hannah 🍃❄️

figuratively not literally #xuruohan

[hannah 🍃❄️ @strmra_]

sna po mag stay strong 2gether ang batumbs, baba boknoy, burat, idgaf, and ofc fleming

[Inquirer @inquirerdotnet]

BREAKING: Sen. Win Gatchalian has been elected the new Senate President with the support of 13 senators during the Senate special session. This comes exactly two weeks since he was named the Senate President Pro Tempore. | @keithcINQ

[Tessy | You're My Favorite Song | Reality TV @CollabS12PBB]

The special Senate session of Jun 17
Attendance

PRESENT
Bam Aquino
JV Ejercito
Chiz Escudero
Sherwin Gatchalian
Risa Hontiveros
Ping Lacson
Lito Lapid
Kiko Pangilinan
Vicente Sotto III
Erwin Tulfo
Raffy Tulfo
Joel Villanueva
Migz Zubiri

ABSENT
Alan Peter Cayetano
Pia Cayetano
Bong Go
Loren Legarda
Rodante Marcoleta
Imee Marcos
Robin Padilla
Camille Villar
Mark Villar

FUGITIVE / MISSING
Bato Dela Rosa

SUSPENDED / LEGALLY DETAINED
Jinggoy Estrada

[🪺 @doododeldi]

HUH TEACHER BAKIT SEATMATES ANG TOP 3??!?!?! LUGI KAMI?!?

[Edjen Oliquino @tribunephl_eao]

SENATE TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION VS MIKE DEFENSOR

Acting Senate President Win Gatchalian bares a plan to take legal action against former lawmaker Mike Defensor for allegedly meddling with the Senate's internal affairs. @tribunephl

[j a n 🥀 @loudestdork]

former seatmates looking at senri nung naging chair nanaman sya ng committee on women, children, family relations and gender equality. 🥹

[Coco @_dacoconutnut]

Si Sen. Kiko Pangilinan ang papalit na chairman ng Senate Blue Ribbon Committee once na matuloy ang election ng bagong Senate President sa special session bukas.

Kaya minadali ng Cayetano bloc yung presscon ng 18 bagmen today para masira agad nila si Kiko bago pa siya makabwelo sa investigation ng flood control.

Seryoso pati si Sharon dinamay niyo sa maleta eh bilyonarya na yan noon pa? Lol.

[marvièn @mvn_dn]

In this interview, Sen Bam mentioned that on the day Bato arrived and the whole mess started, “pirma na lang” sana ang kulang for this bill.

Today I noticed he immediately gathered those signatures as soon as they arrived (starting his new seat mate)

[ABS-CBN News @ABSCBNNews]

Pormal na hinalal si Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian bilang Senate President matapos makatanggap ng 13 na boto sa special session ng Senado ngayong Miyerkules, Hunyo 17.

Kaugnay na ulat: https://t.co/fFTD6zQMNg

[ABS-CBN News @ABSCBNNews]

UPDATE: Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian says he will preside over the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. #VPSaraOnTrial | via @RG_Cruz12479

[The Philippine Star @PhilippineStar]

JUST IN: National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag said he received information that the ex-Marines who attended the Blue Ribbon Committee today allegedly received P5 million. | via News5

[GMA News @gmanews]

‘KAPAG KAALYADO LIGTAS KA, KAPAG TAGAPAGTULIGSA, DELIKADO KA?’

Tinawag ni Sen. Erwin Tulfo na “malaking kasinungalingan” ang mga pahayag ni Bernard Gumban, isa sa mga nagpakilalang 18 ex-marines, kaugnay ng alegasyon na tumanggap umano siya ng maletang naglalaman ng pera.

“Magkita-kita tayo sa lehitimong Blue Ribbon Committee hearing,” sabi ni Tulfo.

Bisitahin ang https://t.co/bAMF9JO2Xs para sa iba pang updates.

[ALTStarMagic 💫 @AltStarMagic]

These journalists risked their lives to cover the Senate chaos last month tapos tatawagin lang sila ng isang Senador na “bayaran”?

Takot, trauma, nerbyos ang inabot nila tapos tatawagin lang na bayaran????????? TALAGA??????

[ABS-CBN News @ABSCBNNews]

UPDATE: Nanindigan ang Palasyong si Senador Sherwin Gatchalian ang kinikilalang acting Senate president, ayon kay Palace Press Officer Claire Castro.

[Nico Quejano @nicoquejano]

TAENA. MAY MALETA DIN ICC????????

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHAAH

TANGINA. MARCOLETA SOBRANG BOBO NG SCRIPT NIYO. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

PATI "MAJORITY" NAPAPAHIYA SA IYO EH.

KAYA PALA INIWAN KA NI PIA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[Jesus Falcis 🇵🇭 @jesusfalcis]

🚨 OMG!

Tito Sotto rebutted the maleta allegations not only by saying he was not a Senator from 2022-2025.

Ang pinaka proof na false ang allegations ay yung EA or executive assistant nya na si Mark na sinabing tumanggap ng maleta for him died in 2015!

🙀

[gab @snescape]

kung walang journalist, walang masisiwalat na katotohanan. kung walang journalist hindi kayo maririnig ng taong bayan. kapal ng mukha nitong isang to. these are the journalists u called "bayaran" btw

[Tessy | You're My Favorite Song | Reality TV @CollabS12PBB]

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.

[Noelle Capili-Ruiz @MxNoelle]

TANGENA ANG LALA HAHAHAHA A READ!

[❦ @xylocine]

whoever wrote the script for 2026 really looked at the cayetano siblings and said "release the tulfo brothers"

[Seby @simp4jhomikha]

Here's a thing that not a lot of people are paying attention to. Well-oiled machine ang minority.

Erwin has been positioning himself slowly as the speaker of the minority and it became incredibly obvious today. He's been giving interviews on some shows as recently as yesterday morning sa ANC. But it doesn't stop there.

Notice how the other members are often speaking when the journalists are there sa loob ng Senate halls. They're not shying away from the questions. Ang daming sound byte lalo na si Sen. Migz and Sen. Raffy, sometimes Sen. Bam as well. After that, Sen. Kiko, Sen. Risa, and/or Sen. Sherwin are often the ones to post the statement of the minority immediately.

Recently, even Sen. JV is not shying away from the journalists sa loob ng Senate halls. Sen. Ping is open about his disappointment thru his twitter account while Sen. Tito is their go-to pagdating sa rules and representation of statesmanship as the former SP. And today, EVEN Sen. Lito was not hiding his disappointment by joking out loud what he would do if presiding officer siya.

They may not agree on every little principle they have, but the minority is united.

I wasn't a fan of the Tulfo brothers, they became the external backbone of a minority whose principles just needed to be spoken out loud. That is how you use your specialty for the greater good.

Long live this Solid Block 11!