After a two-week-long leadership deadlock, Senator Win Gatchalian was finally installed to the chamber’s top post on Wednesday after Senator Joel Villanueva broke his allegiance from the rival faction led by Senator Alan Cayetano. 

Villanueva’s power shift enabled the Gatchalian bloc to muster the constitutionally mandated 13-vote majority threshold to officially take over the Senate from Cayetano and allies.

The Cayetano-led faction was a no-show during the special session called by the President, although Cayetano had already accepted defeat almost two hours before the session. 

Cayetano conceding the Senate presidency ended weeks of tense standoff that paralyzed the Senate’s legislative work, including the passing of key bills on final reading, the confirmation of military generals, and the granting of Filipino citizenship to Bennie Boatwright III and Matthew James Ramos ahead of international sports competitions.

The formal takeover of the Gatchalian bloc came one day after Cayetano and allies brought the leadership dispute before the Supreme Court, asking the body to void their initial ouster on 3 June. Despite this, they did not drop the petition.

Villanueva’s defection saw Cayetano’s bloc drop from 13 to 10, though the figure effectively shrank further with the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada on plunder charges and the continued hiding of Senator Bato dela Rosa to evade an International Criminal Court warrant. 

Aside from them, Senators Loren Legarda, Pia Cayetano, Bong Go, Rodante Marcoleta, Imee Marcos, Robin Padilla, Camille Villar, and Mark Villar maintained their allegiance to Cayetano.

The deadlock was triggered by the three-day boycott staged by Cayetano and allies in protest of Estrada’s arrest on 1 June, which they criticized as “selective prosecution” by the administration. 

The boycott later prompted Senator Chiz Escudero, formerly allied with Cayetano, to switch sides, saying the paralysis of legislative work was “unacceptable” as it effectively barred the institution from performing its constitutional duties.

Cayetano no grudge vs ‘pressured’ peers

Villanueva cited the same reason behind his defection from the Cayetano bloc. Both Escudero and Villanueva, however, pointed out they were not taking sides.

Despite this, Cayetano said he holds no grudge against Escudero and Villanueva—who are both being implicated in the flood control controversy.

Cayetano did not explicitly name Villanueva, but his statement was issued before the convening of a special session to elect Gatchalian.

“To our brother who, in the end, felt he had no choice but to make peace with the new reality: I hold no bitterness toward you. I have seen the pressures that were brought to bear, and I understand them,” Cayetano’s statement reads.

Gatchalian’s election marks the fourth Senate leadership shakeup in the 20th Congress in less than a year. Prior to Cayetano and Gatchalian, Senators Escudero and Tito Sotto also took the helm of the upper chamber. 

Escudero was the initial Senate president of the 20th Congress, until Sotto replaced him in September last year. Sotto, meanwhile, lost the chamber’s top post to Cayetano in a surprise coup on 11 May, after Dela Rosa broke his six-month-long absence to help Cayetano secure 13 votes. 

Gatchalian took his oath before Sotto, with Escudero and Senator Migz Zubiri—who also held the Senate presidency in the previous Congress—as witnesses. 

The Senate, meanwhile, installed Sotto as Senate president pro tempore, replacing Senator Loren Legarda.

Despite his ouster, Cayetano averred he was ”not saddened by the loss of a position” and would rather hold the chamber’s post briefly “for something true.” 

“This was never about the Senate presidency. From the very beginning, it was about the truth — the truth about the flood-control funds, the billions meant to shield our towns and our families from the waters, the protection that was paid for and never came. That is the fight that began all of this - one side wanted to bring it out, the other was desperate to keep it covered. And it is a fight that we intend to continue, no title or position required.

Recall that Cayetano had repeatedly attributed the leadership row to Malacañang, accusing the executive of turning the Senate into a rubber stamp to shield its allies in Congress amid allegations of involvement in the flood control scheme.