Win Gatchalian is elected Senate president

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Win Gatchalian was elected Senate president during a special session on Wednesday, June 17, sealing the leadership change that had been brewing for weeks.

All 13 senators who were present at the session voted for Gatchalian. Senator Joel Villanueva joined the new majority, giving Gatchalian the 13th vote needed to secure the Senate presidency.

An hour before the session started, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano conceded his claim to the Senate presidency. No other member of his bloc attended the session.

Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III was elected Senate president pro tempore.

The leadership shift had been weeks in the making.

On June 3, the day the Senate adjourned sine die, Gatchalian was elected Senate president pro tempore with the backing of 11 senators — short of the votes needed to claim the Senate presidency outright.

Cayetano’s tenure as Senate president was marked by a series of controversies. Under his watch, a shooting incident occurred within the Senate premises. He also granted protective custody to ally Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.

In a bid to retain control of the chamber, Cayetano urged his allies to skip Senate sessions, a move that effectively paralyzed proceedings and stalled action on key measures.

But the strategy failed. Despite the absence of much of Cayetano’s bloc, his ally, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, later joined the opposing faction, helping install Gatchalian as acting Senate president and retaining him as Senate president pro tempore.

Even after the leadership change, Cayetano continued to insist that he remained the Senate’s “legitimate” and “moral” president, arguing that the takeover lacked a quorum. The Gatchalian bloc rejected the claim, citing a Supreme Court ruling on how quorum is determined in legislative bodies. – Rappler.com