The Supreme Court (SC) was asked on Friday, June 5, to declare legal and constitutional the quorum of 12 senators who were physically present and assembled during their June 3 session at the Senate building in Pasay City.

In a petition, the SC was also asked to affirm the full legality and constitutionality of all the legislative actions, vacancy declarations, leadership elections, and committee reorganizations done by the 12 senators during the June 3 session.

The petition was filed by John Barry T. Tayam -- a teacher, a taxpayer, a voter, and a resident of Las Pinas City.

Named respondents were Senators Alan Peter S. Cayetano, Pilar Juliana S. Cayetano, and Lorna Regina B. Legarda.

The petition is expected to be raffled on Monday, June 8, to determine who among the 15 SC members will be the justice-in-charge or ponente.

After the raffle, the SC will decide if the petition will be included in its regular Wednesday, June 10, full court session, or a special session will be called by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo.

In his petition, Tayam told the SC that with the disappearance of Senator Ronald dela Rosa last May 14 due to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the arrest of Senator Jinggoy Estrada last June 1, Monday, due to a charge of plunder before the Sandiganbayan, only 11 senators – the erstwhile minority in the Senate – appeared on June 1 and June 2, Tuesday, at the Senate.

He said that when Senator Francis Escudero reported to the Senate on June 3, the 11 senators decided to convene and tackle various issues.

“With a quorum of 12 members formally established, the Senate immediately moved to declare all leadership posts vacant, triggering a sweeping institutional overhaul,” Tayam said.

He also said: “Under the newly reconstituted leadership, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian ascended to Senate President Pro Tempore and Acting Senate President. Rounding out the new administrative structure, Senator Juan Miguel ‘Migz’ Zubiri was elected Chairperson of the Committee on Rules, while Renato Bantug Jr. and retired Police Major General Alfredo Sotto Corpus were sworn in as Senate Secretary and Sergeant-at-Arms, respectively.”

At the same time, Tayam said the June 3 session resulted in the designation of Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito as chairperson of the Committee on Finance; Senator Erwin T. Tulfo, Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon), and Committee on Social Justice, Welfare and Rural Development; Senator Vicente Sotto III, Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification and Reconciliation; Senator Panfilo Lacson, Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, and Committee on Accounts; Senator Raffy T. Tulfo, Committee on Public Services; Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Committee on Basic Education; Senator Francis Pangilinan, Committee on Agriculture, Food and Agrarian Reform; Senator Risa Hontiveros, Committee on Health and Demography; Senator Lito Lapid, Committee on Games and Amusement; Senator Escudero, Committee on Urban Planning, Housing and Resettlement; and Senator Zubiri, Committee on Foreign Relations.

Tayam told the SC that last June 3, the roster of active, available incumbent senators stood at 22.

Thus, he said, with 22 available out of 24 members of the Senate, the “functioning majority and valid constitutional quorum is exactly twelve (12).”

He also said: “Because twelve (12) senators were physically present during the session on June 3, 2026, a valid statutory quorum was legally constituted. The subsequent vacancy declarations, leadership elections, and committee reconstitutions are therefore entirely valid, lawful, and constitutional.”

Tayam said the rift within the Senate widened as Senator Alan Peter Cayetano openly defied the newly installed majority and “refused to acknowledge the validity of the 12-member quorum that declared his seat vacant, while Senator Loren Legarda similarly denounced the reorganization as invalid, insisting she remains the legitimate Senate President Pro Tempore.”

The institutional defiance culminated last June 4 when Senator Pia Cayetano proceeded with a Blue-Ribbon Committee hearing despite a postponement order issued by the new senate leadership, he said.

“To prevent the imminent paralyzation of a co-equal branch of government, avoid the chaotic emergence of dual competing Senate leaderships, and resolve this escalating constitutional crisis, I respectfully invoke the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court as the ultimate arbiter of the Constitution to definitively rule on the validity of the chamber’s reorganization,” Tayam asked the SC.

He also said:

“In the present case, it is evident that an actual justiciable controversy exists regarding the current operations of the Senate, the structural integrity of its various committees, and the very legitimacy of its leadership.

“This profound institutional crisis does not merely involve internal parliamentary disputes, but directly implicates constitutional mandates, thereby necessitating the urgent intervention of this Honorable Court to restore constitutional order.

“Alternatively, even if this Honorable Court should ultimately determine that the controversies surrounding the internal organization of the Senate fall within the realm of non-justiciable political questions in deference to the doctrine of separation of powers, a comprehensive and definitive legal explanation is nonetheless imperative.

“The formulation of clear judicial guidelines in this matter is of paramount importance to Philippine jurisprudence. An authoritative ruling on these overlapping constitutional boundaries will serve as an enduring precedent, providing vital guidance to the legal system, the legislature, the bench, and the bar for generations to come.”