MANILA — The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Thursday said the June 3 Senate session was lawful and valid, citing the 1949 Supreme Court ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco as legal basis.

In a statement posted online, the mandatory organization for all lawyers said the actions, resolutions, and decisions made during the session — including the election of Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore and the designation of committee heads — are presumed official acts of the Senate.

These acts, the IBP said, are covered by the presumption of regularity in the performance of official duties.

It also explained that a quorum may still be constituted even if only 12 senators are physically present, noting that two senators were considered unavailable.

Since Sen. Jinggoy Estrada is detained on a plunder case and Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa is reportedly not present, the IBP said they were excluded from the computation of members used to determine quorum.

With only 22 senators considered available, a group of 12 lawmakers was deemed sufficient to constitute a quorum.

“The quorum of 12 is determined based on the number of members who are legally able to discharge the functions of the Senate,” the statement added.

The IBP said this interpretation is consistent with the Supreme Court ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco, which held that an absolute majority may constitute a constitutional quorum for Senate proceedings.

The June 3 session was held even after the Cayetano-led majority bloc skipped plenary proceedings for a third consecutive day. However, Sen. Francis Escudero attended the session, allowing the minority bloc to establish quorum and proceed with business.

The group led by Gatchalian maintained that the session was valid and within constitutional bounds, citing the same Supreme Court precedent on quorum requirements.