At least three senators are eyeing to be the next Senate President of the incoming 19th Congress, Senator-elect Alan Peter Cayetano revealed Wednesday, May 18.
In a press briefing after the proclamation of the 12 winning senators at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, Cayetano said he was approached by the three senators to get his support.
“I think there are three candidates for Senate President that I know of. If I am correct, none of them have the 13 or more right now,” Cayetano said.
“I told them the same thing, I’d like to remain an independent candidate so I am actually not engaging,” he added.
Of the three senators, one is female and two are males.
Among those rumored to run for the Senate presidency are Senators Cynthia Villar, Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri, and Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian.
Meanwhile, Cayetano said that he has yet to decide whether to join the majority or minority bloc of the Senate.
“Whether I’ll be part of the majority or minority, that’s not up to me. That’s up to the members of the Senate. If the members of the Senate, most of them, decide to have a principled and independent Senate, then I could be part of the majority,” he said.
“If the Senate, most of them, feel like they will have a Senate that will be part of this administration in a way that they feel they should not fiscalize, then I cannot be part of that,” he continued.
“Same thing goes for the minority. If the minority thinks that their only job is to criticize, then it will also not help,” he stated.
Meanwhile, Cayetano urged Filipinos to give presumptive President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. a chance even if they have a history of animosity in the 2016 elections. Both Cayetano and Marcos ran for vice president although they lost to Vice President Leni Robredo.
"Alam niyo naman ang kalooban ko (You know how I feel about it). But regardless of whoever got elected, give them a chance. But do not follow them blindly. If they are doing something wrong, they should know that they are doing something wrong. If they are doing something right, help them," he said.
Cayetano was the seventh ranked candidate in the recently held national elections after collecting 19,295,314 votes. (Martin A. Sadongdong)