Alan Peter Cayetano is still Senate President, says Erwin Tulfo

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano is not yet out as Senate President after the new majority bloc failed to gather 13 votes to formally install Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as the leader of the upper chamber, Senator Erwin Tulfo said Wednesday.

Tulfo issued his remarks after the Senate convened and elected Gatchalian as Senate President Pro-Tempore and named him as acting Senate President.

"We don't have 13 but we can elect pro-tempore because it doesn't say 13. Senator Cayetano is still the Senate President. We don't have 13. That's against the law naman, ‘di ba? We only have 12. He will be a virtual Senate President," Tulfo told reporters.

"We declared all seats vacant for all committees. Simula pro-tempore. We cannot touch the Senate Presidency because we don't have 13. It is what the law says, we need to have 13. We don't. We only have 12," he said.

Cayetano no longer Senate President?

Later in the day, however, the new majority said in a statement that Cayetano is no longer Senate President.

"For clarity, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano is no longer Senate President after the Senate, with 12 senators present and a quorum declared based on the recognized base number of 22 under Avelino v. Cuenco, voted to declare all positions vacant, including the presidency of the institution," the 12-member majority senators said in a joint statement.

"Hindi pa lamang naihahalal si Senator Win Gatchalian bilang bagong Senate President dahil kailangan pa ng 13 boto sa ilalim ng Konstitusyon. Pero ito ang malinaw at mahalaga ngayon: bakante na ang lahat ng posisyon, tapos na ang dating liderato at dapat magpatuloy ang trabaho ng Senado para sa taumbayan," they added.

(Senator [Sherwin Gatchalian] cannot be elected as Senate President because it needs 13 votes under the Constitution. But one thing is clear, all posts are vacant, the previous leadership has ended and work in the Senate should resume for the people.)

Tulfo also issued a clarification: "This is to clarify that due to the course of events leading to the formation of the new Senate Majority, the Senate Presidency is deemed vacant."

Surprise appearance

The Senate failed to convene for the last two session days due to the continued absence of the Cayetano-led bloc. However, Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero made a surprise appearance at the Plenary on Wednesday, reaching a quorum.

Escudero was the only member of the minority bloc to attend the Plenary session.

Citing the Supreme Court (SC) jurisprudence on Avelino vs. Cuenco, the new majority bloc said they had a quorum with 12 members present.

"We're very fortunate that one of the member of the majority before -- Senator Chiz Escudero -- do not conform and believe in what they are fighting for," Tulfo said.

"Hindi siya naniniwala because he believes na ang kanilang pinaglalaban ay mali; na ang kanilang pagbo-boycott para ipagtanggol ang ilan sa kasamahan," he added.

(He doesn't believe (in them) because what he believes is that what they're fighting for is wrong.) — RSJ, GMA News