The election of Alan Peter Cayetano as Senate President on May 2026 is not merely a reshuffling of leadership inside the upper chamber but more of a political statement. While his stint was cut short, only being in position for 23 days, his election stands as a political move, especially at the time when the Dutertes face some of the biggest legal obstacles in its history, Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment. After all, timing is everything in politics.
The talks over the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into former President Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs has already intensified. Meanwhile, in the middle of these developments, the Senate suddenly finds itself under the leadership of a politician whose political loyalty to the Duterte family.
Cayetano is a Duterte loyalist — a defender of their name in public media — and he cannot even deny it.
For years, Cayetano has stood among the most vocal defenders of Rodrigo Duterte and his administration’s policies. He was not just an ally for the Dutertes, but rather he was one of the shields of the Duterte ‘for the people’ narrative both at home and abroad.
One of the clearest examples came in 2017 during an interview with Al Jazeera journalist Mehdi Hasan. At the height of international criticism against Duterte’s war on drugs, particularly Oplan Tokhang, Hasan asked Cayetano if the thousands killed in anti-drug operations were all criminals and drug dealers.
Cayetano’s answer said “yes.” Perhaps it is indeed insensitive which ignores the myriad of pieces of evidence suggesting otherwise. During that time, human rights organizations, journalists, lawyers, and even families of victims were already documenting cases that contradicted police reports.
The killing of 17-year-old Kian delos Santos had also become the talk of the town, and stands as a symbol of the dangers of unchecked police power. Yet Cayetano remained in his defense of the administration. He still says that the Dutertes are innocent, despite clearly showing blood on their hands through the rhetoric and commands to kill.
There are official government figures would later place drug war deaths at more than 6,000, however, human rights groups estimate that the real number may be significantly higher, about 30,000.
According to Dr. Raquel Fortun’s postmortem analyses in 2021–2022, several of the 46 people killed during the brutal war on drugs are falsified, with the campaign largely targeting “the poorest of the poor.”
Today, Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa faces the possibility of ICC action, and no question in mind, Cayetano has once again positioned himself as a defender and a key Duterte ally. He has challenged the legality of potential arrest warrants and allegedly protects Dela Rosa by giving him custody.
Whether one agrees with his legal arguments or not is beside the point. Nearly a decade of loyalty and allegiance, Cayetano has repeatedly found himself on the side of defending Dutertes amid any controversy or issue surrounding their name.
When criticisms emerged over the drug war, he defended Duterte; when questions surfaced about human rights violations, he defended Duterte; now that investigations and legal proceedings are beginning to close in on members of the Duterte circle, dela Rosa, he once again became their number one defender.
We’ve seen it during the height of the drug war, and we now see it in its entirety. The Duterte allies protecting one another and using their positions of power to do so.
The Senate is supposed to serve as an independent institution. It must be the one capable of checking abuses of power regardless of political affiliation, political stand, or political color.
As the former senate president, he now needs to prove whether he is loyal to the country or loyal to a name. Because in moments like these, the question is no longer who a politician stands beside, instead, the question is who he stands for.
