Past attendance records of senators during sessions with a quorum of 12 members were presented amid arguments over the number of senators required for such a declaration.
A quorum was declared in the upper chamber on Wednesday, June 3, after Sen. Chiz Escudero, who had been out of the public eye following his alleged involvement in the flood control scandal, appeared in the Senate.
With 12 senators present, the Senate resumed its session after two consecutive days of failing to convene due to the absence of senators from the bloc, led by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.
A roll call was conducted, a quorum was declared and all chamber positions were declared vacant, clearing the way for the reorganization.
Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian was elected Senate President Pro Tempore, serving as acting Senate President.
Senate committees also had new chairpersons elected following the reorganization.
The move drew criticism from some members of the Alan Peter-led bloc, such as Sen. Pia Cayetano, who questioned the validity of the June 3 session.
“When did 12 equals 13? So today, when 12 senators convened and purportedly held session, how can that be valid? 12 is not 13. Alam ng Grade 1 student ‘yan,” she said in a statement.
Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, a former Senate Minority Leader who also served as Senate President thrice, responded.
“When does 13 become 12? It’s when 24 becomes 22!” he wrote on social media in response to Pia.
An online user explained the figures, saying that 24 becomes 22 when two is subtracted from 24.
The online user added that 24, when divided by two, becomes 12.
There were 12 senators in the plenary hall on Tuesday, June 2, following Escudero’s appearance, and the number was sufficient for a quorum to be declared.
A quorum is the minimum number of senators required for the Senate to officially conduct business, such as passing bills, holding hearings, or making formal decisions.
Gatchalian’s group said that a quorum of 12 “is determined based on the number of members who are legally able to discharge the functions of the Senate.”
He said this was “in full accord” with a Supreme Court ruling stating “that an absolute majority of 12 out of the 23 members can constitute a constitutional majority of the Senate for quorum purposes.”
Gatchalian was referring to the landmark SC ruling in the 1949 case of Avelino v. Cuenco.
In that decision, the High Court held that “an absolute majority (12) of all the members of the Senate less one (23), constitutes constitutional majority of the Senate for the purpose of a quorum.”
Former SC Associate Justice Jose Feria also argued that the constitutional majority should be computed based on the actual number of members within the Senate’s jurisdiction.
“Therefore, as Senator Confesor was in the United States and absent from the jurisdiction of the Senate, the actual members of the Senate at its session of February 21, 1949, were twenty-three (23) and therefore 12 constituted a majority,” Feria’s opinion read.
Meanwhile, other Filipinos also pointed to the participation of current senators in previous quorums amid debate over the validity of the June 3 session.
A Facebook page cited instances in which Cayetano siblings, as well as Sen. Loren Legarda, were part of a quorum of 12 senators, based on Senate journals uploaded on the Senate website.
In four instances, they were recorded as present during the roll call, indicating their participation in the quorum.
These sessions took place on Feb. 11, 2009; Sept. 29, 2010; May 5, 2015 and June 2, 2015.
“So kapag noon tinanggap ang 12, bakit ngayon ‘illegal coup’ agad?” the Facebook page asked.
Former Senate President Franklin Drilon also said that, based on his experience, 12 senators already constitute a quorum in the Senate.
“Noong panahon ko noong March 2015, doon po sa 24 na senador, may [apat] na nasa labas ng bansa at may 3 na nasa kulungan. Kaya ang bilang ng kabuuan ng Senado ay 17 senador lamang. At ang ruling ko noon ay 12, quorum na,” he shared.
Sen. Erwin Tulfo, meanwhile, challenged the Cayetano siblings to review the Senate’s attendance records from 2008 to 2015.
The records showed that, during the terms of three Senate presidents, sessions proceeded with a quorum even though only three senators were physically present in the plenary hall.
— with reports from Philstar.com/Ian Laqui, Renalyn Ramirez, Martin Ramos, Rosette Adel, Camille Diola and Kristine Daguno-Bersamina
