MANILA, Philippines – On June 17, the Senate convened for a special session to take up pending measures. The special session came after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., on June 15, called on Congress to “urgently consider” the passage of several bills.

During the session, Senator Win Gatchalian was elected Senate president. Senator Joel Villanueva joined the new majority, giving Gatchalian the 13th vote needed to secure the Senate presidency, sealing the leadership change that had been brewing for weeks.

On June 18, lawyers for Vice President Sara Duterte and House prosecutors attended a Senate pre-trial conference ahead of Duterte’s impeachment trial.  Everything went well during the first day as the prosecution and defense teams finished marking the evidence for two of Duterte’s four articles of impeachment — for bribery and for grave threats.

Meanwhile, Ateneo de Manila University undergraduate students staged a walkout on June 19, led by the university student government Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila.

“Today is a day of reckoning for the Ateneo de Manila,” former Sanggunian president Annika Torres said in her opening speech, calling for “a renewal of our institution.” She demanded accountability from the school as she called out the neglect and silence that followed Baterbonia and Adili’s deaths. 

Catch more stories in these photos from the week that was:

People pay their respects following the death of Princess Bajrakitiyabha, daughter of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn

People queue to pay their respects and offer ceremonial water ahead of the royal bathing ceremony for Princess Bajrakitiyabha, 47, the eldest daughter of Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, following her death, at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 13, 2026. PHOTO BY CHALINEE THIRASUPA/REUTERS

Silent walk in memory of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire on the ninth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster, in London

People take part in a silent walk in memory of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire on the ninth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster, in London, Britain, on June 14, 2026. PHOTO BY ISABEL INFANTES/REUTERS

People pay respect to prominent human rights activist Taty Almeida, in Buenos Aires

People pay their respects to Lidia Stella Mercedes Miy Uranga, known as Taty Almeida, president of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo (Mothers of Plaza de Mayo) and a prominent human rights activist who campaigned for truth and justice following the disappearance of her son during Argentina’s military dictatorship, during her wake in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 15, 2026. PHOTO BY FRANCISCO LOUREIRO/REUTERS

Aftermath of a Russian missile and drone attack in Kyiv

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, which was hit during Russian missile and drone strikes, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 15, 2026. PHOTO BY VALENTYN OGIRENKO/REUTERS

Displaced people make their way back to their homes in southern Lebanon following a deal between the U.S. and Iran, in highway of Sidon

A Displaced woman flashes a victory sign as she sits inside a car on her way with her relatives back to their homes in southern Lebanon following a deal between the US and Iran, on the highway of Sidon, Lebanon, on June 16, 2026. PHOTO BY ZOHRA BENSEMRA/REUTERS

Oxfam protest against the G7 summit, in Publier

Oxfam activists wearing papier mache heads of US President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and French President Emmanuel Macron perform during a protest against the G7 summit, in Publier near Evian-les-Bains, France, on June 16, 2026. The banner reads: ‘82% of people in Gaza have no access to drinking water.’ PHOTO BY CECILE MANTOVANI/REUTERS

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrives in Kazan

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is welcomed by Rustam Minnikhanov, head of the Republic of Tatarstan, upon his arrival at Kazan International Airport, ahead of the Russia-ASEAN Summit in Kazan, Russia, on June 17, 2026. PHOTO BY SERGEY SILVER/ROSCONGRESS FOUNDATION VIA REUTERS

Senate special session

Seats for the minority bloc senators are seen vacant as the 20th Congress of the Senate conducts a special session on June 17, 2026. PHOTO FROM SENATE SOCIAL MEDIA UNIT

Greek artist Myrgon presents a ritualistic performance during Malta International Arts Festival in Valletta

Greek artist Myrgon performs with raw clay during an immersive ritualistic performance inside a 16th-century underground water cistern as part of the Malta International Arts Festival in Valletta, Malta, on June 17, 2026. PHOTO BY DARRIN ZAMMIT LUPI/REUTERS

Royal Ascot 2026

Racegoers wearing themed hats arrive ahead of the day’s races at the Royal Ascot 2026, at Ascot Racecourse, Ascot, Britain, on June 18, 2026. PHOTO BY TOBY MELVILLE/REUTERS

NBA - New York Knicks Parade

Knicks players sing along as Alicia Keys performs during the New York Knicks Championship Parade at New York City Hall on June 18, 2026. PHOTO BY DYLAN MARTINEZ/REUTERS

FIFA World Cup 2026 - Group B - Canada v Qatar

Canada’s Jacob Shaffelburg celebrates with teammates their fifth goal, an own goal scored by Qatar’s Mohamed Manai as Qatar’s Mahmoud Abunada looks dejected, during the Group B FIFA World Cup match between Canada and Qatar at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada, on June 18, 2026. PHOTO BY SIMON FEARN/IMAGN IMAGES VIA REUTERS

Students participate in a National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill

Students of the President Corazon C. Aquino Elementary School in Quezon City participate in a National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill on June 18, 2026. PHOTO BY NOEL CELIS/REUTERS

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signs the document of U.S. Memorandum of Understanding in Tehran

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signs the document of the US Memorandum of Understanding in Tehran, Iran, on June 18, 2026. PHOTO BY WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY VIA REUTERS

VP Duterte impeachment pre-trial conference at the Senate

Senate Secretary Renato Bantug, Jr., as clerk of court, confers with deputy clerks as the Senate impeachment court opens its pre-trial conference on the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte on June 18, 2026. PHOTO FROM SENATE SOCIAL MEDIA UNIT

Former US president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama read Maurice Sendak's 'Where The Wild Things Are' to school children at the Barack Obama Presidential Center, in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19, 2026.

Former US president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama read Maurice Sendak’s ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ to schoolchildren at the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19, 2026. PHOTO BY WIN MCNAMEE/POOL VIA REUTERS

Free Mary Jane Veloso protest

Family members and supporters of Mary Jane Veloso stage a protest and noise barrage outside the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City on June 19, 2026, coinciding with Mary Jane’s first scheduled court testimony. PHOTO BY JIRE CARREON/RAPPLER

Fire in Manila

A firefighter performs CPR as a medical personnel checks on a dog that was rescued during a fire in a residential building in Manila on June 19, 2026. PHOTO BY RAPPLER

Ateneo students protest the death of student athletes Adili and Baterbonia

Students walk out of their classrooms to reiterate their call for transparency, accountability, and justice on the part of the administration after the death of student-athletes Divine Adili and Rene Baterbonia, at the Ateneo de Manila University on June 19, 2026. PHOTO BY AVA DUMAUP/RAPPLER

WTA 500 - Berlin Open

Alexandra Eala in action during her quarter-final match against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in the WTA 500 Berlin Open at Steffi Graf Stadium in Berlin, Germany, on June 19, 2026. PHOTO BY FABRIZIO BENSCH/REUTERS

– with reports from Reuters/Rappler.com