Now that Alan Peter Cayetano is no longer Senate President and the chamber’s top post is temporarily vacant following Wednesday’s leadership change, it is time for the Senate to get back to work, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” M. Lacson said.
Lacson said a quorum of 12 out of 22 senators was declared as Senators Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada were outside the Senate’s “coercive power,” allowing the chamber to elect Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore and acting Senate President.
“Sen. Cayetano is no longer SP. With 12 senators present, a quorum was declared out of the base number of 22 since Sens. de la Rosa and Estrada are outside the “coercive power” of the Senate (Avelino v Cuenco. GR No 2821),” he said on X.
“Hence, we voted to declare all positions vacant, although we could not yet elect a new Senate President because we lacked the 13 votes required under the Constitution,” he added.
In Filipino: Lacson: Ngayong Hindi na Senate President si Cayetano, Panahon Nang Magbalik-Trabaho ang Senado