President Marcos has summoned Congress to a special session on June 17 to fast-track eight social and education measures plus pending appointments — but the session could prove decisive in the five-week Senate leadership standoff that has paralyzed the chamber.
MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has called Congress to a special session on Wednesday, June 17, to push through a slate of priority bills and act on stalled appointments, with Acting Executive Secretary Ralph Recto signing the proclamation on June 15 "by authority of the President." The agenda is officially legislative, but the timing places the session at the center of a Senate leadership crisis that has gone unresolved for more than five weeks — and which the judiciary has so far declined to settle.
According to the Manila Bulletin, BusinessWorld, and Rappler, the measures the Palace wants tackled include the Anti-Political Dynasty Law, the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) Act, amendments to the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act and the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act, amendments to the Masustansyang Pagkain Para sa Batang Pilipino (school feeding) Act, the Last Mile and Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas Schools Act, the creation of a National Center for Geriatric Health, and the Presidential Merit Scholarship Program. The session will also let the Commission on Appointments act on pending appointments in the Cabinet, the military, and the foreign service.
The vote math behind the session
The deeper stakes are about control of the Senate. After Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano failed to appear at sessions on June 1 and 2, a bloc led by Sen. Vicente "Tito" Sotto III and aided by the surprise attendance of Sen. Francis Escudero constituted a quorum on June 3 and declared all leadership posts vacant, electing Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate president pro tempore and acting Senate president. Cayetano has rejected the move, arguing that no resignation, removal, death, or incapacity triggered a succession under Senate rules.
The majority bloc currently controls 12 votes. Under the Constitution, a Senate president must be elected by at least 13 senators — a majority of all members. That is why, Sen. Panfilo Lacson explained to radio dzBB, the bloc has deliberately held off on a formal election despite legal opinion that 12 votes might suffice. "We adhere to the provision of the Constitution that there have to be 13 votes to elect a Senate president," Lacson said.
That makes Sen. Joel Villanueva the figure to watch. In a recorded message aired June 14 during a Jesus Is Lord Church service, Villanueva said: "In the event a special session is called, we will fulfill our sacred duty under our Constitution. We will be there." He stopped short of saying how he would vote, framing his attendance as a constitutional obligation rather than a defection. "This is not the time to take sides," he said, adding that he intends to file a resolution ensuring funding for relief and rehabilitation in the Mindanao areas hit by the June 8 magnitude 7.8 earthquake. His own father, televangelist Eddie Villanueva, publicly told him to "follow your conscience, not your friends."
Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, of the majority bloc, told the Manila Times that the bloc will have a quorum to hold the special session whether or not Cayetano and his allies boycott it. Lacson, meanwhile, said the bloc has prepared undisclosed "contingencies" should Cayetano "make a scene," warning that the embattled leader could try to preside or seize the Senate mace. "He is capable of doing anything to preserve his power," Lacson said. "Even if he shouts he is still the Senate president, no one is following him."
Palace caveats and an unresolved court question
Malacañang's posture has shifted. The Palace initially said Marcos was open to a special session if presented with a formal request and valid grounds, then indicated the Senate should first resolve its own impasse before the President acted. The June 15 proclamation effectively forces the question by putting all senators in the same chamber on the same day.
The courts have offered no exit. On June 10, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition by a high school teacher seeking to validate the Gatchalian-led June 3 session, ruling the petitioner lacked legal standing — leaving the leadership contest to be settled politically rather than judicially.
Whether the anti-dynasty bill on the agenda amounts to meaningful reform is itself contested. Rappler has reported that the version advanced in the House — associated with Reps. Bojie Dy and Sandro Marcos — has been criticized by reform advocates as weak and "hollow." Pulpulitiko will report on the substance of each measure as the session proceeds.
Context
The leadership row has hobbled the Senate at a moment of compounding national strain: a magnitude 7.8 Mindanao earthquake that has killed at least 65 people, the impending July 6 impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, and an Ombudsman investigation into 10 senators over flood control anomalies — including Villanueva, who faces scrutiny over Bulacan flood control projects. The special session's real test will be whether a chamber that could not agree on its own leadership for five weeks can pass laws and confirm appointments in a single day.
Sources
- Manila Bulletin, "Marcos calls Congress special session on June 17 to fast-track social protection, education bills" — https://mb.com.ph/2026/06/15/marcos-calls-congress-special-session-on-june-17-to-fast-track-social-protection-education-bills
- BusinessWorld, "Marcos calls special session to fast-track social, reform bills" — https://bworldonline.com/top-stories/2026/06/16/756647/marcos-calls-special-session-to-fast-track-social-reform-bills/
- Rappler, "Marcos calls for special session of Congress to tackle urgent bills" — https://www.rappler.com/philippines/marcos-special-session-congress-june-17/
- Philippine Daily Inquirer (Tina G. Santos), "Joel Villanueva says 'will be there' in special session," June 15, 2026 — https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2246258/villanueva-says-will-be-there-in-special-session
- The Manila Times, "Kiko Pangilinan: Majority bloc will have a quorum to hold special session," June 16, 2026 — https://www.manilatimes.net/2026/06/16/news/kiko-pangilinan-majority-bloc-will-have-a-quorum-to-hold-special-session/2365908
- Philippine Daily Inquirer, "Supreme Court dismisses petition" coverage / prior Pulpulitiko reporting, June 10, 2026
- Rappler, "For first time in history, anti-dynasty bill passes House, but it's hollow" — https://www.rappler.com/philippines/house-passes-weak-anti-dynasty-bill-june-3-2026/