By Rey Panaligan
Senator Alan Peter Cayetano and eight other senators asked the Supreme Court (SC) not to dismiss as moot and academic their June 11 petition seeking to nullify all resolutions passed by 12 senators during the June 3 session.
In a pleading dated June 29, and released to journalists by the SC’s Office of the Spokesperson on June 30, Cayetano’s group argued that the constitutional questions raised in their petition “continue to carry immediate and real consequences.”
They stressed that the issues affect not only the parties and the institutional independence of the Senate but also the legitimacy of official acts undertaken during the challenged proceedings, including the ongoing impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.
The senators maintained that the June 3 session was unconstitutional due to the absence of a quorum, and that subsequent developments—such as Senator Sherwin Gatchalian’s election as Senate President on June 17—did not cure the alleged violations.
They urged the Court to declare the June 3 rump session and all acts emanating from it null and void.
Cayetano emphasized that the case is not about Senate leadership but about safeguarding constitutional order and reaffirming that no branch of government is above the Constitution.
