BREAKING: Si Senator Sherwin Gatchalian na ang bagong Senate President matapos mahalal sa isang special session ngayong Miyerkules, June 17.
LIVE: https://t.co/nBxQ2eVUQx
A little girl in Boston went home one day and asked her Nigerian mother if she could change her name to Zoe.
Nobody at school could say Uzoamaka.
Her mother was cooking. She didn't even turn around.
"If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky, Michelangelo, and Dostoyevsky, they can learn to say Uzoamaka."
That girl kept her name.
Then she went to Hollywood and won three Emmy Awards.
And now the whole world knows exactly how to say Uzoamaka Aduba.
Your name is not a burden. It's a prophecy.
bakit magkakaroon ng maleta si Erwin Tulfo for passing the 2025 GAA (na ipinasa noong December 2024) eh July 2025 lang nagsimula ang term niya as a Senator?!
any any na lang script ni Cayetano.
Today, I take my oath as Senate President Pro Tempore.
Nagpapasalamat ako sa tiwala at kumpiyansang ipinagkaloob sa akin ng aking mga kasamahan sa Senado.
Buong pagpapakumbaba kong tinatanggap ang responsibilidad na ito. Patuloy tayong magtatrabaho at tutupad sa ating tungkulin para sa sambayanang Pilipino.
EXPLANATION
Why Avelino vs Cuenco 1949 is enough for a quorum of 12
Normally, the Senate has 24 senators, so quorum is 13.
Senate PH Rule II says that for Senate officers: they are elected by “majority vote of all its members.”
So if all 24 are counted, 12 is not enough.
But the anti-Cayetano camp’s argument comes from Avelino v. Cuenco, 1949.
In that case, the Supreme Court accepted the idea that because one senator was outside the country and could not participate, the Senate could be treated as having only 23 participating members. That made 12 a majority.
The Supreme Court said that “an absolute majority (12)” of the Senate “less one (23)” could be quorum, and Justice Feria explained that the count may be based on “actual members or incumbents” who are not incapacitated or outside the Senate’s jurisdiction.
Applied today: if Jinggoy Estrada is unable to participate because he is arrested, they can argue the working Senate is 23, not 24.
So 12 becomes quorum under Avelino logic.
Now add the Cayetano issue.
A Senate President is not the owner of the Senate.
The Senate Rules say the Senate normally meets at 3 PM on weekdays, unless the Senate decides otherwise.
If a session is postponed, the Senate President must consult the Majority and Minority Leaders. And the Senate President cannot just suspend or adjourn a session by himself without a motion or resolution approved by senators present, except in the specific postponement situation.
So if Cayetano refuses to preside or tries to stop the chamber from functioning, the anti-Cayetano camp can say - the chair cannot kill the chamber.
That is also consistent with Avelino v. Cuenco, 1949.
In that case, the Senate President abandoned the chair and did not attend.
Worse, Cayetano not only was absent, he did not designate a Presiding Officer either - the Senate is not functioning.
The anti-Cayetano senators continued, and the case records say the deliberate abandonment made it necessary for the remaining members to continue “in order NOT TO PARALYZE the functions of the Senate.”
So the anti-Cayetano camp’s legal theory is basically this:
(1) The Senate is bigger than Former SP Cayetano.
(2) If he refuses to preside, and enough senators are present, the Senate can still function.
(3) If Jinggoy cannot participate, Avelino gives them an argument that 12 is quorum.
(4) Once quorum exists, the Senate can act on its internal organization, including committees per the Senate Rules.
They are on stronger ground when reorganizing committees, because committees are part of Senate internal organization.
Rule X says permanent committees are formed by the Senate after organization, including the Committee on Rules (take notice, yan ang unang call to motion ni Sotto).
So what did Cayetano did wrong?
Essentially by refusing to attend the Senate or any of the presiding officers (ie: Former Pro Tempore Legarda, and Former Majority Leaders), the situation became more and more similar to Avelino v. Cuenco, 1949.
The former Majority could even argue that Avelino v. Cuenco, 1949 is a "special circumstance" . However, the similarities between then and now became more apparent with the former Majority leaders absence and made the arguments of the anti-Cayetano camp stronger.
With this, the new Majority got their quorum and they rearranged leadership.
So why only the leaderships and not the actual Senate Presidency?
So the pro-Cayetano camp can ask: "If you truly have quorum, and the majority of all members, why not also elect a Senate President?"
Short answer: Because of the Constitution.
The Constitution makes electing a new Senate President more sensitive because it specifically requires a “majority vote of all its respective Members” for that office.
The Constitution then separately says each House may choose “such other officers as it may deem necessary.”
For Senate President:
The Constitution itself sets the rule. The Senate President must be elected by “a majority vote of all its respective Members.”
For President Pro Tempore and other officers:
The Constitution does not give a specific voting threshold. It only says each House may choose “such other officers as it may deem necessary.” (Sec. 16)
It also says each House may determine its own rules.
That is where Senate Rule II comes in:
the Senate used its rule-making power to say its officers, including the President Pro Tempore, Secretary, and Sergeant-at-Arms, are elected by majority vote of all members.
LOGICAL DIFFERENCE:
So the Constitution does not dictate the definition of "all members" for other Senate officers - only for the Senate President.
Thus, the dictation and definition of "all members" lies on Senate Rules per the Constitution Sec. 16, "...as they deem necessary..."
But with Avelino v. Cuenco 1949 coming in...
The Senate PH has already defined "majority of all members" to be "active members of the Senate - that could participate"
In the ruling,
Justice Feria said the count may be based on the Senate’s “actual members or incumbents,” excluding those unable to discharge their duties because of death, incapacity, absence from jurisdiction, or other causes making attendance impossible (ie: arrest).
Feria treated the Senate as having 23 actual members, so 12 became a quorum and majority.
“TAKOT SIYANG MAPAHIYA SIYA”
Bahagi ‘yan ng pahayag ni Senador Raffy Tulfo sa Balitanghali ngayong araw, June 3.
Kaugnay ito sa hamon kay Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano na humarap sa sesyon sa Senado.
“Kung matapang ka, pumunta ka sa Plenary at doon ka magsasalita kung anumang issue mayroon ka against anything or against us, the Minority.”
Panoorin para sa iba pang detalye: https://t.co/0XPcliw0fK
My god! Ang ganda ng narrative. Hate the Tulfos but their journalistic background rlly help them in narrative building na hindi mapalabok.
A part of me thinks populism is the key to win 2028. Like marami tayong ideals pero we are pressed for time.
Hindi natin tatakbuhan ang hustisya.
Noong Biyernes, humarap tayo sa Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office kaugnay ng kasong isinampa ni Atty. Mans Carpio tungkol sa paglabas ng AMLC records sa House Committee on Justice.
Bilang public servants, tungkulin nating igalang ang proseso. Kumpiyansa kami na wala kaming nilabag na batas, at ginawa lang namin ang aming tungkulin ayon sa Konstitusyon.
ILANG SINUNGALING PA ILALABAS NG ISANG SENATE PRESIDENT ALLAN PETER CAYETANO?!
NAILABAS NA ANG CCTV FOOTAGE SA LOOB NG SENADO. MULAT NA MULAT ANG KABATAAN NGAYON, ALAM NAMIN KUNG ANO ANG MALI SA HINDI AT TULAD NITO MALING MALI KA APC!
OUST CAYETANO
Copy from Bilyonaryo