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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'We warned this would happen': Alan Cayetano slams "illegal coup d'etat, refuses to surrender Senate leadership

'We warned this would happen': Alan Cayetano slams "illegal coup d'etat, refuses to surrender Senate leadership

Published Jun 3, 2026 06:23 pm

At A Glance

  • Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano rejected the election of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as the acting Senate President, saying there is no sufficient grounds for it to happen.

Erstwhile Senate president Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday, June 3 condemned the move to oust him as the Senate President, refusing to acknowledge the authority of the new Senate majority bloc composed of 12 senators. 

Cayetano also rejected the election of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as the acting Senate President, saying there is no sufficient grounds for it to happen.

“So wala pong ground para magkaroon ng acting president (So there is no ground to have an acting president),” Cayetano said in another Facebook Live session.

“This is an illegal coup d’etat na may kasamang pagbabasura ng ating (that includes the abrogation of our) Constitution. I warned everyone about this from day one,” he said. 

Unless they have the 13 votes, Cayetano insisted there is no new majority bloc and he remains as the Senate leader.

“Because under the Constitution, under the rules of the Senate, they need 13. Hindi kami nagpipilit sa kapangyarihan (We don’t insist our power),” he said.

“I can go as Senate President event as senator anytime,” he added.

Playing around with fire

At the same time, Cayetano warned about Gatchalian’s election as the acting Senate president. 

“Hindi nila ako tinanggal. Naglagay ng acting, Senator Win, loose yan. Ingat kayo diyan (They did not remove me. They appointed an acting Senate president, Sen. Sherwin. He’s loose. Be careful about him),” Cayetano said.

“You’re playing around with fire. This is not just about the Senate. This is about the Philippine Constitution,” he said.

Taking control of Blue Ribbon panel

Cayetano also said that the recent moves to alter the leadership structure of the Senate validates his repeated warnings that efforts were underway to seize control of key committees, particularly the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

“If their concern was really the work of the Senate, then why is the first priority to stop the Blue Ribbon hearing?” he pointed out.

Cayetano said the scheduled Blue Ribbon hearing on Thursday, June 4, scheduled by his sister Sen. Pia Cayetano, whom his group assigned as the chairperson of the panel, will push through.

He warned that attempts to interfere with the investigation would only deepen public suspicion that powerful interests are seeking to avoid scrutiny.

“The Filipino people deserve to know the truth. You can try to stop us, but you will be stopping the Filipino people,” he said. 

Related Tags

Senate leadership change Senate Alan Peter Cayetano
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