Senate President Vicente Sotto III has no doubt and is ‘very confident’ about the majority bloc’s support for his leadership.
Sotto made the statement on Monday amid persistent rumors of another attempt to change leadership in the upper chamber, where Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson had warned that the majority’s thin lead over the nine minority senators could potentially lead to another coup attempt.
‘That’s what I told the Senate president. I said, ‘We are 15, they are nine; don’t underestimate the nine,’ Lacson, speaking in Filipino, said at an earlier Kapihan sa Senado.
Sotto’s leadership was supported by 15 senators when he took the Senate presidency from Sen. Francis Escudero on Sept. 8.
According to Sotto, he does not see a change in leadership, at least before the chamber adjourns its session this Friday.
The Senate’s session is scheduled to resume on Nov. 10, and a leadership change in the upper chamber can only transpire when there is a plenary session.
Sotto noted that not one of the 15-member majority is planning on leaving the bloc at present, adding that he does not need to conduct a loyalty test because of the confidence and trust he has in his colleagues.
In a separate text message also on Monday, Deputy Majority Leader JV Ejercito, who earlier admitted that the idea of leaving the majority bloc crossed his mind, dismissed rumors about a Senate coup.
‘No change in leadership,’ he said.
No rift with minority
Frankly speaking, Sotto said he did not know where the talks of the alleged coup against him were coming from.
‘You know, here in the Senate, if a story comes from social media, it would easily spread. But I don’t see it coming anywhere. In fact, the other day, I talked with Senator [Alan Peter] Cayetano and he told me that he is not talking with anyone, and I believe him,’ he said.
Cayetano is the chamber’s minority leader, and unverified reports circulating on social media point to him as Sotto’s potential successor as Senate leader.
Sotto said the rumors could be coming from outside the Senate halls.
‘Maybe someone is just instilling intrigue in the Senate because I talked with the minority leadership and we have no misunderstandings,’ he said.
‘We should not allow these talks to hamper the work of the Senate, and that’s the reason why last week, we’ve decided to suspend the session while the agenda or the pending bills are not yet here. You’ve seen that the pending treaties we’ve already passed, and after that, we suspended the sessions to allow the budget hearings to continue without stoppage,’ he added.
Religious groups on Monday also aired their opposition to possible changes in the Senate, saying that the move will only slow down the ongoing investigation into anomalous flood control projects.
In a letter addressed to government officials, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines said they ‘strongly oppose any attempt to preempt or derail the investigation through backroom deals, leadership takeovers, or selective justice.’
‘The Filipino people are watching closely. After the revelations of massive anomalies in flood control projects, any move to change Senate leadership or redirect investigations now would only heighten public suspicion of a cover-up,’ the group said.
Lacson quits
Also on Monday afternoon, Sotto received the resignation letter of Lacson as chair of the blue ribbon committee.
In his letter, Lacson said that in the course of the current investigation, which has implicated some senators in the flood control mess, a number of their colleagues have expressed disappointment with the ‘direction’ of the investigation.
‘Furthermore, some senators publicly and secretly pursue the narrative that I am zeroing in on several of my colleagues while purportedly protecting those members of the Lower House perceived to be the principal actors in the budget anomalies related to the substandard and ghost flood control projects,’ Lacson lamented.
He announced on Sunday that he would resign as chair of the panel.
Sotto said the new blue ribbon chair will be left to the members of the majority bloc to decide.
‘There are three to four members of the Senate who I think would be able to handle the committee. But it’s also hard to follow in Senator Lacson’s footsteps,’ he said.
Sotto said some senators were asking if Lacson, a veteran lawmaker and a former chief of the Philippine National Police, could be urged to stay as blue ribbon chair.
Asked to comment on speculations that Lacson may have resigned to prevent destabilization in the Senate, Sotto said: ‘Everybody is entitled to his own opinion. As far as I’m concerned, as far as the majority is concerned, I’m very sure that the Senate is stable. I’ll make sure that under my leadership, everything will be transparent and accountable.’
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla called Lacson’s resignation a significant loss for the upper chamber’s investigation into anomalous infrastructure projects.
‘He’s probably one of the best investigators in the country . he has a very impressive body of work. It’s also a loss if you think about it,’ Remulla told reporters at the Department of Justice on Monday. – With reports from Gillian Villanueva and Jane Bautista