By Vanne Elaine Terrazola  The supposed moves of incoming senators to oust Senate President Vicente Sotto III might result to the administration-allied, neophyte lawmakers composing the new minority bloc in the 18th Congress. Francis Tolentino (FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) Sotto floated this scenario as another possible effect of the brewing leadership change in the Senate, amid reports that some of the newly-elected senators were planning to replace him. Former presidential political adviser Francis Tolentino was reported as having plans to push Sen. Cynthia Villar to challenge Sotto's leadership. Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos recently said she will support Villar. Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos
(FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN) Tolentino, Marcos and Villar were all backed by the Sara Duterte-led Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) during the last elections. There were reports that a creation of an "HNP bloc" in Senate is in the offing. With the move, however, the two new lawmakers may later find themselves in the Senate minority bloc, as several incumbent senators maintain their support for the current leadership and its retention in the next Congress. This is more possible if the four remaining senators in the minority bloc -- Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin Drilon, Sens. Risa Hontiveros, Leila de Lima and Francis Pangilinan -- decide to join the majority bloc in support of the current leadership. "If ever that happens, the minority will become the majority. Because there are nine or 10 of us and there are four in the minority. So what does that add up to? Eh di 'yon ang magiging (Then that will be the) majority," Sotto said Friday. "'Pag pinilit nila yung sinasabi nila, ni Tolentino at ni Marcos, ang mangyayari magkakaroon ng bagong majority (If they insist on what they are saying, Tolentino and Marcos, what happens is that there will be a new majority bloc). There will be a new majority but it will definitely not be them," he further said. "They cannot get the majority. We will remain the majority," he added Senator Panfilo Lacson, a close friend of Sotto, shared the same belief especially if the so-called HNP bloc fails to get the vote of the majority. "Baka sa halip na lumaki, makakumpleto ng 13, sila pa maging minority, ang HNP," Lacson said in a recent radio interview. More independent Sotto and Drilon both have cited the good relationship between the minority bloc and the current Senate leadership. Should the opposition senators merge with the majority bloc, Sotto said it would make the Senate more independent from the Duterte administration. "Pag nangyari 'yon, mas maliwanag ang magiging independence," he said. Earlier, Sotto warned that there might be a "bigger minority" in the Senate should the leadership change push through. Some incumbent senators have also expressed willingness to join the minority if Sotto is replaced. "Therefore, it could be more difficult for the legislative agenda of the President in his last three years and we do not want a lame duck administration in its last three years," Sotto had told reporters. 'Let them' Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, meanwhile, shrugged off the leadership shakeup supposedly planned by the neophyte senators. "Let the new ones freely explore how it is to be a senator in Philippines...Let them be," Pimentel said in a text message. He said he was also not insulted with the reported moves of Tolentino, his partymate in the Partido Demokratiko ng Pilipinas-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), even as he already said that the ruling party is open to support Sotto's leadership. Pimentel explained that the PDP-Laban has yet to discuss who to support for Senate presidency, saying it is still premature to talk of the chamber's leadership in the 18th Congress. "I believe it is too early for that. Relax lang. Getting to know you dapat muna kaming lahat," Pimentel said. On Friday, Lacson bared that a draft resolution will be routed to senators to determine who will support Sotto's leadership.