Malacañang has urged senators aligned with acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian to reject Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano’s proposed interim administrative arrangement for the chamber.
Palace press officer Claire Castro warned on June 8 that Cayetano has a history of not honoring agreements, citing his 2020 ouster as House Speaker. She said the executive branch recognizes only Gatchalian’s leadership. Cayetano offered a dual-signatory mechanism for Senate documents in a June 7 letter. Gatchalian rejected the proposal, according to Cayetano. The Senate website updated on June 8 to list Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore and Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri as majority leader. Former Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said on June 8 that 12 senators formed a valid quorum on June 3, excluding detained Sen. Jinggoy Estrada from the count.
