MANILA — Former Senate President Vicente Sotto III disputed claims that a recent decision of the Supreme Court of the Philippines affected the legal basis for recognizing 12 senators as a valid quorum in the Senate of the Philippines.

In a Viber message to reporters, Sotto said the High Court did not reject the 12-member quorum position but simply found no reason to act on the petition filed by public school teacher Barry Aquino Tayam.

“Some people misunderstand it. The petition is not justiciable therefore no need for SC to take it up,” Sotto said.

He added that critics were misinterpreting the ruling as an affirmation that the 12-of-23 quorum argument was invalid.

“Daming wishful thinking trying to fool people into thinking na mali ang 12 of 23 (There is a lot of wishful thinking trying to fool people into believing that 12 of 23 is wrong),” he said.

The issue stemmed from the June 3 Senate session, where 12 senators participated in proceedings despite objections from a rival bloc.

Sotto’s group has cited the 1949 Supreme Court ruling in Avelino v. Cuenco to support its position that 12 senators may constitute a quorum under certain circumstances.