MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition challenging the validity of the June 3, 2026 Senate session that resulted in the election of Sen, Sherwin Gatchalian as acting Senate president.
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan disclosed the ruling Thursday in a social media post, attaching a copy of the resolution dismissing the petition for certiorari filed by Valeriano Loon and Zigfred Diaz as taxpayers, officers of the court and in the public interest.
In an Aug. 26 resolution, the Supreme Court en banc said petitioners Loon and Diaz failed to sufficiently show that the senators who held the session committed grave abuse of discretion.
The session “appear[s] to be in accord with the facts and applicable law and jurisprudence,” the court said.
The petition challenged the actions of 12 senators who convened on June 3 and declared the Senate leadership positions vacant, paving the way for Gatchalian’s election as Senate president pro tempore and acting Senate president.
“The Court resolved to dismiss the petition for certiorari for failure to show sufficiently that the respondents committed grave abuse of discretion in holding session on June 3, 2026,” the court said.
Gatchalian was elected Senate president pro tempore and acting Senate president during the session, while Sen. Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri returned as majority floor leader. The leadership change followed Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s attendance at the session, which enabled the 12 senators to reach a quorum.
Named respondents included Gatchalian, Pangilinan, Zubiri, Escudero, Senators Tito Sotto, Panfilo Lacson, Risa Hontiveros, JV Ejercito, Erwin Tulfo, Raffy Tulfo, Lito Lapid and Bam Aquino, as well as Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. and Sergeant-at-Arms Alfred Corpus.
The senators had defended the legality of the session, citing the Supreme Court’s 1949 ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco and maintaining that the 12 senators present constituted a quorum.
