Senator Chiz Escudero joined the Senate minority bloc, enabling them to achieve a quorum and proceed with the session. The minority, led by former Senate President Tito Sotto, is advocating for Senator Win Gatchalian to replace Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President. Senators Lacson and Pangilinan praised Gatchalian's qualifications and work as finance committee chair, highlighting his budget oversight and advocacy for public participation. Cayetano had previously shown support for Gatchalian amid rumors of a leadership change. The news is reported by Patrick Cruz of Rappler.
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article. Senator Chiz Escudero joined the Senate minority in the Wednesday session, helping them constitute a quorum and paving the way for the convening of the session.
No other member of the majority bloc attended. The 11-member minority bloc led by former Senate president Vicente “Tito” Sotto III have been pushing for Gatchalian to replace Alan Peter Cayetano as“He is capable, qualified and prepares for his work. In all the committee hearings he attended or presided over, he knew what he was talking about and he was prepared.
So we see him as eminently qualified to become the Senate President of the 20th Congress at least,” Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said of Gatchalian in a mix of English and Filipino in a DZMM interview on DZMM on May 23. Senator Francis Pangilinan cited Gatchalian’s work as chair of the Senate committee on finance, noting that Gatchalian ensured that the 2026 national budget was properly allocated.
Before he was replaced as chair of the finance panel following the May 11 Senate leadership shake-up, Gatchalian pushed for greater public participation in the budget process and flagged suspicious Cayetano himself had appeared to be supportive of Gatchalian. During a plenary session on May 20, amid persistent rumors of another Senate coup and Gatchalian as his successor, Cayetano joked that he “Patrick Cruz is a multimedia reporter covering public finance, infrastructure, and transportation for Rappler. He also covered politics and issues in Metro Manila cities.
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