Do the math: 15 senators for Cayetano, 18 for Sotto

MANILA, Philippines - Are certain senators promising their support to not just one but several contenders for the chamber’s presidency?

This possibility surfaced as Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters yesterday that he has 15 senators behind his bid for the leadership of the 24-member chamber.

Sen. Vicente Sotto III, for his part, also claims to have the support of 18 of his colleagues for an “alternative leadership.”

A resolution with the signatures of 15 senators is allegedly with Cayetano, a copy of which was seen recently by senator-elect Manny Pacquiao when he visited president-elect Rodrigo Duterte in Davao City.

Cayetano, Duterte’s running mate, said that he has met with many of his colleagues and discussed with them the chairmanship of the different committees, which has long been the subject of negotiations whenever a new Senate president is being elected.

Cayetano also said since the incoming Duterte administration considers three committees – public services, finance and public order and dangerous drugs – as critical, their respective chairpersons have been designated.

“I don’t want it to be a game of numbers at this point in time. Some have already signed and there are others who have given their commitment but are just asking permission from their respective groups,” Cayetano said.

“Until the final day that you get elected nothing is 100 percent. Right now the reality is there are committees being disputed and there are talks among the heads of the different blocs on how to protect their members,” he added.

PDP-Laban backs Koko

But an official of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) said the party would campaign for its president Sen. Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III as the next Senate president to steer the legislative agenda of president-elect Duterte, who is chairman of the party.

The party official said that while Duterte has kept his distance from the election of Senate president in respect to the legislature, he admitted that PDP-Laban’s political objective would be stalled if the Senate president is not a member of the party.

“How can we pursue our party legislative agenda if the Senate president is not a party member?” the official added.

The official noted that the Senate needs a full-time president, not a temporary leader because PDP-Laban wants to work overtime to lay out Duterte’s legislative agenda. 

The official explained that PDP-Laban has nothing personal against Cayetano, who publicly announced his desire to be Senate president. But Duterte has already promised him a Cabinet post after the one-year ban expires, which means that Cayetano has to resign as senator after a year.

“This early the party is already laying out their action plan and one year would be a setback to our plans,” the party official explained.

There are several blocs in the Senate.

The Liberal Party has Senate President Franklin Drilon, Francis Pangilinan, Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Ralph Recto and Leila de Lima. Incoming senator Joel Villanueva is with the CIBAC party-list but ran under the LP ticket, while Risa Hontiveros is with Akbayan but also ran with the LP.

The Nacionalista Party, to which Cayetano belongs, has Sens. Antonio Trillanes IV and Cynthia Villar.

The Nationalist People’s Coalition has Sotto and Loren Legara and incoming senator Sherwin Gatchalian.

Sens. Nancy Binay, Gregorio Honasan and Pacquiao belong to the United Nationalist Alliance.

The rest of the senators are either independent or are the lone representatives of their respective political parties.

Cayetano said those blocs do not really mean much as far as the Senate is concerned because almost all the decisions are made individually.

He noted that the current administration continues to have a hand in the choice of the Senate leadership.

“It’s normal because they went through an election and they have the most number of senators now. But remember, we from the Nacionalista Party had the most number the last time but a Liberal Party (member) became Senate president. So just because the Liberal Party has more does not mean that the Senate president will come from their ranks,” he added. 

‘Alternative Senate president’

For Sotto – who is also being eyed as an alternative Senate president by many of his colleagues to maintain the integrity and independence of the Senate – coming up with numbers is easy but does not mean much at this point. 

Sotto said there are 18 senators who have given their commitment to an alternative Senate president.

“What is important is when you sit down and vote. I would not be surprised if any other Senate president aspirants would say they have commitments too. Even among our 18 we still don’t know who will be our Senate president,” he explained.

Sotto said Pimentel is part of the 18.

If none of the aspirants manage to get the minimum 13 votes, then Drilon would remain as Senate president. 

Drilon said that he would yield the Senate presidency to whoever manages to get the votes of 13 senators. 

“As I have said, those who have 13 signatures, just present to me the resolution, and there’s no problem,” he added.  – With Perseus Echeminada