What is 'sine die,' and what does it mean following the Senate leadership change?
The Senate adjourned sine die on June 3 after a leadership shakeup that saw Sen. Win Gatchalian elected Senate president pro tempore.
After naming new chairpersons for Senate committees, Gatchalian declared the first session of the 20th Congress adjourned sine die.
However, he wasn't the only one to call the session's closing. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano—without physically appearing in the plenary hall—declared the sine die adjournment of the upper chamber via a memorandum circulated to senators on the floor on Wednesday.
"Pursuant to the Rules of the Senate and the approved Legislative Calendar, and in accordance with tradition, the Senate is in sine die adjournment and is scheduled to resume regular session at 10 a.m. on July 27, 2026," Cayetano said.
But what exactly does sine die mean?
"Sine die means the body is adjourned without a date set for the resumption of its session or, in this case, until the start of the next regular session, which is also the date of the SONA," University of the Philippines College of Law Assistant Professor Michael Tiu Jr. told PhilSTAR L!fe.
"Since there is no plenary session when quorum matters, and quorum is important to change leadership, then no leadership change can happen within this period unless they call a special session."
Pending bills remain in their current status until they're taken up again, Tiu explained.
"They only expire and have to be refiled if the current Congress expires," he added, citing Sec. 123 of the Senate rules.
To declare sine die adjournment, however, there's also a process.
Sen. Migz Zubiri deemed Cayetano's memorandum "illegal and regular."
"Because to be able to declare sine die adjournment, you have to pass a Senate and House concurrent resolution, which is done on the plenary floor and approved by the body," Zubiri said in a statement.
He added that the Senate must formally inform the President that both houses of Congress adjourn sine die, "which we (the Gatchalian bloc) did earlier."
"That is the tradition of the Senate, the rules of the Senate, and that is the process that should be done. Not a mere letter from the Senate President," Zubiri continued.
Tiu echoed this, saying, "The Constitution says an adjournment for more than three days, which includes the longer period after adjournment sine die, needs to notify the other House. And this requires action by the Senate as a body."
He added that the Senate rules state that the Senate President cannot adjourn without a motion or resolution and an approval via majority vote.
While the Senate is in sine die adjournment, Gatchalian said that his bloc is looking at whether there'll be a need for a special session.
"Titingnan namin ngayon 'yung mga list of bills na dapat ma-tackle, 'yung mga personalities na dapat ma-confirm. Para kung magka-special session man, tuloy-tuloy maaprubahan 'yun," he said in a Thursday press conference.
Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is inclined to call a special session of Congress if the Senate requests it.
According to the Constitution, the president has the authority to approve such a session.
