MANILA, Philippines — A political standoff that forced the Philippine Senate to close for two straight days came to an end Wednesday when opposition lawmakers secured enough members to reopen the legislative chamber.
The upper house had been paralyzed since Monday when Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano and 10 supporting senators refused to attend sessions. Their absence came after two of Cayetano’s allies faced legal troubles, reducing the 24-seat chamber to 22 functioning members.
Cayetano defended his group’s boycott as a form of “protest” designed to block opposing senators from seizing leadership of the chamber. The 11 lawmakers who oppose Cayetano condemned his actions and demanded his resignation.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged the missing senators to return immediately to their duties, warning that the legislative gridlock would block critical laws needed to address an energy crisis triggered by Middle Eastern conflicts affecting the impoverished nation.
The stalemate broke when Sen. Francis Escudero, who had previously supported Cayetano, appeared at the Senate to establish the minimum attendance required for official business before lawmakers begin a scheduled multi-week break.
“The current impasse in the Senate is untenable and unacceptable,” Escudero stated, noting that “political divisions” had “become too extreme” for the chamber to operate effectively.
Writing on Facebook, Cayetano insisted he continues to hold the Senate presidency and declared that he and his remaining supporters would reject any committee leadership changes implemented by opposing senators on Wednesday.
The Marcos administration issued a statement backing Sen. Win Gatchalian, whom anti-Cayetano senators named as temporary Senate leader. “What happened in the Senate…was based on the law and the rule of law,” the administration declared.
Cayetano’s opponents accused him of desperately supporting two missing allies — Ronald dela Rosa and Jinggoy Estrada — to preserve his narrow majority leadership.
Dela Rosa, who previously served as national police chief, has gone into hiding following an International Criminal Court arrest warrant naming him as a co-conspirator with former President Rodrigo Duterte, who faces trial in The Hague for alleged crimes against humanity. Both men deny authorizing extrajudicial executions.
Estrada was taken into custody at the Senate on Monday on corruption allegations connected to a flood control project. He maintains his innocence and remains jailed pending trial.
Cayetano maintains ties to the former president, whose daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, has blamed Marcos and his government for the “kidnapping” of her father by police and his transfer to the international court.
Senate leadership control carries significant weight as the chamber prepares to begin the July trial of Sara Duterte, who was impeached as vice president last month by the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Marcos supporters.
The vice president, who has announced plans to run for president in 2028, faces impeachment on criminal allegations including unexplained wealth and publicly threatening to assassinate the president — charges she denies but has declined to address comprehensively.
