Alan Cayetano camp seeks interim admin setup with new Senate majority
MANILA, Philippines— The camp of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who claims he’s still the Senate president, is proposing possible interim administrative arrangements to the new majority group now led by Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian.
One possible arrangement is the adoption of a dual-signatory or joint certification by current officials and those still asserting authority on important documents such as checks and contracts, according to Atty. Jose Luis Montales, who was Senate secretary under Cayetano’s leadership.
The proposal was contained in Montales’ letter to newly-installed Senate Secretary Renato Bantug Jr. on Monday.
READ: Gatchalian elected Senate president pro tempore
“While we may hold differing views regarding the legality and effects of the proceedings conducted on 3 June 2026, we believe we can agree on two important objectives: first, that the institutional operations of the Senate should continue unimpeded; and second, that the impeachment proceedings should move forward in an orderly and timely manner,” Montales said.
It was during the June 03 session of the Senate when 12 senators present approved a motion to declare all seats vacant, followed by the elections of new officials, including Gatchalian.
But the Cayetano bloc refused to recognize the new majority group, insisting that the June 3 session was illegal and constitute serious violations of the Constitution and the Rules of the Senate.
“At this point, it would be unfortunate if administrative, financial, logistical, or procedural concerns were to compound the legal and political issues that have already arisen. We believe it would be in the best interest of the Senate and the Impeachment Court to avoid any unnecessary disruption to their operations and to the orderly conduct of the proceedings,” Montales went on.
“Consistent with these objectives, SP Cayetano has asked me to explore with you possible interim administrative arrangements that may protect Senate personnel from conflicting directives and enable both the Senate and the Impeachment Court to continue functioning while the present controversy remains unresolved,” he added.
Montales particularly requested a meeting this Monday with Bantug. Inquirer has reached out to Bantug for comment but he has yet to respond as of posting.
According to Montales, Cayetano has asked him to present one possible interim arrangement that may be considered by the new majority and that is the “adoption of a dual-signatory or joint-certification mechanism for vouchers, checks, disbursements, contracts, personnel actions, and other documents necessary for the continued operations of the Senate and the Impeachment Court.”
“Under such an arrangement, documents requiring approval or certification may, where practicable, bear the signatures of the officials presently exercising the relevant functions and those asserting authority to perform the same functions,” the letter read, still citing Cayetano’s proposal.
“The objective of such a mechanism is not to confer, concede, recognize, or validate authority in any person, but rather to ensure continuity of operations, protect Senate personnel from conflicting directives, preserve public funds and institutional processes, and enable the Senate and the Impeachment Court to function while the controversy remains unresolved,” it further read.
The Senate convened as an impeachment court on May 18, exactly a week after Cayetano took the helm of the chamber, replacing Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
As Senate president, Cayetano was installed as presiding officer of the impeachment court to try the case of Vice President Sara Duterte. The trial was supposed to start on July 6. /mr
