FACT CHECK: No SC order to reverse Cayetano ouster as Senate president

Claim: The Supreme Court has issued an order reinstating Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate president and invalidating Win Gatchalian’s temporary takeover of the position.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: Several YouTube videos with similar claims were posted by the YouTube channel “PHILIPPINES TRENDING NEWS,” which has 544,000 subscribers. The videos have garnered views ranging from 20,000 to 60,000.

The thumbnails of these videos share similar elements, showing the Supreme Court building and its justices at the center, while photos of the senators arranged according to their respective blocs are on either side.

The most popular video has the following text overlaid on the thumbnail: “Korte nagdesisyon na! Si Alan Cayetano ang Senate President! Invalid si Gatchalian, fake SP ang hatol!”

(The Court has decided! Alan Cayetano is the Senate President! Gatchalian is invalid, the decision says he is a fake SP!)

The channel’s other videos make practically the same claim, saying that Cayetano won his case and that Gatchalian has been removed from his position.

The facts: A petition to uphold the legality of the June 3 session that ousted Cayetano is still pending before the High Court. No announcement about the Supreme Court’s decision on the petition has been made on their website or official social media accounts, nor have there been any such reports on mainstream media.

The SC petition was filed on June 8 by high school teacher John Barry Tayam. No further updates have been published about the petition aside from its filing.

The Senate’s official website also shows that Gatchalian remains Senate president pro tempore, while Cayetano is only labeled as a senator.

Senate quorum: The false videos began circulating amid a heated struggle between the Cayetano and Gatchalian blocs over Senate leadership.

The power struggle began when the Senate was rendered paralyzed because Cayetano and his allies — then the majority bloc — skipped two consecutive plenary sessions in a row on June 1 and 2. These absences meant the upper chamber could not reach a quorum, nor conduct its business. The move drew criticism from Gatchalian’s bloc, the Palace, and civil society.

But during the June 3 session, Senator Chiz Escudero — who was part of Cayetano’s bloc — appeared and broke the impasse in the upper chamber. This led to Gatchalian’s bloc gaining the numbers to declare all elected seats vacant and elect a temporary Senate president.

Since then, both sides have been at odds over the validity of the June 3 session and all actions taken during its proceedings. (READ MORE:  ​The Senate’s quorum of 12 senators is legal — here’s why) 

Debunked: Rappler has debunked other false claims on the Senate drama:

• FACT CHECK: Lacson remains a senator, did not resign
• FACT CHECK: Senators Lito Lapid, Erwin Tulfo remain in the minority bloc
• FACT CHECK: Vice Ganda not summoned by Senate over ‘We’re under attack’ skit   

– Shay Du/Rappler.com

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