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MANILA, Philippines — All the remaining 22 senators should attend the special session of Congress to be called by President Marcos to settle their internal row once and for all, and move on to other more pressing issues, said a constitutional law expert.
According to University of the Philippines College of Law associate dean Paolo Tamase, the 10-member bloc of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano could no longer boycott the special session as doing so would be tantamount to handing over the leadership to acting Senate president Sherwin Gatchalian, who Malacañang recognizes as the new head of the chamber.
President Marcos has yet to issue a proclamation calling for a special session of Congress, but Malacañang said it would urgently accede to an official request submitted by Gatchalian.
“If the 10 refuse to attend the session and the 12 do, then the 12 will insist on quorum—applying Avelino doctrine, which many across government, academia, and civil society appear to have embraced—and they will exercise the Senate’s powers,” Tamase told the Inquirer on Sunday.
