Palace congratulates new Senate President Gatchalian

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang congratulated Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on his election as Senate president during the chamber’s special session on Wednesday.

Gatchalian secured enough votes to assume the Senate leadership after Sen. Joel Villanueva joined the 12-member majority bloc.

READ: Gatchalian is new Senate president

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“The Palace congratulates newly elected Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian. It also expresses its gratitude to the House of Representatives under the leadership of Speaker Bodjie Dy and to the majority in the Senate, who are now ready to carry out their duties,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said in Filipino in a Viber message to reporters.

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“We know President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s goal—a fast and efficient delivery of services to the people. The priority legislative bills should now be enacted into law so that government assistance to our fellow citizens can be further strengthened and expanded,” added Castro.

Gatchalian is the fourth Senate president of the 20th Congress, succeeding Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano.

READ: Alan Cayetano concedes Gatchalian camp has numbers

Before the special session convened, Cayetano had conceded that the camp of then Senate president pro tempore Gatchalian had the numbers to elect a new Senate president.

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“The arithmetic has changed. The Constitution has not. And now, after speaking with Sen. Joel Villanueva, it appears our colleagues on the other side will soon have the numbers to elect a new Senate President,” Cayetano said in a Facebook post ahead of the 9 a.m. special session.

Marcos Jr. issued Proclamation No. 1318 on Monday, directing Congress to hold a special session to fast-track social protection measures amid energy challenges and recent calamities.

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Speaking at a press briefing in Kazan, Russia, on Tuesday, Castro said restoring order and ending the impasse in the Senate were matters that the senators themselves needed to address.

“The President wants order in the Senate because they really need to get to work. So that is in their hands,” said Castro.

Castro made the statement when asked whether senators had already resolved their differences, after previously saying that Marcos would call a special session only once the impasse in the Senate was resolved.

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“As of now, the president has fulfilled his obligation. He called a special session, and it is now in the hands of the senators whether they will also fulfill their obligation,” she said.  /gsg