Senator Loren Legarda stood firm that the Majority senators continue to back Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, according to a Friday report.

This follows Cayetano’s ouster by twelve senators’ votes—the minority bloc with Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero—to install Senator Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian as Acting Senate President and Senate President Pro Tempore on Wednesday, June 3.

In a report by RH 28 Raymund Dadpaas, Legarda stressed that under the Constitution, it is clear that a minimum of 13 votes is required to replace any Senate president.

She added that the senators who voted for Gatchalian cannot use the Avelino vs. Cuenco case as legal basis, as the decision issued in 1949 was dictated by the 1935 Constitution, not the existing one.

At present, the country’s laws and legal proceedings adhere to the 1987 Constitution. It is clear, she said, that under this Constitution, that the Senate president should be elected by a majority of Senators.

For Legarda, this means 13 votes must be secured, with the Senate composed of 24 senators. In contrast, Gatchalian’s bloc only consists of 12 senators.

On Wednesday, Gatchalian was elected Senate President Pro Tempore when Escudero joined the session to attain a quorum. No other senator from the majority bloc participated.