Senator Risa Hontiveros said Wednesday, Aug. 24 that her "conscience" will not allow her to work with her colleague, Alan Peter Cayetano, as leader of the minority in the Commission on Appointments (CA).
While she did not object to Tuesday's appointment of Cayetano as CA minority leader, Hontiveros said it was very wrong for the senator to be designated as such.
This is because only Hontiveros and Senator Koko Pimentel identified themselves as part of the minority during the opening of the 19th Congress, while Cayetano preferred to be tagged as independent.
"By tradition and history, and based on the rules, ang minority leader ng CA na pinag-uusapan with the House, nanggagaling sa Senate, ay galing sa minority ng Senate (the CA minority leader should come the minority of the Senate)," Hontiveros said.
"But dahil napakamali nung pinagsimulan at ito ang naging bunga (Because the very root of this was wrong, and this happened), in conscience, I cannot work under him as the Minority Leader of the CA," she added.
Although she recognized the separation of the Senate as an institutional body and the CA as a constitutional body, Hontiveros asserted that Cayetano still cannot become minority leader of the CA's Senate contingent.
"Hindi ko nga mareconcile, at hindi ko rin makita kung paano mareconcile (I cannot reconcile and I cannot find a way to do so ," she said. "Sa opening of sessions, sinabi nila na hindi sila lalahok sa pagkahalal ng Senate president ni hindi lalahok sa pagpipili ng minority leader. So, kung hindi mo kinikilala ang pagpili ng minority leader, 'yun ay dahil hindi ka miyembro (During the opening of the session, they neither voted for the Senate president nor for the minority leader. So, if you did not vote for a minority leader, it means you are not a member of that bloc)," she explained.
The House of the Representatives has its own CA contingent.