Photo courtesy of Senator Win Gatchalian/Facebook.
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is elected Senate president on Wednesday during a special session that settled the chamber’s leadership fight.
Gatchalian secured the post after Senator Joel Villanueva joined the majority bloc.
Villanueva’s move gave the Gatchalian camp the 13 votes needed to elect a Senate president.
The new majority is composed of Gatchalian, Villanueva, Migz Zubiri, Vicente Sotto, Panfilo Lacson, Risa Hontiveros, Francis Pangilinan, Bam Aquino, JV Ejercito, Chiz Escudero, Raffy Tulfo, Erwin Tulfo, and Lito Lapid.
Gatchalian became the fourth Senate president of the 20th Congress.
He replaced Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who was removed from the post on June 3.
Gatchalian was earlier elected only as Senate president pro tempore because his bloc then had 12 senators, short of the 13 votes required for the top Senate post.
Cayetano and most of his allies had asked the Supreme Court to void the Gatchalian leadership, arguing that the 12-member quorum used earlier was invalid.
