MANILA, Philippines – Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday, June 17, gave up his claim to the Senate presidency, an hour before the Senate convened for a special session.

“And so I will end with a message to the public — it has been the honor of my life to serve as your Senate President. Offices are temporary, titles are temporary, even majorities are temporary — but your right to the truth is not. I promise you, we will get to the bottom of this. We will find the Masterminds. We will hold them accountable,” Cayetano said in a Facebook post.

“I may leave the position of SP, but I am honored to still be your PS — your Public Servant,” he added.

At the special session, 13 senators — the minimum required number — elected Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president. The Gatchalian bloc was joined by Senator Joel Villanueva, securing Gatchalian’s Senate presidency.

Cayetano and the other members of his bloc snubbed the special session.

Controversies

Cayetano’s tenure as Senate president was marked by a series of controversies. Under his watch, a shooting incident occurred within the Senate premises. He also granted protective custody to ally Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, but allowed him to escape.

In a bid to retain control of the chamber, Cayetano had urged his allies to skip Senate sessions, a move that effectively paralyzed proceedings and stalled action on key measures.

But the strategy failed. Despite the absence of much of Cayetano’s bloc, his ally, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, later joined the opposing faction on June 3, helping install Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore and acting Senate president.

Even after the leadership change, Cayetano continued to insist that he remained the Senate’s “legitimate” and “moral” president, arguing that the takeover lacked a quorum. The Gatchalian bloc rejected the claim, citing a Supreme Court ruling on how quorum is determined in legislative bodies. – With reports from James Patrick Cruz/Rappler.com