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Empty seats fill the Senate plenary hall on June 1, 2026, after the majority bloc and presiding officers fail to show up for session. With only members of the minority bloc were in attendance, the session did not convene.
The STAR / Ryan Baldemor
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate failed to convene Monday, June 1, after the majority bloc and the chamber’s presiding officers did not show up for session, moments after Sen. Jinggoy Estrada surrendered to authorities over a plunder case.
The plenary session was supposed to start at 5 p.m., but Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano and other majority senators did not appear on the floor. Members of the minority bloc attended the session and waited for more than an hour, but the Senate could not proceed without the presiding officers.
At 6:21 p.m., Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan was the only senator left in the plenary before minority senators returned minutes later to take a photo and allow invited singers to lead the national anthem.
Cayetano later said on social media that the majority’s non-attendance was a form of protest, arguing that the Senate must remain independent, although he did not make clear from which interests the chamber was supposedly asserting "independence."
Sen. Juan Miguel "Migz" Zubiri told reporters afterward that the minority bloc had not been informed that the majority would skip the session.
"Parang it's a sign of protest on their part," Zubiri said. (It’s like a sign of protest on their part.)
Zubiri said that in his 14 years in the Senate, it was the first time he had seen no presiding officer appear for session.
He said the minority bloc only wanted the chamber to continue working, citing pending matters such as the election of members of the Commission on Appointments and the confirmation of promotions of soldiers expected to retire.
The minority bloc is expected to issue a statement, Zubiri said.
Deadlock
This comes at a precarious moment for Cayetano’s leadership. The majority bloc has been effectively reduced to 11 members after Estrada’s arrest earlier Monday and the continued absence of Sen. Bato dela Rosa, who has not returned to the Senate since leaving its protective custody while facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.
The thin margin also leaves Cayetano’s control of the chamber exposed, with no majority leader yet named and the majority’s edge on key votes wiped out if members are absent or unavailable.
After the walkout. Monday’s stalled session followed the minority bloc’s walkout on Tuesday, May 26, aiming to prevent a quorum when majority member Sen. Rodante Marcoleta moved to amend the rules to allow senators who are not physically present to participate and be counted in plenary decisions.
Minority senators objected to the proposal, saying it violated the Senate’s own rules and appeared designed to benefit absent members of the majority. The walkout deprived the chamber of a quorum and forced adjournment. — with reports from John Marwin Elao
