‘Minority will at all times need to be a part of majority’

Senate Minority Chief Alan Peter Cayetano insists the minority bloc would slightly dwell on different issues such because the proposed 2026 nationwide price range

Senate Minority Chief Alan Peter Cayetano denied an ouster plot towards incumbent Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, describing the supposed coup as “weak.”

However he stopped wanting rejecting the put up ought to an ouster ever materialize.

“Folks at all times speak about it. Everybody within the minority needs to be within the majority, ‘di ba? Everybody thinks they will do a greater job,” he stated in an opportunity interview on Tuesday, November 11.

To recall, Cayetano adopted the identical tone as early as mid-September when requested if the minority is actively plotting to put in him as Senate president.

“There may be at all times a chance,” he stated then.

“The minority needs to be the bulk, [but] the bulk by no means needs to be the minority…kung could discontent sa 15 [senador], problema nila ‘yun, hindi namin problema ‘yun. So sila nag-bring up, tapos sila din babaril, sila din magsasabing could plot.“

(The minority needs to be the bulk, however the majority by no means needs to be the minority…if there may be any discontent among the many 15 senators, that’s their drawback and never ours. They introduced it up, then they kill it and are those who say there’s a plot.)

Cayetano has already greater than as soon as denied rumors he was actively searching for the higher chamber’s management put up, however acknowledged that the road dividing the bulk and minority blocs might simply shift.

“Walang energetic na ligawan…but when it falls in our lap sumama ‘yung iba, and many others., kung oposisyon ka, you at all times need to be administrasyon. Kung minority ka, you at all times need to be majority,” he stated in an October 8 press convention.

(There aren’t any energetic talks…but when it falls in our lap, if different senators comply with us, and many others., for those who’re within the opposition, you at all times need to be within the administration. When you’re within the minority, you at all times need to be within the majority.)

Cayetano insisted that the minority bloc would slightly dwell on different issues just like the proposed 2026 nationwide price range.

“I’m targeted on the minority’s function, and I feel our greatest job now’s to offer higher concepts for the price range,” he stated in a mixture of English and Filipino.

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Rumors of a management shakeup got here as Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson was reelected chairman of the highly effective blue ribbon committee, elevating questions on whether or not Sotto will stay in energy.

Lacson resigned in October after a number of of his colleagues expressed concern concerning the course of the committee’s probe into allegedly anomalous flood management initiatives, which have up to now implicated Senators Chiz Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, and Joel Villanueva. (READ: With Lacson returning as blue ribbon chair, will Sotto stay Senate chief?)

The Senate majority at the moment includes 15 senators, whereas 9 others are within the minority bloc. To safe the Senate presidency, a senator might want to safe 13 out of 24 votes.

Senator JV Ejercito, Estrada’s half-brother, beforehand advised ABS-CBN Information that he and 4 others have been contemplating leaving the bulk bloc due to the probe’s course. If 5 of them go away the present majority, a change within the Senate presidency is certain to occur.

Cayetano, for his half, earlier requested to go away the minority out of the controversy involving the leadersip of the blue ribbon committee, saying Lacson’s resolution to step down got here from rumblings inside the majority bloc.

ICC arrest?

Whispers of the supposed Senate management shakeup additionally swirled amid rumors of an Worldwide Felony Court docket (ICC) warrant out for Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, allegedly the architect of former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody drug struggle.

Whereas authorities and Dela Rosa’s authorized counsel stated they have been nonetheless verifying claims, Dela Rosa was a no-show when the Senate resumed session on Tuesday.

Sotto, in a press release issued on Saturday, November 8, stated that he wouldn’t permit Dela Rosa to be arrested within the premises of the Senate.

“Exterior the Senate premises, that’s not our concern,” he stated.

For Cayetano, Dela Rosa’s destiny ought to be determined by the native courts. He urged the federal government to think about the native justice system. – Rappler.com