Marcos open to special session amid Senate deadlock, says Palace

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is inclined to call a special session if a formal request contains valid grounds for doing so, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said on Thursday.

This comes after Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian said senators were considering holding a special session to tackle bills and appointments that had been delayed by the recent leadership impasse in the Senate.

READ: Palace warns: Nonstop Senate chaos to delay Marcos priority bills

“The president is inclined to grant the official request for a special session. Why? Because if many matters are delayed due to these developments, the president does not want Senate work to be disrupted or delayed,” Castro, speaking Filipino, said at a briefing.

“Provided that the official request contains valid grounds for calling a special session,” she continued.

Asked how soon Marcos could convene a special session, Castro said it would depend on when Gatchalian formally submits the request. She added that the president would act on it immediately.

Castro did not specify which measures would be prioritized should a special session be called, but noted that Marcos would want to ensure the passage of the Anti-Political Dynasty bill.

Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the President is the only person explicitly granted the power to formally call a special session of Congress.

On Wednesday, Marcos himself urged senators to “get back to work” amid the ongoing impasse, warning that the chamber’s inability to hold sessions had disrupted essential legislative functions and hampered government efforts to address pressing national concerns.

“I’m afraid all these events that we have been witnessing has thrown the whole Senate into disarray. It has discredited the leadership, and it has stopped the essential business of legislation and government,” the president said in an ambush interview.

Senators of the minority bloc called on Tuesday for the resignation of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, saying he could “no longer function” as the chamber’s leader following the majority bloc’s absence from the Senate plenary session for the second consecutive day.

The majority had earlier failed to show up on Monday in the wake of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s arrest for plunder charges, which reduced the majority bloc from 12 to 11 members, in a virtual tie with the minority.

With only 11 minority senators left on the Senate floor, the Senate was paralyzed and unable to conduct any business due to the lack of a quorum.

On Wednesday, the Cayetano-led majority bloc skipped the plenary session for the third straight day, but Sen. Francis Escudero’s presence allowed a quorum, leading to the election of Gatchalian and new committee heads. /jpv /atm /cb