Photo courtesy of Senator Win Gatchalian/Facebook.
Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian rejected a proposed power-sharing arrangement in the Senate as the leadership dispute in the chamber continued.
Gatchalian said the June 3 session had already settled the question of who was elected Senate president pro tempore and who was designated acting Senate president.
He said only one set of officials was elected and designated during that session, making any power-sharing setup impossible under the chamber’s proceedings.
Twelve senators, including Gatchalian, formed a quorum on June 3 despite the absence of 10 senators, among them then Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano.
The new majority later installed a fresh lineup of Senate officials after Cayetano’s bloc missed the last three session days, further deepening the standoff over the chamber’s leadership.
Cayetano, however, maintained that he remained Senate president and proposed interim administrative measures to avoid conflicting directives affecting Senate personnel and the impeachment court.
Among the arrangements Cayetano floated was a joint-signatory or dual-certification system for vouchers, checks, contracts, disbursements, personnel actions, and other documents needed for Senate operations and the impeachment court.
Gatchalian also insisted that he had become the presiding officer of the impeachment court in the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte under Senate rules, adding that the timeline earlier approved in caucus would still be followed, with the trial scheduled to begin on July 6.
