Cayetano open to stepping down if 13-senator majority is formed

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano said he is willing to step down if a new majority emerges.

In a Facebook Live on Wednesday, June 3, Cayetano said he is willing to quit as Senate president as long as a “13 is formed.”

“'Pag may 13, automatic hindi ko kailangan mag-resign. Sa inyo na,” Cayetano said. (If there are 13, then automatically I don’t need to resign. It’s yours.)

“I'd be more than content to go. The day that God uses people to tell me na meron na kaming napili to lead us,” he added. (I’d be more than content to go. The day that God uses people to tell me that we already have someone chosen to lead us.)

Today, Wednesday, is the last day of Senate session before the chamber goes on break.

For two consecutive days, the Senate majority bloc led by Cayetano has not attended the plenary in protest, insisting on what they called “Senate independence.”

Cayetano previously claimed that the Senate minority bloc seeks to “steal” the committee chairmanships from the majority — a claim the minority bloc called a “figment of his imagination.”

This followed the arrest of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada for plunder and the disappearance of Sen. Bato dela Rosa due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court.

This brings the 13-man majority bloc down to 11 — the same number as the Senate minority.

The hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee on flood control projects is set to continue on Thursday, June 4. It is chaired by the Senate president’s sister.