No common PPC bet yet in Senate

Senators Renato Cayetano and Franklin Drilon, two contenders for the Senate presidency, met yesterday to resolve the leadership row in the People Power Coalition (PPC) but failed to reach an agreement.

Cayetano and Drilon met at Westin Philippine Plaza Hotel, with Sen. Juan Flavier as arbiter.

The two said they failed to agree on the concept of sharing the term of the Senate president as proposed by Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., also a former senator. Cayetano and Drilon, however, remained confident the impasse would be broken before the inaugural session of the 12th Congress on July 23.

Meanwhile, the other senators from the PPC want a straw vote to decide who would be the standard bearer for the post.

As early as two weeks ago, PPC members including Sen. Robert Barbers and newly elected Senators Joker Arroyo, Francis Pangilinan, Ralph Recto and Manuel Villar were agitating for a straw vote "due to time constraints."

Barbers said that if the straw vote turned out to be heavily in favor of either Cayetano or Drilon, then the coalition would abide by the decision of the overwhelming majority.

"However, if the result is a tie or a near-tie, the power-sharing of two and one-half years each proposed by Guingona should be resorted to," he said.

But Drilon was emphatic yesterday in saying that he does not find the concept of term-sharing acceptable. He refused to explain, however, why it was acceptable to him in breaking the impasse between him and Senate President Pro Tempore Blas Ople created by the death of then Senate President Marcelo Fernan in July 1999.

Drilon said that in deference to Cayetano and Flavier, he would not discuss the details of the proposal to Senate reporters.

"I expect that we could arrive at a consensus early next week. I am confident that the members of the People Power Coalition would be able to form a working majority soon," he added.

When asked what made him confident, Drilon replied that the PPC members are all reasonable men. At the same time, he said that it is the prerogative of Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. to refuse to give way to any of the aspirants for the top Senate post "unless one already has the 13 votes to topple him."

Flavier and Drilon also squelched speculations that the leadership race is now only between Cayetano and Drilon, and that Pimentel and Arroyo are no longer being considered.

"No, it’s not. They’re still four, but you have to start somewhere, and this is a start," Flavier said.

While Drilon and Cayetano are confident that the top Senate post will be in PPC’s hands, Flavier is not so certain anymore.

"The PPC has the majority but is fragmented," he bewailed. "We are five with Lakas (for Cayetano), there are four in the House bloc (for Arroyo), and Drilon has his own group. We have to break the impasse so the diverse groups can vote as one and we can muster something like 14 to 15 votes."

The opposition is solidly behind Sen. Edgardo Angara, president of Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino and a former Senate president. The other day, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said that the original eight supporters of Angara have swelled to 11.

Flavier said that the Arroyo administration would have no problem even if Angara becomes the next Senate president.

"He is a very constructive ally. At least that was my experience in the past. I don’t think there would be any problem. I know Edong (Angara) – he will be a constructive critic," he said.