After a successful coup installed Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president, his new majority began peddling the narrative that the chaos in the Senate is linked to attempts to amend or revise the 1987 Constitution.
Cayetano brought it up in a press conference on May 18, when various huddles were occurring at the Senate to try to form a new majority that would immediately oust him.
“The events in the last few months were also intentional to weaken the Senate, because they will revive constitutional change, except this time around, they want a regional Senate,” he said.
No coup has materialized against him, and by Monday, May 25, Cayetano will have held the post for at least 14 days — enough to avoid the humiliating distinction of presiding over the shortest Senate presidency in Philippine history. (The record that currently stands is at 13 days.) But Senator Imee Marcos, Cayetano’s ally in the 13-member majority bloc, continues to double down on the charter change narrative.
“They really want to reclaim the Senate leadership because constitutional assembly is apparently at stake there. Their problem is that they could lose in the Senate impeachment trial, and if Vice President Sara Duterte wins in 2028, then they’re finished. So now the discussion is to push through with constituent assembly, amend the Constitution, add three years to the terms of incumbent lawmakers, and even extend the President’s term until 2031,” Senator Marcos told ANC’s Headstart.
