Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano and several other senators have asked the Supreme Court to urgently resolve the constitutional voting threshold required for Senate actions, warning that uncertainty over the issue could affect the legality of future proceedings, including the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a Manifestation and Motion, the petitioners urged the high court to definitively interpret the constitutional phrase "all its Members" and determine the voting threshold required under the 1987 Constitution.

The senators argued that recent developments, including the 17 June special session that elected Sen. Sherwin Gatchalianas Senate president, did not render moot their petition challenging the legality of the 3 June rump session.

According to the petition, Gatchalian's subsequent election neither erased nor retroactively cured the alleged constitutional defects surrounding the earlier proceedings.

"The validity of the 3 June 2026 rump session, together with every official act that purportedly emanated from it, remains an actual and justiciable controversy," the motion stated.

The petitioners stressed that the case goes beyond the question of Senate leadership and instead seeks clarification of constitutional rules governing quorum and voting requirements.

At the center of the dispute is the interpretation of the phrase "all its Members" under Section 16, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, particularly whether the temporary absence or detention of senators affects the number of votes required for official Senate actions.

The group also argued that the respondents improperly relied on the 1949 Supreme Court ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco, saying the decision arose under a different constitutional framework.

They maintained that the 1987 Constitution expressly requires the election of the Senate president by "a majority vote of all its Members."

The petition warned that failing to resolve the issue could cast doubt on the validity of Senate actions, including the reorganization of committees, election of officers, amendments to impeachment rules, and proceedings in Duterte's impeachment trial.

The senators also cited the detention of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and the possibility of additional arrests involving lawmakers as reasons for the Court to immediately clarify the voting threshold.

They argued that similar disputes could recur whenever senators are absent, detained, or otherwise unable to attend sessions, making the controversy "capable of repetition yet evading review."

With Duterte's impeachment trial scheduled to begin on 6 July, the petitioners urged the Supreme Court to exercise its power of judicial review and issue a definitive ruling before political developments overtake the constitutional questions.

Among the reliefs sought, the petition asks the Court to declare the 3 June rump session and all actions taken during it null and void for allegedly lacking the constitutionally required quorum.