Former Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Saturday, June 6, that the current leadership dispute in the Senate can only be resolved if senators convene in a formal session, ideally through a special session called by the President.

"Kung mapaaga yan, mas mabuti (If that can be done earlier, that would be better)," Pimentel said in a radio interview on DWIZ.

He said a special session is constitutionally possible, as he noted that the President may call Congress into session at any time and include other pending legislative measures that were not addressed in recent weeks. The newly-formed majority bloc elected Senator Sherwin Gatchalian last Wednesday as Senate President Pro Tempore, after Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero arrived to restore the quorum.

They cited the Avelino v. Cuenco to justify the legitimacy of the Senate takeover, which was followed shortly by the sine die adjournment of plenary sessions.

For Pimentel, if Senator Alan Peter Cayetano's bloc insists on boycotting even the special session, it can still push through since the majority of the chamber wants to do their work.

"Ngayon, kung yung isang grupo, yung grupo ni Sen. Cayetano, tuloy ang boycott, di tuloy pa rin yung special session kasi mayroong mas nakararami na gustong magtrabaho. So wala nang objection. Eh di talagang bumalik lang tayo dun sa June 3 session (Now, if one group—Sen. Cayetano’s group—continues its boycott, then even a special session would not proceed because there is a majority that wants to work. So there would be no objection. Then we would simply go back to the June 3 session.)," he said.

"So makikita natin na talagang in order yung nangyari noong June 3 (So we can see that what happened on June 3 was really in order)," he added.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro sa6s that President Marcos is inclined to call a special session if there is a formal request with valid grounds for doing so.

Cayetano accused Malacañang of trying to control the Senate in its readiness to call Congress to a special session.

"Yung mga reasoning na ganyan, doon na lang gawin 'yan sa plenary. Kailangan mag-plenary na sila, magpakita ng disiplina yung dalawang grupo, 100 percent attendance para maalaman na natin (Those kinds of arguments should just be made in the plenary. They need to hold a plenary session already, and both groups should show discipline, with 100 percent attendance so that we can clearly determine what is going on)," Pimentel said.

In line with this, Pimentel, along with former Senate Presidents Franklin Drilon, Vicente Sotto III and Juan Miguel Zubiri have issued a collective statement calling on incumbent senators to de-escalate internal tensions and resolve the ongoing leadership dispute within the chamber.

They warned that prolonged infighting risks undermining public trust in the institution.

In their statement, the former Senate leaders said they were speaking “out of shared moral duty” to the Senate they once led, and stressed that the highest responsibility of a Senate President was not personal or political survival, but to strengthen the institution and upholdi the rule of law.

Meanwhile, regarding concerns about public trust and the institution’s image, Pimentel acknowledged that the Senate’s credibility has been affected by the dispute but expressed hope it can be restored. He said the chamber must return to “basic legal concepts”.

He added that the Senate must once again become an institution where the public naturally turns for help and accountability, but stressed that rebuilding trust would take time and must begin with orderly internal processes and respectful conduct among senators.