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MANILA, Philippines — Senators allied with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano should not boycott any special session that may be called by President Marcos to address the ongoing leadership impasse in the chamber, as doing so could effectively hand control of the Senate to the new majority bloc led by acting Senate president Sherwin Gatchalian, a constitutional law expert warned on Sunday.
University of the Philippines College of Law associate dean Paolo Tamase said all 22 remaining senators should participate in the special session to finally settle the dispute and allow the chamber to resume work on pressing legislative and appointment matters delayed by the standoff.
According to Tamase, the 10-member bloc backing Cayetano risks conceding Senate leadership if it refuses to attend a special session while the 12 senators aligned with Gatchalian participate.
“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.
