Loren Legarda still regards herself as the current Senate President pro tempore
Senator Loren Legarda insisted that the Senate takeover that took place on Wednesday, June 3, was unconstitutional.
On May 11, 2026, the Senate had a new leadership when 13 Senators ousted former Senate President Tito Sotto. He was replaced by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, with the help of the unexpected appearance of Sen. Bato dela Rosa.
However, following the controversial Senate shooting incident, Dela Rosa once again disappeared and went into hiding to evade being served with the warrant of arrest from the International Criminal Court.
On June 1, Senator Jinggoy Estrada surrendered in connection with the plunder case filed against him for his alleged involvement in the anomalous flood control project in Bulacan. With this, the Majority Bloc lost two members, from 13, and they are now 11.
On Wednesday, Sen. Chiz Escudero made a bold move when he appeared during the plenary session, which the Majority Bloc has been boycotting since Monday. With this, there was a takeover in the Senate.
Currently, Sen. Win Gatchalian is the “acting” Senate President. In a recent statement, Sen. Loren Legarda, who still referred to herself as Senate president pro tempore, slammed the Senate takeover.
She stressed that what happened was unconstitutional, based on the report from Inquirer. The female Senator cited Article VI, Section 16(1) of the 1987 Constitution, which stated that “the Senate shall elect its President by a majority vote of all its respective Members.”
Legarda explained that since the Senate is composed of 24 members, the majority is 13, and since the votes that the new Senate President received did not reach the said required number, then this is invalid.
“When the Constitution and the rules are clear, these must be applied as written,” Sen. Loren Legarda stressed.