Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian has called on his colleagues to put aside the rivalries that triggered the chamber’s latest upheaval and focus instead on legislation that addresses the country’s economic strain.
Speaking on TV Patrol, Gatchalian framed inflation and rising consumer prices as the urgent reason lawmakers cannot afford further paralysis. “Alam ko ang mga senador natin, ang direksyon nila ay bumalik sa trabaho, makagawa ng mga panukalang batas na makakatulong sa ating mga kababayan, lalo na ngayon mataas ang presyo ng bilihin, ang inflation mataas,” he said. He added that a unified chamber was the goal: “Ayun naman, pare-pareho ang aming direksyon at ang aking direksyon ay magkaroon ng united na Senado para bumalik tayo sa trabaho at ma-address natin ang mga problema natin sa inflation at iba pa.”
Positioning himself as a conciliator across factional lines, Gatchalian said he was willing to engage senators regardless of bloc affiliation. “Ako, bukas ang aking puso, pintuan, pag-iisip para sa pag-uusap at gumagawa na rin tayo ng efforts para makausap ‘yung ating mga senador. Whether minority, majority, ako mismo ay bukas ang aking puso at pinto para kausapin ang ating mga senador,” he said.
He acknowledged that the public has been rattled by the turmoil at the upper chamber. “Ang mensahe ko sa lahat ng senador, bumalik na tayo sa ating trabaho, maraming nanonood sa atin, maraming nagugulat sa nangyayari sa Senado, maraming nagagalit, maraming nadidismaya, pero ang importante ngayon ay makabalik tayo sa trabaho para matugunan natin ang mga problema ng ating bansa,” Gatchalian said.
On the prospect of a special session the bloc intends to request from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., he said the agenda remains under deliberation. “So ito ay ina-itemize namin at nilalatag naming mabuti, at pinaguusapan pa sa kasalukuyan,” he said.
The appeal followed a dramatic Wednesday, June 3 session — the last before Congress adjourned sine die — when 12 senators declared all elected leadership posts vacant and installed Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore, replacing Loren Legarda. As GMA News and the Inquirer reported, the chamber reached a quorum only after Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, an ally of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, joined the minority bloc led by former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, breaking a two-day standstill caused by the absence of the Cayetano-led majority.
Cayetano has rejected the outcome, insisting he remains Senate president and arguing that at least 13 senators are needed to elect a chamber leader, according to Rappler. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines and a group of law deans countered that the 12-member quorum was valid under the 1949 Supreme Court ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco, as reported by SunStar. Gatchalian was declared acting Senate president but not Senate president, since the Constitution sets the 13-vote threshold for that office — a distinction his bloc, now styling itself the “Solid Bloc 12,” underscored in its joint statement.
