MANILA — A group of law deans, professors, and political analysts has called on senators to move beyond the ongoing leadership dispute in the chamber and refocus on their legislative and constitutional duties, including the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

In a report, it said that in a separate statement, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) said the Senate session on June 3, 2026—where Senator Sherwin Gatchalian was elected Senate President Pro Tempore—was “lawful and valid,” citing the Supreme Court ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco and the existence of a quorum of 12 senators.

“All acts, resolutions and decisions made by the Senate during its session of June 3, 2026 are presumed to be official acts of the Philippine Senate following the presumption of regularity in the discharge of official functions,” the IBP said.

The Senate remains divided between factions aligned with Gatchalian and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano amid a continuing leadership gridlock.

The split stood at 11-11 until Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero joined the Gatchalian bloc on June 3, enabling 12 senators to hold a session and install committee chairpersons.

Cayetano, however, maintained that he remains Senate President, saying a new leader can only be elected with the support of at least 13 senators.

On Thursday evening, law deans and professors—including a retired Supreme Court justice—issued a separate statement urging senators to resolve the impasse, calling it “muddled” and disruptive to legislative work.

“Hardly has it ever happened that legislative business could not proceed because of the deliberate refusal of some members of the Senate to appear at the Session Hall for the conduct of legislative business. It was profoundly disturbing and confusing to us and to the entire nation,” the group said in a statement posted on the Facebook page of San Beda University Graduate School of Law dean Fr. Ranhilio Aquino.

They also raised concerns about quorum calculations, noting that while 24 senators were elected, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa has reportedly been in hiding due to a warrant from the International Criminal Court, while Senator Jinggoy Estrada is detained.

“To insist that he (Dela Rosa) should be counted in determining a majority for purposes of quorum is to accord someone who is evading arrest and the processes of law, and deliberately putting himself beyond the reach of any legal coercion, the power to hold the entire legislature hostage. It is a choice between insistence on numbers over the functioning of the Legislative Branch of government,” they said.

Citing Avelino v. Cuenco (G.R. 2821, March 4, 1949), the group said the June 3 session and resulting actions, including committee reorganizations, were valid.

“Even without addressing the question of the election of a Senate President, what this pronouncement of the Supreme Court calls attention to is its sensitivity to political realities – and the political reality is that 12 chose to appear to discharge their duties as senators, while 11 chose to stay away, shirking from their bounden duty,” the statement said.

They added that the Constitution requires a “majority of each House” based on members actually present and voting.

“The question has been asked: Since when has 12 become 13, and the plain answer is NEVER, but the premise is mistaken, because it assumes that 13 is the magic number for a quorum. That would be so were the membership of the Senate undisturbed,” they said.

The legal experts further argued that Avelino v. Cuenco remains applicable under the current Constitution and Senate composition.

They also urged lawmakers to prioritize urgent national business, including the impeachment trial of the Vice President.

“We call for our legislators to act as true statesmen and to return to the urgent business to which the Senate must attend, among the most important of which is the conduct of the impeachment trial of the Vice-President,” they said.

Among the signatories were San Beda University Graduate School of Law dean Fr. Ranhilio Aquino; retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna; former UP College of Law dean Pacifico Agabin; and several other law school deans, professors, and clergy members, including Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas.