‘Super Majority’ Looms At Upper Chamber

Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban (PDP-Laban) President and Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III is going to be the Senate president in the 17th Congress, Senate President Franklin Drilon declared yesterday.

At a forum in Manila, Drilon said the decision to elect Pimentel as the next Senate president was arrived at after a meeting Tuesday night among members of major political parties in the Upper Chamber, the six Liberal Party (LP) members, an Akbayan party-list member, Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), Nationalist Peoples Coalition (NPC), and other allied political groups.

Drilon said two groups – one led by him and the other led by Sen. Vicente Sotto III – have the support of 16 to 17 senators.

While Drilon did not name names, it was learned that those who are supporting Pimentel are: Senators Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV, Ralph Recto, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, incoming senators Leila de Lima and Joel Villanueva, Hontiveros, Sotto, incoming senators Manny Pacquiao, Sherwin Gatchalian, Loren Legarda, independent senators Grace Poe and Panfilo Lacson, Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II, and Nancy Binay.

“Last night we met and had the agreement. The president of the incoming Senate will be Sen. Aquilino (Koko) Pimentel. I will be Senate Pro-Tempore and Sen. Sotto will be majority leader,” Drilon said during the press conference.

Drilon said in order to preserve the unity of the Senate, he would no longer run for the Senate presidency.

“Hindi na ako tatakbo. For the sake of unity and stability in the Senate, we have only one candidate,” Drilon stressed.

“We do it by consensus and that was the consensus. It was a party decision, Koko is the choice of the 16 or 17 senators. We were eight, Tito had eight or nine,” added Drilon.

The objective of the “super majority” would be to support the legislative agenda of incoming President Rodrigo R. Duterte and to provide stability in the leadership in the 24-manned Senate.

“We maintain the independence of the Senate but at the same time, we will support, in general, the legislative agenda of President Duterte,” Drilon further said.

While the set up would be unusual, with Pimentel being the only member of the PDP-Laban, Drilon said the move is meant to show the Senate’s willingness to cooperate with the incoming Duterte administration.

“This is to show that yes, we are willing to support, in general, the legislative agenda of this administration,” Drilon said.

“No, we did not bow (to a one-man party). Those are provocative adjectives. We decided on Koko. He is very qualified. We want to show support, in general, in the legislative agenda of the Duterte administration, as we have recognized that they have the mandate of the people,” he said.

Drilon said there is no written coalition similar to the House of Representatives where LP members entered into a coalition agreement, but assured that “it’s cast in stone.”

“There are 24 republics in the Senate. Each one of us has his/her own mandate. Each one of us makes his/her own decision. We did not take into account what was happening in the House. We took into account what we believe the Senate, as an institution, should stand for,” Drilon said.

“No, there is no such formal coalition. We voted for Sen. Koko Pimentel, he is the lone PDP-Laban member in the Senate. We have six LPs in the Senate out of the 24, so we have other allies like Sen. Risa Hontiveros with us. With us also is Senator (Sonny) Angara. There is no written coalition as in the House…We have more than the required majority,” Drilon reiterated.

In a text message, however, Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who ran as vice president in the last May 2016 elections with Poe as his presidential running mate, said he is keen on becoming a member of the minority.

Escudero said he has already informed Pimentel of his decision.

“Yes. I told him that I have nothing personally against him but, as a matter of personal principle and belief, I would rather be in the Senate minority,” Escudero said.

Sought for comment, Pimentel confirmed the meeting and said he is willing to extend “hand of friendship and cooperation to Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano” and invite him and his group to join the majority.

Apart from Escudero, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has also committed to join the Senate minority bloc.

Sen. JV Ejercito said he would be supporting for Senate president whom Duterte endorses.

Come-backing senators Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri and Richard Gordon have yet to decide while Sen. Cynthia Villar said she has already signed a resolution supporting Cayetano as the next Senate leader.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by Hannah Torregoza

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]