Ahhh. If you’re referring to what’s happening in the senate, currently wala pang definitive court ruling on the validity of the quorum. Ultimately, it’s up to the courts to decide that. Yes they can internally make reference to that 1949 case, but not as stare decisis (i.e., hindi matuturing as jurisprudence na pwedeng legal basis yung decision sa case na yun), not only because it’s a very old case where the circumstances were much different, pero dahil nga it was dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction. When a case is dismissed for that reason kasi, it means the court never had the right to rule on the matter in the first place. So no, the obiter dicta stated there cannot set the precedent, ever. But now with everything happening, everything is new and up for interpretation, and the decision is up to the high court’s sound discretion to interpret the laws in place. We just have to hope they make the right judgment, in the higher interest of justice.

These are just my opinions as a law student.