Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian has acknowledged feeling wounded by the wave of internet memes mocking his position next to presiding officer Francis “Chiz” Escudero at Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial.
Pressed on the matter during Thursday’s episode of DZRH’s Dos Por Dos program, Gatchalian did not hide his reaction. “Of course, it hurts,” he told the radio hosts.
The jokes stem from the seating and podium arrangement that has placed Gatchalian alongside Escudero throughout the proceedings. “We’re only human. We get offended, insulted, and hurt. But that’s just the nature of social media. We’re simply doing our job and carrying out our responsibilities,” he said.
That arrangement traces back to a 12-8 vote taken by the impeachment court ahead of the July 6 start of the trial, when senators tapped Escudero to preside. The move was permitted under the amended rules, which opened the presiding role to members of the chamber other than the Senate president.
Even with Escudero at the helm of the trial itself, Gatchalian was quick to stress that his own authority over the broader proceedings remains intact. General supervision, he noted, still rests with his office. “That means it remains the Senate President’s responsibility to ensure that the Senate proceedings are conducted properly and in an orderly manner,” he said.
He drew on the 2001 impeachment trial of then President Joseph Estrada to illustrate the division of roles. Back then, the late Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. presided while control of the sergeant-at-arms stayed with Senate President Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel Jr. The two men likewise shared the podium during that trial.
Command over the chamber’s security force is one of the specific powers the rules preserve for the Senate president during an impeachment. “Let me give you a concrete example,” Gatchalian said. “Under our Senate rules, the Senate president still has control over the sergeant-at-arms. So, if a disturbance were to break out during the impeachment trial or in the plenary, it would be the Senate president who would instruct the sergeant-at-arms to restore order.” He added that while the presiding officer may issue such an order too, it should come in consultation with the Senate or its head.
