ᵕ̈

SO WHAT HAPPENED Season 4 Episode 2 - Re-vacancy of Positions Chiz Escudero entered the plenary and joined the 11-senator minority bloc. That made 12 senators physically present on the plenary, and the chamber reportedly declared quorum and moved to reorganize leadership/posts. Some may frame it as Cayetano being “ousted,” while the cleaner reading is showed as Gatchalian became Senate President Pro Tempore (or Acting Senate President) while Cayetano remains Senate President on paper but politically weakened. So why is 12 allowed, di ba 13? Normally, 12 is not quorum. The Constitution says the Senate has 24 senators, and “a majority of each House” is needed for quorum. Normally, majority of 24 means 13. The same section says the Senate elects its President by majority vote of all its members. Why they are treating 12 as quorum - they are likely relying on Avelino v. Cuenco, a 1949 Supreme Court case. In that case, the Court accepted the reasoning that because one senator, Tomas Confesor, was abroad and could not participate, the Senate was effectively treated as having 23 participating senators, so 12 became a majority of 23. The analogy today, similar to Avelino v Cuenco, Jinggoy Estrada has been arrested on a plunder charge that reportedly carries no right to bail and Senator Bato has an ICC Warrant of Arrest and is in hiding So the Minority (now Majority) side will argue if Estrada and Bato are unable to participate, then the practical Senate membership is 22, not 24. And if the working number is 22, then 12 is quorum. But this is the important nuance. The Supreme Court decision is Avelino v. Cuenco. Its broader lesson is that the courts are hesitant to interfere in Senate leadership fights (but not including Senate Presidency), and the remedy usually lies “in the Senate Session Hall", so when Estrada was arrested (and Bato is missing) and they are now "unable to participate", the Senate has unilateral power between their Rules to select their own leaders EXCEPT the Senate Presidency. So why not the Senate Presidency? Simply, because it is STATED in the Constitution - the Supreme Court now has power to interpret this. For Senate President, the Constitution is explicit. The Senate elects its President by “majority vote of all its respective Members.” So if you count the Senate as original 24 members, they need 13 votes to elect a new Senate President. That is why Cayetano was elected earlier with 13 votes and thus the anti-Cayetano camp need 13 votes to reelect another Senate President. But that's where the Constitution ends and the Supreme Court jurisdiction ends. For committee chairmanships, the Senate Rules are followed to the letter. The Rules say the membership of permanent committees, including chairpersons, shall be chosen by the Senate (via simple majority of quorum), and committee chairs/members serve until successors are elected or designated. It does not use the same “majority vote of all members” language found in the Senate President-election rule. So the distinction is: Senate President = constitutional officer = needs majority of all members. Committee chairs = internal committee organization = can be reorganized by the Senate once there is quorum.