OpenPinas: Weekly Review

During a June 17 special session called by President Marcos, Sherwin Gatchalian was formally elected Senate president with all 13 senators present voting for him after Joel Villanueva joined the majority—supplying the constitutional threshold Cayetano’s bloc had denied since the June 3 quorum of 12. The Cayetano-led minority skipped the morning session; Alan Peter Cayetano conceded defeat shortly before the vote. The session also convened the Commission on Appointments to confirm 85 ambassadors and 5 generals. Cayetano had filed a Supreme Court petition June 16 seeking to void the June 3 reorganization, but the chamber moved on. Gatchalian inherits a divided Senate weeks before Vice President Sara Duterte’s July 6 impeachment trial—ending a monthlong leadership crisis that began with Cayetano’s May 11 takeover and Bato dela Rosa’s May 13 Senate standoff.

President Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1318 on June 15 calling Congress to special session June 17, listing eight priority measures including an anti-political dynasty bill, tertiary-education reforms, and expanded AICS cash aid. The session became the venue for resolving Senate leadership rather than passing the dynasty measure, which Cayetano noted remained at interpellation stage. On June 18 the Sara Duterte impeachment pre-trial conference opened; Gatchalian said he would preside for now while the majority floated Francis Escudero as trial presiding officer—a role senators amended rules to allow in non-presidential impeachments. Gatchalian also said Jinggoy Estrada’s Sandiganbayan preventive suspension bars him from sitting as an impeachment judge during the 90-day window. Both panels agreed to expedite proceedings; document marking resumes Monday. The week bridged Marcos’s governance agenda and the impeachment clock.

Philippine and U.S. forces completed their fourth bilateral maritime cooperative activity of 2026 from June 14–19, involving the Navy frigate BRP Diego Silang, PCG vessels, FA-50s, and US Coast Guard cutters near Bajo de Masinloc despite PLA Navy and China Coast Guard presence. Exercises included search-and-rescue, VBSS drills, and division tactics. Separately, NTF-WPS confirmed on June 17 that the Chinese floating platform monitored inside the shoal lagoon since late May was removed after Manila’s diplomatic protest. Beijing’s embassy later called it a completed “research mission.” Manila said removal does not concede Chinese rights and vowed continued patrols. The twin developments—allied presence plus platform withdrawal—mark a tactical WPS win without resolving underlying Scarborough control since the 2012 standoff.

Ten days after the June 8 quake, NDRRMC Situation Report No. 10 recorded 78 deaths, 1,339 injured, and 30 missing, affecting 346,413 families or roughly 1.41 million people across Regions IX, XI, XII, and BARMM. Damaged houses totaled 74,657 (13,681 destroyed); infrastructure damage reached about ₱1.35 billion. 81,855 people remained displaced; power outages persisted in 34 areas and water disruptions in 15. PHIVOLCS logged thousands of aftershocks including a magnitude 6.4 event. Government assistance exceeded ₱176 million. Fourteen LGUs stayed under state-of-calamity declarations. Recovery competed for national attention with the Senate special session—testing whether disaster response stays funded as impeachment politics accelerates.

Win Gatchalian went from acting president to constitutionally elected Senate president in one special session—now presiding over both chamber business and Sara Duterte’s pre-trial while Escudero’s trial-judge role remains unsettled.

Marcos used Proclamation 1318 to force Congress back to work—getting a Senate president ally and WPS platform removal in the same week, even as the anti-dynasty bill he listed as priority remained stuck in debate.