While Malacañang recognized that there was nothing wrong about accompanying their colleague, Senator Jinggoy Estrada, during his arrest, the Senate majority bloc should not have skipped Monday's session and continued working.

Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro stressed that the move by the majority members to "boycott" the Senate's plenary session on June 1 could create a string of effects.

She cited the pending priority bills targeted to be passed this month, the economy, and the public.

If the situation in the Senate carries on, these matters will be affected, Castro stressed.

"Sa ngayon alam naman natin kung ano iyong mga priority bills, hindi lang dalawa hindi lang isa, hindi lang tatlo, marami po (At present, we know what the priority bills are not just two, not just one, not just three, but many)," Csstro said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday, June 2.

"Pero kung ganito po ang nangyayari sa Senado, mahihirapan po talaga, hindi lamang ang Pangulo kung hindi ang taumbayan, apektado ang taumbayan dito, pati po ang ekonomiya ay maapektuhan sa ingay at gulo sa Senado (However, if this kind of situation continues in the Senate, it will really be difficult not only for the President but also for the people. The public will be affected by this, and even the economy will be impacted by the noise and disorder in the Senate)," Castro added.

The Palace official reiterated that on the part of the President and the executive branch, "there will be no issue" in passing the priority legislation identified by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) in February this year.

The Malacañang has been constantly stating that whoever the leader in the Senate may be, "the executive will engage and cooperate in order to pass priority bills for the benefit of the people. "

"Ang Pangulo po ay hindi iisipin ang sarili, hindi iisipin ang sariling interes (The President will not think of himself or his own interests)," Castro said.

"So, iyan po ang itanong natin sa Senado dahil tama po, hindi naman po kinakailangan na hindi magtrabaho kahapon dahil maski na po ang paghatid at pagsama kay Senator Jinggoy Estrada bilang kaibigan ay nararapat lamang, pero hindi po kinakailangang talikuran ang sariling mandato para lang sa ganitong klaseng isyu (So, that is what we should ask the Senate about, because it is also true that there was no need to stop working yesterday and accompanying Senator Jinggoy Estrada as a friend is appropriate, but it is not necessary to set aside one’s mandate just for this kind of issue)," Castro added.

The priority bills include the Travel Tax Abolition; the Expanded Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children and Anti-Child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials Act of 2026; the Anti-Fake News and Digital Disinformation; and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Elections.

Other legislative measures labeled as priority include the Anti-Political Dynasty Law; Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability or CADENA Act; Independent People’s Commission Act; and Party-List System Reform Act.

The Senate majority's non-appearance at the plenary session came after Estrada's arrest at the Senate over plunder.

The session was scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., but only members of the minority bloc were present.