MANILA — The Supreme Court has upheld the legality of the controversial June 3 Senate session where only 12 senators convened and reorganized the chamber’s leadership, rejecting a challenge that questioned whether the group had sufficient quorum to conduct official business.
In its August 26, 2026 resolution, the high court dismissed the petition challenging the session that installed Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore and acting Senate President, finding insufficient basis to conclude that the participating senators committed grave abuse of discretion.
“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, appears to be in accord with the facts and applicable law and jurisprudence,” the Supreme Court said.
The ruling effectively sustained the June 3 proceedings, which became the flashpoint of an unprecedented Senate leadership struggle after members of the previous majority led by then Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano stopped attending sessions.
Gatchalian welcomed the ruling, saying it supported the position maintained by his bloc from the start of the dispute.
“The Court found no basis to question the holding of that session, and noted that it appears consistent with the facts and the law. We respect the Court and its resolution,” Gatchalian said.
“The resolution is consistent with what we have maintained from the start. On June 3, the Senate convened in accordance with the Constitution and established jurisprudence so that the chamber would not be left unable to function,” he added.
“The proceedings of that day were likewise conducted in keeping with the established rules and precedents of the Senate. That responsibility belongs to every member, and the Senate will continue to carry it out as one institution,” Gatchalian said.
The controversy erupted after the June 1 arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada on a plunder case. Members of Cayetano’s majority stopped attending, resulting in two consecutive missed session days before June 3.
The boycott left only 12 senators prepared to convene — one short of the 13 ordinarily required for a majority of the 24-member Senate.
Sen. Francis Escudero, who belonged to Cayetano’s majority bloc, unexpectedly appeared on June 3, becoming the only member of that group present in the chamber.
The senators who proceeded with the session invoked the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Avelino vs. Cuenco to argue that the 12 members present could constitute a quorum under the circumstances.
Gatchalian presided and ordered a roll call after the Senate secretary declined to conduct it. The deputy secretary for legislation subsequently called the roll, after which Gatchalian declared the presence of a quorum.
The senators then proceeded to reorganize the chamber.
Senate President Vicente Sotto moved for the election of a Senate President Pro Tempore. Gatchalian was nominated, with Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri seconding the nomination.
“Duly seconded, the motion is approved. Thank you, dear colleagues,” Gatchalian said during the session.
Zubiri was subsequently elected chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and moved for Gatchalian to take his oath as Senate President Pro Tempore, which Sotto administered.
Zubiri then declared that Gatchalian would serve as acting Senate President under the chamber’s rules.
“Let the record reflect that the chair, as Senate President Pro Tempore, shall serve as acting President pursuant to Rule 5… presiding officer of the Senate pursuant to Rule 5, Section 14(c) and 5 of the Rules of the Senate,” Zubiri said.
The reorganization also resulted in the election of Ray Bantug Jr. as Senate secretary and retired Police Major General Alfredo Sotto Corpus as sergeant-at-arms.
Cayetano did not attend the June 3 proceedings. Instead, he issued a memorandum declaring the Senate adjourned sine die. The memorandum was distributed to senators in the plenary hall by former Senate Secretary Jose Luis Montales.
The document was circulated on the final session day of Congress, when Escudero was the only senator from Cayetano’s bloc who appeared in the chamber.
Cayetano later warned of a possible constitutional crisis and called for restraint amid the leadership and committee-control dispute.
“Do not padlock the Senate. Do not use the excuse that there is a rally; there is always a rally at the Senate anyway,” Cayetano said.
“Do not tempt the Filipino people to come out in thousands, [hundreds of] thousands, and millions,” he added.
The leadership dispute was eventually settled on June 17 when Gatchalian secured the Senate presidency during a special session convened by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.
Sen. Joel Villanueva became the 13th senator to vote for Gatchalian’s election as Senate President./PN
