Amid the recent leadership impasse in the Senate, some netizens on Facebook allege that Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano resigned as president of the upper chamber while others said Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian succeeded him. Both claims are false.
Claim 1: Cayetano resigns as SP
On June 3, a pro-Marcos FB page posted a supposed “breaking news” item multiple times in three other groups claiming:
“Breaking News!
Allan (sic) Peter Cayetano resigns as Senate President”
Another user published a similarly worded post in two FB groups. It states: “BREAKING NEWS” SEN ALLAN PETER CAYETANO RESIGN AS SENATE PRESIDENT,!”
FACT
This is not true. While the then-Senate minority bloc called for Cayetano’s resignation due to the then-majority group’s no-show in plenary sessions on June 1 and 2, he did not step down from his leadership post.
Claim 2: Gatchalian is the new SP
Also on June 3, an FB user published a graphic, labeled as “breaking news,” stating that “WIN GATCHALIAN ANG BAGONG SENATE PRESIDENT (Win Gatchalian is the new Senate President).” It was reposted in two FB groups.
The posts were also captioned:
“BREAKING NEWS:
Win gatchalian ang bagong senate president at pinalitan si boy 10k allan peter cawatano (sic). (Win Gatchalian is the new Senate president, replacing ‘Boy 10K’ Alan Peter Cayetano).
For more info please follow, like and share.
wingatchalian #senatepresidnet #senado #SenatePH #SenatePresident”
A different graphic uploaded on the same day by a pro-Marcos page featured a photo of Sen. Vicente Sotto III, the most senior member of the chamber, administering Gatchalian’s oath. The text below the picture read:
“SEN. WIN GATCHALIAN, NANUMPA BILANG BAGONG SENATE PRESIDENT
Nanumpa ngayong hapon bilang bagong Senate President si Sen. Win Gatchalian kapalit ni Alan Peter Cayetano na patuloy ang paglabag sa senate rules, at paglipat ni Sen. Chiz Escudero sa Minority Bloc.
Sa ngayon 10-12 na ang senado.
(SEN. WIN GATCHALIAN SWORN IN AS NEW SENATE PRESIDENT
Sen. Win Gatchalian was sworn in this afternoon as the new Senate President, replacing Alan Peter Cayetano who repeatedly violated Senate rules, while Sen. Francis Escudero moved to the minority bloc.
As of now, the Senate is split into 10-12).”
FACT
Contrary to the FB posts, Gatchalian did not replace Cayetano as the new Senate leader. The photo only shows Gatchalian taking his oath as the new Senate President Pro Tempore. He will also serve as acting Senate President, according to Rule IV Sec. 5 following Cayetano’s removal.
These developments came after the surprise appearance of Sen. Francis Escudero during the June 3 plenary session, joining the Sotto-led bloc. This paved the way for a 12-member quorum that declared all elected Senate positions vacant and stripped Cayetano of the leadership post.
The 12 senators in attendance during the session could not elect a new Senate president as they fell one vote short. The Senate has since adjourned sine die and will not reconvene until late July.
In a June 3 interview, Sotto brought up the possibility of electing a leader — “with enough numbers” — as early as next week if President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. calls for a special session.
This was reiterated by Gatchalian in a press conference the following day, saying this could happen during a special session if 13 votes are secured.
Legal basis of the ‘quorum of 12’
Gatchalian, during the session that led to the leadership shakeup, said “the quorum of 12 is based on the majority of 22 senators over whom jurisdiction can be obtained by the Senate,” citing a 1949 Supreme Court ruling on Avelino v. Cuenco.
In that ruling, the Supreme Court ruled that “[t]here is a difference between a majority of ‘all the members of the House’ and a majority of ‘the House,’ the latter requiring less number than the first.” It added that, “[t]herefore an absolute majority (12) of all the members of the Senate less one (23), constitutes constitutional majority of the Senate for the purpose of a quorum.”
The quorum of 12 was invoked as Sen. Bato dela Rosa went into hiding again, evading an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court while Sen. Jinggoy Estrada was detained over his plunder and graft cases tied to alleged corruption in flood control projects.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines on June 4 called the 12-member quorum session “lawful and valid following the Avelino doctrine.”
Aside from the existing jurisprudence, Gatchalian also cited as precedent the May 5, 2015 session where “the quorum was based on 17 available senators with seven others beyond the Senate’s coercive jurisdiction.”
According to the Senate journal, four senators were out of the country at the time “and therefore were not counted in the determination of a quorum pursuant to the decision of the Supreme Court.” It also noted that “three senators cannot physically attend the session as they were under detention.”
The false claims surfaced amid the paralysis of the Senate as it failed to hold sessions on June 1 and 2 due to the absence of senators under the Cayetano-led faction, affecting the chamber’s official business.
The deadlock only ended with the June 3 session that saw the election of acting Senate President Gatchalian. Cayetano described the move as an “illegal coup d’état,” but both Malacañang and the House of Representatives acknowledged Gatchalian’s leadership.
At least 10 posts from FB users and pages, such as Unity in Diversity – Ang Bagong Pilipinas (created on Sept. 25, 2017 as Unity in Diversity – UniTeam BBM SARA Alliance) and Unofficial PBBM News 2.0 (created on March 28, 2025 as Team Marcoses), carrying the inaccurate claims collectively amassed 8,211 reactions; 3,012 comments and 282 shares as of writing.
