President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. addressed Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian by the title of Senate President Pro Tempore on Friday, a public gesture that reinforced Malacañang’s position in the unresolved fight over who leads the upper chamber.
The acknowledgment came during commemorations marking 128 years since the Philippines proclaimed independence from Spanish rule. As Marcos greeted the dignitaries gathered for the occasion, he referred to Gatchalian using the title the senator now claims.
A more pointed moment followed the wreath-laying at Rizal Park in Manila. Marcos approached Gatchalian directly and shook his hand, an exchange that carried added weight given the standoff dividing the Senate.
That standoff stems from Gatchalian’s election as Senate President Pro Tempore, a vote that also saw him declared acting Senate president. The move came after several days of disorder that forced the cancellation of sessions, according to GMA News and the Manila Times.
Former Senate president Alan Peter Cayetano has refused to accept the outcome. He has branded the leadership change an “illegal coup d’etat” and continues to withhold recognition of the new majority bloc’s authority, insisting he remains the “legitimate, legal, moral Senate President,” as reported by GMA News.
The Palace, for its position, has thrown its weight behind Gatchalian. Malacañang maintains that its recognition of him as the chamber’s acting leader rests on existing jurisprudence and established Senate precedents.
