Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano is no longer tagged as the Senate president in the chamber’s website, but Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian is recognized as the Senate president pro tempore.
This is after the new Senate majority voted on June 3 to declare all seats in the chamber vacant on the third day of Cayetano and his allies’ absence at the plenary.
Since the shake-up, Cayetano has consistently pushed back on the new leadership, calling it ‘illegitimate.’
However, Malacañang and the House of Representatives also recognized the change in leadership.
In a notice for a coordination meeting for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address, an invitation was extended to Senate Secretary Renato Bantug, Jr., of the Gatchalian leadership.
The House prosecution’s response to Vice President Sara Duterte’s answer to the articles of impeachment was also submitted to Bantug.