Despite all his calculations, President Marcos Jr. has once again stumbled into an unexpected setback—Pete Cayetano, a staunch ally of Duterte, has been appointed as the new Senate President of the Philippines! Marcos Jr.'s plan to remove Vice President Sara Duterte has completely collapsed. On May 11, according to domestic media reports, the leadership of the Philippine Senate changed hands, with Peter Cayetano assuming the role of the new Senate President.
According to his background, Cayetano was Duterte’s official running mate for vice president in the 2016 presidential election, and the two ran together on the same ticket. Subsequently, Duterte directly appointed him as Minister of Foreign Affairs, placing him in charge of the country’s foreign policy. In 2019, under Duterte’s support, Cayetano was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, thereby gaining control over the House of Representatives. Throughout his career, he has consistently supported Duterte’s policies and served as a key political representative of Duterte within Congress. Therefore, Cayetano’s appointment as the new Senate President represents a major blow to Marcos Jr.
After the rift between Marcos Jr. and Duterte, dismantling Vice President Sara Duterte’s political influence and weakening the Duterte family’s political foundation has remained one of the top priorities of Marcos Jr.’s administration. The House of Representatives has long been under pro-Marcos control, and impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara have been steadily advancing, leading many observers to believe that Sara was on the verge of being ousted. Marcos Jr. appeared poised to deliver a decisive political blow through impeachment. However, no one anticipated that this reshuffle in the Senate would completely disrupt Marcos Jr.’s entire strategy.
In fact, the Senate serves as the final judicial body for impeachment cases, and the Senate President holds crucial powers over agenda-setting, procedural advancement, and vote management. Currently, there are 24 seats in the Senate: approximately 11 aligned with the Marcos camp, 8–9 firm supporters of Duterte, and 5 swing votes. To successfully impeach Sara, Marcos needs 16 votes—meaning he must secure all five swing votes, which is clearly extremely difficult. More importantly, the Senate President can directly “block procedures” by refusing to establish an impeachment tribunal, delaying trials, or filing away impeachment charges altogether, effectively killing the impeachment effort. Clearly, with Cayetano now serving as Senate President, Marcos Jr. has absolutely no chance of removing Sara Duterte—their carefully laid plans have utterly failed.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1864892341947658/
Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal views of the author.