
*The election of respondent Attorney Renato Bantug Jr. as supposed
Senate Secretary;
*The election of respondent Alfredo Corpus as supposed Senate Sergeant-at-Arms;
*The designation of respondent Senators as Chairpersons of various Committees during and by virtue of the June 3, 2026 session, restoring instead all Senators to their positions and offices prior to the reorganization;
*The supposed adoption of an alleged Proposed Senate Resolution No. 430(432) and the adopted Senate Resolution No. 48 amending Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure on Impeachment Trials to provide for the election of a presiding officer in all cases not involving the President of the Philippines;
*The supposed adoption of an alleged Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 10 purporting to adjourn sine die the First Regular Session of the 20th Congress not later than 12:00 midnight of June 3, 2026;
*All other acts, elections, and designations of respondent Senators emanating from the void session and false constitution of a supposed quorum.
Among the respondents were Senators Bam Aquino, Jinggoy Estrada, Chiz Escudero, Risa Hontiveros, Panfilo Lacson, Lito Lapid, Francis Pangilinan, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Erwin and Raffy Tulfo, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.
The petition also urges the SC to recognize and declare Cayetano as the Senate President, Legarda as Senate President Pro Tempore, and all the chairperson of the committee of the Senate prior to June 3, among others.
In a social media post, Cayetano said the petition is not about the Senate leadership issue but about preserving the institutions and defending the independence of the Senate as a co-equal branch of government.
“The issue before the Supreme Court is therefore not merely legal. It is institutional. If constitutional rules can be disregarded whenever they become inconvenient, then every future investigation, every future oversight function, and every future effort to hold power accountable becomes vulnerable to the same treatment,” he said.
“If the rules can be changed in the middle of the game, then no institution remains truly independent and no investigation remains truly secure,” he added. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)