Philippine Senate leadership shift leaves Sara Duterte exposed ahead of impeachment trial

A leadership stand-off in the Philippine Senate ended Wednesday with the removal of an ally of former president Rodrigo Duterte as leader of the chamber, which will soon start the impeachment trial of his daughter, incumbent Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio.

With 13 of 24 senators backing him, Sherwin Gatchalian, an ally of President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, was elected Senate president. His rival, Alan Peter Cayetano, a key supporter of Duterte, admitted defeat.

“He’s the leader the Senate needs in this time of division and disarray,” said Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, who nominated Gatchalian. “I know he will be able to rise above the fray and lead us back to our principal function, which is to attend the work of legislation.”

Both had claimed leadership of the Senate in the last two weeks based on contrasting legal interpretations of the quorum that led to their elections. An allied senator of Cayetano, however, defected on Wednesday and gave his rivals’ bloc a clear majority.

Cayetano, in a post on his social media account, said he had conceded to the new Senate leader. “Offices are temporary, titles are temporary, even majorities are temporary – but your right to the truth is not. I promise you, we will get to the bottom of this,” he said, addressing the public.

“It’s a relief,” Jean Franco, a political professor at the state-run University of the Philippines, said, but added that the country’s democracy, “with its weak and fragile institutions”, faced more headwinds.