FORMER Senate president Vicente Sotto III on Thursday pushed back on claims that the Supreme Court’s dismissal of public school teacher Barry Aquino Tayam’s petition on the Senate quorum issue weakened the legal basis for recognizing 12 senators as a valid quorum.
In a Viber message to reporters, Sotto said the court did not rule against the 12-member quorum position, but merely found no need to take up Tayam’s petition.
“Some people misunderstand it. The petition is not justiciable, therefore no need for SC to take it up,” he said.
Sotto said critics were wrong to treat the dismissal as proof that the 12-of-23 argument was invalid.
“Daming wishful thinking trying to fool people into thinking na mali ang 12 of 23 (There is a lot of wishful thinking trying to fool people into believing that 12 of 23 is wrong),” he said.
The quorum debate stemmed from the June 3 Senate session, where 12 senators participated in proceedings despite objections from the opposing bloc.
Sotto’s bloc cited the 1949 Supreme Court ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco to support the view that 12 senators may constitute a quorum under certain circumstances.
