Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday said he holds no bitterness toward colleagues who left his bloc to complete the new Senate Majority, and thanked those who stood by him for choosing principles over power.

Cayetano made the statement on social media just hours before the Senate special session on June 17, 2026, which saw the election of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as Senate President after weeks of claiming authority over the chamber with the open support of Malacañang.

“Let me thank those who stood with us when standing was the harder path. You chose principle over power and position, and you paid for it in ways the public may never fully see,” Cayetano said in a Facebook post. 

He particularly honored Senator Jinggoy Estrada and his family for their “deep personal sacrifice,” as well as Senator Rodante Marcoleta for “not bowing to pressure even when the threats of arrest have been coming from all sides.”

“I will not forget it, and I will not let it count for nothing. The struggle for a better Philippines, for truth, does not end here, it has only just begun,” Cayetano said.

The former Senate chief had earlier revealed that senators from his bloc had been threatened by administration allies with cases if they refused to join Gatchalian’s bloc. Not long after, Estrada, who had publicly insisted he would remain with Cayetano’s bloc, was arrested inside the Senate over an alleged graft case.

As for one colleague who left his bloc whom he did not name, Cayetano said he understood that the senator may have “felt he had no choice but to make peace with the new reality.”

“I hold no bitterness toward you. I have seen the pressures that were brought to bear, and I understand them,” he said.

“We are not enemies — only colleagues, brothers caught in a moment larger than us all,” he added.

Cayetano said he was not saddened by the loss of the Senate presidency, saying the position “was never mine to keep.”

What saddened him, he said, was seeing the country “slip toward darkness” as corruption persists and as some in government and media choose to look away when doing so becomes politically convenient.

“That is the real loss. Not a gavel, but a conscience,” he said.

He maintained that the leadership dispute was really about the truth behind the billions of flood-control funds lost to ghost projects, which he noted were meant to protect communities but failed to do so.

“That is the fight that began all of this — one side wanted to bring it out, the other was desperate to keep it covered. And it is a fight that we intend to continue, no title or position required,” he said.###