Drilon is back at Senate helm

Sen. Franklin Drilon of the administration-backed People Power Coalition (PPC) is expected to regain the Senate presidency today as the country’s 24 senators convene this morning to elect a new leader.

Drilon’s election was assured yesterday as neophyte Sen. Noli de Castro assured the PPC he will vote with the PPC majority to bring Drilon back to the helm of the chamber.

"We have the support of the majority. We will continue to exert effort to solidify and strengthen our majority," said Drilon, who was still persuading another senator to join the apparent majority as of presstime.

Drilon, who was elected to the Senate in 1995, first served as Senate president under a similar power-sharing agreement he forged with Sen. Blas Ople.

However, Drilon lost his post to incumbent Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. after he led his faction of the Lakas ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) in bolting a coalition with the administration of former President Joseph Estrada.

Drilon joined the opposition shortly before Estrada was impeached by the House of Representatives on Nov. 13 last year.

No less than Sen. Renato Cayetano, Drilon’s principal rival for the PPC nomination, confirmed the PPC gained the 13-member majority after De Castro agreed to support the administration.

"If he (Drilon) will be the first to serve, then I can settle even for a simple committee membership," Cayetano said, yielding the post of Senate majority leader which he was expected to gain.

Cayetano supposedly yielded the majority leadership to Sen. Loren Legarda who, in turn, yielded the post of Senate president pro tempore to former Speaker Manny Villar Jr.

"I accepted such arrangement for the sake of PPC unity. What is important is we remain solid. We can do individual sacrifices for the sake of unity," Cayetano said.

"I told him (De Castro) that his vote for Drilon was also his vote for me," Cayetano said, noting that De Castro had already promised to back his bid for the Senate presidency when the former broadcaster sought his advise in running for the Senate.

Cayetano traced his friendship with De Castro when the former broadcaster was covering the murder case of the Vizconde family where Cayetano served as private prosecutor. Cayetano, a lawyer, also represented De Castro in one of his legal cases.

Cayetano said De Castro was convinced to support the PPC after the power-sharing agreement between Cayetano and Drilon was explained to him.

Cayetano disclosed they were not bothered at all by the support thrown behind Pimentel by an incipient "third force."

A "Progressive Alliance" was formed on Friday behind Pimentel by independent Sen. John Osmeña, who was to lose his chairmanship of the powerful Senate finance committee.

Even opposition Sen. Edgardo Angara gave up his own bid for the Senate presidency on Saturday and threw his support behind Pimentel to prevent the PPC from gaining a majority.

Angara said that all eight opposition senators would join the Progressive Alliance, which Osmeña organized after getting impatient over the failure of the PPC and the LDP to muster the needed 13 votes to wrest control of the Senate.

But after Cayetano pledged to yield the majority leadership to Legarda, Villar was assured of being named Senate president pro tempore and he gave up his aspiration to the powerful finance committee.

Assured he would keep the key chairmanship, Osmeña signed the resolution endorsing Drilon as Senate president on Saturday.

The resolution was earlier signed by Drilon, Cayetano, Legarda, Villar, and Senators Robert Barbers, Ramon Revilla, Juan Flavier, Joker Arroyo, Ralph Recto, Francis Pangilinan and Ramon Magsaysay Jr.

"We were not affected, one way or the other. We’re still hoping Nene (Pimentel) would join us," said Cayetano.

If Pimentel pursues the Progressive Alliance nomination, he is expected to be supported by Angara, Ople, Senators Rodolfo Biazon, Vicente Sotto III, Tessie Oreta, Luisa Ejercito, Panfilo Lacson and Gregorio Honasan.

Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, who was re-elected on the PPC ticket, is expected to support Pimentel, who is his partymate. Only Sen. Robert Jaworski has yet to express his vote.

But the votes of the two senators would matter little in this morning’s election for Senate president as Pimentel could only muster 11 votes.

While it appears that all parties agreed to elect Drilon first, details of the Drilon-Cayetano power-sharing agreement, like the length of their terms, were not revealed.

However, it appears settled that Villar would be Senate president pro tempore, the No. 2 Senate post, while Legarda would be majority leader.

The PPC also agreed that Sen. John Osmeña will get the chairmanship of the finance committee.

Drilon had earlier committed the committee chairmanship to John Osmeña, while Cayetano pushed for Sergio but the so-called House bloc, led by Arroyo, had wanted Villar to get the committee but yielded provided Villar becomes pro tempore.