Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said on Wednesday that the installation of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President Pro Tempore and acting Senate President is an “illegal coup d’etat” after the chamber reconvened with 12 senators present. Cayetano, who has yet to show up in the plenary since Monday along with senators in his bloc, maintained that 13 senators are needed to flip the leadership in the Senate. “Ang tingin ba ng 12 senador ay basta kakampi mo ang Malacañang ay wala ng batas? Kung titingnan ng rule 1 and 2 ng Senado, na ayon ito sa Philippine Constitution, para i-elect ang Senate President at Senate President Tempore ay kailangan 13. So paano po nila aalisin si Senator Loren Legarda kung 12 lang sila?” he said in a Facebook live. (Do the 12 senators think that just because Malacañang is on your side, there are no more laws? If you look at Rules 1 and 2 of the Senate, which are based on the Philippine Constitution, you need 13 [votes/senators] to elect the Senate President and Senate President Pro Tempore. So, how can they remove Senator Loren Legarda if there are only 12 of them?) “So wala pong ground para magkaroon ng acting Senate President. This is an illegal coup d'état na may kasamang pagbabasura ng ating Konstitusyon,” he added. (So there are no grounds to have an acting Senate President. This is an illegal coup d'état accompanied by the trashing of our Constitution.) Gatchalian was installed after the upper chamber reached a quorum following the appearance of Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero - the only majority bloc member who showed up after two days of their absences. For its part, Malacañang said it recognizes the leadership change in the Senate.Further, Cayetano said that he can step down as Senate President anytime. “Hindi po kami nagpipilit sa kapangyarihan. I can go as Senate President, or even as a senator, anytime. Hindi po ba't ako lang ang katangi-tanging mataas na opisyal na nung nangyari ang flood control scam ay nagsabi na bakit hindi na lang tayo lahat mag-resign?” he said. (We are not clinging to power. I can step down as Senate President, or even as a senator, anytime. Wasn't I the only high-ranking official who, when the flood control scam happened, asked why don't we all just resign?) “Actually, hindi nila ako tinanggal, naglagay ng ‘acting.’ Senator Win, lose ‘yan. Ingat kayo diyan. You are playing around with fire,” he said. (Actually, they didn't remove me, they just put an 'acting' [one]. Senator Win, that is a loss. Watch out, you are playing around with fire.) Along with the Senate shakeup, there were also new committee chairpersons named. For his part, Senator Erwin Tulfo, who will now lead the Blue Ribbon Committee said that Cayetano is still the Senate President. “We don’t have 13 but we can elect pro-tempore because it doesn’t say 13. Senator Cayetano is still the Senate President,” he said in a press briefing. Flood control hearing Cayetano said that the shakeup is meant to block the resumption of the Blue Ribbon Committee’s investigation on the flood control mess on Thursday. “Mga kababayan, sabi nila ginawa nila ito dahil naipit ang trabaho. Wala naman silang ginawa ngayon kung hindi baguhin ang mga committee, para walang Blue Ribbon Committee hearing bukas, para hindi maimbitahan ang 18 Marines,” said Cayetano. (My fellow countrymen, they said they did this because work was getting stalled. But they didn't do anything today except change the committees, so that there would be no Blue Ribbon Committee hearing tomorrow, and so that the 18 Marines would not be invited.) He maintained that the hearing will still push through as scheduled on Thursday. “But tomorrow, tuloy ang hearing ng Blue Ribbon Committee. I am still the legitimate, legal, and moral Senate President of the Republic of the Philippines, and there are still functioning committees. We have to hear the testimonies. Invited po pati yung mga gumawa ng ilegal ngayon,” he said. (But tomorrow, the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing will proceed. I am still the legitimate, legal, and moral Senate President of the Republic of the Philippines, and there are still functioning committees. We have to hear the testimonies. Even those who committed illegal acts today are invited.) On Monday, minority senators denied that it was attempting to stop the Blue Ribbon Committee from resuming its legislative inquiry into the alleged flood control mess. “Walang pinipigil na hearings. Figment of their imagination ang ginagawa nila. Wala kaming ginagawang hadlang sa proseso ng Senado at mga agenda ng Senado,” Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said.(We are not stopping any hearings. That is a figment of their imagination. We are not obstructing Senate processes or its agenda.)In response to the call by the minority senators to resign after the majority bloc’s continued absence in the plenary sessions, Cayetano said that they are still welcome to be part of the committees. —LDF, GMA News