MANILA, Philippines — Firing back at the country’s second-highest executive amid an unprecedented legislative standstill, congressional leaders are urging her to evaluate her own political circle before assigning blame to Malacañang.House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V clapped back at Vice President Sara Duterte, stating that the lawmakers driving the ongoing Senate leadership crisis are her closest allies.
The sharp rebuke follows a chance interview where the Vice President directly blamed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., claiming the gridlock in the upper chamber reflects a “lack of direction” in his administration’s leadership.
Ortega, a prominent member of the House “Young Guns” bloc, dismissed Duterte’s critique by pointing out the real-world political alignments of the senators currently locking horns in Pasay City:
[ THE LEGISLATIVE IMPASSE CRITIQUE ]
│
┌────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
[ THE POINTED REMINDER ] [ RISK TO IMPEACHMENT TRAIL ]
• **"Check Your Group Chat":** *"Respectfully, it seems hard to • **The Impending Trial:** The House prosecution panel is gearing
blame Malacañang for the chaos when many of those in the middle • up for a **June 18 pre-trial conference** following the
of the drama are your BFFs and political allies,"* Ortega argued.• House's massive **257-vote second impeachment** of Duterte.
• **A Convenient Smokescreen:** House leaders expressed growing • **A Paralyzed Court:** Critics warn the leadership standoff between
concern that the internal fighting is being used as a deliberate• Sherwin Gatchalian and Alan Peter Cayetano threatens to stall
tactic to delay the Senate from organizing into an impeachment court.• the chamber's constitutional duty to act as a tribunal.
The upper chamber has devolved into a bitter factional struggle over the past several weeks, marked by dramatic political maneuvering and extreme security measures:
[ THE ROAD TO THE SENATE DEADLOCK ] │ ▼[ May 11, 2026 ] ──► The House votes to adopt Articles of Impeachment against Duterte. Concurrently, Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa returns after a six-month absence, famously running up the Senate stairs to evade NBI personnel enforcing an ICC arrest warrant. │ ▼[ June 3, 2026 ] ──► Dela Rosa's sudden vote breaks a localized tie, giving Senator Alan Peter Cayetano the 13 votes needed to temporarily replace Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III. Opposing blocs dismiss the takeover as illegitimate. │ ▼[ June 10, 2026 ]──► Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian implements a "heightened security" remote-work mandate following NBI intelligence alerts, a move Cayetano's faction slams as a partisan tactic to freeze committee hearings.
The ongoing friction highlights a deep, fractured divide within the former UniTeam alliance, directly complicating the execution of national policy.
| Senate Faction Leader | Core Procedural Strategy | Perceived Alignment & Institutional Standing |
| Sherwin Gatchalian | Operates as Acting Senate President; backed by the current majority bloc and formally recognized by Malacañang and the House. | Actively pushing to secure the facility and establish a stable, constitutionally sound platform to begin the impeachment trial. |
| Alan Peter Cayetano | Continues to issue competing memos asserting his presidency; pushed to allow absent/teleconferencing allies to vote. | Categorized by House critics as a pro-Duterte fallback block, utilizing procedural delays to act as a legislative buffer. |
| House Prosecution Block | Led by Spokesperson Zia Alonto Adiong; demanding immediate “statesmanship” from the upper house. | Focused entirely on keeping the June 18 pre-trial on track, warning that structural chaos compromises the credibility of the court. |
“The disorder in the Senate reflects the leadership of the administration… The chaos and lack of direction of our country reflect what kind of leadership we have sitting in the Palace,” Vice President Sara Duterte initially asserted, triggering the legislative backlash.
The public feud between Vice President Sara Duterte and Representative Paolo Ortega V exposes the raw, highly politicized reality behind the current Senate deadlock. While the Vice President attempts to frame the institutional breakdown as a failure of the Marcos administration, Ortega’s reminder to “check her group chat” strikes at a valid truth—the gridlock is heavily fueled by her own political allies. With key figures like Senator Bato dela Rosa dodging international warrants and the chamber split down the middle, the upper house has transformed into a political theater at the worst possible moment. As the country faces a historic recovery from a magnitude-7.8 earthquake in Mindanao, paralyzing the Senate ahead of a June 18 impeachment pre-trial is an exhausting distraction. For government stability in 2026, both factions must set aside this leadership tug-of-war and assemble the constitutional court the public deserves.